Like the rest of the Pittsburgh Steelers’ fanbase, former offensive tackle Barrett Brooks hasn’t forgotten about the New England Patriots’ Spygate saga. It led to one of the largest organizational punishments in league history, a $500,000 fine dished out to head coach Bill Belichick, a $250,000 fine to the Patriots’ franchise, and the loss of their 2008 first round draft pick.
Brooks was a guest on the Legal Hands to the Face podcast with Bill Colarulo to discuss his football career. Brooks spent his final three years in the NFL with Pittsburgh, appearing in 21 games across the 2004 and 2005 seasons. But what he remembers most is Spygate and the 2004 AFC Championship Game.
“They knew the plays before we did,” Brooks told the show. “I could hear all those guys, [safety] Rodney Harrison say, ‘draw, draw, draw, draw, draw.’ And Ben comes in and he calls a draw play. I’m like, ‘what is going on?’ [Linebacker] Tedy Bruschi knowing the play. ‘They’re gonna sprint to the right, sprint to the right’ and them moving the entire defense over. Because they knew our plays before it happened. They cheated me out, I should’ve had two Super Bowls now.”
For those who need a refresher on Spygate, the Patriots illegally filmed signals of the opponent’s sideline from an improper location for years. Based off that information, they were able to match signals with the playcalls and build a book on each team heading into each game. The signals allegedly weren’t used during the game in which they were filmed but collected for future weeks. And for a Steelers’ team who had continuity with the same head coach in Bill Cowher, they were an easy team to figure out. They reportedly had “multiple” games of video on Pittsburgh.
The 2004 AFC Title Game was a rematch of a regular season matchup. In the first meeting, the Steelers beat up on the Patriots 34-20, rushing for over 220 yards while the Patriots turned the ball over four times. The championship game was a completely different story, New England winning 41-27 and controlling the game the whole way. This time, it was Pittsburgh who turned the ball over four times, including a pick-six by safety Rodney Harrison 87-yards the other way.
Based on what was later found out about Spygate, there’s little doubt the Patriots used the signals from the first game to benefit them in the playoffs. And they continued to do so until they were caught in 2007. In recent years, Cowher has graciously downplayed its impact but it remains one of the NFL’s biggest scandals.
“They definitely knew our whole defense and offense. They were calling plays out before we did. If you ain’t cheating, you ain’t trying. They chose to cheat and they won Super Bowls because of it.”
Brooks at least got his redemption, part of the 2005 Super Bowl winning Steelers’ team. That year, the Patriots beat the Steelers 23-20 in the regular season but Pittsburgh avoided seeing them in the postseason. Tom Brady and company fell to the Denver Broncos in the Divisional Round while the Steelers upset the Indianapolis Colts, beat the Broncos in that year’s title game, and took care of business in Super Bowl XL against the Seattle Seahawks. Brooks can call himself a Super Bowl champion but winning two would’ve been extra special. And he’s still a little peeved about it.
“I’m still a little hot because of it.”
Catch the whole conversation below.
