Patriots' Taper Disputes Belichick

A former cameraman for the New England Patriots who helped tape other teams’ signals gave the New York Times details on his experience—and they don’t match the claims of coach Bill Belichick. Matt Walsh insists the team knowingly broke the rules and gained a big advantage over opponents. He says his direct supervisor told him to keep the filming quiet and provided him with alibis if questioned. A team spokesman says he's lying.

Belichick has defended the taping by saying its tactical value was 1 in 100. But “If it was 1 out of 100, we probably wouldn’t have felt the need to do it as often as we did. Or go to the lengths we did to ensure getting the film,” Walsh said. And a Patriots quarterback—he didn't say which one—told him in one game that “about 75% of the time,” their opponents ran the play they expected.