NFL wants tapes from Patriots

New England said it will
comply with anything the league requests.

FOXBOROUGH, Mass. (AP) — The NFL may soon find out if the New England Patriots video spying went beyond one game, and the team itself may provide the evidence.

Coach Bill Belichick said Monday he will comply with the NFL’s request to provide any notes or tapes made from video recordings similar to those that drew a stiff penalty against him and the team.

“Of course,” he said.

Beyond that, Belichick declined comment when asked about commissioner Roger Goodell’s request and referred to team owner Robert Kraft’s remarks during an interview at halftime of Sunday night’s 38-14 win over the San Diego Chargers.

“I think that’s a fair question and I’m sure there are other questions out there as well,” he said. “I’ve made my comments on that and, as Mr. Kraft said last night, we’ll handle it as an internal matter. So I’ll just leave it at that.”

Belichick ducks questions

Asked if there are more videos, Belichick, in his eighth year as coach of the Patriots, shifted the discussion to next Sunday’s home game against Buffalo.

“I think that right now we need to spend our time watching a lot of video on Buffalo,” he said.

During the NBC television interview, Kraft was asked if anything else might have been done that would incur further penalties.

“I know of nothing else that could be in this category,” he said.

Goodell fined Belichick $500,000 and the team $250,000 last Thursday for violating a league rule that prohibits clubs from using a videocamera on the sidelines for any purpose, including recording signals relayed to opposing players on the field. New England also must forfeit a first-round draft pick next year if it makes the playoffs or a second- and third-rounder if it doesn’t.

Confiscated video camera

A video camera aimed at Jets coaches was confiscated from a Patriots employee during the first quarter of the team’s 38-14 win Sept. 9 over the New York Jets, coached by Eric Mangini, who has had a cool relationship with Belichick since leaving as Patriots defensive coordinator after the 2005 season.

Sunday the Patriots dominated the Chargers 38-14 without the video camera and many of Belichick’s players expressed affection for him after the game.

Kraft gave him the game ball.

“I appreciated it. It’s a nice gesture. The most important thing is to put that (game) behind us,” Belichick said.

“It’s time to move on.”