Steve Spagnuolo had a little extra motivation going into the Giants’ 2008 upset of the Patriots in Super Bowl XLII. The former Giants defensive…
Steve Spagnuolo had a little extra motivation going into the Giants’ 2008 upset of the Patriots in Super Bowl XLII.
The former Giants defensive coordinator remembered the previous championship game he had been a part of, when he believes Bill Belichick and Co. had special knowledge of the Eagles’ defensive schemes. Spagnuolo was serving as Philadelphia’s linebackers coach at the time under defensive coordinator Jim Johnson, who after the Eagles’ loss said he suspected the Patriots were stealing their signals.
“The biggest thing we learned was make sure you have two signal callers, not one signal caller, because they may have all your signals,” Spagnuolo said Monday on 97.5 The Fanatic in Philadelphia.
“I remember through the course of the game Jim saying, ‘They’re getting our signals. They know when we’re blitzing… try to hide it.’ I remember distinctly thinking. ‘I don’t think so Jim, just concentrate on calling the game.’ In hindsight, he was right. When you go back and look at that tape, it was evident to us.
“We believe that Tom [Brady] knew when we were pressuring him because he certainly got the ball out pretty quick.”
Two years after that Super Bowl, the third win of the Belichick-Brady era, a Patriots coaching assistant was caught filming coaching signals at a Jets practice during the 2007 season in what became known as “Spygate.” The NFL confiscated the camera and punished the Patriots with the loss of their 2008 first-round draft pick, a $500,000 fine issued against Belichick and a $250,000 fine against the team.
Belichick had been ordering the practice years before the scandal broke, as early as 2000 according to a 2015 ESPN report .
Once the Patriots were under heavy scrutiny in 2007, Spagnuolo, who had taken over as Giants defensive coordinator that season, was confident the funny business wouldn’t carry over into their Super Bowl matchup.
“It wasn’t going to happen in the 2008 Super Bowl,” Spagnuolo said.
No one would fault the Eagles, vying for the first Lombardi Trophy in franchise history Sunday with an old foe standing in their way, for being on high alert nonetheless.
