Former Steelers OT Barrett Brooks Confirms Spygate Began Sooner Than Reported; He Saw The New England Patriots Cheat

Simply mention the phrase "Spygate" to any Pittsburgh Steelers fan and it will likely cause them to utter a profusion of curses that would make any sailor blush. The fact that it has been nearly 20 years does not lessen the outrage. In fact, for many, the fact that the potential cheating scandal was never satisfactorily resolved only makes it worse. 

Spygate was first reported in 2007, however, since then reports have been released that some former players saw the New England Patriots cheating well before that. Now a former Steelers player, who was playing during the time of Spygate says it was definitely going on long before the media reported it. In fact, he saw the Patriots cheating on a cold day in January of 2005. 

Barrett Brooks, an offensive tackle, was a second-round pick by the Philadelphia Eagles in the 1995 NFL Draft. He bounced around a bit after leaving the Eagles, going to Detroit and then New York before heading to Pittsburgh where he would stay from 2003-2006. Brooks was a backup player in Pittsburgh, but like all players, was an integral part of the team. 

Recently Brooks appeared on the podcast, Legal Hands to the Face, which is hosted by Bill Colarulo. While on the show Colarulo asked Brooks which city of the ones he played for was his favorite. He said he is in Philly now, his wife is from there; he also mentions that they drafted him and brought him out of poverty. They will always hold a special place for him. But he said he feels a deep love for Pittsburgh, especially considering he won a Super Bowl there.

"I go to Pittsburgh and still have that feeling. I can still go there right now and not pay for a meal, not have to buy a drink when I go to a bar, you know that's how much they love their [players] there. I love both of them equally, I can't pick one from another now."   

Colarulo recalls a time he went to Pittsburgh, as an Eagles fan, and how nice the Steelers fans were, calling him over to join in tailgates. Brooks remembers that season, he said they beat the Eagles and beat the Patriots. And then came the AFC Championship Game and when Brooks says he saw evidence of Spygate first-hand. 

Former Steelers Guard Barrett Brooks Recalls The New England Patriots Cheating During Spygate

"First of all, they were supposed to be sick. They supposedly had 20 guys that had the flu and they came down and whooped our a**, I mean they stomped us. I can remember going into the game and they knew plays before we did," said Brooks. 

For those who might have been living under a rock, the Spygate scandal supposedly began in 2007, according to the initial media reports. During that season there were accusations made that the Patriots, under the direction of Head Coach Bill Belichick, were secretly videotaping opposing coaches' signals during games. They were disciplined by the league when caught taping the New York Jets coaches in a 2007 game. 

The Patriots got a small slap on the wrist for the infraction. They fined Belichick $500,000, which is the league maximum, fined the organization $250,000, and took away their 2008 first-round draft pick. Then players and coaches began to talk, and there were reports surfacing that Belichick has been doing this for years, possibly all the way back to 1991 when he was the coach of the Cleveland Browns.  

Now like so many others, Brooks is coming forward and sharing his recollections from the 2004 AFC Championship Game. The Steelers, under the direction of Head Coach Bill Cowher, had gone an astonishing 15-1 that season, which included beating the Patriots 20-34. The Steelers had an exceptional rookie quarterback in Ben Roethlisberger and the number-one defense in the league. They seemed to be a shoo-in to win the game. Brooks said that despite illness and the previous loss, the Patriots came armed this time with illegally obtained information and there was no way to defend against that. 

"I could hear all those guys, you know Rodney Harrison say, 'Draw, draw' and then Ben [Roethlisberger] comes in and he calls a draw and I am like, 'What is going on?' Tedy Bruschi knowing the play, 'Hey, hey this one they're gonna sprint to the right' and then moving the entire defense over, because they knew our plays before it happened." 

Brooks definitely hasn't forgiven them for this. He feels like the Steelers were destined to go to the Super Bowl that year. It was supposed to be the battle for the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, where the Steelers would play the Eagles. Instead, the Patriots snuck their way into the game. 

"Yeah, they cheated me out of a Super Bowl, I should have two Super Bowls now. We were supposed to be in that Super Bowl, it was the all-Pennsylvania Super Bowl, but they cheated better. I'm mad at our coaches because they couldn't cheat as well as they did," laughs Brooks. 

Colarulo said that he is still frustrated that the NFL destroyed all of the recordings so that it is impossible to tell what the films in question even showed. NFL Commissioner, Roger Goodell, said that the videos were consistent with what he was told and he saw no reason to retain them. Most fans and analysts haven't felt the same way. The reality is that if it had been going on for years, then every NFL team could have fallen victim. There is something about it that feels covert.

"They definitely knew our whole defense and offense. They were calling plays out before we did. So I mean if you ain't cheating (he shrugs) they chose to cheat and won Super Bowls because of it." 

The Eagles players also said that the Patriots' offense knew what they were going to do during the Super Bowl that the Patriots won, according to Colarulo. He said that as a fan, he finds this so frustrating, so he can only imagine how it feels as a player.