Walsh talks to Goodell; tapes show no new rules violations

Goodell said Walsh had no information about any other spying by the Patriots.

"There was no bugging of locker rooms," Goodell said. "There was no manipulation of communication systems. There was no crowd noise violations anywhere that he was aware of. No miking of players to pick up opposing signals or audibles."

During the Rams' pre-Super Bowl walkthrough in 2002, Goodell said, Walsh was in the stadium in his Patriots gear setting up equipment. NFL officials noted that it's common for personnel not connected to the team to be present on that day.

Walsh told Goodell that then-New England assistant Brian Daboll approached him later, said NFL attorney Gregg Levy, who attended the meeting. Walsh said he told the coach that running back Marshall Faulk was returning kicks and described the Rams' use of tight ends in their formations. Daboll did not mention the conversation when he was interviewed by NFL officials about the walkthrough, Levy said.

Rams spokesman Rick Smith declined comment.

Goodell made no mention of the incident during his news conference. He realized the oversight later, Levy said, and asked Levy to share the information with reporters.

The NFL is looking into the allegation, Levy said.

Daboll, now the Jets quarterbacks coach, said in a statement: "I have cooperated with the league's investigation and was completely truthful and forthcoming. The league has requested to speak to me again. In light of this request, I will not comment further other than to say that I have been and will continue to be completely truthful, cooperative, and forthcoming with the league."

Walsh shared two potential violations of league rules unrelated to Spygate, Goodell said: A player on injured reserve practiced when he wasn't allowed to in 2001, and Walsh scalped eight to 12 Super Bowl tickets for Patriots players over two seasons.

The NFL will investigate both claims.

Last week, Walsh sent the NFL eight videotapes of the Patriots recording playcalling signals. The tapes included signals by coaches of five opponents in six games from 2000-02.

Walsh worked for New England from 1997 to 2003. His name surfaced just before this year's Super Bowl, nearly five months after the Patriots were sanctioned.

After more than two months of negotiations, lawyers for the league and Walsh agreed April 23 to terms that would allow him to talk with Goodell. They included an agreement by the Patriots not to sue Walsh and to pay his legal expenses and his airfare to New York from Hawaii, where he is now a golf pro.

Specter, from Pennsylvania, met with Goodell in February after raising the possibility of congressional hearings if he wasn't satisfied with the commissioner's answers about the handling of the investigation. Specter has criticized the NFL's decision to destroy the tapes it initially confiscated.

Why did Goodell show Walsh's tapes Tuesday but not do the same with the others last fall? He said releasing them during the season could have put some teams at a competitive advantage or disadvantage.