Walsh has no smoking gun but Belichick has nowhere to run

"I think they (the Patriots) were well aware -- at least according to Matt -- of the fact that this was something that shouldn't be done."

Wait a minute, let's back up here. Did the commissioner just say the Patriots were "well aware that this was something that shouldn't be done?" If that's true, then it doesn't jibe with Belichick's insistence that he believed he was acting within the rules.

Someone's not being honest here, and if you're undecided you might want to tune in to Goodell.

"I didn't accept Bill Belichick's explanation for what happened," he said, "and I still don't to this day."

Oh, great. So now it's not only that he -- or the Patriots -- cheated to gain an advantage. It's that Belichick seems to have lied, too. That sure makes me feel warm and fuzzy about what we learned from Spygate.

Essentially, the message is this: When it comes to the New England Patriots, don't trust them. Look, it really doesn't matter if they did or did not film the Rams prior to Super Bowl XXXVI. They broke the rules dating back to 2000, Belichick's first year on the job, and now we're told they not only did it repeatedly, they did it knowingly.

When members of the media viewed the videotapes Walsh turned over to the league, the consensus was that there was nothing revealing or extraordinary -- if, that is, you exclude the Sept. 29, 2002 tape of the San Diego game, one that Walsh did not shoot.

There was hurried footage, with the cameraman panning furiously for the defensive signal caller on the sidelines, along with the requisite shots of the scoreboard to record time, down and distance.

But there was something unexpected there, too: Second-quarter footage of the San Diego cheerleaders -- OK, one cheerleader, a brunette, with close-ups of her derriere -- going through an end-zone routine.

That drew a snicker from the audience because there certainly was something revealing there, but the message on this day was sobering: The Patriots not only cheated when they committed Spygate, they knew they were cheating.

So there's no evidence they filmed the Rams before Super Bowl XXXVI. They broke the rules in their 2007 season opener against the New York Jets. And in that 2002 game with the Chargers. And in the 2001 AFC Championship Game. And in a 2001 date with Buffalo ... and Miami ... and Cleveland.

Now we find out they knew that what they were doing was wrong. At least that's what Matt Walsh said. And, sure, it's fair to ask why we should believe Matt Walsh over Bill Belichick. Well, maybe because the NFL commissioner just told you he does.

And that may be the most disturbing revelation from Spygate's final act.

New England broke the rules and was punished. And it will suffer no more sanctions than it already has. But the Patriots and Bill Belichick appear to have acted in defiance of the league, knowing that what they were doing was cheating and daring the NFL to catch them.

Well, it did, and eight months after this mess started the Patriots and their head coach never looked worse.