Meaningful moments from 'The Dynasty: New England Patriots' Episode 4: Spygate

Here's where things take a turn.  While the New England Patriots were the underdogs in 2002 against the Saint Louis Rams, that was no longer the case once the 2007 seasons came around.  So not only were they dominating the NFL, but they were also caught up in a ton of controversy. And every single […]

Sophie Weller NFL Trending News Writer
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Dec 23, 2007; Foxborough, MA, USA; New England Patriots head coach Bill Belichick watches from the sideline against Miami Dolphins in the 3rd quarter at Gillette Stadium. The Patriots defeated Miami 28-7.
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Here's where things take a turn. 

While the New England Patriots were the underdogs in 2002 against the Saint Louis Rams, that was no longer the case once the 2007 seasons came around. 

So not only were they dominating the NFL, but they were also caught up in a ton of controversy. And every single person outside of New England wanted them to fail. 

Here are the meaningful moments from "The Dynasty: New England Patriots" Episode 4: Spygate

Randy Moss arrives

After the Patriots lost to the Indianapolis Colts, the team knew they needed to bring someone in to help the offense during the offseason.

"Right away, going into that offseason, Bill and I, we talked about how we needed to find some new offensive blood," former offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels said. "A receiver who is an alpha player. Like a guy who’s going to hang 50 on you.”

Randy Moss was who they turned to. 

Sept. 9, 2007 

The Patriots took the field for the first game of the season against the Jets. But the game didn't end the way they wanted. 

“It was just your normal Sunday. The Patriots, they’re winning. Nothing unusual," New Jersey State Police's Patrick Aramani said. "But then all the sudden the security people from the Jets came to us with this camera. They said we have an issue. One of the Patriots photographers has been videotaping and spying on our coaches and our plays. The camera was confiscated, but nobody had an f****** idea what to do.”

Aramani was in charge of security at the Meadowlands, and in that moment everybody was at a loss for words. He stepped up immediately and took control of the situation.

“The Patriots were saying, ‘That’s my f****** property.’ The Jets were saying, ‘You’re f****** spying on us. We don’t want you to have it.’ And I told them, ‘Possession is 9/10ths of the law. I’m in possession of it. It’s staying with me until we decide what we’re doing with it," Aramani recalled. "And that was the most common sense thing to do. Turn it over to the NFL and let them decide.” 

Damage Control

NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell was made aware of the issue that same night and they went through the process of finding out exactly what happened. So the main question was, did the Patriots violate the rules? 

As this was going on, Robyn Glaser, the Senior Vice President of Business Affairs at the Kraft Group had just started her job with the team. And she immediately had to deal with all this. 

"The NFL flew security personnel in again and it was decided that we would destroy the tapes on premises. So I remember walking down the hallway and asking someone for a hammer and they took the hammer to the tapes," Glaser said. "And I’m on my hands and knees in a dress and high heels, picking up the tapes and throwing them away. I remember thinking to myself, all the news cycles, all the commentary, this is done, it’s over. We’ve been fined. It’s over.”

But that was not really the case. 

And with that, Robert Kraft also stepped in and made sure to protect his head coach, despite how he actually felt. 

“Look, I was pissed with Bill. But when you have division from within, it can be very destructive and dangerous, so I protected Bill," Kraft explained. "I talked with the lawyers from the NFL office. I said, ‘Look, fine Bill, fine us. Do whatever you got to do. But don’t suspend him.’

"We tried to protect his reputation.”

Making the Best Out of a Bad Situation

Seeing Belichick getting crucified, the team rallied around him. And they wanted to prove that they could win no matter what. 

After the Spygate Game, the Patriots had to play the San Diego Chargers next. So when the clock hit zero and New England won, the reaction in the Patriots locker room was perfect. 

Tedy Bruschi said to the team, “How we feel about playing for Bill Belichick?” And they replied, “Awwww yeahhhh!!”

“After the whole SpyGate thing, we had a lot of emotions for Bill. Hate, love, everything. But he was ours. And everybody was just going after our coach," Bruschi said. "Bill would never express how he despised everything that was said. Like trying to invalidate everything that we’ve done because of a signal. But this is how we knew when he felt it. That offense kept scoring.” 

After each win, Another One Bites The Dust by Queen was played in the locker room. 

"It was our little time to say, we did that sh** again,” Bruschi said. 

By the end of the season, the Patriots were undefeated and they kept that going until Super Bowl XLII. 

Everything that Could Go Wrong, Did Go Wrong 

New England looked to make history by finishing the season with a perfect 19-0 record. But the week leading up to the Super Bowl, things just started to go wrong. 

Already having the Spygate scandal hanging over their heads, things didn't get any better when Tom Brady was pictured in New York with a boot on his foot. 

People wanted the Patriots to fail, and this gave them hope that it could actually happen. 

Soon after, the Boston Herald published a story that a Patriots employee had actually filmed the Rams before the 2002 Super Bowl. 

“The story was absolutely not true. And I told the editors of the Boston Herald in no uncertain terms, if they didn’t retract that story, we were going to come after them guns blazing," Jonathan Kraft said. "Ultimately, the Boston Herald ran a full apology, but the damage had already been done.”

So going into the game, the Patriots were the bad guys and the Giants were looked at as the saviors. 

A Catch That WIll Go Down In History

The Helmet Catch. 

That is what truly ended the Patriots' perfect season. 

“I was like f*** man. How the f*** did you do that," Brady remembered when watching that play happen. "That play, I was looking at it the other day, if that ball bounces off, we have like five guys there to intercept the ball. It’s a million to one.” 

Brady got the ball back with one last shot to win the game and threw a perfectly placed ball. But the coverage from the Giants defenders on Randy Moss was just to good. 

"Out of all the plays I made my whole life, that still haunts me," Moss said. "My fingertips touched it. I nipped it." 

So with that, the Patriots lost to the Giants, 17-14, and it would be a little bit before the team would get back to their winning ways.