All of the people who assumed that the New England Patriots cheated by having a scout at the Cleveland Browns and Cincinnati Bengals were proven wrong on Monday. According to Adam Schefter, the scout was being filmed and not the other way around in the Browns' press box.
Patriots’ advance scout was not filming but being filmed, per a league source. He was being filmed for a feature the team produced called, "Do Your Job." The video crew was credentialed by the Browns to shoot video in the press box and their PR person was aware, per the source
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) December 9, 2019
Contrary to belief, the scout was present at the game for a feature that New England is producing. The feature is titled “Do Your Job”, which is named after the motto that has become a common theme for the Patriots over the years.
Above all, the film crew was actually credential by Cleveland to be in the press box. Therefore, the original uproar against the Patriots wasn't warranted at all.
Nevertheless, people in the media and fans are going to elude to New England's previous run-ins with the rules. Over the years, the Patriots have been involved in multiple videotaping scandals before.
Back in 2001, New England was accused of videotaping a practice of the St. Louis Rams (now Los Angeles) ahead of their Super Bowl matchup. In addition, there was another instance that was named “Spygate”, where the Patriots were taping the New York Jets' defensive signals in 2007.
As a result of the Jets' situation, New England was fined $750,000 and were stripped of their first-round draft pick. This time around, it appears that there was no harm done by the Patriots' organization.
Besides, the Patriots have bigger issues than trying to get an edge on the 1-12 Bengals for Week 15. With that being said, it's on to Cincinnati for Bill Belichick's squad.
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