Boomer Esiason: Chalk Up Jets Locker Room Request To 'Patriot Paranoia'
BOSTON (CBS) -- It wouldn't be a normal week if there weren't some kind of accusations against the New England Patriots.
Boomer Esiason of WFAN and The NFL Today learned last week that the New York Jets requested the NFL to sweep their locker room for bugs when they paid a visit to Gillette Stadium in Week 7. The NFL also "interrogated" three New England employees on the sideline during the Patriots' win following a request by the Jets' security director. The three were cleared by the league before the game was over, and the Patriots were cleared of any wrongdoing the next day according to Pro Football Talk.
Esiason created a bit of a storm when he brought the accusations to light Friday morning on WFAN in New York, but says this goes to show just how much the Patriots are inside the head of their opposition.
"At the end of the day I call it 'Patriot Paranoia.' That's the 31 other teams in the NFL, when they go to Gillette, feeling there has to be something else other than the brilliance of the Patriots on the field," Esiason told 98.5 The Sports Hub's Toucher & Rich on Monday morning. "I find the whole thing to be ridiculous and the paranoid nature of football coaches, players, general managers and why the Patriots are so good."
Esiason said if you want to blame someone for this "paranoia" throughout the league you can put it on Eric Mangini, the former Patriots defensive coordinator and Jets head coach who started the whole Spygate controversy in 2007.
"Since then everyone is looking for something. The good news for the Patriots and their fans was there was nothing there in this case," said Esiason, who said he's never heard of the league conducting random locker room sweeps. "Part of me thinks the Patriots can never truly enjoy their victories, but the other side of me says the Patriots have to take this and laugh. If you're in the opposing team's head before the game even starts, you're already winning the battle before the players step on the field.
"All I know is the Patriots are a brilliant football team with a great coach, and they're very tough to beat in their building," he said. "The whole thing is so ridiculous, and to watch how people reacted to it makes it that much more absurd. The good news is nothing was found, there was nothing wrong or nothing nefarious. The more situations like this occur, and the more answers we get from situations like this, the better for the Patriots."
Esiason also touched on the tough weekend for New York sports teams and if the Colts will face any punishment for not listing Andrew Luck's rib injury on their injury report.
The Boston Herald's Jeff Howe also joined Toucher & Rich on Monday to discuss the allegations against the Patriots:
