Cowher: Patriots Pushed Envelope, But Won On The Field
BOSTON (CBS) -- Bill Cowher had a few tough playoff losses to the New England Patriots, but the former Pittsburgh Steelers coach never thought it was because of anything funny the Patriots were doing on the field.
When asked for his thoughts on Spygate throughout the years, Cowher has always said the Patriots didn't win because of some added advantage from stealing signs, and Steelers fans upset about losses in the AFC titles games in 2001 and 2004 should get over it. The Patriots simply outplayed the Steelers on those Sunday afternoons.
Even with those old allegations coming back into the news cycle thanks to an ESPN investigation earlier this week, Cowher's stance on Bill Belichick and the Patriots' success has not changed.
"Without a doubt they probably pushed the envelope in terms of how the rules were, but I believe truly coaching in those games, the game was won and lost on the field," Cowher said Thursday on CBS This Morning. "We gave up too many big plays. The Patriots, to their credit, they won those games on the field, but they've been tarnished because of some of these allegations out there."
Cowher didn't say much about Thursday night's season opener between the Patriots and Steelers at Gillette Stadium, but is expecting a heck of a game if the weather doesn't put a damper on all the fun.
"It's going to be very electric in Foxboro, no doubt," he said. "This is a great game to kick off the season."
You can catch Thursday night's Patriots-Steelers NFL season opener on 98.5 The Sports Hub — the flagship station of the New England Patriots. Pregame coverage begins at 5:30pm with Patriots Preview, followed by three hours of postgame coverage after the game. You can also catch Patriots 5th Quarter on myTV38 following the game, the only place to watch Tom Brady and Bill Belichick's press conferences live!
