By Jason Cole
Monday, Nov 5, 2007 12:13 pm EST
The NFL is looking into allegations that the Indianapolis Colts piped in noise during the game Sunday between the Colts and the Patriots. The charge comes after Patriots President Jonathan Kraft became the latest NFL team executive to accuse the Colts of the distracting tactic that is against the rules.
“We’re aware of it and we’re looking into it,” NFL spokesman Greg Aiello said Monday. “It may just be the TV feed from CBS, but we’re checking it out.”
Observers at the game said there seemed to be a “skip” in the sound during the game Sunday, which the Patriots won 24-20. That might confirm the long-held suspicion among many people in the NFL that the Colts play loud crowd noise to help distract opponents when the other team is on offense.
“We’re aware of the accusations, but there has never been anything to substantiate it,” Aiello said.
Kraft approached NFL Vice President of Security Milt Ahlerich after Kraft and his parents, Patriots owners Bob and Myra Kraft, left the Patriots locker room after the game.
Kraft was angry as he told Ahlerich the league needed to look into the allegation. Ahlerich is the same person who confiscated a videotape made by the Patriots during a game against the New York Jets in Week 2 that led to the Spygate controversy.
In addition, New England quarterback Tom Brady also commented on how loud it was in the RCA Dome.
“I don’t know how you measure levels of being deaf, but we couldn’t hear anything out there,” Brady said.
This is the latest in a string of incidents between the teams that have fueled the growing Colts-Pats rivalry. In the past, Colts General Manager Bill Polian has vehemently argued that the Patriots have bent the rules in terms of use of replay challenges and the pass interference rule.
Note: Patriots coach-to-quarterback headsets were not working throughout the game. NFL rules are that if one teams headset does not work, the other team is prohibited from using theirs.
