Patriots Throwing TV Production Team Under the Bus for Videotaping Bengals is Classic New England

The New England Patriots have already admitted that they were in the wrong with regards to this week's latest controversy, putting out a statement that confirmed that a camera crew filmed a scout for their website's "Do Your Job" web series and just so happened to pick up some Cincinnati Bengals play calls one week before the teams were scheduled to play. Naturally, they didn't tell Cincy, nor the NFL.

And in that hat-in-hand statement, they placed the blame fully on the video team, walling off the coaching staff and front office off all responsibility.

Classic New England.

So, one week before you play an opponent, you just happend to record video of their sideline? And when presented with this information, you pin it all on a couple of rogue A/V employees?

Sounds like par for the course for a team that finds itself in crisis PR situations more than most NFL teams do.

New England's statement showed that there is a more than tacit acknowledgement that NFL rules were indeed broken. The league has given no indications about dishing out punishment, but if any employees who filmed the Bengals hypotheticall had any intent to deliver the footage to anyone on the football team -- there is zero evidence of this at the current time, to be fair -- that would be a major problem.

Before anything else happens, of course, New England has already thrown its video team under the bus. Great job, everyone!