Eagles
Patriots knew Eagles’ signals in Super Bowl XXXIX, Spagnuolo claims
Published29 Jan 2018
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By Josh Liddick, Sports Talk Philly editor 
With the Eagles taking on the New England Patriots this Sunday in Super Bowl LII, there are two distinct groups of fans surrounding this NFL championship game.
Those who are Patriots fans, and those who are not.
For good reasons too, as the Patriots went from being a league underdogs to being one of the league's winningest teams in just under two decades.
But their road to stardom hasn't been the prettiest, at least not in the eyes of non-New Englanders. Let's just say that getting to this point in the Patriots dynasty has been riddled with lies and deceipt, whether it be Spygate or Deflategate, cheating has often been the direction the Patriots have gone to become successful.
Of course, this isn't the end all-be all, as the Pats have seriously been an incredible team to watch all these years, and their talent and elite coaching is the main reason they have been this successful for so long.
But still, cheating sucks. And former Eagles linebackers coach Steve Spagnuolo can firmly attest that there was something fishy going on during Super Bowl XXXIX against New England that caused the Eagles to lose the game.
Spagnuolo talked about his suspicions on the 97.5 The Fanatic Morning Show revealing that former defensive coordinator Jim Johnson knew the Patriots figured out the Eagles' defensive signals and knew when they were going to be blitzing.
Spagnuolo, now the defensive coordinator of the New York Giants, learned quite a bit from Jim Johnson's experience during the 2005 Super Bowl.
"I’ll tell you, the biggest thing we learned was make sure you have two signal callers, not one signal caller, because they may have all your signals," he said."Here’s what I remember distinctly," he said. "At the time, I was up in the box, and Jim was down on the field. And I remember through the course of the game, Jim saying, ‘They’re getting our signals. They know when we’re blitzing. They’re getting our signals. Try to hide it, etc. etc.’ And I remember distinctly thinking, ‘Jim I don’t think that’s true.’ Now I’m not saying this to him, because I don’t want to upset him. I’m saying it to myself. ‘I don’t think so Jim, just concentrate on calling the game.’
Spagnuolo went on in the interview to really think back at the situation and delve deeper into the suspicions the late, great Johnson had only to find out that those suspicions pretty much were the truth, even though there isn't physical proof behind the claims.
"In hindsight, he was right. When you go back and look at that tape, it was evident to us – and I’m not crying over spilled milk here – but we believed that Tom (Brady) knew when we were pressuring, because he certainly got the ball out pretty quick."But, you know, you gotta play the game, and they won that particular day, but there’s no question I wasn’t going to let that happen in the 2008 Super Bowl (with the Giants) after the 2007 season. We made sure we had two signal callers, and we were protecting against that."
Despite there being no actual record of the Patriots stealing the signs in the Super Bowl that year, it really isn't out of the realm of possibility that this occurred to the Eagles and was a reason they fell that day, the best chance the team had at winning a Super Bowl in franchise history.
Given New England's track record over the years, the best possible thing you could do as a coach on the opposing team is just be as prepared as possible for any and all outcomes.
Spagnuolo knew that when the Giants found themselves in the Bowl with the Patriots, he would need to keep the same game plan in mind that Jim Johnson instituted with the Birds following the '04 season.
The best advice for this Super Bowl would be for Jim Schwartz and the rest of the Eagles' coaching staff to be on watch for whatever might happen when they face off against the inevitably shady Bill Belichick and the Patriots' staff.
Two signal callers isn't a bad move either, might be a big advantage in the end.
