Bob Ford: Specter raises an issue NFL wants to forget

PHOENIX - The Eagles lost Super Bowl XXXIX again this week, just in case you were still holding out hope.

NFL commissioner Roger Goodell finally responded to the letter sent by Arlen Specter in November, the one in which the ranking Republican on the Senate Judiciary Committee took time from his busy day to wonder if the Eagles had been cheated out of the Lombardi Trophy.

Goodell apologized for the delay - his office is always up to its ears in correspondence from nut-ball fans - but said there was no evidence that those signal-stealing Patriots were practicing their dark arts in Jacksonville, Fla.

"Our investigation specifically disclosed nothing relating to the stealing of Eagles' signals during the Super Bowl game between the Patriots and the Philadelphia Eagles in 2005," Goodell wrote. "We have no reason to believe that the outcome of the 2005 Super Bowl was affected in any way by the improper taping of Eagles' defensive signals."

Not much of an answer, but more than most fans get when they complain to the commissioner about referee conspiracies or about secret radio waves from distant planets interfering with helmet transmitters, or something like that.

Goodell was very polite to Specter, though he never properly explained why it took 10 weeks to send the answer to the question. Maybe the NFL isn't all that fond of Specter, who has taken the side of the cable TV companies in their fight with the league over placement of the NFL Network.

Perhaps Goodell didn't care for the tone of a follow-up letter sent in December, one in which Specter - who apparently doesn't like being ignored - called the destruction of the confiscated Spygate videotapes "highly suspicious" and waved around the league's antitrust exemption like a lollipop he was planning to snatch away.

Whatever the case, the NFL would rather not dwell this week on the fact that its presumptive undefeated champion was caught not playing by the rules this season. When New England coach Bill Belichick was asked about the subject at the end of his regular news conference yesterday morning, the NFL Network wrapped it up and went to commercial. Coincidence? Perhaps. But, as Specter might say, highly suspicious.

If Goodell weren't such a smooth suit, he might point out some suspicions of his own about Specter's timing - on the very eve of football's showcase event! - and our senator's motivation in tweaking the NFL on the cable TV issue.

In the last five years, Comcast has been the second-largest contributor of political action committee funds to Specter ($100,100). Time Warner also cracked the top 20, coming in at No. 18 ($31,050).

But Goodell wouldn't touch that one at his annual state-of-the-empire press conference. He said he'd be more than willing to speak to Specter or any member of Congress about anything, and said that the league destroyed the videotapes after examining them because it seemed like the right thing to do.

"There was no purpose for them," Goodell said, obviously missing the boat on the whole YouTube thing.

The commissioner also said, essentially, that every team steals signals and that every team takes precautions against having its signals stolen. As proof, he said that one of the tapes showed an opposing coach waving at the Pats' cameraman.

"Hi, Bill. I'm sending in a Cover 2 package with a zone blitz from the outside linebackers. Get a life."

If that is true, then why is it against the rules? And if it is against the rules, then how does everyone do it? Doesn't say much for the rules.

Goodell didn't get into all that. He just wants the whole thing to go away, and probably wouldn't mind if Arlen Specter went away, too.

Specter isn't that easy to get rid of, though. The senator called Goodell's response to his letter "vacuous."

"I want to find out what the truth is, and I want to be reassured for America's fans about the integrity of the game," Specter told reporters yesterday.

It's good to know our elected officials never rest in their mission to serve and protect us. Eagles fans wanted an answer about Super Bowl XXXIX and they got it. If the Patriots were stealing signals in Jacksonville, that's news to the league. If they were putting something in Donovan McNabb's food to upset his stomach, there's no evidence of it. If New England used some sort of time warp that caused the Eagles' two-minute drill to take six minutes, it was the perfect crime.

"Coaches prepare for people being able to intercept their signals, and they make modifications and changes," Goodell said. "Andy Reid is a very smart coach, and I'm sure he did the same."

So, move along, everybody. Nothing much to see here. Just another undefeated bunch of cheaters on one side, and a politician who isn't happy when his letters aren't answered on the other.