Light defends Belichick on Spygate: ‘He would never hurt the game'

Share

Matt Light defended Bill Belichick on the topic of Spygate -- calling it a "non-issue" and something that was "blown out of proportion" -- by saying his former coach "would never do anything to disrespect the game".

Football "has been Belichick's entire life," the newly retired Patriots offensive tackle told Dan Patrick on Tuesday's 'The Dan Patrick Show'. "He truly has a respect for the game and he would never do that.

"Now he will, and he'll be the first to tell you, he'll push right up to the edge. He'll try to get as big an edge as he can, gather as much information as he can and everything else. But at no point would he ever go outside the rules.

"And that's always been the model to us as players, too. We don't overstep certain boundaries. And when it comes to on-the-field issues, if there's a guy that's doing something that's ridiculous, he'll pull a guy from a game. He has a ton of respect for football . . . "

While admitting there's information in the taping that could be beneficial ("It can. You can," he responded when Patrick asked if taping could help a team), Light also said such benefits were also minimal.

"You realize that half the time, all the digging and all the people that are digging through film and footage and trying to get every little last piece of information, that half the time that hurts you more than it helps you," he said. "Because you're sitting there working all these things out through your mind, you got coaches telling you, you know, 'On third-and-long, you gotta worry about this, that and 500 other things.' "

"From a player's perspective," Light also said, "we all understand that every team is doing everything they can to get as much knowledge on any other team."

Light said he thinks most people understand the matter was blown out of proportion "unless you're a Jet fan or somebody that truly has a hatred for New England . . . "

The Spygate conversation begins at about the four-minute mark of the attached video.

Contact Us