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Spygate II hits Denver; Broncos fined for taping 49ers practice

By ArtieFufkin

(Photo via NYDailyNews.com)

UPDATE: check out this fascinating tweet from Jay Glazer, which presents some serious implications for Bill Belichick’s Patriots:

Just reported that Josh McDaniels in staff mtg on fri said latest video tape scandal isn’t like SpyGate bc that was practiced & coached.

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The big news this weekend is that the Denver Broncos and head coach Josh McDaniels have each been fined $50k for videotaping six minutes of a 49ers walkthrough practice on October 30th. This was just one day before the two teams met in London at Wembley Stadium … a game which Denver lost. The Broncos have fired video operations director Steve Scarnecchia, who was responsible for taping the practice.

According to the Broncos, nobody on their staff actually watched the video, but they admit to failing to report the incident to the league, thinking it was simply an internal matter. On Saturday, McDaniels released a statement in which he denied any role in the recording, but apologized for not reporting it sooner:

“We certainly did not view or do anything with the footage, and he was made aware that it was something we didn’t condone in our organization. I failed to follow through and report it to the proper individuals in our organization and with the league.

“This incident is in no way representative of what the Broncos stand for, and in no way representative of what I stand for as the head coach of this organization — and for that, I take responsibility. I understand the punishment that the league has handed me and our team, and we have addressed this situation with our entire organization to make sure nothing like this ever happens again.”

As we all know, before becoming the head coach of the Broncos, McDaniels was a member of the Patriots staff. In fact, he was the offensive coordinator there in 2007, when the original Spygate scandal broke under Bill Belichick. And Sarnecchia himself was a member of the Patriots video crew from 2000-2004. So once can’t help but wonder if this is starting to become a pattern. But the punky young coach maintains his innocence in this case, saying that Sarnecchia acted alone. But do NFL video guys make a habit of recording things without direct instruction from someone above them?

Either way, McDaniels continues to upset Denver fans, who have already begun calling for his job. First, McDaniels ran QB Jay Cutler and WR Brandon Marshall out of town, and then he traded RB Peyton Hillis and some magic beans for QB Brady Quinn. Throw in some questionable draft pick trades and this latest allegation of taping practices, and McDaniels certainly has a dubious track record in his short time in Denver. And with the embarrassment this brings to the organization, it will be interesting to see how long Broncos owner Pat Bowlen stands by his head coach.  Especially if they continue to lose games.