NFL Network’s Deion Sanders says Colts stole other teams’ signals

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Hall of Fame cornerback and NFL Network commentator Deion Sanders says the Indianapolis Colts stole other teams’ defensive signals, everyone in the NFL knew about it, and no one did anything.

Sanders made the allegation on NFL Network after his colleague, LaDainian Tomlinson said some critics will put an asterisk next to the Patriots’ success because of Spygate.

“Those same critics, did they say anything about the wins that the Indianapolis Colts had? You want to talk about that too? Because they were getting everybody’s signals,” Sanders said. “Come on, you don’t walk up to the line and look over here and the man on the sideline giving you the defense that they’ve stolen the plays of. We all knew. L.T. knew. Everybody in the NFL knew. We just didn’t let the fans know. That was real and that was happening in Indy.”

Sanders did not say when that was happening or who was involved, but he sounded like he was describing the years when Peyton Manning was the Colts’ quarterback. Sanders has criticized Manning in the past, but we’ve never heard this allegation before.

If Sanders can back up this assertion, he should — and the NFL should thoroughly investigate. If he can’t back it up, it’s incredibly odd that he’d say it on the league’s own network, a network that the Colts partially own.

96 responses to “NFL Network’s Deion Sanders says Colts stole other teams’ signals

  1. Howard Mudd stole signals for the Colts during his tenure. Polian piped in crowd noise.

  2. Envy the Patriots much LaDainian? Oh, much too much! Get over yourself. No proof. No facts. Just more innuendo and biased opinion. SMH

  3. The Patriots did not STEAL signals. They illegally taped during a game. What they taped was opposing coach signals. Note THAT wasn’t illegal. If they had 5 guys with binoculars or cameras in the stands taking pictures of those coaches and noting the time, nothing would have happened. The Patriots were busted for methodology, not intent. And again, it wasn’t a big deal until that year. Just to clear the stupid record. Noting other teams signals isn’t illegal.

  4. .
    Is there anything more pathetic than these aging has beens like Tomlinson and Faulk continually whining about games played over a decade ago. Their teams had the better roster but couldn’t get it done versus the Patriots. and even now they’re still pouting about it.

    The history of Tomlinson’s Chargers and Faulk’s Rams is this : ” We came. We played. We choked.” End of story.
    .

  5. Good for you, Deion…You have always been a stand up guy…You and Michael Irvin have always been the best!

  6. so the Colts can’t even steal signals right ???? very Colts like…

    very nice that Manning was able to give himself up, get up and make big throw that helped beat my Steelers in playoffs….what a joke…

    the Colts are the Browns of the AFC South- incompetent owner, morons as GM’s, fans who are beyond clueless, etc

  7. So all other teams knew, but just let the Colts go their merry way? I mean, I assume that if everybody knew this the Titans, Jaguars, and Texans would have say something (I would think)

  8. Remember when football was played by MEN?

    We see this frequently when the Flintstones like to drone on about how tough the league used to be.

    Now in this case I’m inclined to agree, but it’s not about what happens on the field. It’s about people who cannot accept that so called “cheating” is part of every team’s culture. Every Single Team. Depending on what you call, and can actually prove, cheating of course.

  9. how do you explain its more probable than not we stole signals and STILL couldn’t be Uncle Bill and Daddy Tom for a while?!

    ted wells on line #2 please 🙂 And just send the bill to 1 patriot place Foxborough Massachusetts. And through in a large regular from Dunkies.

  10. Seems if “everyone” knew their signals were being stolen, they would not have allowed Indianapolis to continue stealing them.

    I’m smelling some BS here.

  11. I was a Pop Warner coach and youth basketball coach. We always changed up our signals at half time and for every game because we assumed that the other teams were trying to get an edge. We almost always got a big play when we switched because they thought they knew what was coming.
    Believe me every team at every level attempts to get an advantage this way.

  12. I may be the only one who thinks this, but I don’t think ex-players are even remotely interesting, and I wish I didn’t have to see them doing commentary.

  13. “The history of Tomlinson’s Chargers and Faulk’s Rams is this : ” We came. We played. We choked.” End of story.”

    LOL. Well, don’t let the 2007 Pats off the hook.

  14. The NFL is a Billion dollar business. Coaches and team execs get paid millions of dollars. You don’t think most people do whatever they can to protect their livelihood? Or to increase their pay? To think anything to do with professional sports is pure and on the up and up, is to believe in the tooth fairy.

  15. Patriots Fault! I would take away the Patriots first round pick, suspend Brady for 8 games and the Patriots will still win. Every team does what it takes. Patriots haters got a get a grip with it. I like the five asterisks and number 6 coming next year haters.

  16. I’ve been watching football for a long time and for as long as I can remember coaches have tried to blocked the other sideline from seeing what they are saying and I’ve also heard about decoy signal callers. This is either done out of extreme paranoia or signal “stealing” is a real thing. So, I don’t understand how Deion can single out one team and say they stole signals. Were the Colts able to figure out something that no other team in the history of the NFL could? I don’t think so.

  17. Why? Who give a rip?

    Stealing signals isn’t cheating. Change your freaking signals if you suspect it. Has anybody ever played baseball?

    Enough with the investigations. Such a waste of time. Just apologize to the Patriots and move on.

  18. Oh now wouldn’t that be the story of the century—- if it was uncovered that the NFL was routinely rigging outcomes of key games thru influence and directing referees in order to follow a storyline for that season that the NFL wanted for ratings

  19. drednot says:
    Feb 8, 2017 6:19 AM
    Tomlinson and Faulk need to go away!

    ___________________________________
    I actually give Faulk a bit of a pass. Yes, he keeps trying to make a claim that’s so faulty that a newspaper had to not only retract the story, but print they unheard of front page retraction. It’s a very understandable human response in his case, however. His Rams were supposed to be the Pats that we came to know in the first stage of their dynasty. The Rams were the team that came out of nowhere, with a QB that no one wanted to start, and who would have remained on the bench had not their starting QB been seriously injured. The Rams had their miracle SB run, followed up by them lighting up the rest of the league on their way to becoming overwhelming SB favorites…only to have the Pats beat them in the last moments of the game and go on to become the unstoppable dynasty that the Rams seemed almost certain to become. Look, I’ve never tried to make excuses for why the Pats beat my Eagles in the SB, nor have I ever sought to try and delegitimize that win. They beat us. End of story. That doesn’t mean that I can’t understand how someone like Faulk would have such a hard time accepting what happened.

  20. When has it ever been illegal to “steal” another team’s signals and which team doesn’t try to do that on a regular basis and always have? Which team has ever claimed they don’t do that?

    That this keeps coming up is the only funny part of it.

  21. Come on people. Think about this for a second.

    This is a sport where you can potentially have your neck broken every time you step on the field. If you think they are reciting the mission statement for The Boy Scouts of America you are ignorant.

    Most cars on the highway speed from time to time. It just tends to be the red ferrari that gets singled out.

    And no one pulls over when they see a cop writing somebody a ticket, admitting they too were speeding.

  22. Colts stole signals? Big deal.
    Patriots taped from sideline? Big deal.
    Maybe Brady deflated footballs? Big deal.
    Maybe Rodgers inflated footballs? Big deal.
    Colts piped in crowd noise? Big deal.

    Broncos paid John Elway and Terrell Davis about $30 million under the table to get around the salary cap during their Super Bowl years? Now THAT’S a big deal.

  23. I love it. If the Chargers had beaten the Patriots in 2006 when they had the 1 seed and the Pats were 10 and 6, they probably would have beaten the Colts (they always do) and win the SB over the Bears. That would have been enough to keep them in San Diego. The Patriots kicked them out of San Diego.

  24. Oh now wouldn’t that be the story of the century—- if it was uncovered that the NFL was routinely rigging outcomes of key games thru influence and directing referees in order to follow a storyline for that season that the NFL wanted for ratings

  25. Yet, Deion didn’t want to admit pass interference on Michael Irvin in the 1994 NFC championship game last week on the DP show….since it was an obvious pass interference.

  26. No more investigations. Seriously, if they stole signals and everyone knew about it, why should anyone have a problem with it?

    What the Patriots did with Spygate was going on for years. The Patriots were only punished because the league asked them to stop filming signals (and scoreboard at the same time) and the Patriots kept on doing it. That was in 2006. Before that, everyone knew and nobody cared. The same should apply to the Colts here. As much as I cannot stand Irsay (Grigson too, but he’s gone), this is a non-story.

  27. 6ball says:
    Feb 8, 2017 6:34 AM
    .
    Is there anything more pathetic than these aging has beens like Tomlinson and Faulk continually whining about games played over a decade ago. Their teams had the better roster but couldn’t get it done versus the Patriots. and even now they’re still pouting about it.

    The history of Tomlinson’s Chargers and Faulk’s Rams is this : ” We came. We played. We choked.” End of story.
    =============

    For LT it was more like: we came, we played, we pouted cuz the big bad patriots sort of mildly injured my knee… I will never forget Philip rivers with too badly injured knees (that required surgery to repair) gutting it out, putting it all on the line while LT sat on the bench, didn’t support the team, didn’t help the coaches, didn’t do anything but pout. Because he had a mild mcl strain. Not a torn mcl. Not a torn acl. None of that. No cajones

  28. This is as old of news as it gets. Jimmy johnson has said on multiple occasions over the past 10 years thag everyone was doing it and the Colts were the best at it. Media just refused to cover it because less Para hysteria = less ratings. And guys like Faulk and Tomlinson would have to admit that they are giant cry babies. Here’s the quote that’s been around forever from jimmy johnson:

    Oh yeah, I did it with video and so did a lot of other teams in the league,” Johnson continued. “Just to make sure that you could study it and take your time, because you’re going to play the other team the second time around. But a lot of coaches did it, this was commonplace.”

    Jimmy gave us more:

    And his methods: “My guy was up with my camera crew in the press box. So you’d just put an extra camera up with your camera crew in the press box who zoomed in on the signal callers.

  29. laukkanen5 says:
    Feb 8, 2017 6:37 AM

    very nice that Manning was able to give himself up, get up and make big throw that helped beat my Steelers in playoffs….what a joke…
    ———————————————————–
    I agree – should have been whistled dead when Manning flopped on the ground, and the Steelers got absolutely hosed on that play.

  30. Don’t. Even. Care.

    – Pats fan

    P.S. Love how L.T. has always been so selective about his criticism. Remember how shortly after “Spygate” broke, Tomlinson laughed when asked about it and said “we’ll if you’re not cheating, you’re not trying”?
    That was right around the time that his teammate Shawn Merriman was busted for ‘trying’ real hard with the steroids. Hypocrite.

    Btw, Merriman wasn’t anywhere NEAR the same player when he stopped trying.

    LT needs to go sit in the corner with his dark visor helmet on and think about what he said.

  31. First, for those that claim that the Colts piped in crowd noise, that is simply untrue. The Pats accused the Colts of that as retribution AFTER the Pats were caught for Spygate. The NFL did a FULL INVESTIGATION on it. No wrong-doing was found. Also, the city runs the speaker system, not the Colts organization. The RCA Dome was the smallest venue in the NFL at the time, it was always to capacity and the domed roof reflected the noise back down to the field very well. So a lot of that had to do with the small size of the building, the design of the roof and the sell out crowds.

    As far as Peyton knowing the defensive signals of the other teams, I think Sanders didn’t know enough about Peyton’s preparation. Peyton called and ran basically all of his own plays. About the only thing Tom Moore would call as offensive coordinator is to go left or right or down the center, not really specific plays. Peyton called the plays, unlike Brady which relies on Josh McDaniels to call the plays.

    And the reason why it looked like Peyton knew all of the defensive plays is because he studied the opposing defenses to such detail. Each year he would spend an entire month going over every play of the previous year with an assistant coach and review the play and mechanics of every player on the field (offense and defense of both teams). If a defensive player even made a little twitch or move that gave away the play, Peyton took notice of it. He would study the film of the plays so intently that he often knew the defensive plays of the other team better than the defensive players of the other team did. Not to mention he’d review all of the games of that team for the last several years before each game to know exactly what they did. And like his brother Eli told his fellow Giants players when they went up to Peyton to talk to him and get to know Peyton, “Don’t! He’s only pumping you for information!”

    That’s part of the big difference between Peyton and Luck. Watch film of Peyton, while the Colts defense was on the field he was busy looking over play print outs of what happened and talking with the coaches on how to adapt. Luck instead just stands there when not on the field not attempting to learn and adapt.

    The picture of Peyton rehabbing with the Broncos with a helmet on, holding a tablet, and soaking his feet in the pool kind of explains just how intense he was. He was listening and responding to the play calling from practice on his helmet. Going over the plays on his tablet. Rehabbing his leg. And explaining stuff to his teammate that was also in the pool, all at the same time.

    Peyton had dedication like no other football player I’ve ever seen. And just because Sanders doesn’t seem to know that and didn’t have nearly that level of dedication is no reason to accuse Peyton of cheating.

  32. patriotsdefense says:
    Feb 8, 2017 6:10 AM
    Howard Mudd stole signals for the Colts during his tenure. Polian piped in crowd noise.

    Yup. This isn’t new news it’s been known for years. Colts OL coach Mudd had a reputation of being an excellent lip reader and the best signal stealer in the league.

  33. Successful teams and fans of such don’t hate on the Patriots, just the also rans. That’s why you hear Deon say this, Coach Cower and Coach Johnson say similar. There’s a trend here.

  34. I mean, I assume that if everybody knew this the Titans, Jaguars, and Texans would have say something (I would think)

    ——-

    That’s because they’re doing it too 🙂 It ain’t rocket science.

  35. All smart teams try to steal other teams’ signals. It’s not illegal. It’s part of the game. Smart teams also change up their signals and signalers from time to time because they know that stealing signals is legal. Smart fans are aware of this already. Dumb players shouldn’t be made into “analysts” of any kind.

  36. Be like………..

    Colts fans: Totally not true!

    Pats fans: LOL, we only wish.

    Reporters: Hope this sells.

    NFL Lawyers: $$$

    Rest of NFL fans: Oh lord, please no.

  37. Stealing signals IS NOT against the rules! Say that over and over until it finally sinks in!

    All teams used to tape from the sidelines too. That’s what Spygate was about. Not the taping, but the LOCATION of the camera. What the casual, bandwagon fans fail to understand is that the Patriots were following the rules EXACTLY as they were written. Filming from the sidelines wasn’t made against the rules until the year after Spygate.

  38. Anyone with a brain knows that deflategate was a scam. Its been 10 years since the spygate… and the Pats have had 5 SB appearances and won 3 of them.

    Yet the talking heads are still trying to blame “Spying” for the Patriots success?

  39. At some point, it will hopefully become clear to the Goodell apologists, that the only thing the Patriots are guilty of, and have been unjustly punished for, is their excellence.

    Unfortunately, rather than be men, and strive to rise up to the level of the Patriots, the other owners try to hamstring the Patriots in order to bring them down to the pathetic level of everyone else.

    Thankfully, it hasn’t worked, and the Patriots keep on rolling, despite all of the made up claptrap that the league office throws at them.

  40. Very unprofessional LT. Its a bad look. You are still whining.

    You look very small making these comments after the greatest SB of all time. Against the best football player of all time. And the greatest coach of all time.

    You probably have a problem with OT rules too, all of a sudden.

    You need to go away.

  41. “LaDainian Tomlinson said some critics will put an asterisk next to the Patriots’ success because of Spygate.”

    We can put LT right in that same box as Butthurt Crybaby extraordinaire, Marshall- the excuse maker – Faulk.

    Do these guys have any idea how bad they look, whining and crying about this?

    It’s kinda shocking they still have jobs on the No Fun League network still. Now that the season is over, people will be cancelling the NFL network from their cable providers in droves, until next season.

  42. So Peyme Manning* stole defensive signals AND stuffed Chinese HGH into his massively oversized dome to make his phony comeback and get his o’ so important phony records.

    He is a “Cheeta”, just like the Falcons, Jets, Steelers, Ravens, Browns, Colts, Broncos, 49ers, Seahags, Dolphins, etc etc etc

    String him up, hang him!!!! Get your pitchforks!!!!!

  43. tajuara says:
    Feb 8, 2017 6:39 AM
    So all other teams knew, but just let the Colts go their merry way? I mean, I assume that if everybody knew this the Titans, Jaguars, and Texans would have say something (I would think).

    So you totally missed the last 15 years? There have been many many complaints about the colts, all of which fell on ears that had been rendered deaf by Manningcan’tdoanythingwrongitis.

  44. I’m a Patriots fan and couldn’t care less. The Colts still stink. Bill Polian is still over rated. Imagine if Brady played in a controlled environment for over half his career (dome) and had hall of fame caliber receivers

  45. jdvallee says:
    Feb 8, 2017 6:24 AM
    Envy the Patriots much LaDainian? Oh, much too much! Get over yourself. No proof. No facts. Just more innuendo and biased opinion. SMH
    —————-
    there was proof. it was destroyed by goodell and your cheating coach.
    you were also punished for the cheating

    nice attempt at revisionist history though.
    ***Cheaters.

  46. Davedsone is EXACTLY RIGHT. This kind of twisted, flawed narrative that keeps getting repeated drives me stark freaking nuts. Politicians are the best at it. The Patriots DID NOT GET BUSTED FOR STEALING SIGNALS!!!! It is perfectly legal to film open practices. It is perfectly legal to sit with a team of 5 coaches in the stands with binoculars and note sideline signals and match them to the corresponding plays. Keeping in mind that spy satellites can read license plate numbers from 40 miles up in the air, it is perfectly legal to sit in the stands with a camera equipped with a zoom lens that can count the hairs on the quarterback’s knuckles. The history of Spygate is a convoluted one, but it boils down to a memo that was circulated before the 2005 or 2006 season that specifically prohibited teams from attending open practices and VIDEOTAPING FROM THE SIDELINES. There were rumors that the Patriots and others were continuing to do so, so there was a clarification memo sent out that re-emphasized Goodell’s (the League’s) position on WHERE you could videotape from. For reasons known only to Belichick, he not only continued to ignore the decree, it does look like the Patriots video guys were dressing like electricians, or cable guys or anything but something that would identify them as associated with the Pats in any way. Eric “Mangenius” Mangini took notable exception to this, called in the NFL guys, and ran some bizarre entrapment scheme to catch Bill in the act. And the rest–as they say–is history. Davedsone is EXACTLY CORRECT (did I say that already??). The Patriots were busted for methodology, not intent. I clearly recall Jimmy Johnson, Bill Parcells, and Tom Coughlin getting asked about the whole imbroglio. Each one said that sign stealing is part of the game. Same as baseball. Each of these 3 coaches (with ‘somewhat better records’ than Eric Mangini) were explicit in terms of what they did to change signals. Something ALWAYS done during halftime, and most did it following the week’s practices leading up to the game. The assumption was, other teams can watch your practices. If you don’t change up your signals, you’re handing the opposing team your playbook.

    I will never understand why former all-star players continue to whine about what they perceive “Spygate” to be all about. Obviously a convenient excuse for being out coached and perhaps outplayed. Marshall . . . see that guy in the stands with binoculars and the guy sitting next to him with a notepad???? What do you think they’re doing?? It’s PERFECTLY LEGAL!!! And if you can’t change your signalling for the big game . . . it’s ON YOUR TEAM!!

  47. I’m a Pats fan, so nothing would give me more pleasure than watching the Colts and their buffoon of an owner twist in the wind, but this really is a non-story. Every team steals signals and it is all perfectly “legal”.

  48. I thought only the casual fan that just reads the headlines of stories still believe that it is illegal to steal signals. Heck, Jimmy Johnson admitted it. Phil Simms admitted it.

    That Deion had to take the classiest player in the NFL to school on this is pure comedy!!! Way to go Prime!!!

  49. yeah, Peyton has been protected since his days at Tennessee…. I mean the fact that he gave a lady an “atomic situp” didn’t come out until he retired.

  50. So is this “Deion being Deion” or “Colts being Colts”?

    Neither – it’s Deion’s last ditch effort to sound relevant. Nobody watched his barbershop show; nobody watched that other show…he’s on his way out unless he can prove he has some value. Here’s hoping he takes Irvin with him…

  51. Gamesmanship has been going in NFL since the founding of the league. Taping signals, studying film, etc., is commonplace. Having said that, the Patriots have lost 2 first round draft picks for overblown violations – we want our picks back!

  52. Anything that falls from the mouth of Deion Sanders must be taken with a grain of salt. When a certain amount of time passes without anyone paying attention to him, he will make sure everybody starts paying attention to him. Facts are rarely top of mind; he just wants everyone focused on him. Which is why he’s right at home on NFLN, as they are fully staffed with former players just as narcissistic.

  53. quizlingclinic says:
    Feb 8, 2017 6:08 AM
    EVERY team steals signals! That’s what the haters refuse to understand
    *****
    If every team steals signals then wouldn’t you hear from other coaches not with the that particular team still coming out after being canned? You think you know, but you really don’t know anything.

  54. jgedgar70 says:
    Feb 8, 2017 11:20 AM
    Anything that falls from the mouth of Deion Sanders must be taken with a grain of salt…. Facts are rarely top of mind…
    ———————————————————

    Actually what Sanders said here is factually true according to Saint Tony Dungy. The Colts have always been stealing signals. Dungy says that everyone steals signals. I personally do not care about teams stealing signals, or how they steal signals. But…

    How about what comes out of the mouths of Marshall Faulk and Tomlinson?

    Should anyone pay attention to what comes out of the mouths of those two sore loser whiners?

  55. Deion is a known Manning hater. I don’t know why, perhaps it’s Manning’s southern accent that’s offensive to Deion.

  56. Patriots won their first LEGIT Superbowl MAYBE… I don’t know since Shanahans playbook did go missing.

    Listen, wheres Matt Walsh?
    Stomping on Video Tapes.
    Bradys Helmet having somebody in it telling him where to throw (Doug Flutie said it SEARCH IT)
    Ted Johnson said they had other teams AUDIBLES before every game…Kraft thought he could keep on cheating and his buddy Goodell would keep covering it up until it was too much. That’s THE REAL reason why Brady got 4 games suspended. It’s not because they deflated footballs AND THEY DID (LOOK AT THOSE TEXT) It’s because of all the other cheating.
    The thing is people think the whole team has to be in on it. All you need is a coach, a QB and 1 player on defense and One owner who will pay a ref. Ever wonder why NOBODY who leaves Patriots is successful? Look at the Superbowl! Every time Patriots did not convert on 3rd down there was flag for “holding” why? BECAUSE YOU CAN CALL HOLDING ON EVERY PLAY. Patriots won the Superbowl because of a HOLDING CALL…

  57. As if Sanders doesn’t get enough air time…I coached basketball and if I heard the other coach call out a play that I knew, you can best believe I was telling my players who to watch and where the ball was trying to go.
    If you ain’t cheatin’ you ain’t tryin’!

  58. I know that in 2014, the Bengals couldn’t do anything on offense in Indy one year after shredding them. Dalton torched them for 300+ yards and 3 TDs in the first meeting, then went for like 126 yards in the 2nd meeting. Watching the game, Colts defender’s were making cuts before Bengals receivers…as if they knew what the routes were. In fact, after that game, a few Bengals players said “it’s as if they knew our plays”.

  59. All these years later and people STILL don’t know what so-called “Spygate” was about. One more time: it wasn’t about “stealing” signals. Teams at the time were allowed to film the other teams’ signals. However, there were restrictions on WHERE this could be done. The Pats were accused of filming from prohibited areas of the field. The issue was not that they were filming (“stealing”) opposing teams’ signals, but that they were allegedly doing it from areas disallowed by the League.

  60. joetoronto says:
    Feb 8, 2017 9:42 AM

    Stolen signals and HGH, what a man Peyton Manning is.
    —————————–
    Don’t forget what he did to the trainer at U of Tennessee!

  61. “What the Patriots did with Spygate was going on for years. The Patriots were only punished because the league asked them to stop filming signals (and scoreboard at the same time) and the Patriots kept on doing it. That was in 2006”

    By NFL rule when taping plays the scoreboard has to be captured as a point of reference.

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