Seahawks took extreme precaution against Patriots in preparation for Super Bowl

The main NFL storyline this morning is the in-depth report on the Patriots' Spygate and Deflategate scandals from ESPN. Another report from Sports Illustrated breaks down how most, if not all, NFL teams view the Patriots as willing and able to bend the rules, or break them outright, in an effort to get a competitive advantage. That report detailed how the Seahawks prepared for their Super Bowl matchup with a team that was, at the time, embroiled in an investigation that they cheated.

According to Greg Bishop, Michael Rosenberg, and Thayer Evans:

Multiple teams called Seattle, unsolicited, with advice on how to secure the team's practices for the Super Bowl. Their message was clear: You're not playing John Fox's Broncos again. You're facing Bill Belichick and the Patriots. You never know who might be watching.

The Seahawks trained in Tempe, on Arizona State's outdoor practice fields, which left a large perimeter to secure. They worked hard to secure it. They hired extra guards and scanned any area nearby with a vantage point of the field. Security personnel monitored what locals call "A" Mountain, the 1,400-foot hill that towers above the university's athletic complex. They combed the parking garage and parking lots between Sun Devil Stadium and the practice fields. And they checked around the boundary of the complex, where baseball and softball fields and various buildings provided clear views of Seattle's Super Bowl drills. Several observers who have attended practices for other Super Bowls noted the unusual, Secret Service-like level of activity.

The Seahawks didn't discover any covert operations. Most of the time New England's opponents don't. But they almost always look.

Interesting stuff. Obviously, as the report notes, Seattle didn't find anything to confirm the suspicions of the teams that had warned them on preparing for the big game. But it's interesting that there's a prevailing thought that these kinds of measures are necessary when playing the Patriots. Maybe that in itself is a competitive advantage.

Read the rest of the article here.