Bill Belichick Comments on Steelers' Headset Issues

After the Pittsburgh Steelers levied accusations against the New England Patriots with regard to their coaches' headsets malfunctioning during Thursday night's game, Pats head coach Bill Belichick sounded off Friday.

According to ESPN.com, Pittsburgh's headsets were met with interference from the Patriots' radio broadcast throughout much of the first half. Per Charles Robinson of Yahoo Sports, the Steelers plan to file a complaint with the NFL over the incident.

In reference to the suggestion that the Pats had something to do with the headset malfunction, Belichick made a lengthy statement to the media, according to Mark Daniels of the Providence Journal:

Belichick also stressed that headset issues happen fairly often, and that he prepares his teams for scenarios in which communication is compromised, per Daniels:

"

It's pretty common—there's a lot of stuff down there, there's the coach-quarterback stuff, offense and defense; there's the headsets to the press box; there's a lot of stuff going on there and, you know, we had some problems.

[...]

We ended up hard-wiring a couple of our headsets to eliminate the wireless part of it. It's not an uncommon problem. We ended up having to signal some of our plays offensively. We couldn't get them in. We look at it as something you have to be ready for every week, and we practice it—home, away, I don't think there's really any common denominator on that.

"

Belichick's comments came after the Steelers seemed to make reference to the notion that the Patriots had something to do with the headset issues via their official website, according to Robinson:

The Steelers' write-up conflicts with Belichick's assertion that he and his staff had problems with their headsets as well. Even so, Belichick is steadfast in his insistence that there was no foul play of any kind.

Just when it seemed as though the Deflategate controversy was in the rear-view mirror, the Pats must now deal with another situation calling their integrity into question.

It is difficult to say if the communication problems played any type of role in the Patriots' 28-21 victory, but they certainly aren't helping the Pats in the court of public opinion.

It is entirely possible that the Patriots had nothing to do with what happened Thursday night, but it seems like few are willing to give them the benefit of the doubt based on how many scandals they have been involved with over the years.

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