It’s becoming increasingly obvious that, before former Pats employee Matt Walsh talked to the New York Times about things he claims that he knows but won’t talk about, other members of media were chasing the story of whether Walsh videotaped the final walk-through practice of the St. Louis Rams prior to Super Bowl XXXVI.

Indeed, Mike Fish of ESPN.com already had quotes from then-Rams quarterback Kurt Warner about the situation.  In a new report on ESPN.com, Fish shares some of what Warner said.

“It is obvious that it wasn’t as thorough as it could have been,” Warner said regarding the original investigation into the question of cheating by the Patriots, which did not include an interview of Walsh.  “I don’t have any information on why they didn’t talk to him or how far back they went, but just knowing that there was somebody that was involved in that [video department], and he wasn’t talked to or they didn’t go back that far — I guess it is disappointing.  You would think that if they do an investigation for the integrity of the game, that they would try to do everything possible.  And maybe they did, and they just missed it.  But as a purist and someone who wants to see the integrity of the game stay where it is, it is a little disappointing that they didn’t [look] under every rock to figure this out and to do something to make sure it doesn’t happen again.”  

And though the Rams won a Super Bowl after the 1999 season, he recognizes that the loss two years later had a profound effect on himself and on the franchise.

“Let’s just say, for instance, that what they did had an effect on the second Super Bowl that I played in,” Warner said.  “And then to see the course of my career from that point forward — there was some dramatic changes.  Had I won two Super Bowls, some of the things may not have happened through the course of my career.

“After we lost the Super Bowl, the organization went into a little bit of a downward spiral, as you see with a lot of teams that lose the Super Bowl.  You see how career situations were altered after losing that game.  You look at Mike Martz. If he is a Super Bowl winner, that is a whole different thing.  Or just maybe guys, that was their only chance to be in a Super Bowl.  And to go away losing it instead of winning it, that is a huge deal.

“So if [the Patriots] did something that affected that game, I would hope that all the parties involved would do everything they could to make sure that it doesn’t happen again.  And to make sure that something that somebody earned wasn’t taken away from them in any way, shape or form by somebody not doing or abiding by the league rules.”

As explained below, the Patriots claim that the report that the Rams’ walk-through was videotaped is “absolutely false.”  The Rams have no comment on the matter.