It wouldn't be a proper offseason in New England if there weren't some random controversy to create headlines for weeks or months, if we're talking about the Mike Vrabel/Dianna Russini drama.
So, to add to the ugliness of the past several months, of course, something from the Bill Belichick era had to be brought up and vilified on social media in recent days, just to prove that rival fans are still unhappy about the Patriots' dynasty.
This time, former NFL analytics coach Ryan Paganetti sparked controversy on Twitter/X by suggesting the 6-time Super Bowl Champions used their video board to create an optical illusion during field goal attempts to throw off and confuse opposing kickers.
Much has been made of the Patriots’ mysterious “Pink Stripes.” How about yellow ones?
— Ryan Paganetti (@RyanPaganetti) September 2, 2026
I went through more than a decade of TV broadcasts and uncovered a diabolically clever piece of Patriots gamesmanship.
When opposing kickers lined up at Gillette Stadium, the video board… pic.twitter.com/Y5nf0F5vm6
Obviously, the post went viral and got a lot of people talking, particularly those who want to hold on to things like Deflategate and the fake allegations that they stole the Rams' playbook over 20 years ago.
But fortunately, there was a big change this time around, and that was the NFL responding and clarifying that what the Patriots did and might still do does not violate any rules.
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In an article detailing the allegations and speaking with longtime Patriots football research director Ernie Adams, Boston Globe reporter Ben Volin shared a snippet from the NFL rulebook on the matter, showing the Patriots did nothing wrong.
The league confirmed it was accurate, leaving opposing fans in shambles, knowing their latest attempt to diminish the Patriots' dynasty had failed immediately.
“Video During Kicks — All video and ribbon boards must show either a static image (e.g., no flashing images, blinking effects, moving text/images, etc.) or an All-22 view (e.g., high sideline, high end zone, etc.) during field goal attempts and extra-point attempts.
Any flashing, moving, or blinking text/images displayed on video boards or ribbon boards during field goal attempts and extra points are considered a violation of this policy.
The prohibition will begin when the kicking team reaches the line of scrimmage and continues through the signal by the Game Officials following the kick.”
This prompted Adams to revel in knowing that the Patriots are still "deep into other people's heads many years later," much like a true-blue New England diehard fan, and Volin also revealed that mirroring the image on the video screen was not meant to mess with the opposing kicker.
In fact, they made the move because their kicker at the time, Stephen Gostkowski, said he didn't like seeing an image of himself on the screen before a kick, so the Patriots did what they could to accommodate that.
As a result, it apparently messed with their opponents and is still being talked about years later, because those teams still can't get over how badly the Patriots beat them over and over again.
As frustrating and annoying as it is for Patriots fans to constantly feel like they're on the defensive about ridiculous accusations like this, it is just another example of why it's fun to be the winners for a long time because the rest of the league is still trying to come up with reasons to explain their success since it's so hard to fathom that they were just that good.
That's the silver lining of it all, really.
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