The context of Childress' remarks came when he was asked about getting cornerback Chris Cook more into the mix, and if it was a concern that it comes in a week against quarterback Tom Brady. He then started to talk about the '06 game, taking the opportunity to call the Patriots "some of the all-time great signal stealers."

"It was like a surgical procedure," he said of the '06 contest, according to comments from a team-issued transcript. "That’s back when we used to signal [plays] and things like that. I remember having a conversation with [former Vikings defensive coordinator] Mike Tomlin about that. These were some of the all-time great signal stealers. In fact, that’s what was going on. They were holding, holding, holding. We were signaling from the sideline. They were good at it. It’s like stealing signals from a catcher."

Childress said that if the signals were picked off, and relayed to quarterback Tom Brady, it was a devastating combination.

"If you know that as a quarterback, that’s as good as you can do," Childress said. "And they did as good as they could do."