Patriots Paranoia: Miami Dolphins Reportedly Took Anti-Cheating Precautions in Week 8

The New England Patriots have a bad reputation, not only among fans but among NFL personnel too. This reputation is based on two things: a) their unprecedented success during the made-for-parity salary cap era and b) Spygate aka. doing something legal from an illegal position.

Those two are fact but there are various other rumors concerning the Patriots and the supposedly shoddy tactics they use to gain an unfair advantage on game day. Bugged locker rooms, stolen play sheets or heated-up Gatorade. Deflating footballs, famously. Messing with the coach-quarterback radio communication system. A video screen in the parking lot of Gillette Stadium that aids Bill Belichick's playcalling.

Oh the humanity!

Count the Miami Dolphins among those concerned about the Patriots and their supposedly constant bending and/or breaking of rules: according to a report by the Miami Herald, the team was extra careful during its week 8 Thursday night game in Foxboro. The Dolphins, among other unusual moves (which the paper doesn't name), took extra staffers on the trip just to prevent members of the Patriots organization to touch and potentially tamper with equipment.

The move obviously did pay off away from the field, as there were no allegations of violated gamesmanship recorded after the game. However, it didn't help Miami from getting blown-out 36-7.

All the numerous allegations and rumors may or may not be true but we know one thing is: Patriots paranoia. Teams worry about going to Foxboro, not just because of the Patriots' marvelous home record. Safe to say that this paranoia probably helps only one team...