If the NFL investigation yields a guilty finding, the punishment is at the discretion of commissioner Roger Goodell. It could range from fines to suspensions to the loss of draft choices.
On his weekly appearance on WEEI radio, Patriots coach Bill Belichick said he had heard about the issue at the game but declined any further comment.
"I don't have any comment on league matters," he said. "It's a league thing. Whatever the deal is, which I don't really know the details of it, a lot of it, we'll comply."
ESPN.com reported that a camera and videotape were seized from a Patriots employee who was stationed on the New England sideline and suspected of filming New York defensive coaches who were relaying signals during the Patriots' 38-14 victory at Giants Stadium.
Patriots cornerback Ellis Hobbs was stunned by accusations that his team cheated.
"We put too many hours in as individuals and as a team to have to go out there and cheat," said Hobbs. "We take pride in what we do. We know the rules of the game. By no single form have we ever tried to cheat or anything like that because we don't need to. I'm not saying that we're that good, but we take pride in what we do.
"We go in, day in and day out. We get here early in the morning and we leave late at night, trying to get the best jump on anything we're playing, so I just throw that out the window."
Defensive end Ty Warren said teams will try to decipher signals from the coaches' films sent around the league - that's part of the game - but he was totally unaware of the Patriots having additional digital eyes on the sideline.
"The [coaches'] film is passed around every year, every week," said Warren. "If you're referring to that film, I can relate to that. Anything else, my hand is in the dirt."
However, this isn't the first time the Patriots have been linked to such subterfuge. Doug Collins, who is in his first year as director of security for the Green Bay Packers after serving as an assistant for five years, said he removed the same Patriots employee, who has not been identified, from the sideline during New England's 35-0 victory over the Packers at Lambeau Field on Nov. 19 of last season.
