The list of pre-Spygate vanquished opponents who believe the Patriots took their signals is long and distinguished. A number of Rams players from the Patriots' first Super Bowl victory following the 2001 season firmly believe Patriots staffers taped their walkthroughs. When the Panthers returned to the Super Bowl several years ago, there was lots of chatter about the Pats stealing their signals. And now with the Eagles back in the big game -- against the Pats no less -- former Eagles linebackers coach Steve Spagnuolo is broaching the topic.

Asked on an interview with 97.5 the Fanatic in New Jersey, via Jimmy Kempski of PhillyVoice.com, about how to gameplan for the Patriots in a game like this, Spagnuolo, who worked under late Eagles defensive coordinator Jim Johnson, said he felt like you always needed "two signal callers" because the Pats might "have all your signals."

"I'll tell you, the biggest thing we learned was make sure you have two signal callers, not one signal caller, because they may have all your signals," he said.

Goooooooooo on. No, seriously, go on. Spags did just that, recalling his time in the press box with Johnson during that Super Bowl and how, he claims, Johnson told him the Pats were "getting our signals" and knew when the Eagles were blitzing.

"Here's what I remember distinctly," Spagnuolo said. "At the time, I was up in the box, and Jim was down on the field. And I remember through the course of the game, Jim saying, 'They're getting our signals. They know when we're blitzing. They're getting our signals. Try to hide it, etc. etc.' And I remember distinctly thinking, 'Jim I don't think that's true.' Now I'm not saying this to him, because I don't want to upset him. I'm saying it to myself. 'I don't think so Jim, just concentrate on calling the game.'

"In hindsight, he was right. When you go back and look at that tape, it was evident to us -- and I'm not crying over spilled milk here -- but we believed that Tom [Brady] knew when we were pressuring, because he certainly got the ball out pretty quick."

Where things get interesting in this situation is Spags has actually beaten the Patriots in a Super Bowl. He would later become the defensive coordinator for the New York Giants, who went on to stun the Pats in their first Super Bowl loss with a 17-14 victory in Super Bowl XLII.

And when he played them in that game, he made sure to have multiple signal callers.

"But, you know, you gotta play the game, and they won that particular day, but there's no question I wasn't going to let that happen in the 2008 Super Bowl [with the Giants) after the 2007 season," Spagnuolo explained. "We made sure we had two signal callers, and we were protecting against that."

Ever since Spygate's conclusion, there have been four Super Bowls featuring the Patriots, with New England going 2-2 in those games. We have not heard any complaints about the Patriots' behavior in those games, although multiple teams reportedly warned the Seahawks about their practice habits in Arizona against New England.

Expect Jim Schwartz to jump on a similar plan of attack when it comes to covering his bases, especially considering all the success the Patriots have had against his defenses over the years.