The NFL has officially begun its investigation into the New England Patriots for videotaping the Cincinnati Bengals sideline during their Dec. 8 matchup with the Browns in Cleveland. According to Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk, NFL investigators have interviewed members of the Patriots organization over the past few days and have also collected devices from some individuals in an attempt to connect with video crew with football operations.

It's New England's contention that this was an innocent error on the part of the videographer, who has since been suspended, and there was no malice behind the taping as he was simply shooting a "Do You Job" feature on an advance scout. Of course, given the Patriots history with crossing the legal lines of the NFL rulebook, the benefit of the doubt is nonexistent.

So far, however, it appears like the Patriots have been forthright, as there has yet to be a connection that links this admitted misstep to football operations, which is reportedly irking NFL investigators.

"As one source explained it, there's a sense that investigators want to make that connection, and a perception that they are showing frustration when unable to tie the video crew to the football employees," Florio writes.

Establishing a link between the videographer and the football operations side of things for New England is key to the NFL's investigation as it would say that the tapes were being used for an illegal competitive advantage. Naturally, that would garner a much more serious punishment handed down by the league, including the possibility of a loss of draft picks.

If it remains the status quo and a link cannot be made, the penalty will likely be much less severe, likely in the form of a fine.

In any event, ESPN's Mike Reiss is reporting that the league could come down with a ruling on this as early as this week, so we likely won't have to wait too much longer to find out the investigators assessment on the situation.