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Tony Dungy Says Peyton Manning Was Paranoid The Patriots Bugged Visitors' Locker Room

By Matt Dolloff (@mattdolloff)

BOSTON (CBS) -- Peyton Manning struggled mightily when he faced the Patriots early in his career. The typically in-command Manning famously looked flustered and confused in the 2003 AFC Championship and 2004 Divisional Playoff games, both of which the Patriots won handily.

If you thought Bill Belichick was in Manning's head back then, today's comments from his former coach Tony Dungy confirm it.

On the Dan Patrick Show Thursday, Dungy said that when the Colts would travel to Foxboro, Manning would only discuss specific plays and overall strategy in the hallway because he feared that Belichick had bugged the visitor's locker room. Dungy confirmed what was speculated about Manning in 2010.

Never mind that, like other cheating allegations brought against the Patriots, there's no definitive proof that the locker rooms were bugged. It all amounted to conjecture, paranoia, and extreme caution exercised by Manning.

But Dungy revealed to Patrick that it was former Patriots players who warned them.

"We had a few ex-Patriots who said 'You better be careful what you do in the locker room and what you say,'" he said.

As Dungy continued, he downplayed the cheating allegations and acknowledged that it mostly amounted to off-field distractions.

"I think a lot of that is psychological warfare," said Dungy. "They want you to think certain things and worry more about what's going on off the field than on the field. So some of it you really can't worry about, you just have to go out and play. There's that kind of thing everywhere."

This comment from Dungy sums it up: "It wasn't that big of a deal, but psychologically I think it did have an impact."

It was clear that the supremely talented Manning was off his game for most of his early career against the Patriots, and this kind of "psychological warfare" is a big reason why he underperformed for so long.

The Patriots had Manning (and presumably other quarterbacks) convinced they were listening to everything they said, disrupting their preparation and throwing them off their game come Sunday. Belichick didn't have to lift a finger; his mere presence in Gillette Stadium had Manning paranoid and over-thinking things.

Dungy obviously wouldn't definitively say if he believed the Patriots were bugging his team's locker room. But in a roundabout way he did say Manning focused too much on off-field gamesmanship with the Patriots, and it ended up hurting him on the field.

At this point, maybe the Patriots should just embrace the bad guy role. Let them think you're just dirty cheating Cheatriots. Let the other team think their locker rooms are bugged, their Gatorade is spiked with laxatives, and their cleats are covered in grease. Let their heads spin while they prepare for the game and think about cheating while you're getting ready for the important part: the game on the field.

Manning eventually figured it out and has played better against the Patriots from about 2005 on, but it's clear now that he sees ghosts when he travels to Foxboro. If he or any other quarterback is thinking about what's going on in the locker rooms and hallways instead of between the hash marks...advantage Patriots.

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