New Orleans (NFL/Florio) – In the wake of Monday’s beautiful ESPN report that Saints G.M. Mickey Loomis had for 3 seasons the capability to listen to communications amongst the opposing team’s assistant coaches during games played at the Superdome, some have recommended that Loomis wouldn’t have been in a position to accomplish this feat due to the encryption of the wireless frequencies utilized at NFL stadiums.

“It is impossible to do,” a Saints source told CBSSports.com. “Plus the NFL frequency coordinator would know and he knows every signal where this could come about. The NFL frequency coordinator controls every single signal in the stadium so you can’t do it.”

But that relates to wireless communications only. The contention is that Loomis had a tough-wired method, and it’s our understanding that particular components of the communications system from the coaching booth to the coaches on the sidelines involve wiring. Therefore, if wires had been tapped, the question of intercepting wireless signals doesn’t matter.

So whilst there may possibly be other critical flaws relating to the allegations that have been produced, the notion that encryption of the wireless frequencies prevents eavesdropping represents an overly simplistic effort to dismiss the claims.