What's it mean to videotape an football team walkthrough?

This is just a guess, but maybe by “walkthrough” it means going over the plays one last time before the actual game begins.
Maybe?

I don’t think so, because watching other teams’ previous games is a standard practice which is regularly commented on by sports announcers during games, and this is apparently something more like cheating.

The story talks about a $500,000 fine and a $250,000 fine against the Patriots for videotaping the signals that other teams’ coaches use, but apparently this is something different.

Oh, now I’m thinking maybe a “walkthrough” is a pre-game discussion of the game plan? As if the retracted allegation was that they’d snuck someone into their briefing room before the game and videotaped it? Yes?

EDIT: Oh, wait, sorry, I mis-read what you wrote. Yes, I think we’re thinking the same thing. Anyone know?

i too think it’s the pre-game walkthrough, the “okay guys, they;ll think we’ll use this and that, so we’re going for this and that”

Yeah, it’s the practice usually the day before the game where the final touches are put on the plays that will be used and to make sure everybody knows where they’re supposed to be. It’s the finishing touches before gametime.

The walkthrough is the final practice before the game. The issue referred to in the article is that a former New England Patriots’ employee claimed the Patriots taped the walkthrough of their opponent in the 2002 Super Bowl, that Saint Louis Rams. The purpose of the taping was to steal the opposing team’s defensive signals.

While Belichick and the Patriots were fined for other incidences of taping an opponent’s practices for the purpose of stealing signals, in the case of the alleged Super Bowl 2002 incident, the tape has never turned up, and the League has decided to drop the matter, thus the apology to Belichick

@Marina and @lefteh are right.
The walkthrough is a final practice before the game. Usually it consists of the first 20 plays from a team’s gameplan. So, videotaping it would be akin to stealing a playbook, so you’d know exactly what they’re going to do.

Thanks guys!

It is called cheating. The plays can be learned but the other team so there are no suprises.