The Athletic has live coverage of Patriots vs Seahawks in the NFL Kickoff Game. In recent days, a former Philadelphia Eagles staffer posted footage of the New England Patriots displaying seemingly disorienting videos of opposing kickers on the enormous Gillette Stadium end zone video screens as they attempted field goals. The images showed the uprights from the reverse angle, which could be disconcerting to the kickers as they lined up and got their bearings.Then came evidence that the Patriots didn’t do that for their own kicks, instead opting for a static, non-moving image.Then came the statistics showing that opposing kickers have struggled at Gillette Stadium more than anywhere else, while Patriots kickers have had little trouble there, despite it being an outdoor stadium.All of it put together, and brought to the forefront by former Eagles strategy and analytics coach Ryan Paganetti, yielded grand thoughts of evil genius. Classic Bill Belichick, the idea went. Always looking for any small advantage to bring his team, which is part of how he helped bring about multiple dynasties in New England.But the full story is apparently a bit less sinister and a lot less provocative.How NFL teams mess with opposing kickersRobert MaysIt goes like this, according to a league source familiar with the operation: In the early 2010s, a few years into Stephen Gostkowski’s 15-year career, the kicker raised an issue to Patriots coaches. During his field goal attempts, the team showed video of him on the huge boards behind the uprights, as it did on all field goal tries, for both home and away teams. It’d be easier and less distracting, he noted, if that could be changed to a static image.