The day after NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell said he didn't expect further sanctions against the Patriots in the so-called Spygate probe, Specter suggested a panel, such as the one in baseball that was headed by former U.S. Sen. George Mitchell, D-Maine, look into the Patriots.

Goodell last fall took a 2008 first-round draft choice from New England and fined Patriots Coach Bill Belichick $500,000 and the team $250,000 for videotaping signals by opposing coaches. After meeting Tuesday with former Patriots video employee Matt Walsh, Goodell appeared to be trying to put the issue to rest.

However, Specter met Wednesday with Walsh and announced the investigation idea.

"Everybody pooh-poohs it," Specter said of the NFL's own investigation. "It's ridiculous to make that kind of contention. That sequence is incomprehensible. It's an insult to the intelligence of the people who follow it. They owe the public a lot more candor and a lot more credibility."

Mitchell's panel issued its report on illegal substance use in baseball last December. Many high-profile players, including pitcher Roger Clemens, were named in the document.