NFL Thread

[mojoween]

I just feel there are tons of naked Gisele pics on that phone.

Anyways, in unrelated news, and since I don't see a Mike & Mike thread, I am distressed about the news that came out about their show today. I am a woman, who loves sports, who has no desire to listen to a woman talk about sports for four hours. I like Mike and Mike the way they are. Jemele Hill seems like a very nice person, but it sets my teeth on edge when she is on, either with our without Michael. The show is great the way it is. Why change now?

I know, I know, you have to keep things fresh, especially when it's been basically the same for fifteen years, but I personally don't think this is the way to go. I hate change.

[AimingforYoko]

Brady gets 4-game suspension, Pats lose two draft picks.

[Crs97]

So 4 games. Same number as Cleveland GM got for his texts. Sounds about right.

[magdalene]

So Brady got a four game suspension without pay. In the eyes of the NFL deflated footballs are worse than what Rice did.  It is bizarre.

 

Maybe I shouldn't be shocked.  After all the NFL is run by males who probably value  a game  and a ball more than the life and safety of people, especially female people.

Edited May 11, 2015 by magdalene

[jcin617]

That it will be appealed is a no-brainer.   If it holds up, I'll be surprised.

 

Of course, maybe that's the plan.  Come out with a "harsh" penalty you know will get tossed or reduced so you can claim you were tough.

Edited May 11, 2015 by jcin617

[Haleth]

Guess who is the first team Brady will face after his suspension. As if it wasn't going to be dramatic enough. Ugh.

[Crs97]

I have to say that I don't understand the repeated comparisons to Ray Rice.  No one (except Roger) thought a two-game suspension for beating up his girlfriend was acceptable so why is the cry, "It's not fair to give Tom four games when Ray only got two?".  Is the argument that a travesty of justice in one circumstance means no one else can ever be punished for wrongdoing?

 

I also think the larger issue is not that the NFL only suspended Ray Rice for 2 games, but that the legal system saw the video and decided Ray didn't need to see the inside of a jail cell or have a pesky conviction on his record. 

[Danny Franks]

It begins.

 

 

Not that overreactions are expected or anything. Or that I've not already seen a spate of Patriots fans alternating between stating that they're walking away from the NFL and threatening to kill Roger Goodell if he ever sets foot in New England.

[kiddo82]

Anyways, in unrelated news, and since I don't see a Mike & Mike thread, I am distressed about the news that came out about their show today. I am a woman, who loves sports, who has no desire to listen to a woman talk about sports for four hours. I like Mike and Mike the way they are. Jemele Hill seems like a very nice person, but it sets my teeth on edge when she is on, either with our without Michael. The show is great the way it is. Why change now?

I know, I know, you have to keep things fresh, especially when it's been basically the same for fifteen years, but I personally don't think this is the way to go. I hate change.

Is the third person going to be Jemele Hill? Per Awful Announcing.com the new voice will be Molly Qerim from the NFL network. I don't have strong feelings either way. Greenie's been getting on my nerves lately so I wouldn't mind a shakeup.

[Rick Kitchen]

The company that wrote the Deflategate report has a long history of creating reports that give their employers the results they were looking for.

[DrSpaceman]

And athletes and teams acccused of cheating have a long history of lying and denial about absolutely everything even in the face of it being a complete and total lie that is obvious to everyone else not directly affected by it. 

[topanga]

 

It begins.

 

Great comic, Danny Franks.  "Tahm Bradeh's Naht a Cheatah!"--I'm going to be hearing hilarious variations of that statement for a while.

 

In interviews, Tom Brady sounds insulted that the NFL actually had the audacity to punish him.

 

 

Is the third person going to be Jemele Hill? Per Awful Announcing.com the new voice will be Molly Qerim from the NFL network. I don't have strong feelings either way. Greenie's been getting on my nerves lately so I wouldn't mind a shakeup.

I don't have a problem with female sports journalists per se, but many of them (along with many male sports journalists) sound like they're reading copy rather than having a conversation about a sport. In other words, many of them (again, like many male sports journalists) sound like they don't know what they're talking about. You don't have to be a professional athlete to know sports, but I like my sports people to sound as if they actually like sports.

 

Jemele Hill is okay, but Cheryl Miller and Robin Roberts (when she was on ESPN) are the only two women I can recall who were consistently engaging and insightful when giving sports commentary. --Oh, wait. There are also some incredible female commentators in tennis (especially Martina Navratilova and Lindsay Davenport).

Edited May 12, 2015 by topanga

[Minneapple]

Mike and Mike are horrible all on their own.

[Moose135]

More bad news for the Pats...

[FuriousStyles]

Why would Aaron Hernandez need to be suspended for anything, when he's not on a roster, and oh yeah will be spending the rest of his life in prison.  With that said, 3 games though?

 

I got nothing but applause to give to Goddell. Figured he was gonna come down hard on Brady himself, but didn't expect the $1 million fine.

 

I do kinda feel bad for the equipment personnel who have been thrown under a tractor trailer over this.  They've lost their jobs and are probably blackballed from the league, meanwhile Tom Brady will eventually get over this and continue on with his charmed life. 

 

And I really don't want to hear jack shit from Brady now. He had MONTHS to declare his innocence, a couple of days ago he could have done it again and side-stepped the question. Now he's actually being punished (I too believe he didn't think he would get punished) and now he wants to say something. gtfoh.

[Bastet]

Why would Aaron Hernandez need to be suspended for anything, when he's not on a roster, and oh yeah will be spending the rest of his life in prison.  With that said, 3 games though?

 

That's a satire/fake news publication.

Edited May 12, 2015 by Bastet

[Minneapple]

Figured he was gonna come down hard on Brady himself, but didn't expect the $1 million fine.

Patriots will save money because they don't have to pay Brady while he's suspended. And that helps their salary cap.

[charming]

I'm happy that the Pats and Brady got smacked down for once. I'm sure they'll appeal everything and the punishment will be reduced.

 

I love Jemele! His & Hers is a great show. The rapport Michael & Jemele have is effortless. I feel like I'm sitting at lunch with my friends when I watch them.

 

I don't understand the Mike & Mike decision. Why add a third wheel? Has she even been on the show before? I like the chemistry between them, they don't need anyone else. Ugh. What a way to ruin a show. I'm shocked.

[merylinkid]

Pretty sure Brady's salary for 4 games still counts against the salary cap.   Otherwise, teams would just alternate suspending guys without pay.     It helps their cash flow because they don't ahve to pay him.   But the cap number is the cap number.

[benteen]

I'm glad that Brady got suspended.  It was well deserved.  As for those two equipment guys, it was their jock-sniffing of Brady that allowed them to jeopardize their jobs.

 

I will say I absolutely do not blame Brady for not handing over his phone.  One, the NFL has no subpoena power.  Two, I GUARANTEE you that everything on his phone would have been promptly leaked to the public.  I have no doubt that this would have happened.  If they had found so much as a an off-color joke made by Tom Brady in a text, I don't think I'm overreacting by saying it could spell the end of Brady's career and reputation.  It is the sole priority of a LOT of people nowadays to be offended over every little thing and I'm sure they would have found a bunch of things in Brady's phone that would have resulted in him apologizing multiple times.  I guarantee that would have happened.

[ganesh]

I agree he shouldn't have handed over his phone either. It seems though, that this was like a, 'if you don't hand over your phone, you must have something to hide,' move. Brady didn't do himself any favors, but it's not on him to prove he didn't do anything wrong either. This more points to the nfl just being garbage when it comes to their policies. 

[DrSpaceman]

Brady was never told to "hand over his cell phone".  Ted Wells clarified this yesterday in an interview.  He told him he did not even want possession of his phone or even need to see his phone.  He told Brady and his lawyer he simply wanted certain texts and information pertitent to the investigation from his phone.  He told Brady and his lawyer they could even do it themselves, collect the info, print it out, give it to him, he would trust them to do so with no supervision or interference from anyone from the league.  Still refused. 

 

The wording "more probably than not" was specifically chosen because that was the standard of evidence needed by the league in order to enforce any punishment.  Ted Wells is a high level lawyer.  He chose the legalese type wording for a reason.  If the players have a problem with that being the standard of evidence needed, which is more akin to what is required by a civil suit rather than a criminal case that we are more familar with, then they should take it up in the CBA.  Its the standard in place now though. 

 

He also stated the Pats refused a 2nd interview with MacNally with wells.  Pats claim he was interviewed 4 times, but only one time was by Wells, other 3 times were by the league before the investigation by Wells.  Wells stated he requested an interview again after it was discovered in texts he had called himself the "deflator" and threatened to "go to ESPN" to clarify those remarks, they refused. 

 

Ultimately I don't care how many games Brady ends up suspended.  My guess is it will be reduced to two on appeal.  Doesn't matter though.  Five or 10 years from now no one will remember the number of games.  What they will recall is again the Pats were discplined for this, and they lied about it and would never admit what is obvious to everyone except the most die hard Pats fans.  And you can't use the argument this time that "all the teams do this".  No, I SERIOUSLY doubt that any one of the other 32 teams in the league steals the footballs after being checked by the refs, sneaks them into a bathroom and deflates them for their QB.  In my opinion that goes above and beyond just "I'll use some stick em and hope I don't get caught" sort of thing.  It is purposely circumventing the procedure in place to PREVENT just the type of thing they were changing to achieve, which is getting nonapproved balls into the game. 

 

What this proves more than anything is the type of organization the Pats run, what it REALLY means when "The Patriot Way" is mentioned.  Its cutting corners every chance you get, using any move legal or not to get an edge and complete and total denial of any personal responsibility or admission of guilt when you get caught.  This case more than the fines and suspensions and anything else really is just reinforcing every negative image most non-fans of the Pats had before.  And I say that not just based on WHAT they did, but the righteous indignations and holier than though denial and lies that have happened since this story was first reported. 

Edited May 13, 2015 by DrSpaceman

[Danny Franks]

What this proves more than anything is the type of organization the Pats run, what it REALLY means when "The Patriot Way" is mentioned.  Its cutting corners every chance you get, using any move legal or not to get an edge and complete and total denial of any personal responsibility or admission of guilt when you get caught.  This case more than the fines and suspensions and anything else really is just reinforcing every negative image most non-fans of the Pats had before.  And I say that not just based on WHAT they did, but the righteous indignations and holier than though denial and lies that have happened since this story was first reported. 

 

It is. I'm not a fan of any of those 'we're better than everyone' slogans that teams use, but the Patriots' one is perhaps the most egregious, because they lay claim to being morally better, instead of just playing better. And they are not. Belichick and co have circumvented rules whenever they felt like it, have spent time scouring rulebooks for obscure loopholes to exploit, have drafted and signed guys of very questionable character (bit them on the arse with Hernandez, didn't it?). And then they get precious and offended when they're caught and told to pay the penalty.

 

Now Brady's tossing out the idea that he'll challenge this in court? No he won't. He's posturing, and banking on the NFL backing down. I hope they don't. I hope they say, 'take this to court, and in the meantime, just so there's no conflict of interest, you're suspended while the case is heard'. Whether he wins or loses a court case, I think he'd be risking his place in the Hall of Fame, and risking his legacy as a whole, because the NFL media machine would waste little time in tarnishing everything he's achieved.

[FuriousStyles]

Well said DrSpaceman. I was shocked listening to Mike&Mike this morning as they replayed parts of the interview with Wells where he said he didnt even want Brady's cell. He was willing to have Brady's agent look through the phone and would give him the benefit of the doubt as to what evidence the agent eventually turned over. To me, Wells went above and beyond to be accommodating and to ease Brady's fears about his privacy and still Brady and his camp scoffed at Wells. Brady got exactly what he deserved and I hope the penalties are upheld.

As for the $1 million fine, I think its more symbolic than anything (being that its the most a team has ever been fined). But the Pats probably spent more than that celebrating their Superbowl, so they're not worried about actually paying the fine as maybe the hit their reputation has taken.

Edited May 13, 2015 by FuriousStyles

[Mountainair]

I don't have much to offer that hasn't already been more eloquently stated but I saw on my facebook feed yesterday a link to a GoFundMe page where Patriot fans are trying to raise the million dollar fine for the team. I didn't click the link but if that's true the fans are even more idiotic than I previously thought and just proves that no matter what the Patriots do people will love them no matter what. The Patriots don't need the money. 

 

Either way, I'm glad Tom Baby got punished. It would serve them all right to not be allowed to play at all this year. I'm not going to sit and compare apples to oranges when it comes to who got what punishment for what crime but when the Team as a whole is caught cheating (more than once but I digress) they do ruin the integrity of the game. I hate cheaters. I'm a stickler for the rules, even when playing Candy Land with my five year old. Cheaters should be punished and not allowed to play the game.

[ganesh]

I wouldn't call the Pats morally better than any other team either. That's just false. 

 

The punishment seems way way overboard to me. Honestly, the NFL has barely has a shred of integrity, as do most pro sports. The league office flat out lied in the Rice case. Not that I'm comparing suspensions, but the approach, rather. If that story went away, and social media wasn't privy to the elevator video, nothing would have happened. 

 

Their job is to make money for the owners of all the franchises. And put a good product on the field, so people will pay to watch, buy stuff, etc. That's it. They don't care for integrity. I think it's a far cry from integrity, when convicted felons and people who have literally killed people are allowed to play. Can you make us money? Ok? You're in. No, you're out. Sorry you killed yourself, that's not our problem. I mean, call it what it is. They certainly don't have any integrity when it comes to the long term health of their players, for sure. 

 

Why isn't there an independent board to issue these penalties? That's seems like a sensible move. A fine and draft picks seems reasonable, but the suspension seems more like it's piling on for the organizational history rather than for the specific incident. It was said before, that the appeal probably would reduce the suspension, and that seems likely. So, this was just a case of the commish coming down hard so he looks like he did something, not because he's protecting the integrity of the game. 

 

Like them or hate them, the Pats move the needle, much like the Yankees, Red Sox, or LeBron and Kobe. I wouldn't say the league needs the Pats because football is really successful all over. But I think in terms of national marketing, sure, they sort of need them, and probably a couple of other teams too. 

 

It strikes me as such a weird situation on both sides. This is where they draw the line. 

[hendersonrocks]

The PTI guys spent a segment yesterday on whether this situation with the Pats could ultimately lead to Goodell getting the boot. Kraft has been one of his strongest champions and seems to be one of the most powerful owners, and it seems pretty clear that relationship is now broken. Wilbon and Kornheiser both thought yes, this probably is the beginning of the end.

 

It would be fitting, if oh so sad, that the thing that finally causes the owners to fire/non-renew/etc. Goodell isn't the way he's mishandled (to put it mildly) serious social issues and player relationships within the league but rather that the owners got pissed that he came down hard on one of them. What a shitshow.

[ketchuplover]

A-Rod won on celebrity Jeopardy apparently

[FuriousStyles]

I'd think the rest of the owners would be pleased that Goddell came down as hard on Kraft as he's done on the rest of them.

But I can see Kraft being petty enough to corall the votes needed to oust Goddell or however it goes, but meh, Goddell made like $40 million last year and God knows how much since his tenure began so im not exactly going to be shedding any tears for him if he does get the boot.

I dont think the league cares about the integrity of the game...but I think they think we (the audience/consumer) care so that is what drives their decisions. More about what they think we will like/appreciate vs. whats actually right (which is a subjective concept anyway)

[merylinkid]

Why isn't there an independent board to decide penalties?   Because the players union decided to allow Goodell to be judge/jury/executioner in exchange for more money.   It's all in the CBA.    Time after time after time, the players have won in court (we would have had true free agency in 1975) but the players bargain it away in the CBA for bigger contracts.    The NFL does not want this going to court.   It is not NFL friendly.

 

Brady is not risking the Hall of Fame either by doing this.    If Darren Sharper who plead guilty to violent, disgusting serial rape (like there is non-violent, nondisgusting serial rape, but you know what I mean) can still be considered for the Hall because it's about "what happens on the field."   No way a few soft balls -- when the NFL was not that rigorous about soft balls before -- is going to affect the voting for him.

[Rick Kitchen]

A-Rod won on celebrity Jeopardy apparently

 

Since when is Aaron Rodgers known as A-Rod?

[DrSpaceman]

The PTI guys spent a segment yesterday on whether this situation with the Pats could ultimately lead to Goodell getting the boot. Kraft has been one of his strongest champions and seems to be one of the most powerful owners, and it seems pretty clear that relationship is now broken. Wilbon and Kornheiser both thought yes, this probably is the beginning of the end.

 

It would be fitting, if oh so sad, that the thing that finally causes the owners to fire/non-renew/etc. Goodell isn't the way he's mishandled (to put it mildly) serious social issues and player relationships within the league but rather that the owners got pissed that he came down hard on one of them. What a shitshow.

That won't happen, that a joke and another total Pats delusional fantasy to think Goodell is getting fired over this. The other owners besides the Pats don't care enough about this to waste anymore time on it. I would bet they are sick of it already and 31 of the 32 teams have already move on.

ANd in regard to Brady and the salary cap question, his 4 game lost salary does not count vs. the cap. Which I think is total crap and makes no sense, but thats the current rule. Its another where you can not like it, but its in the CBA, so they can spend that money elsehwere.

In an odd way if they DON'T spend that money, just from a financial standpoint, the pats actually GAIN money from this deal. They are fined a million but the cap savings for brady is more than thay, so, from a purely accounting standpoint, they could actually come out ahead on this

[DrSpaceman]

Also I completely agree that there should be an independent panel aside from Goodell to handle these situations. Ever since the Bountygate situation I have wondered why on earth he even wants to handle these things on how own. I siad the same thing last year with Ray Rice. If I am him I would WANT someone else independently handling and assessing these thing, someone who does basically nothing but this. They certainly have enough cases. I have no idea why he chooses to retain this power, unless he just wants that power and is that power obsessed. For him though it just seems to be a new win situation in every single case. Someone is majorly pissed over no matter what he does with every decision.

[merylinkid]

Tonight at a dinner meeting, we discussed Brady's suspension.   We got about 3 sentences in before someone (me) made a crack about Tom Brady's softballs.   The conversation went downhill from there.   My biggest problem is that I cannot discuss soft balls, shrinkage of balls in the cold, etc., with a straight face.

[Minneapple]

Pretty sure Brady's salary for 4 games still counts against the salary cap.   Otherwise, teams would just alternate suspending guys without pay.     It helps their cash flow because they don't ahve to pay him.   But the cap number is the cap number.

No, they actually get a credit on the salary cap.

 

Even better: The Patriots get a salary cap credit for the money they don't have to pay Brady, according to the players' union. Some of that will have to go to the player who replaces the three-time Super Bowl MVP on the roster. But the team could spend the rest of it elsewhere, perhaps on a cornerback to bolster its secondary for the entire season.

 

http://www.usnews.com/news/sports/articles/2015/05/12/despite-1m-fine-patriots-reap-profit-from-brady-suspension

[raven]

 

. I hate that meatheads like him are put up on pedestals, that he can drunkenly re-injure himself and sleep with pornstars, and everyone just says, 'oh, that Gronk. He's so crazy!'

I hate that murderers (oops! obstructioners of justice) get put up on literal pedestals - well, actually get statues built of them. 

 

OK, I lied.  I don't hate it, I just find it LOL funny.  Too each his own.  

 

 

Even when they aren't breaking rules, they're exploiting little known regulations like they did against the Ravens in the playoffs last year. Regulations that, when the Patriots bring them to national attention, are changed because they're not seen as being in the spirit of the game.

 

I thought football was a thinking man's game?  It's not the Patriots' fault that Suggs can't think well enough to know what's going on.  Hell, the referees even told the Ravens "don't cover him"!

 

Because it's about the "integrity of the game". *eyeroll*

Yes, they were so concerned that they let them they play the first half of the game with "tainted" footballs *matching eyeroll* and sarcasm not directed at quoted poster.  Walt Anderson is so awesomely sacrosanct that he lost track of these all important footballs (though he remembers the exact PSI months later, without writing it down). 

 

Yes, I'm a Pats fan and I know I'm not going to change any minds. 

 

What do I think?

I think Bill Belichick is a fantastic coach and like many, if not all, in his profession, pretty arrogant.  Thus the penalties in 2007 about breaking the rule about where to place cameras on the field.  Sorry, I don't use the stupid "gate" names, they are nonsensical to me; then Watergate should be Watergategate.

 

The NFL has screwed up massively with regards to thuggish behavior by some of its players.  If the Ray Rice video (the one that the Ravens "more probably than not" knew about) hadn't come to light, there would have been no public outcry and Goodell wouldn't have looked like a fool (seriously? they want us to believe that the it was lost somehow in the NFL offices?).  The backpeddaling done by the NFL when that video was aired was a sight to behold. That's what domestic violence issues have to do with all of this; Goodell is still trying to make up for that blunder, for bad PR, not for any true concerns about "justice". 

 

I think Tom Brady is probably pissed off when the footballs aren't prepared the way he likes them and rags on the equipment guys about it.  I think McNally deflates them to a certain point prior to them going to the officials for checking - which is completely legal - to compensate for any possible overinflation by the officials. Why does this matter? Because I think the officials don't always use gauges to test the footballs, so there's always a chance that they'll get by if the officials aren't precisely measuring and then adding/releasing air.   So you (equipment guy you) give it a shot (like Aaron Rogers saying he likes his footballs overinflated) - maybe they'll sneak through.  How much of a difference does it make?  Hell if I know.  QBs are paid more $$ then I'll ever see and if they want a piece of equipment a certain way, it better be that way I suppose.  I think the NFL was surpised to find that this "integrity of the game" ball testing was so lackadaisacal; probably because in the scheme of things, it's not a big deal. No, I don't think Brady told the guy to tamper with the ball after it'd been checked by the referee.  But a rule's a rule, right?  So let's check it out!

 

Falcons pipe in crowd noise - $350K fine and loss of draft pick.

OK, that's not tampering with equipment. 

Vikings and Panthers heating up game balls  - warning only.

OK, first offenders.  Patriots are habitual right?  Well, 8 years between fines habitual.

Jets fined $125K for violating injury report policy in 2009

Jets fined $100K for sideline tripping in 2010 (coach fined and suspended also)

Jets fined $100K for tampering in 2015

Seems habitual to me.

 

Wait, Brady didn't cooperate right? Despite the report saying that he was thoroughly interviewed and answered all questions.  Wouldn't give up his cell phone, and no, I don't blame him, I don't care what safeguards they say they'll use, the NFL office leaks way too much info.

 

Brett Favre didn't cooperate either in 2010 and was fined $50K and lost no playing time.  And that was for sexual harrassment!

 

The Wells report pretty much boils down to "we're pissed that Brady won't hand over his cell phone - even though it states that he was thoroughly interviewed and answered questions - and McNally wasn't presented for the follow-up interview so we'll draw our own conclusions". It also states the Patriots organization cooperated fully (yet they were fined and lost draft picks anyway).   It's actually pretty biased; it's funny how they fall all over themselves to praise Walt Anderson. 

 

If you've made it this far in the post, there's also the part about testing the balls at half time and the differing measurements per the gauges on the Colts balls (four tested, they ran out of time, though our super-deflator McNally can deflate them all in no time at all); the report decides to ignore the differences in the gauges, it's not really important, etc.  The report cherry picks and decides the two guys are joking in certain texts and not in others; that a discussion is really about deflating balls when the texter (and his outside witness) says it's about selling tickets. 

 

It's amazing that the NFL is paying millions for this thing; it's funny to me that Ted Wells had to go live to defend it, seriously, he sounded like one of the homer fans who call the radio stations!  Just stay home and count your millions.  It just seems the report was drawn up with a conclusion in mind.

 

So please NFL, stop crying about the integrity of the game and the children and all of that.  Stop trying to achieve the almighty parity by suspending players and removing draft picks for petty infractions that may not even be infractions.  Your own history of punishment for similar issues, however you try to play it, is so inconsistent it's proven to be a joke.

 

Oh, and please try and treat those accused of wife beating, child beating and rape a bit harsher than those accused of "more probably than not" having "general knowledge" of something.  It makes you look hypocritical and and desperate.

 

One more thing - I think it's absolutely freaking ridiculous that Pats fans have started a GoFundMe for the fine.  Hopefully someone wises up soon and directs it to charity. 

 

Whew, this should have been an "unpopular opinions" thread!  I'll go back to talking about TV now :)  It will be an interesting summer.

Edited May 14, 2015 by raven

[ganesh]

Even if Brady came out and said, "ok. You got me. I directed this to happen." I said before, it's akin to scuffing a baseball. You toed over the line, got caught, pay your fine. But this also seems rather in line with the other stuff, piping in crowd noise, etc. Maybe you're playing a team with really fast receivers, and the field seems to be a little soggy that day. How did that happen? Weird coincidence. 

 

What if he does go to court? Would that be an advantage to the NFL? I would think he'd have to turn his phone over then. 

 

It's delusional to think this affects his hall of fame chances though. 

[Minneapple]

But this also seems rather in line with the other stuff, piping in crowd noise, etc. Maybe you're playing a team with really fast receivers, and the field seems to be a little soggy that day.

These are two different things though. There are rules about piping in crowd noise. There's no rule about soggifying the field a bit to slow down the receivers. At least I don't think there is.

 

But there's a clear rule about how much the football is supposed to be inflated.

 

So, Brady's been suspended. The appeal will take place and his suspension will likely be reduced. Everyone will make money and everyone will move on and nobody will care by Week 7 because we all have short attention spans and something else will come along to make us all hysterical.

[ganesh]

My point was that teams look for loopholes and try to toe the line. The footballs falls more within that category to for which the penalties against the Pats far exceed those penalties. I know they're being punished for repeat offenses, but I just think that's illegal. Stealing signs, scuffing the ball, soggy field; it's all just picking at the seams. The only time I think you can seriously bring integrity of the game into a conversation is if there's actual game fixing going on.

 

I think that's likely before even Week 7 everyone will have moved on for the most part. 

[Danny Franks]

Why isn't there an independent board to decide penalties?   Because the players union decided to allow Goodell to be judge/jury/executioner in exchange for more money.   It's all in the CBA.    Time after time after time, the players have won in court (we would have had true free agency in 1975) but the players bargain it away in the CBA for bigger contracts.    The NFL does not want this going to court.   It is not NFL friendly.

 

Brady is not risking the Hall of Fame either by doing this.    If Darren Sharper who plead guilty to violent, disgusting serial rape (like there is non-violent, nondisgusting serial rape, but you know what I mean) can still be considered for the Hall because it's about "what happens on the field."   No way a few soft balls -- when the NFL was not that rigorous about soft balls before -- is going to affect the voting for him.

 

Oh, anyone can be considered for the Hall of Fame. But Darren Sharper's not going in, not a hope in hell, no matter what berks like Peter King might argue. If those with vested interests in not seeing Art Modell get into the Hall of Fame can get their way, then no one is a sure bet.

 

The soft balls wouldn't hurt Brady at all. Challenging the NFL on a ruling, taking them to court and potentially forcing them to change the way they investigate cases and mete out penalties? That would hurt him. That's why Brady's not going to take it that far. His expensive and scary team of super lawyers is just for effect, before he and the NFL get together to agree a reduction that makes everyone look like they didn't lose.

[Snowprince]

Challenging the NFL on a ruling, taking them to court and potentially forcing them to change the way they investigate cases and mete out penalties? That would hurt him. 

About as much as it hurt Al Davis, HOF Class of 1992. Brady has as many SB rings as Montana and Bradshaw and has posted bigger numbers than both of them. Until he retires, he has a shot at one more kill to make him the first SB ace among quarterbacks and second only to Otto Graham (6) in overall championships. In the face of those factors alone, not to mention the way both the sports media and the fan base have fellated him since he relieved Drew Bledsoe, Brady's in. Most likely on the first ballot if not by acclamation the minute his 5 year waiting period expires. Among the voters, nothing short of conviction as a serial killer or a major "betting on his own games" scandal will keep him out.

 

Not cheerleading for him, I'm not particularly a Brady fan nor am I a fan of the Evil Empire. But the record speaks for itself, and it's more impressive than other QBs who have been inducted. I tend to believe that's all that will matter to those who have a vote when the time comes.   

Edited May 14, 2015 by Snowprince

[Popples]

Since when is Aaron Rodgers known as A-Rod?

 

I thought he preferred A.A.Ron.

[DrSpaceman]

In regard to the other teams caught cheating, if you assume they are equal to what the Pats did (which I don't), you know what you don't hear from them in 90% of those cases and the other reason why few people know or care about them? 

Whining from the fans about the NFL treating them unfairly, an owner demanding an apology for even daring to suggest they might break the rules, fans that deny to the very end they did anything wrong and threats of litigation against the league for trying to punish them and the suggestion that Goodell should be fired for trying to enforce the rules in place. 

 

Bountygate is the exception, but I put them and the Saints fans in the same boat as the pats fans here :  they were caught with a great amount of evidence and the fans are in denial, the players were lying to protect themselves. 

[Danny Franks]

Whining from the fans about the NFL treating them unfairly, an owner demanding an apology for even daring to suggest they might break the rules, fans that deny to the very end they did anything wrong and threats of litigation against the league for trying to punish them and the suggestion that Goodell should be fired for trying to enforce the rules in place. 

 

Look, you can shorten that entire thing to three words: The Patriots' Way.

 

I've seen other teams handle tough situations with far more grace. Hell, the Pats themselves managed to come out of the Aaron Hernandez case looking good (and the later revelations that he was pegged as a dangerous, unstable, potentially criminal individual long before the Pats chose to draft him seem to have been mostly swept under the rug) because of the way they responded. But this, because it's Tom Terrific? Can't be true. Anyone who claims he's a cheater is lying and the NFL (for some, inexplicable reason) conspired to stitch up the photogenic, charismatic face of one of their flagship franchises, and drag his name through the mud.

 

Kraft is possible thinking about trying to topple Goodell. Because his QB's white hat got smudged. Brady is assembling an expensive posse of lawyers to defend his good name (just don't call Bridget Moynahan as a character witness). They all need to man up and accept that what they did was wrong.

Edited May 14, 2015 by Danny Franks

[Crs97]

Yes, when Ray Farmer got his four game suspension for sending text messages (which we can all agree clearly didn't affect the outcome of the games), this forum didn't light up with calls of the unfairness of it all because, you know, to hell with integrity and "Ray Rice only got two games!"  Did the Browns organization go crazy?  Nope, Ray publicly owned it, apologized, and will step aside this fall, and the owner said he accepted the league's ruling and will pay the fine.

 

As us Cleveland Browns fans are saying this week, the Patriots are whining because they have to start their season without a quarterback?  That's how we start every season!

[Constantinople]

Since when is being prohibited from working for the Browns, permanently or temporarily, considered a punishment?

[Minneapple]

So now the Patriots are saying that the guy was called the "Deflator" because he was trying to lose weight.

Goodell should suspend the entire organization for four games just for not being able to come up with a better lie.

[Crs97]

The happiest person to hear that defense is Tiger Woods because all the reporters who have been continuously mocking his "I couldn't keep my glutes activated" comment have changed targets. I know they think we're stupid, but wow!

[Danny Franks]

Since when is being prohibited from working for the Browns, permanently or temporarily, considered a punishment?

 

 

Oh, poor Cleveland. So close to getting it all so right and then... They go and Brown it all up. Man for man, they've got a really solid team, and yet....

 

So now the Patriots are saying that the guy was called the "Deflator" because he was trying to lose weight.

 

 

Okay, now that is fucking hilarious. The NFL should let them off now, just for the sheer audacity of that excuse. Love it.

[Dejana]

How the NFL Let Deflate-gate Get Out of Control and Ridiculous

 

It just feels to me like the officials regarded deflating the footballs like going 60 MPH in a 55 zone ahead of the game, then when the story took off in the media and fans hyped up on Cheatriot outrage, the same violation suddenly turned into driving the wrong way down the interstate, because the integrity of a game in the National Football League was in question and such a thing could not be countenanced!  Though you would think if it were such an egregious violation to begin with, and the officials were warned that the Patriots were messing with their balls (hah), they would have been watching like hawks and on top of it when the balls went missing before the game, using the most accurate pressure gauges, etc. That's not to say it's all the officials' fault that they didn't stop the Patriots from cheating—they shouldn't have done it—more that the officials' pre-game response reveals either their ineptitude or illustrates how the refs didn't initially see the deflation issue as this earth-shattering, suspension-worthy, driving-a-stake-into-the-integrity-of-the-game big deal.

 

I heard about The Deflator being a nickname for the guy's weight-loss efforts on Rich Eisen's radio show during my lunch break; apparently, there are other texts to back up this excuse. Rich and the guys on the show pointed out that you'd think the Patriots would have just mentioned this in the first place and saved themselves some trouble.