Brady's suspension will get knocked down to 2 games. The Pats will get some kind of payback call in the future. Unless whores. It's always possible Godell sent some really good whores.
Kraft decided not to bite the hand that feeds.
The big question is, now that Goodell has decided he will hear Brady's appeal, which is his right per the CBA, what will Brady do if Goodell leaves his punishment as is? Legal action will require that Brady reveal all during the discovery phase, emails, texts, phone records. Legal action will also force "The Deflator" to be deposed. But it also goes both ways.
It will probably be easier for all for Goodell to reach an agreement to reduce Brady's suspension, which he probably anticipated.
If it was no issue he would have handed over the phone like everyone else involved in leagues issues does.
The Jonathan Martin and Ray Rice incidents both saw players and officials hand over their phones.
You need to realize that this is not a criminal court of law. The standard is more likely than not. It is a priviledge and not a right to play in the NFL. Brady has to play by their rules.
The NFL obviously can't get a warrant for his phone so it is just dumb to suggest that. Using your logic no one would ever be punished for breaking a rule in the NFL.
Players are tested for PEDs all the time and that is way more intrusive than handing over a phone. And guess what their are no warrants for those tests either.
It is a rule and NE has a history of cheating. The NFL stated today they are not changing this rule. The only ones up in arms about this are NE fans and that tells you all you need to know. The NE defense of we didn't do it, but if we did the rule is stupid was dumb from the get go. Pick one or the other. When you use both its easy to see you are guilty.
But they also get all of Goodell's texts/emails then too...
thus the line "But it goes both ways."
But I'm willing to bet the Commissioner does not conduct sensitive business via email or text, or if he does, he copies counsel so it's not discoverable.
You cannot make something privileged and thus non-discoveralbe merely by sending a copy to your lawyer. Otherwise...
I feel that this is a trade. For accepting the punishment, the NFL will reduce Brady's suspension or even rule that their is a lack of evidence. Kraft had all the cards here, so there definitely is a trade of some what behind the scenes.
They will only let Brady play one offensive series and then he's suspended for the rest of the game.
This is the loudest I have laughed in a week. Thank you! Well done sir.
Color me shocked. I thought for sure they would appeal. Unreal.
http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2015/05/19/report-goodell-kraft-have-spoken-hugged-recently/
I don't know what that means, but if Goodell was going to lower any fines, I thought the Pats would've had to file an appeal first. Or else it looks like preferential treatment.
Also, I have a hard time believing this helps Brady more than the two game suspension. To get that completely overturned, he'll have to fight through the courts.
I hope Brady's suspension sticks, because I want to get him on the cheap in my fantasy drafts.
Outside of the year after they went 18-1, he usually is the fourth or fifth QB taken if that high. Rodgers, Brees, P. Manning always go ahead of him. Matt Ryan, Cam Newton, Andrew Luck also go ahead of him in many leagues.
He gets hot in the middle of the season for a few games, but he's usually not in the top-5 of FP QBs.
6th in scoring in my league settings last year, in a clear second tier behind Luck and Rodgers (who will cost a 1st rounder and cost me a top flight RB/WR), but having a top 5 guy isn't all that important. As long as you're not getting one of the Tannehill's of the world, you can compete.
Realistically I'll probably take a QB before I could take Brady, but if I can get a good deal I'll have the perfect chip for the guy starting Teddy Bridgewater every week.
I hope I never hear about deflated footballs again.
How is it cheating if Brady is making it harder to win? Try throwing a deflated ball, it is unequivocally harder than throwing a properly inflated one. I know I know, there's always a few who will whine quite nasally "but he's not following the rules." But they would have won the Super Bowl with Brady tossing a canteloupe fergodsakes, let alone a mildly underinflated football. It literally had zero effect on whether they won or not. That's like saying the Tigers didn't win the World Series in 06 or 12 because Verlander likes his baseballs "fuzzier" than what he was given. Ridiculous.
I was sincerely hoping the Pats would take this to trial so they could dong punch the NFL.
But alas, they came to a shady backroom agreement ("look, accept this punishment and we'll do what we can to change the rules on the football PSI.")
This "Deflategate," the witch hunt by the NFL, the unbelieveable biased and BS Wells Report, and the massive amount of media coverage over one of the dumbest things in the universe I have ever seen in sports almost made me never want to watch NFL football again.
that if Brady's suspension is not completely overturned, I will never watch another NFL game. If the suspension is completely overturned, I will watch until Brady and Woodson retire. Then I'm done.
Mark Cuban was right.
"When pigs get fat, hogs get slaughtered. And they’re getting hoggy. When you try to take it too far, people turn the other way. I’m just telling you, when you got a good thing and you get greedy, it always, always, always, always, always turns against you.” - Mark Cuban
Its just pathetic when fans make statements like this. They suspended my guy so I won't watch anymore. Well guess what they can either alienate the Patriots fan base or the other 31 fan bases. That's a pretty easy choice.
they could hand out a reasonable punishment instead of some asinine horseshit like this. Chargers caught doctoring the balls with a sticky substance so it's easier to catch? $25K. That's it. That's a much worse offense than an amount of psi that equals the weight of a paper clip.
Minnesota and Carolina caught tampering with the football? Nothing.
Patriots? KILL IT WITH FIRE!!!! SUSPEND BRADY! TAKE AWAY EVERYTHING!!!!
...is why there's so much media coverage. Even if NFL just released a press release announcing their findings and then their discipline, no ESPN/media involved, there would be outrage on this board and joy elsewhere. That outrage/joy is why they keep reporting on it.
And if people are being nasally about "not following the rules" then why have the damn rules? Hell, just let people line up offsides. Let teams have 85-man rosters. People kill me with all the whining and moaning about the SEC skirting the rules, but once their golden boy gets caught in their own shenanigans, it's still somehow the other guy's fault.
If the Patriots want to do something about PSI, and truly care about a level playing field, there's something called an NFL competition committee that can look into this issue.
Obviously not. There are already penalties for breaking these rules. Goodell just makes this shit up as he goes.
And no, most of the outrage and media coverage was because everyone thinks the fact the NFL even issued an "investigation," and a highly biased one at that, is stupid and petty. People talking about "asterisks" next to the Super Bowls is just hating on success and is a fan of a team the Pats stomped. And also petty.
And your entire post is ridiculous and poorly thought out because of the assumption that Brady is somehow my "golden boy." If he punched a kid or took 'roids, then yea, fuck him and kick him out of the league. There's about 4 QBs I root for more than him, and I am no fan of the Pats by any means.
Finally, if this is such a big deal and "cheating" and "worthy of punishment" then why isn't anyone talking about Aaron Rodgers (one of the 4 QBs I like more than Brady though I hate Green Bay), who admitted to liking and using balls over-inflated?
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The only ones who think it was biased are NE fans. Also people who use the word haters need to grow up. Everyone doesn't need to love your team/player.
Kraft was fine with the investigation until it didn't say what he wanted.
And Kraft hiring a scientific expert who owns a company that Kraft just happens to be investor in is an absolute joke.
Also NE's fumble stats are out of this world. Something like a 5000-1 probability. But yeah keep yelling nothing to see here.
with brains realize the punishment is over the top ridiculous. Look at other team's punishments for tampering with the football.
This punishment has nothing to do with the actual offense, but is handed out to satisfy the torch and pitchfork mob of shit eating, moronic NFL fans.
You need to practice your reading comprehension.
I don't like New England one bit, already stated that, so there goes your asinine theory about who thinks what. Maybe if you paid attention to the report, and didn't look at everything with preconceived notions, you'd get it. I only like Brady because he's a UM alum. Not a "fan" by any stretch of the imagination. Must suck being completely wrong.
The report was biased because it literally left 3/4 of the evidence the Pats provided. Dan Patrick, one of the best and honest sports commentators/reporters was joking about how one sided the Wells report was.
Kraft was fine with the investigation until he realized it left out most of what he and the Pats provided, and that it came to conclusions based on circumstantial and unprovable "evidence."
I guess in your world the fact that the Pats probably work very hard at not turning the ball over, then succeed, somehow means "cheaters." And you call me the biased one?
And you must not watch NFL games because PI and illegal contact is called all the time. Those numbers continue to climb each year. Why? Because NE mugged the hell out of Indy in the 2004 AFC title game and it became a point of emphasis from that point on.
I love Brady, but the defense of him in this situation gets borderline ridiculous. You replace Tom with Peyton and there are jokes all over the place instead of pitchforks. Even the stars do things outside the lines for a competitive advantage.
And with Aaron Rodgers, he did say that he tries to put as much in as possible before they hand the balls to the refs and see if they notice and take some of the air out. So technically, who knows if he's actually used an over-inflated ball? And I'm only saying this from a legal standpoint. There is no proof, yet, that the balls he used were over the legal limit. The refs may have deflated them to legal levels every time. #shrugsshoulders
Thanks for making the exact same point I did. Almost every player is cheating to some degree on every play. Yes, lots of PI are called. Also, lots of PI are never called. The Seahaks hold almost every play because they know the refs won't call it every play. They have penalties for these infractions. Thanks for making the same point I did.
I replace Tom with Peyton or Brees and you know what I am saying? The same damned thing. Your view of my post, and this situation, is biased by your view that "if it wasn't Tom . . . ."
Is it really that unfathomable to you that I have a problem with Goodell and how he makes up punishments that vary wildly even when the infractions are extremely similar? And he didn't even have "proof" that anything was done. All the evidence was circumstantial. Not one iota of proof.
I guess it's OK in your mind to punish people because you "believe" they did something wrong instead of requiring proof it happened?
Apply your though process to Aaron Rodgers . . . you just typed "And I'm only saying this from a legal standpoint. There is no proof, yet, that the balls he used were over the legal limit."
So, it's OK to cheat as long as the refs kinda sorta maybe fix it? Do you get that there is no proof for Brady either? No proof the ball was purposely deflated?
So you must be a huge Rodgers fan since you require proof for him to be punished, but not Brady? Why do you not hold them both to the same standard?
I'm surprised they didn't appeal if only to try to get that 1st round pick back
I guess this is gonna be the Patriots' quarterback for the first four games
Kraft is a shill.
A Brady deal is quite possible.
Kraft is also doing what the other owners want him to do, and that which suit his and the Patriot's long-term, best interests: Stay in collusion. None of the other owners want to deal with another Al Davis type who sues the league biting the hand that feeds it. This approach goes back to that 1920 meeting room in Canton with George Halas and the other owners of the new league.
Roger Goddell comes off as a man who is of average intelligence at best, but thinks that he is of superior intelligence. The owners thow perceived power and lots of money at Roger, which makes him think he is some kind of God. The facts are though, that the owners of the NFL teams control Roger and he is nothing more than their pawn, lackey and contracted hit-man.
Work on behalf of the owners. The players have their union, the owners have their commissioner.
The commissioner is supposed to rule "in the best interest of the game." Sadly, due to weak commissioners, that job description has been subverted and now reads, "in the best interest of the owners."
Brady's suspension is going to be shortened, and the Pats can live with the lost draft picks and the money. It just drives me crazy that this has become such a big story given how other teams (Falcons and Colts with piped-in noise, for example) have been skirting the rules at the same time with minimal punishment.
This just goes to show the Patriots handled this situation in exactly the wrong way. The Falcons took their penalty without complaint and assured everyone it wouldn't happen again. The Colts were found to have not piped in noise at all.
Regardless of whether you feel they are guilty, If the Pats had just taken their lumps and not been so indignant, this story would already be gone.
god forbid someone actually stands up for themselves. Just bend over and take it from the almighty, all knowing NFL.
Atlanta was caught red handed. Cleveland the same. San Diego the same. Minnesota, Carolina the same.
The Patriots were not. People who think they were are dumb. The Wells Report is not some infallable report. There are major issues with it.
The Wells report made the following statements as "facts"
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Anderson recalled that the Pats balls were inflated to 12.5 psi and the Colts balls 13 psi pregame.
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There were two gauges available to Anderson pre-game
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The two gauges differed by 0.3 to 0.4 psi for any given ball measured consistently
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The report predicted what the range of psi the Pats balls would be given the environment and a starting psi of 12.5
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When the half time measurements were made, the gauge that consistently gave the higher psi reading had three balls above the range predicted, eight balls precisely within the range, and 3 below the range.
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Anderson recalled that he used the higher reading psi gauge to make the pregame measurements
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The Wells report accepted every single recollection of Anderson's, except this one. They somehow concluded that he used the lower reading gauge and that's why the psi drop "could not be explained"
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If you average all the psi measurements, from both gauges, the value is 0.05 psi below the lower range stated in the Wells report
So based on this information, just how does one conclude that there is any credible evidence that the balls were tampered with?
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They don't know precisely the starting psi, since it wasn't recorded
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Even using the "assumed" starting point, they have to "assume" the lower reading psi gauge was used to show anything beyond their own IGL calculations, for some of the balls.
It doesn't take fricken rocket surgery to determine that the "science" in the Wells report has holes bigger than the ones the Colts DL gave up during the game.
No one is interested in the Patriots defense of themselves, they are already guilty in the court of public opinion due to past transgressions and circumstantial evidence.
The Patriots had some control over this situation. If they had been completely forthcoming, humble, and quiet about their own defense, then the media wouldn't have blown it up to such degree and the punishments from the extremely public-opinion-concerned commissioner likely wouldn't have been nearly as severe. Instead, they made a big show about how wronged they were and they are paying the price. Is it fair? No one cares.
no matter what. Because it's the Patriots. Everyone hates them because their team isn't as good as them. They need their excuses why and this is just the new one.
I bet if the Bears started letting 0.3 - 0.5 PSI out of the football Jay Cutler would be the MVP and the Bears would win another Super Bowl. That's how important this stuff is.