Brady suspended!

[Mystic]

The Patriots have a reputation for either cheating or at least bending the rules. And based on his behavior I have no doubt that Brady knew all about the balls being deflated. Perhaps more important than Brady being able to throw the balls well in the conditions was the effect on Andrew Luck. He was not throwing very well at all and he is better than that. Perhaps Luck has massive hands and needs a more heavily inflated ball.

But going beyond all of this, they need to take a second look at the rules. It is silly for the home team to supply the footballs. The footballs need to be either supplied by the NFL (and monitored by NFL officials) or else each team should supply the balls they use on offense.

Most quarterbacks in pro football probably have large hands. But some have massive hands. I saw a retired pro football quarterback on TV saying he liked the balls inflated to at least 16 pounds pressure. And how much the footballs need to be inflated also depends on weather conditions. Even more important the footballs need to be roughed up a little because when they are brand new they are too sleek.

I think the solution is to let both teams have their own footballs for when they are on offense or kicking off or punting. The inflation should be within acceptable limits but quarterbacks HAVE DIFFERENT SIZE HANDS and the weather conditions also need to be taken into consideration. The officials would need to have somebody check the inflations from time to time but the teams would not mess around with their own footballs when they are on offense.

 

[threeputtpar]

Each team does supply their own balls for when they are on offense. Kicking footballs are supplied by the league and have a K branded on them to signify they are only used for punts, field goals and kickoffs.

 

[gfh77665]

An entire team of high priced lawyers, with lead lawyer Wells being a crony of Goodell, generated a report hundreds of pages long, and released about half of it, strategically omitting the rest. Based on it the best they could come up with was "more probably than not" Brady "generally knew", but no hard evidence. They knew the conclusion they wanted to reach and worked backward from there.

This conjecture resulted in a far harsher penalty than the NFL rapists, drug dealers, gangsters, robbers, and wife beaters get.

They don't call it the National FELON league for nothing. But hey, if you are a PSI short on a football, we will hammer you!

 

[Burt]

Sorry Brady supporters, but this is not a court of law, he was not charged with a crime and you don't get the presumption of innocence until proven beyond a reasonable doubt.

Brady's actions project an image of arrogance that comes from pampered athletes who think they can get away with it.

As far as severity of punishment, I was thinking 3 games so I am pretty much on board. It could have been less, but given it is a second offense for the Pats and Brady didn't cooperate in the investigation, he gave Goodell no other choice, if he wants to keep control of the situation. You can't have the appearance that a star player gets off light by not cooperating.

 

[Bgallagher]

Originally Posted By: qdeezie
I don't think the suspension will stick.

And since the head coach and organization wasn't involved, why are they fining draft picks and $1M?

Doesn't really look like any of it will stick in my opinion.

Not to mention the ref's pressure gauges had bent needles and one of them read low.

I think this is a case of throw stuff against the wall and see what sticks.


+1 I admit I am a Pats fan but I agree. I think given the past season and the ^#@#^ job Godell did with Ray Rice and AP that he needed to go hard against this. I imagine Brady will get two games and they will only have a fourth rounder taken away instead of a first in 2016 and fourth in 17

 

[OneEyeJack]

It's simple. The Patriots are driven to win. This attitude flows through out the whole operation. Everyone pitches in. They're paid to wind. The owner demands it. They just overlook some of the details, every now and then that get in the way. They've been caught before, so this is nothing new. It's just that they are the kind of business that leaves noting to chance. Every time the head coach goes to the owner and says, we could do better if we just had a few more dollars. The owner writes a check and then says, now what? Once the owner does that there aren't many fall backs when it comes to losing a game. If this was liberal politics no one would even notice. At least one aspect is just like politics. The head of this operation has (barley) plausible deniability, just like a politician but instead of being like politics this owner is going to pay a penalty. In legal terms it's called a slap on the wrist.

 

[gfh77665]

Originally Posted By: Burt
Sorry Brady supporters, but this is not a court of law, he was not charged with a crime and you don't get the presumption of innocence until proven beyond a reasonable doubt.


There was clear, video proof Ray Rice cold-cocked his wife in an hotel elevator, then drug her unconscious body away down the hallway. He initially got less punishment than a 1 PSI underinflated football caused Brady.

Just try to wrap your mind around that.

 

[OneEyeJack]

Originally Posted By: gfh77665
Originally Posted By: Burt
Sorry Brady supporters, but this is not a court of law, he was not charged with a crime and you don't get the presumption of innocence until proven beyond a reasonable doubt.


There was clear, video proof Ray Rice cold-cocked his wife in an hotel elevator, then drug her unconscious body away down the hallway. He initially got less punishment than a 1 PSI underinflated football caused Brady.

Just try to wrap your mind around that.


The part of that video that bothered me was the fact that he wasn't interested in the condition of his wife. He just grabbed her and dragged her out of the elevator and down the hall.

Then she forgave him. That I will never understand. It's not like this was an accident. I wonder what the future holds for her? Next couple of times might be much worse. At least now that they are married her next of kin can hit him back in the pocket book.

 

[gfh77665]

What bothers me is than the thug Goodell, the commissioner of the National FELON League hardly batted an eye.

BTW, Six Seattle Seahawks were busted for PED's. Why didn't Seattle lose six million dollars, six first round picks, six fourth rounders, and six players to miss the first four games?

 

[Al]

Originally Posted By: gfh77665
What bothers me is than the thug Goodell, the commissioner of the National FELON League hardly batted an eye.

Just remember this though: That "Felon" is smarter than all of us geniuses on this board combined when it comes to making money for the NFL. This decision and an other problems down the line will preserve and enhance the NFL's (money) success.

 

[zzyzzx]

Obligatory:

 

[GiveMeAVowel]

Who cares?

Pro football has been rigged for decades now, and is nothing more than a slightly less tacky Pro Wrestling [censored].

 

[02SE]

Originally Posted By: GiveMeAVowel
Who cares?

Pro football has been rigged for decades now, and is nothing more than a slightly less tacky Pro Wrestling [censored].


+1

 

[grampi]

Originally Posted By: Rand
I'm not a Brady hater.. I'm also not a fan..

But this is just not right. Either he knew or he didnt. They didnt prove he did anything or knew anything.. And Ted Wells is about the least "independant" guy out there.. Check and see how much previous "work" he has been paid by the NFL for.

They just need to change the rule and get over it. Comparing it to guys using PED's is stabbing yourself with a fork retarded.


If the NFL didn't prove anything, then please tell us who deflated (or ordered the deflation) of those balls...we'd all like to know...

 

[grampi]

Originally Posted By: qdeezie
I don't think the suspension will stick.

And since the head coach and organization wasn't involved, why are they fining draft picks and $1M?

Doesn't really look like any of it will stick in my opinion.

Not to mention the ref's pressure gauges had bent needles and one of them read low.

I think this is a case of throw stuff against the wall and see what sticks.


It will all stick...just because Brady appeals, that isn't going to change anyone's mind about the punishments...

 

[ryansride2017]

I'm not a Brady fan but it is incredible you can get convicted nowadays with a phrase: "more probable than not"

 

[grampi]

Originally Posted By: ryansride2017
I'm not a Brady fan but it is incredible you can get convicted nowadays with a phrase: "more probable than not"


Like I said earlier, it's simple deduction...if Brady didn't order the deflation, then who did? The balls didn't deflate themselves...

 

[ryansride2017]

Originally Posted By: grampi
Originally Posted By: ryansride2017
I'm not a Brady fan but it is incredible you can get convicted nowadays with a phrase: "more probable than not"


Like I said earlier, it's simple deduction...if Brady didn't order the deflation, then who did? The balls didn't deflate themselves...


The running back would definitely like a ball deflated and easier to handle. The center would really like a ball that he could grip a little better to ensure he doesn't muff the snap to the quarterback....good enough for ya?

 

[simple_gifts]

I don't care one way or another primarily because I don't respect the league. I see they are relinquishing their Not-for-profit status so salaries of league officials will be able to be hidden.

What is astounding is why one of the best teams seems to feel they cannot win the game without tilting the field.

 

[dave1251]

Originally Posted By: ramammoth
This is ridiculous. The NFL should blame itself for not enforcing a rule that can actually be enforced on the spot.

Once the balls are "prepped", they should be handed over to NFL officials who check their pressure and whatever else to make sure they're "legal." NFL officials holds those balls till the end of the game. They can be rechecked during halftime as well.


This was done. Before kick off the Pats balls were then gathered by the Pats equipment managers and deflated.

Below is some notes from Ted Wells whom had a conference call today about the investigation.

Wells held a conference call with media today in which he went on the offensive against Tom Brady's agent Don Yee and sounded pretty convincing. He was obviously asked whether it was a sting operation, and his reply was interesting: Wells said that nobody at the NFL took the Colts' complaint seriously when they made it the week before the AFC Championship game. He added that, at the time, there was no evidence that backed up what the Colts were saying. Wells noted that NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell was not informed about it and that those who did know about the complaint didn't take it seriously.

Part of the email that Colts' general manager Ryan Grigson sent to the NFL was taken from an email that he had previously received from a Colts' equipment manager, writing:

"It is well known around the league that after the Patriots gameballs are checked by the officials and brought out for game usage the ballboys for the patriots will let out some air with a ball needle because their quarterback likes a smaller football so he can grip it better, it would be great if someone would be able to check the air in the game balls as the game goes on so that they don't get an illegal advantage."

He cleared up the fact about being denied a second interview with Jim McNally. Wells said that league security officials spoke to McNally three times before he came on to do the investigation, and therefore he only talked with McNally once. After finding out about McNally calling himself "the deflator," Wells wanted to speak to him again (understandably so), but at that point the Patriots didn't just deny the request but also didn't even let McNally know about it. This was the major reason why Wells viewed the Patriots as being uncooperative.

Perhaps the biggest thing that Ted Wells cleared up was the issue over Tom Brady refusing to hand over his phone. Many Patriots defenders have insisted that Brady shouldn't have had to give up his phone (which he didn't), and Wells agreed. Rather, Wells insisted that Brady and his agent could keep the phone and not turn it over but simply gather the pertinent information and hand that over in the form of printouts - but they declined. This deflates one of the biggest challenges from Patriots fans and media to the Wells Report, as they insisted that Brady shouldn't have to give over his phone. It turns out that Wells never asked them to do that but rather just hand over printouts of messages that pertained to this issue, and they wouldn't even do that.

One last point to note is Wells' response to Brady's agent insisting that he has notes from the investigation's discussion with Tom Brady that prove him innocent. Wells flat out challenged him to release those notes, saying that he has no issue with them being released to the media. His message to Don Yee: "publish the notes."

So league official's at first did not even take enough credence to believe the Colts complaint about deflated gameballs until the referees checked at halftime of the AFC championship game.

Unfortunately the "Patriot Way" is to win by hook or crook.