It's proof they were doctoring the balls all season. And that Brady ordered them to do it.
Sure it's a side show when it goes against your team, But when it happens to the other guys it's good job league.
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2015-2016 NFL Season Thread
- Thread starter AustinIllini
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Sure it's a side show when it goes against your team, But when it happens to the other guys it's good job league.
The only appropriate punishment is to go back to the last Super Bowl and make that defender on the last play move 3 feet to his right.
Well, certainly, in the court of public opinion, the jury rendered its verdict long ago. Until today, the most compelling argument that NE deflated footballs was, "Well, you know...because Spygate." So it really didn't matter in the court of public opinion what the report said. Had it found the Patriots unquestionably innocent of any wrongdoing, the haters would have said, "Yeah that just proves the Goodell is in Kraft's pocket. HERP DERP CHEATRIOTS!"
That being said, it looks like Brady probably did tell these guys to deflate the balls. Even if that was in response to the refs screwing up and leaving them at 16 psi for the Jets game (which is definitely a brain fart on their part), that's not the right solution. Tell the league, file a complaint. You're Tom Brady and the NFL is a QB's league...you think they're not going to make sure the refs don't screw up the balls a second time?
He knew what he was doing, and he knew it was wrong. I'm sure that all, or nearly all, QB's in the league do sketchy things with the footballs. The ridiculous NFL policy that gives teams this much access to the balls (and yes, I know Brady is partly responsible for said policy) makes it pretty much invitable. That's no excuse, and it shouldn't be for Patriots fans (of which I am one). We wouldn't let Manning, Flacco or...whoever the hell is playing QB for the Jets that week off the hook if the situations were reversed.
Of course, the sad fact is that this all boils down to the league "protecting the shield"...this whole story would have been swept under the carpet if someone (*cough*Mike Kensil*cough*) hadn't gone running to Bob Kravitz. I'm sure Goodell knows (or could, if he wanted to) that the QBs doctor the balls. But once the story is out there, especially with the flames of the Ray Rice story still burning in a dumpster, he had to make a huge deal out of it. Not because he cares about "the integrity of the game" (it has none), but because it's all a PR game. Gotta keep that 9 billion rolling in every season.
I'm thinking Patriots fans gotta just tune the haters out. I'll listen to anyone who can legitimately show me they cared as much about the Browns texting, the Falcons pumping in crowd noise, or the Viking and Panthers openly doctoring balls on the sideline. Otherwise it's all jealous blather. People will claim "the only reason the Patriots won is because of cheating". That's obvious nonsense, of course. If it came to light that Manning was playing with underinflated balls during the 2013 AFCCG, it wouldn't change my opinion of that game one bit. The Broncos won because they were the better team, and it wasn't even close. So it's time to just ignore the peanut gallery.
That being said, it looks like Brady probably did tell these guys to deflate the balls. Even if that was in response to the refs screwing up and leaving them at 16 psi for the Jets game (which is definitely a brain fart on their part), that's not the right solution. Tell the league, file a complaint. You're Tom Brady and the NFL is a QB's league...you think they're not going to make sure the refs don't screw up the balls a second time?
He knew what he was doing, and he knew it was wrong. I'm sure that all, or nearly all, QB's in the league do sketchy things with the footballs. The ridiculous NFL policy that gives teams this much access to the balls (and yes, I know Brady is partly responsible for said policy) makes it pretty much invitable. That's no excuse, and it shouldn't be for Patriots fans (of which I am one). We wouldn't let Manning, Flacco or...whoever the hell is playing QB for the Jets that week off the hook if the situations were reversed.
Of course, the sad fact is that this all boils down to the league "protecting the shield"...this whole story would have been swept under the carpet if someone (*cough*Mike Kensil*cough*) hadn't gone running to Bob Kravitz. I'm sure Goodell knows (or could, if he wanted to) that the QBs doctor the balls. But once the story is out there, especially with the flames of the Ray Rice story still burning in a dumpster, he had to make a huge deal out of it. Not because he cares about "the integrity of the game" (it has none), but because it's all a PR game. Gotta keep that 9 billion rolling in every season.
I'm thinking Patriots fans gotta just tune the haters out. I'll listen to anyone who can legitimately show me they cared as much about the Browns texting, the Falcons pumping in crowd noise, or the Viking and Panthers openly doctoring balls on the sideline. Otherwise it's all jealous blather. People will claim "the only reason the Patriots won is because of cheating". That's obvious nonsense, of course. If it came to light that Manning was playing with underinflated balls during the 2013 AFCCG, it wouldn't change my opinion of that game one bit. The Broncos won because they were the better team, and it wasn't even close. So it's time to just ignore the peanut gallery.
Modified slightly:
"IN CONCLUSION: The NFL finds no evidence to support the idea that the Patriots cheated, but in order to cover Goodell's ass and make it look like his witch hunt was warranted, we conclude that it's "more probable than not" that the Patriots cheated."
Haters gonna hate.
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Win one without cheating.
Generally speaking, I'm on your side, but if you have to be a typical #bostonweak fan, you've lost me.
Why can't winning fans be more like San Francisco Giants or St. Louis Cardinal fans? Why do Boston fans have to be so deplorable?
Happens in every city and it is certainly inexcusable, but Giants and Cardinals fans tend to know how to win without the elitist nonsense.
I agree with you that the league didn't come up with any hard scientific proof of wrong doing.... But I think they were able to prove that Brady lied and that he had knowledge that the ball boys were doing something to the balls for him.
at the end of the day you don't have anything to worry about the league will probably give them a small slap on the wrist, brady will probably get a small fine and the Patriots will probably get a small fine that won't hurt them much.
as far as reputation... Well the Patriots reputation as cheaters has been cemented for a while now so this won't make a difference.
Tom Brady*
This is why you don't let a bunch of people play with your balls. You don't want to have gotten caught cheating.
It's not new news, but with the tampered footballs the score in the Pats/Colts game was 17-7, Patriots. After all the balls were inspected again at half time and properly inflated, the Patriots went on to win 45-7. If the Colts had kept their mouths shut they might have had a shot at a come back.
From my distant perspective, (49er fan on the west coast) I just can't drum up much outrage. Just the opposite, I actually appreciate Brady more for his chutzpah.
Of course he should be suspended some number of games for it.
But Brady is a winner, regardless of the edge he thinks he needs. Most QBs, given an edge or two, or three, still couldn't achieve what he has.
LOL. Suspend Brady without any proof? That's laughable.
The only proof of anything is that Brady was pissed after the October game against the Jets that the refs ****ed up and had the balls blown up to almost 16 PSI. Brady apparently then checked into the rule and asked the ball boy to inflate them to around 12.6 because he didn't want to "get near that upper threshold". Brady apparently also told the ball boy that he should bring a copy of the rule on inflation to the refs the next game to make sure they got it right.
All of that is straight from page 40 of the Wells report.
Nowhere is there any proof of Brady ever asking the ball boy to deflate the ball. I highly doubt someone who cared that much about making sure he got the ball in the right PSI range in October was suddenly trying to get them below that range in January.
This whole thing is a farce. Typical of the sideshow front office this current NFL has though.
Good thing Pats are still the defending champs.
The only proof of anything is that Brady was pissed after the October game against the Jets that the refs ****ed up and had the balls blown up to almost 16 PSI. Brady apparently then checked into the rule and asked the ball boy to inflate them to around 12.6 because he didn't want to "get near that upper threshold". Brady apparently also told the ball boy that he should bring a copy of the rule on inflation to the refs the next game to make sure they got it right.
All of that is straight from page 40 of the Wells report.
Nowhere is there any proof of Brady ever asking the ball boy to deflate the ball. I highly doubt someone who cared that much about making sure he got the ball in the right PSI range in October was suddenly trying to get them below that range in January.
This whole thing is a farce. Typical of the sideshow front office this current NFL has though.
Good thing Pats are still the defending champs.
Athletes are freaking slaves. Brady should be able to just give the critics the middle finger and move on instead of making him play into this crap.
The first part has to be sarcasm, but he is contractually obligated to do some level of media interaction.
Metaphorically. And also, NFL contracts not being guaranteed might have something to do with it. Baseball players are not so willing at a Q&A during a scandal.
Exactly. Circumstantial evidence is enough to lead any smart person to an obvious conclusion.
they could have had a picture of Brady with a needle in one hand a football in another and Patriot fans would still be crying foul and attacking the NFL.
The owners players and coaches know the rules of the NFL and how Goodell is going to enforce them. They all agreed to these rules. Brady knew the repercussions and what evidence they do or don't need.Exactly. Circumstantial evidence is enough to lead any smart person to an obvious conclusion.
they could have had a picture of Brady with a needle in one hand a football in another and Patriot fans would still be crying foul and attacking the NFL.
Now on to the argument of, "well Brady played better in the second half with a normal ball." True, so why does he need to doctor the balls in the first place.
The NFL should either **** or get off the pot.
To say that Tom Brady "probably" knew is a totally weak statement and certainly not enough to continue the conversation. It's basically legalese for saying that there's no preponderance of evidence, clear and convincing evidence, or BRD. Unless there's hard evidence or a confession by somebody who did a wrong deed and can prove Brady knew, the NFL should drop the investigation. If it does comes out that there was cheating, then I will be the first to support a fine, suspension, or stripping of MVP/Super Bowl championship, but with all the time that has passed, there's not a shred of evidence.
Teams and players in every sport cheat (including our SF Giant hero Barry Bonds which bummed me out since it was Bonds who got me back into baseball again) and while it's not a good thing, there's nothing on Tom Brady that shows that Brady cheated then or ever cheated.
I am not saying nobody in the Patriots organization, player or staff, ever cheated by it's totally a witch hunt to target Brady. Had Brady been a mediocre QB, we wouldn't even be having this conversation. But because he's at the top of his position it's a news story.
Yes, we caught Bonds and there's no doubt. We caught Lance Armstrong, and McGwire, Cabrera, and Canseco, and those were big stories that caught everybody's imagination and outrage, but trying to "fit" Brady into the same mold without evidence is a total shame on the NFL. If anybody should be fined or stripped of position/title, it should be the head of the NFL.
To say that Tom Brady "probably" knew is a totally weak statement and certainly not enough to continue the conversation. It's basically legalese for saying that there's no preponderance of evidence, clear and convincing evidence, or BRD. Unless there's hard evidence or a confession by somebody who did a wrong deed and can prove Brady knew, the NFL should drop the investigation. If it does comes out that there was cheating, then I will be the first to support a fine, suspension, or stripping of MVP/Super Bowl championship, but with all the time that has passed, there's not a shred of evidence.
Teams and players in every sport cheat (including our SF Giant hero Barry Bonds which bummed me out since it was Bonds who got me back into baseball again) and while it's not a good thing, there's nothing on Tom Brady that shows that Brady cheated then or ever cheated.
I am not saying nobody in the Patriots organization, player or staff, ever cheated by it's totally a witch hunt to target Brady. Had Brady been a mediocre QB, we wouldn't even be having this conversation. But because he's at the top of his position it's a news story.
Yes, we caught Bonds and there's no doubt. We caught Lance Armstrong, and McGwire, Cabrera, and Canseco, and those were big stories that caught everybody's imagination and outrage, but trying to "fit" Brady into the same mold without evidence is a total shame on the NFL. If anybody should be fined or stripped of position/title, it should be the head of the NFL.
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What I think happened is that these 2 ball guys knew Brady likes less air in the footballs he uses. And he probably told them to keep them on the low side, but they only agreed to do that in exchange for money or autographs. I don't think honestly had the intention of "deflate them specifically below league standards"
Why? because a lot of qbs change the balls to their liking so they probably don't see it as a big deal. Because its Brady though, people make a big deal of it since they love to hate a winner. Whoever said they hate his smugness..I think you're a little jealous.
Why? because a lot of qbs change the balls to their liking so they probably don't see it as a big deal. Because its Brady though, people make a big deal of it since they love to hate a winner. Whoever said they hate his smugness..I think you're a little jealous.
Only agreed to do their jobs if they got special goodies ?
Doesn't make much sense if ya ask me.
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