Goodell that he has to deal with this shit on his marquee event after enduring all the shit he dealt with in Ray Rice and Adrian Peterson? NFL owners and franchises in America’s biggest sport having to see their product dragged through the mud once again by the Patriots? Kraft that his franchise is once again under a black cloud of scrutiny and his “schmuck” of a coach has brought this upon his team and legacy? Bellichick himself for doing something so stupid and so unnecessary that he has now had to defend himself as a “no nothing” doofus and cemented his legacy as a lying cheating scumbag? Brady because (i) Bellichik just threw him under the bus and (ii) because he’ll never be looked at as THE GOAT because he’s either perpetrated the cheating or permitted himself to be implicated in this mess? Indy but really all they have is themselves to blame, but still, it has to sting a little bit? Ravens who lost by less than a touchdown to MAKE the AFC Championship only to never be sure whether the illegal edge the Patriots got gave them that illicit 4 point advantage? Patriot players who (i) once again have been brought under the broad umbrella of being recognized as a cheating scumbag franchise and (ii) not being able to bask in the glory of the Super Bowl experience free from controversy having to repeatedly fluff off and/or deny the allegations to the media who is going to ask the questions 1000X before Super Sunday? Or Pats fans everywhere who so desperately NEED the validation and respect from the rest of NFL fandom that they will now never get throughout the rest of football eternity? _
My guess is Goodell. It's been craptastic year for him. I already stated elsewhere he should move on. He's made a crapload of money on this job and really doesn't need any more. YMMV
I'm sure he's upset about it but he brought it entirely upon himself. Had he actually done his job instead of slapping Ray Rice on the wrist for punching his fiance in the face, then he wouldn't be having these problems. He'd be looked at much differently. This is the most likely outcome of all of this, I'm afraid.
It's actually slowly coming out that the league actually went out of their way to try to catch the Patriots in this thing. Amidst too many reports to count from NFL players saying this whole thing is stupid - is the realization that the NFL did not check these balls prior to the game. The refs did. Or didn't they. Apparently it's all coming down to Tom Brady vs. a Ref who said he checked the balls. It seems more plausible that the ref never checked them properly in the first place than it does TB or BB was instructing a kid with a needle to deflate balls. That means the NFL would rather catch the Patriots in this thing than they would deal with this in the first half and protect the integrity of the AFC Championship Game. A really sad sad state of affairs.
Yeah, that's totally logical. The NFL would rather "catch the Patriots red-handed" and risk a compromised AFC Championship game and the shit-show to follow rather than nip it in the bud and make it all go away before it all started. You started drinking before noon, didn't you? _
Sorry... no, nowhere do I think that IS logical. Neither does anyone else... but it's still looking real.
If they were going out of their way to catch them, they would make certain the balls were to spec before the game. There's no way the NFL would plan something like this on the eve of their biggest game in years.
This is pure speculation being posted on Patsfan.com. "It's actually slowly coming out that the league actually went out of their way to try to catch the Patriots in this thing" There is not a shred of anything suggesting this or anyone other than deluded Pats fans that believe it. This would be a bigger conspiracy than Watergate. So, what, someone alerted Goodell and he orchestrated a hush-hush scheme to catch the Patriots and now he's waiting a full week to spring his trap? Who else was in on the conspiracy? All of his henchmen? Maybe the Networks? The Rooneys, the Maras and Arthur Blank? The Mafia? Seriously? Must have had a bad clam in your clam chowder. _
Yes they would if the NFL were so myopic that ALL they cared about was sticking it to the Patriots and Kraft. Makes complete sense. Grogan is just repeating the drivel on PatsFag.com and trying to pass it off as legit--that it's "slowly coming out". LOL. _
Well in that defense, there were many reports that said the NFL had planned to test the balls at halftime. Baltimore had complained already to them and warned the Colts of it. This apparently was already known by the NFL and a halftime weighing was already scheduled. http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.co...-football-before-dqwell-jackson-interception/
Yes, everyone now knows they were testing the balls. But suggesting that the NFL was going to wait and spring a clandestine trap AFTERWARD to catch them at the expense of the AFC Championship game is fantasyland. _
i think all of the above will be pissed minus brady. He likes playing with soft balls. All pun intended
Brady is going to admit to something at 4pm (he should be crushed for his early admission that "he's heard it all now"). Brady is going to be the fall guy. Much of sports media is sweeping the controversy away now, NFL is sweeping it away, some media and sports figures will still call out the pats for this, but largely in the media it will go away; same with the NFL. The patriot "brand" is forever tarnished, there is no doubt the deflating of footballs has gone on all season. NFL will make a new rule in the off season that directly addresses this controversy. Pats will get slap on wrist from league, but 'cheating' will forever be associated with the pats, bb and Brady Finger pointing between bb and Brady would be awesome, but it's highly unlikely. There is no doubt that bb knew what was going on. Until bb is gone this is just the kind of stuff NFL football fans have to come to accept.
If in fact this was a "sting" of some sort, you would think they would have a camera on the balls the entire time. Since apparently they did not, then there appears to have not been any serious suspicion that someone was letting air out. If on the other hand, they did actually film the balls the whole time and caught whoever it was messing with them, then it is clear they let NE walk into this.
I don't even think there is anything... I think he's gonna come out and say he presented the balls as he wanted them... and that's it. Sounds like the ref probably passed them through in the first place. And we're on to the Super Bowl... and the only thing left deflated is the hopes that New England would be brought down Lance Armstrong style.
New England Patriots are Lance Armstrong #onlyfraudchampion* "I've heard it all now" lol "Everybody was doing it" lol "It didn't help that much" lol
