I beg to differ. I think the Pats are going to get creamed for this. 11 or all of the balls being deflated between the time they were checked by the refs and the time they were put in play is not a coincidence. Although we might never find out who/what/why, Gooddell has all the proof he needs under his relaxed standard of proof, to impose significant punishment against the organization for altering the competitive balance AGAIN. It hurts the NFL shield at the worst possible time (before one of the biggest spectacles in sports). It is a second offense. If no one comes forward to take accountability, it is that much worse because there is active concealment taking place. There's no way they cancel the Super Bowl and it is doubtful they will impose any punishment before the game but once they finish the investigation, I expect major sanctions to come down.
Anybody looking for an "ah-ha!" moment is going to be disappointed. This is going to be rehearsed and well thought out with respect to any potential discipline.
Goodell picks and chooses when he needs "proof" though depending on who the accused are. In some cases all he needs is basic accusations. In the case of the New England Patriots he needs accusations with video evidence, finger prints, DNA & stool samples, the whole she-bang and even then he might just burn them in his fireplace and issue a soft spanking.
Troy Aikman, no less: "This whole comment by Roger Goodell based on the Saints when Sean Payton got suspended for the year, and he says 'ignorance is no excuse,' that's going to come back to haunt him again," Aikman said "That haunted him during the whole Ray Rice situation with he, himself, and now it's going to haunt Roger Goodell in terms of what the punishment is for the New England Patriots and Bill Belichick. If ignorance is no excuse, and it wasn't for Sean Payton." "Sean Payton did not cheat," Aikman explained. "There was nothing that Sean Payton and the Saints did that was illegal. And they did not give themselves a competitive edge. I maintain, regardless of whatever was said in the locker room, and in that locker room, is not anything different than what's been said in any other locker room around the league. There's no proof on the field of what took place that guys were targeting players. You can always pull out a play here and there. They were one of the least penalized teams for unsportsmanlike conduct. So there was no evidence that anything translated to the field that they were trying to hurt players. And they did not give themselves a competitive advantage. "Now twice, under Bill Belichick and possibly a third time, they've cheated and given themselves an advantage. To me, the punishment for the Patriots and/or Bill Belichick has to be more severe than what the punishment was for the New Orleans Saints."
you know its bad when ever the sports radio stations out here in nebraska are covering it. Normally no one gives a shit about the NFL here this time of year with college recruiting in the homestretch, but its been all about the Pats and deflate-gate
Mike Perriera: "This is cheating. And this is something the league doesn't want. It's bad enough that rules get taken advantage of and you kind of work against the intent of the rule. But this is cheating. And it is something the league will deal with harshly."
I'd be stunned if that even mattered. Brady is going to be so "aw-shucks", dismissive, and may even do that typical Brady condescending laugh a few times. "Quarterbacks all have preferences. We've all been getting footballs conditioned to them since we were in high school..." Then he'll shout out the Pats fans with something along the lines of, "it had no bearing on the outcome of games, it's just a preference as a quarterback who is constantly throwing a football, nothing more." EDIT: And now a full denial. LMAO. Better than I even thought. They're just daring the league to do anything because they know they won't.
Brady, Denying any knowledge of it Who let the air out off the balls? Full scale investigation needed
The moment he opened his mouth I had the urge to slap the shit out of him. Sent from my LG-LS720 using Tapatalk
So Brady and Bill don't know what happened...this is classic throw the ballboy under the bus procedure.
