If this was Jets, no one would hear about it. The Jets have never been accused of trying to gain a strategic advantage.
Well now that you mention it... it doesn't seem like Goodell could have avoided all this for his friend Kraft just by tipping them off to inflate the balls all the way. No... wait...actually... that still seems really reasonable despite your insult.
all teams look for an edge, don't be mad at the successful ones. UNC did not break any rules, they always do things the right way w/ the men's basketball program. I agree there, it's shocking the way the media has turned on NE, imagine if this happened to us w/ Rex?
yeah that's what happens when teams follow the rules. no accusations of breaking them. strange huh? it's also not even true: the only time in recent years the Jets organization was accused of trying to gain a strategic advantage was the sideline tripping incident. The Jets were rightfully vilified by the media, the NFL wrapped up their investigation in short time, punished the Jets and the man responsible was fired. all for a strategic advantage they got from watching the New England Patriots
It's not shocking... the media isn't in it for truth they're in it for clicks and commercials. The media market for hating the Patriots is pretty juicy right now. It's clear finding them guilty of cheating and tearing them to shreds publicly before throwing their bodies to the crowd is exactly what about 31/32 or 97% of America really wants to see so bad. We like tearing down the people we've built up. If it's true.. then it's true, but based on the numbers I'd say only about 3% of people aren't ready to convict without having all questions answered. The media has no good reason to serve that 3% simple math. like I said... the truth will be whatever it is... despite anyone's best wishes.
You're missing the point, our views on how much of a competitive edge a somewhat deflated football gives is irrelevant, its a rule in the rulebook, they broke it, this is not the first time they broke the rules, and now they come out in press conferences and act like they have no clue about anything. If they would have came out and just admitted what they've done I think a fine or loss of a draft pick would have been more than enough but now everyone wants to play dumb and drag this thing on into next week I hope they suspend them for a few games next year.
I'm a former federal criminal investigator (current attorney). Once everyone knows a crime has been committed (or in this instance, an "infraction") the first thing you do is separate everyone you believe was a likely co-conspirator, ask them "What happened?" and then just let him talk. You can ask clarifying questions, but don't guide the conversation. Then, once they have all given you their story, then you go interview all the friends/family/co-workers to confirm or refute the details of the suspects' stories. You also use these interviews to probe any inconsistencies in the suspects' stories (ie, Suspect A says X, but Suspect B says Y). Then, once you know exactly what happened (and you will after interviewing the friends and family), you go back to the suspects and ask them for their story again. Sometimes they'll change their story (because they know their friends blew-up their story), sometimes they'll stick to what they told you, and sometimes there will be just a couple details that have changed (because they can't keep their lies straight). Finally, you confront them on why they are saying one thing and a different suspect (or friend, or family, or co-worker) is saying something else. That's the last step. The investigative department of the NFL is riddled with ex-federal investigators. In context, the first thing that should have been done - immediately after the game was over - was Belichick, Brady, the lead official, the offensive coordinator and the team equipment manager should have been separated and questioned regarding the footballs. Then, once they have their stories on the record, you go and interview the other officials. Then everyone else ... ball boys, other assistant coaches, back up QBs, Kraft (basically the 40 people they interviewed). At this point, you're 95% certain you know what happened. You check any other evidence you might have (in this case, video). And then you go back to whoever you believed was involved in the infraction and question them again. With the number and quality of investigators the NFL has, all of this could have been done in less than a week. The #1 tip-off that the NFL is trying to drag this out past the Super Bowl is that they hired an outside law firm to participate in the investigation. Why would they do this? There is no law firm in the country that has better (or more qualified) investigators than the league, itself, has. The reason they brought in the law firm is because law firms (and attorneys) move at a glacial pace; and any delay in the investigation can be blamed not on the NFL, but on those attorneys (who don't work for the NFL). Now when someone asks Goodell "What the F is taking so long?" he can respond with "Well, the law firm of X, Y and Z is the best in the country and they have taken the lead on this investigation and we don't want to interfere with their process." It's all nonsense.
good point on the NFL hiring an outside law firm in this instance. Usually Dictator Goodell just punishes in the moment of accusation- however he sees fit. They don't involve the outside lawyers until after so he can pay them for damage control. Why the change in strategy? Oh that's right so he can protect Kraft's Cheaters on the eve of the SB
That's a pretty good response. Yeah I can't imagine who the 40 people they interviewed are. Unless they interviewed each football. Honestly... still playing devil's advocate. If the refs didn't perform their job before the game properly... and that is suspected... wouldn't it pretty much end the investigation - or does it open up a new can of worms including (gasp) the Patriots taking legal action against the league for defamation due to their own employee? I mean... could it be that it was the refs and now that this thing has blown up into the biggest story of 2015 so far could they be absolutely freaking out about having to admit that fact? I mean think about what that finding would actually mean for goodell and the league? I've consistently heard that the NFL officials who checked the footballs at halftime did NOT check them or even see them pre-game. Is it possible they got mixed up in a nightmare they are trying to find a way out of? It's the only thing that makes sense why NFL.com has been downplaying the story... why Brady and Belichick didn't come clean if they knew they were being investigated... it'd be fairly easy to blow this open if someone was actually tampering with the football on the sideline... no ball boy is going to stand up to that kind of pressure especially if he knows TB12 is right there for the piano to fall on his head.
He probabaly has heard it from the tinfoil hat brigade on Patsfans. They think that Irsay is behind this and the Ravens owner is also behind it as well, and that the Colts balls were the ones that were under inflated and they were switched midway though the first half with the Pats balls. These people are fucked in the head that they are going to such great lengths and going though such intense mental gymnastics just because they refuse to believe the truth that their team is a bunch of cheaters.
I don't think this is the case. Read this again: "The investigation began based on information that suggested that the game balls used by the New England Patriots were not properly inflated to levels required by the playing rules, specifically Playing Rule 2, Section 1, which requires that the ball be inflated to between 12.5 and 13.5 pounds per square inch. Prior to the game, the game officials inspect the footballs to be used by each team and confirm that this standard is satisfied, which was done before last Sunday’s game." If this statement is true, then the game balls were checked before the game AND the standard was satisfied. Since the standard requires that balls be between 12.5 and 13.5 psi, then the referees must have checked their psi before the game. Otherwise the standard would NOT have been satisfied.
fixing his cup? seriously? talking to the media is part of his job, he should be fined more than they have fined him.
