It's really a shame and yeah you are exactly right, it took a lot out of Palmer. Sometimes those things just happen through no fault of anyone.
Bountygate, Rice, and Peterson have already set that precedent. By making this all public, the judge has already shown the that the league/commish cannot be trusted to be fair or impartial in their rulings. Even if Brady takes the 4 game hit, there will be a major call for the process to be changed.
They will have that chance in 2020 but they will have to give up something to get it. It's probably only in there now because of the millions they walked away with.
The plot thickens http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.co...-weeks-brady-hearing-could-include-witnesses/
URL containing all relevant deflate gate legal filings including yesterday's new briefs. http://thesportsesquires.com/deflategate-legal-filings/
Sometimes Florio is such a condescending douche, Armed with text messages that for whatever reason Ted Wells and his team of investigators didn’t completely study before questioning McNally, having McNally and Jastremski put a hand on the Bible and promise to tell the truth the whole truth and nothing but the truth before getting grilled about all of the text messages in the presence of the judge could finally produce the Nathan Jessup moment that Wells for whatever reason was unable to secure when privately interviewing them. How about the fact they were under no obligation to tell Wells the truth? Could that have something to do with it? Quite a different story when you are under oath an facing prison time.
Well there's that and the fact that the Pats denied a second interview after the incriminating texts were uncovered.
one of the many slanted homer narratives on pat-sassys.com Yes, lets now put out a narrative to all the other NFL fans on why they're never guilty of being caught twice now, and numerous other passes by the NFL How about this............WE PLEDGE TO STOP FUCKING CHEATING, WE"RE SORRY!!! Spreading the word.... patfanken Experienced Starter w/First Big Contract I have a theory. I think the main reason why more NFL fans have had such a hard time seeing what is so clear to us in this Deflategate thing, comes from the fact that they sincerely believe that the Patriots must be doing SOMETHING illegal. They believe this because they have completely bought into the concept that the NFL is geared to Parity. Teams rise, and then they fall, only to rise again. They see it happen almost every year. So when looking through THAT kind of prism, it's not hard to understand why after 14 consecutive years of winning seasons, 12 consecutive years of double digit wins, 6 superbowl appearances, with 4 wins, etc; why they might question how this organization can maintain this excellence, when NO one else in the salary cap era can come close. SOMTHING has to be going on. Right? So when the NFL (who HATES that the Pats aren't conforming to the Parity Imperative) creates deflategate out of thin air, and then sells it with the propaganda mastery of Goebbels or Ailes; we can now understand why, even when presented with overwhelming evidence to the contrary, they still hold on to the illusion that SOMETHING isn't fully Kosher in NE. When I saw the excellent clip on Junior Seau, which peeks behind the barriers BB usually puts up, and allows us to see into a team meeting It showed a side of the Pats that I wish the league knew more about..... Hell that WE knew more about. It wasn't the sterile, cool, antiseptic version that the rest of the league identifies us with. It was warm. It was funny. It was watching a group of men who work hard, with a common goal reflecting on a iconic figure who passed ever so briefly through their lives, and the impact he had on them. A group of men who obviously like and respect each other, but also the men that play the game the right way. It's not easy to be a Patriot. It's not for everyone. The REAL secret of their long running success comes NOT from deflated footballs, NOT from any advantage rung from illegal films, but rather because they simply work harder, get prepared better, and are more consistently disciplined and focused than their opponents. It sounds so ridiculously simple when you say it like that, but it is incredibly hard to put into action., And MANY times more difficult to "maintain" that level of excellence over a long period of time. THAT's the genius of Bill Bellichick. Not that he got them to the point of success, but that he's KEPT them there. To that end, THAT is what marks BB as the greatest of all time. The NFL has seen their share of great coaches. Guys who were great innovators. Guys who were great motivators. But NO one has been able to put together the kind of consistent excellence that BB has. Only Landry, or maybe Shula come close, but they got to coach in a league that allowed teams to be kept together, longer. BB has done it during the height of the salary cap era, and maintained it through about 3 different rebuilds, where the only consistency has been Brady. This entire affair has been the product of envy and jealousy from individuals who couldn't replicate the kind of success the Pats have maintained. People who either don't know or don't WANT to know how hard it is to do what BB has done. Just because other programs can't duplicate that level of success, they believe that SOMETHING has to be going on. They don't want to believe its merely because the Patriots are usually better prepared, better coached, more disciplined and focused than their opponents. It's too simple, and IF it was so simple why hasn't everyone done it. THAT's because, while it is simple to set forth what needs to be done, its is extraordinarily hard to implement, and like I said, even harder to do it year after year after year. Parcells couldb't do it. He was never going to be a maintainer of excellence. In fact HIS greatest gift was that he recognized that in himself, and that's why every time he reached success, he was already looking for his next job. He knew he had a relatively short shelf life. Of course, BB got lucky in getting Brady so early in his tenure, and having him be able to play at such a high level for so long. But people forget 2 things. Brady was never the GOAT right out of the box. There was a process and that took several years. The other thing they forget that for the first 2 critical years Brady was with the Patriots, Bill Bellichick was his QB coach.. And it also didn't hurt that BB's benefited by being HC in the same place for 15 years with many long time assistants, all speaking the same language and on the same page. So, I'd like to propose a "propaganda" attack of our own. I'd like to break down this myth that the Pats can't be this successful without doing SOMETHING. I'd like to think that when we confront, or go to other teams' sites or converse with fans of other teams; we can explain the simple message that I've already mentioned twice. The Pats win because in a league where the margin between victory and defeat is razor thin; they are better coached, better prepared, more disciplined and focused. What makes that obscenely simple strategy work is that it arises out of an environment of just plain hard work, committed players, and very, very smart leadership. It's also why its known around the league that playing for the Pats is not for everyone. (BTW- It doesn't make you're a bad guy if it isn't for you.) I think if we offer other fans an alternative to the NFL myth making machine, they will at least become more open minded to the truth of what's happening to the Pats and more specifically Tom Brady. Just putting it out there and awaiting your comments ............. um the bolded part is ok with me on the better prepared stuff....but also being better prepared and the outcome in their favor in close games is hammered home by the funny business they do every week... It cannot be said it enough....ask the Ravens about close games and funny business
I've stayed out of this thread as tbh even if their was evidence that the Pats cheated for years.........we'd still be the Jets of Kotite, Idzik, buttfumble, geno and numerous draft misses but from across the Atlantic the whole 'Deflategate' situation is absurd! The NFL lets teams supply their own balls. Then they throw hissy fit when the balls are doctored (rubbed, varnished, worn, deflated, etc) and their own officials fail to pick up on it. Then when they take one of the teams to task they make it all about a single player who happens to be the face of the franchise, a future hall of famer and one of the most succesful players ever. Which would be absolutly the right thing to do if you actually had any freaking hard evidence! So now we are in a situation where if Goodell wins then any player or team can be punished on a presumption of guilt, if Brady wins then he's officially not guilty (when he probably is) and we'll have that rammed down our throats by Pats fans every time we * them. Why the F didn't they just punish the Pats with a fine and picks (to really punish them) and release the report highlighting that Brady, Bellicheat and the organisation was very 'iffy' and had probably disposed of evidence, were uncooperative and had probably beeen cheating for years. (so we'd have something to crow over).
You act like they arbitrarily picked on Brady. After spygate the league pushed for and changed the thresh hold for determining guilt to a preponderance of evidence (more probably than not) because of the Patriots. This is the same level required to win a civil case. In this case there was enough circumstantial evidence with Brady to meet that thresh hold. Don't worry - Goodell isn't going to start randomly punishing players without good reason. The wells report is very damning for Brady regardless of not having the smoking gun required to win a criminal court case.
Oh I totally understand why Brady is in the firing line as he IS the head guy and the person using the footballs. My befuddlement was why would they hand him a specific punishment without being in possesion of absolute proof. If as you say they only require circumstantial evidence for it to hold up in court then I guess I could see them possesing the confidence to proceed. Perhaps its just a european perspective as our native sports are not a seperated from common law as NFL, NBA, etc.. but the whole circumstantial/hearsay/conjecture element of the case sits ill at ease with the concept of innocent without incontrovertible proof. I'd still of preferred the Patriot organisation to lose picks and cash.
They did lose picks and cash. Again, absolute proof is not the thresh hold required and that changed specifically because of the spygate case.
I meants something more harsh then $1M and a 1st and 4th. Something on the lines of $12.5M to $13.5M (so the number is fixed in their heads ) and a 1st next year, 2nd the next and a 3rd or 4th the year after. If they absolutly had to punish Brady then lock him out of all football activities till Kick-off of the Pats 1st game (and lets see how he does with no pre-season) so if the Pats fail its with their golden boy available for all 16 games.
