2015 NFL Football Thread

[dsc123]

Everything that comes out of this franchise is .

Bob Kraft's latest statement:

Quote:

STATEMENT FROM NEW ENGLAND PATRIOTS CHAIRMAN AND CEO ROBERT KRAFT:

"Despite our conviction that there was no tampering with footballs, it was our intention to accept any discipline levied by the league. Today’s punishment, however, far exceeded any reasonable expectation. It was based completely on circumstantial rather than hard or conclusive evidence.

"We are humbled by the support the New England Patriots have received from our fans throughout the world. We recognize our fans’ concerns regarding the NFL’s penalties and share in their disappointment in how this one-sided investigation was handled, as well as the dismissal of the scientific evidence supported by the Ideal Gas Law in the final report.

" Tom Brady has our unconditional support. Our belief in him has not wavered."

So much for accepting the penalty and moving on.  A lie?  The Patriots?  Never.  Its just changed circumstances--Kraft assumed his BFF would give him a discount.

But Tom Brady has your support?  No tampering?  Really?  Then how come....

Quote:

Patriots owner Robert Kraft advised Commissioner Roger Goodell last week that Patriots employees John Jastremski and James McNally have been indefinitely suspended without pay by the club, effective on May 6th.

http://www.nfl.com/news/story/0ap3000000492190/printable/nfl-statement-on-patriots-violations

What were they suspended for if there was no tampering? You'd think that with all this practice, they'd at least be good at lying by now.  Why do you give Tom your unconditional support but not the equipment guys he bullied?

Oh, and when Goodell suspends a wife beater for 2 games, and when the video leaks lies and says he had never seen it, who was right beside him?

Quote:

“I know our commissioner has taken some heat, and I just want to say that I spoke with him yesterday when this came out, not knowing what was going to happen and knowing I was coming in here, and he had no knowledge of this video,” Kraft said. “ The way he has handled this situation himself, coming out with the mea culpa in his statement a couple weeks ago, or ten days ago, and setting a very clear policy of how we conduct ourselves in the NFL, I thought was excellent. Anyone who is second guessing that doesn’t know him.”

When a coach is suspended for an entire season without evidence that he knew what was happening:

Quote:

Robert Kraft, owner of the New England Patriots, said he wouldn't judge the harshness of Mr. Payton's suspension, but that he agreed with the message it sent. "I'm very proud that the commissioner is putting the health and safety of players first," he said. "I don't want any person in this country, any mother in this country, worrying that her son can't play football for health and safety reasons."

http://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424052702304636404577295602826944034

But touch The Golden Boy and .....

Quote:

The strong relationship between Robert Kraft and Roger Goodell is “pretty much dead,” an NFL owner told Bleacher Report’s Mike Freeman on Monday.

Read more at: http://nesn.com/2015/05/nfl-owner-robert-kraft-roger-goodell-relationship-is-pretty-much-dead/

Everyone likes to point out that there are bigger problems in the NFL than Tom Brady.  But each time the NFL screws up those cases, the Patriots are right there to support the Commish.  As long as its hurts another team.

[turtleback]

The reporting on this issue is unbelievably lazy.

Every writer who says theres no evidence should lose their job.

Certainly they did not say the same thing when the Patriots te was convicted for murder without any dorect evidence.

But, but, but, in Hernandez's case there was no smoking gun!

[saevel25]

[meenman]

This cant surprise anyone......

http://nypost.com/2015/05/13/brady-used-deflated-footballs-back-in-2004-opposing-qb/

[jsgolfer]

This cant surprise anyone......

http://nypost.com/2015/05/13/brady-used-deflated-footballs-back-in-2004-opposing-qb/

And he waited 11 years to make this known.  Right.  And the refs didn't notice.  Whatever.

[saevel25]

And he waited 11 years to make this known.  Right.  And the refs didn't notice.  Whatever.

Pretty much. If you are comparing a beat up football to was is suppose to be a brand new one, how can the refs not notice this? New ball = shiny and smoother. Beat up = duller, scuffed, rougher.

[jsgolfer]

Pretty much. If you are comparing a beat up football to was is suppose to be a brand new one, how can the refs not notice this? New ball = shiny and smoother. Beat up = duller, scuffed, rougher.

Ex-Players that got beat by the Patriots need to get some Cheese with all their whining.

[newtogolf]

Pretty much. If you are comparing a beat up football to was is suppose to be a brand new one, how can the refs not notice this? New ball = shiny and smoother. Beat up = duller, scuffed, rougher.

I have a friend that has QB'ed in touch and flag football leagues for over 40 years.  He hates new footballs (too difficult to grip) and when he has to replace one of his footballs, he has an entire process he uses to doctor the football so it provides a better grip that includes sanding and baking in an oven.

I'd guess every pro QB feels the same way and would try to doctor the football unless they have huge hands so grip isn't an issue.

[saevel25]

I have a friend that has QB'ed in touch and flag football leagues for over 40 years.  He hates new footballs (too difficult to grip) and when he has to replace one of his footballs, he has an entire process he uses to doctor the football so it provides a better grip that includes sanding and baking in an oven.

I'd guess every pro QB feels the same way and would try to doctor the football unless they have huge hands so grip isn't an issue.

I think the NFL should take a page from MLB. Take control of the equipment, prepare them to what the majority of the QB's like. Get all the QB's in the NFL to test like up to 10 footballs that have been roughed up to a certain degree. I am sure there might be something like level 6 or 7 that get majority of the votes. I am sure some like it extremely worn down and others like a newer football.

[iacas]

I think the NFL should take a page from MLB. Take control of the equipment, prepare them to what the majority of the QB's like. Get all the QB's in the NFL to test like up to 10 footballs that have been roughed up to a certain degree. I am sure there might be something like level 6 or 7 that get majority of the votes. I am sure some like it extremely worn down and others like a newer football.

They haven't done that since Brady and Manning pressured them to let them control their own footballs.

[Golfingdad]

I think the NFL should take a page from MLB. Take control of the equipment, prepare them to what the majority of the QB's like. Get all the QB's in the NFL to test like up to 10 footballs that have been roughed up to a certain degree. I am sure there might be something like level 6 or 7 that get majority of the votes. I am sure some like it extremely worn down and others like a newer football.

Do you really want that, or are you just saying that you want that as a reaction to this whole controversy?

The NFL is (mostly) about entertainment, and they are the most entertaining when they are all at their best.  Nobody remembers sloppy games where QB's went 5-22 passing and everybody fumbled 500 times.  We remember (and this is why we watch) the games where the QBs and running backs alike are doing very well.

Seems to me like it wouldn't be that hard for them to just allow the teams to prepare their own balls however the heck they like and just let the Umpire use a little common sense in a case where some team tries to come out with a flat or bulging ball.  He touches the ball on every play and he can just do as a baseball umpire and toss it out and get a new one.

[saevel25]

Do you really want that, or are you just saying that you want that as a reaction to this whole controversy?

No, I like the idea of the NFL being in control of the football.

[Golfingdad]

No, I like the idea of the NFL being in control of the football.

Fair enough.

(Now, go learn how to use an air compressor, you dope.)

[Golfingdad]

Here's a good, level-headed, article about the whole thing: http://sports.yahoo.com/news/this-is-how-the-nfl-let-deflate-gate-get-so-out-of-control-and-ridiculous-200459796.html

Biggest takeaway that I believe to be true, regarding how Goodell could've better handled the whole debacle (emphasis is mine):

Goodell could have looked at the pressure levels, saw that in the context of natural weather-related deflation it was fairly insignificant, doled out some kind of fine or even sanction and killed the kerfuffle in its tracks. It would have saved his league from all sorts of negative headlines and conspiracy theories.

A good commissioner would've done just that. He's supposed to "protect the shield," not provide talk radio fodder. There is just no way Adam Silver, Paul Tagliabue or David Stern lets this go down.

[dsc123]

The more I think about it, the more I don't understand the outrage over the penalty.  4 games really isn't that big of a deal.  Its not like he has been banned for life or something.  It makes it harder, but not impossible (or even unlikely) that his team will make the playoffs, but that's the whole point of having a penalty---you have to lose something.

People think it should have been 2 games, not 4?  Is that really that big of a deal?  I think the Patriot's went from being a favorite in 4 of the first 4 games to being the favorite in 3 of them.  Their vegas predicted win total went from 11 to 10.5 or something.

I know I'm very firmly on one side here, but even I would say that cheating is a common part of sports.  I even like the idea of cheating in a fun, almost folksy kind of way.  But with that comes penalties and stigma when you're caught.  To cheat, get caught, obstruct the investigation, then play the victim.....

But I would really like to hear an explanation from Kraft as to why he suspended the ball guys if there was no tampering...

[newtogolf]

The more I think about it, the more I don't understand the outrage over the penalty.  4 games really isn't that big of a deal.  Its not like he has been banned for life or something.  It makes it harder, but not impossible (or even unlikely) that his team will make the playoffs, but that's the whole point of having a penalty---you have to lose something.

People think it should have been 2 games, not 4?  Is that really that big of a deal?  I think the Patriot's went from being a favorite in 4 of the first 4 games to being the favorite in 3 of them.  Their vegas predicted win total went from 11 to 10.5 or something.

I know I'm very firmly on one side here, but even I would say that cheating is a common part of sports.  I even like the idea of cheating in a fun, almost folksy kind of way.  But with that comes penalties and stigma when you're caught.  To cheat, get caught, obstruct the investigation, then play the victim.....

But I would really like to hear an explanation from Kraft as to why he suspended the ball guys if there was no tampering...

I'm in agreement with you, but we're looking at it from the fan perspective or more likely anti-fan.  The league arbitrator will have a tough time defending 4 games on circumstantial evidence and hearsay.  I haven't seen any evidence published that proves Brady was involved, so it may have been wise for Brady to deny access to his phone, text messages and e-mail.

In the end I can envision a 2 game suspension and the rest of the punishment (2016 1st and 2017 4th round picks forfeited and the $1M fine) being upheld as there is proof the organization was guilty of cheating.

[jsgolfer]

I'm in agreement with you, but we're looking at it from the fan perspective or more likely anti-fan.  The league arbitrator will have a tough time defending 4 games on circumstantial evidence and hearsay.  I haven't seen any evidence published that proves Brady was involved, so it may have been wise for Brady to deny access to his phone, text messages and e-mail.

In the end I can envision a 2 game suspension and the rest of the punishment (2016 1st and 2017 4th round picks forfeited and the $1M fine) being upheld as there is proof the organization was guilty of cheating.

Huh, the Patriots and Belichek were cleared of any wrong doing, where is the proof that they cheated?  Where is any proof about anything, other then some veiled attempt to assume what the text messages were about.

[Golfingdad]

The more I think about it, the more I don't understand the outrage over the penalty.  4 games really isn't that big of a deal.  Its not like he has been banned for life or something.  It makes it harder, but not impossible (or even unlikely) that his team will make the playoffs, but that's the whole point of having a penalty---you have to lose something. People think it should have been 2 games, not 4?  Is that really that big of a deal?  I think the Patriot's went from being a favorite in 4 of the first 4 games to being the favorite in 3 of them.  Their vegas predicted win total went from 11 to 10.5 or something.  I know I'm very firmly on one side here, but even I would say that cheating is a common part of sports.  I even like the idea of cheating in a fun, almost folksy kind of way.  But with that comes penalties and stigma when you're caught.  To cheat, get caught, obstruct the investigation, then play the victim.....:roll: But I would really like to hear an explanation from Kraft as to why he suspended the ball guys if there was no tampering...

Besides Kraft and Bostonians are there really any people that are outraged over the penalty though?