Deflate-gate won't hurt Brady's legacy
The NFL didn't turn a blind eye this time, coming down hard on the New England Patriots, especially Tom Brady for the issues involving deflate gate.
By now you should know what deflate gate is. The issue came about after the AFC championship game against the Indianapolis Colts. Prior to the game, The Colts told the league that they had concerns about the air pressure in the Patriots' game balls.
During the first half of the game, they intercepted a Brady pass and had it examined it on the sideline. They told the league, and league officials re-inspected the game balls at halftime and found they were under the minimum allowed by league rules.
Once news broke, all hell broke loose, causing many people to call for Brady to be suspended for the upcoming Super bowl. Brady denied any wrongdoing during a long news conference a week before the Super bowl, but many including myself, didn't buy the hot air he was blowing.
A little more than a week later at the Super Bowl, he had one of the great performances of all time, and was named Super Bowl MVP. His performance was great and the balls were regular. But something about the Patriots and how they always try to play around the edges of the rules, or down right cheat, like they did when during the Spy gate scandal, just rubs me the wrong way.
Well, the league vowed to get to the bottom of the situation and enlisted the services of an independent investigator, Ted Wells, to find out what happened. The Wells report was released last week and it found that Patriots’ team staffers likely took part in an attempt to circumvent league rules and quarterback Tom Brady was probably “at least generally aware” of it.
The 243-page report found it “is more probable than not that” team staffers for the Patriots deliberately under-inflated footballs to gain an advantage.
In other words they cheated and Tom Brady new it.
So Monday, Brady was suspended four games, the team was fined $1 million and will lose its 2016 first-round draft pick and a fourth-round pick in 2017.The league said the punishment was for violating playing rules and not cooperating fully in the investigation.
In a release, the NFL said Patriots employees John Jastremski and James McNally have been indefinitely suspended without pay by the club, effective May 6. They aren't allowed to be reinstated without the NFL's permission.
If they are reinstated, the NFL said "Jastremski is prohibited from having any role in the preparation, supervision, or handling of footballs to be used in NFL games during the 2015 season. McNally is barred from serving as a locker room attendant for the game officials, or having any involvement with the preparation, supervision, or handling of footballs or any other equipment on game day."
In Wells' report, it states "it is more probable than not that Brady was at least generally aware of the inappropriate activities of McNally and Jastremski involving the release of air from Patriots game balls." Jim McNally is the official’s locker room attendant who took the game balls to the field, and stopped in a locked side bathroom for a minute and 40 seconds with the balls inside. Jastremski is the Patriots' assistant equipment man who prepared the game balls. The two texted about Brady's preference over the air pressure. Brady has said his preference was to have it at the low end of the rule, which is 12.5 psi.
My question is, why the hell the two locker room guys are suspended indefinitely and Brady is only suspended 4 games and will probably appeal that down to 2. Now, I am not that pressed over the situation, but if they have enough evidence to suspend the locker room guys and ban them from the facility why the hell does Brady get to walk around free.
Oh yea, cause he’s Tom Brady.
You see, as much as this situation puts a black eye or bad look on the short term appeal of Brady, this won’t affect his legacy one bit. Brady is one of the best quarterbacks of all time, and as long as he’s still making money for the league by throwing touchdowns, selling tickets, and drawing TV ratings, he will never face the harsh reality that players of a different stature would face.
They don’t call him the Golden Boy for nothing.
And what about Bill Belichick? Sean Peyton was suspended for a season because the league said he should have known what was going on with his team. So why isn't Belichick held to the same standard?
But it’s the Patriots. They get away with things because at the end of the day, they win. No matter what it takes, they get the job done.
But I do wonder what would have been the PSI on their balls in the game vs the Baltimore Ravens? You know the game they barely won, in the bitter cold the week before they blew out the Colts.
Hmmm……
By now you should know what deflate gate is. The issue came about after the AFC championship game against the Indianapolis Colts. Prior to the game, The Colts told the league that they had concerns about the air pressure in the Patriots' game balls.
During the first half of the game, they intercepted a Brady pass and had it examined it on the sideline. They told the league, and league officials re-inspected the game balls at halftime and found they were under the minimum allowed by league rules.
Once news broke, all hell broke loose, causing many people to call for Brady to be suspended for the upcoming Super bowl. Brady denied any wrongdoing during a long news conference a week before the Super bowl, but many including myself, didn't buy the hot air he was blowing.
A little more than a week later at the Super Bowl, he had one of the great performances of all time, and was named Super Bowl MVP. His performance was great and the balls were regular. But something about the Patriots and how they always try to play around the edges of the rules, or down right cheat, like they did when during the Spy gate scandal, just rubs me the wrong way.
Well, the league vowed to get to the bottom of the situation and enlisted the services of an independent investigator, Ted Wells, to find out what happened. The Wells report was released last week and it found that Patriots’ team staffers likely took part in an attempt to circumvent league rules and quarterback Tom Brady was probably “at least generally aware” of it.
The 243-page report found it “is more probable than not that” team staffers for the Patriots deliberately under-inflated footballs to gain an advantage.
In other words they cheated and Tom Brady new it.
So Monday, Brady was suspended four games, the team was fined $1 million and will lose its 2016 first-round draft pick and a fourth-round pick in 2017.The league said the punishment was for violating playing rules and not cooperating fully in the investigation.
In a release, the NFL said Patriots employees John Jastremski and James McNally have been indefinitely suspended without pay by the club, effective May 6. They aren't allowed to be reinstated without the NFL's permission.
If they are reinstated, the NFL said "Jastremski is prohibited from having any role in the preparation, supervision, or handling of footballs to be used in NFL games during the 2015 season. McNally is barred from serving as a locker room attendant for the game officials, or having any involvement with the preparation, supervision, or handling of footballs or any other equipment on game day."
In Wells' report, it states "it is more probable than not that Brady was at least generally aware of the inappropriate activities of McNally and Jastremski involving the release of air from Patriots game balls." Jim McNally is the official’s locker room attendant who took the game balls to the field, and stopped in a locked side bathroom for a minute and 40 seconds with the balls inside. Jastremski is the Patriots' assistant equipment man who prepared the game balls. The two texted about Brady's preference over the air pressure. Brady has said his preference was to have it at the low end of the rule, which is 12.5 psi.
My question is, why the hell the two locker room guys are suspended indefinitely and Brady is only suspended 4 games and will probably appeal that down to 2. Now, I am not that pressed over the situation, but if they have enough evidence to suspend the locker room guys and ban them from the facility why the hell does Brady get to walk around free.
Oh yea, cause he’s Tom Brady.
You see, as much as this situation puts a black eye or bad look on the short term appeal of Brady, this won’t affect his legacy one bit. Brady is one of the best quarterbacks of all time, and as long as he’s still making money for the league by throwing touchdowns, selling tickets, and drawing TV ratings, he will never face the harsh reality that players of a different stature would face.
They don’t call him the Golden Boy for nothing.
And what about Bill Belichick? Sean Peyton was suspended for a season because the league said he should have known what was going on with his team. So why isn't Belichick held to the same standard?
But it’s the Patriots. They get away with things because at the end of the day, they win. No matter what it takes, they get the job done.
But I do wonder what would have been the PSI on their balls in the game vs the Baltimore Ravens? You know the game they barely won, in the bitter cold the week before they blew out the Colts.
Hmmm……