Deflategate – My Honest Opinion

I’m not foolish, I’m not oblivious and I’m not going to play dumb, something shady happened in New England on the night of the AFC Championship game. The Patriots violated a policy of the NFL, no matter which way we look at it.

Regardless if footballs were deflated or not, the Patriots should be punished. At best, the ball boy who took the footballs into a private bathroom broke a rule and the Patriots should be fined for that.

At worst? The Patriots did deliberately try and deflate footballs and, as a result, cheat. That’s worse, and it likely does deserve a suspension or worse for the parties involved. Anyone with any common sense, Patriots fan or not, knows that.

Here’s the thing, for the NFL, this is no longer about PSI, it’s no longer about being factually correct or doing what is right, it’s about sending a message.

I don’t care how much you hate the Patriots, like I mentioned about them doing something wrong, you just can’t deny that this is, on some level, a personal battle now between the sides.

Equipment Violation:

Okay, let’s go back to the actual issue at hand here, the deflated footballs. By definition, this is an equipment violation, a gameday violation. Now, there is no set punishment for this, but the most common punishment is a $25,000 fine.

This happens all the time. The San Diego Chargers were fined $20,000 for using ‘stick-em’ on footballs back in 2012, an issue that falls into the same category.

This past season, the Vikings and Panthers were caught heating footballs on the sideline during a meeting between the teams in Minnesota. The reaction was totally different, and the NFL did not make a stink out of this issue. This, like deflating footballs, is tampering with the ball, yet there was no issue from the NFL or fans on it.

In 2009, the New York Jets attempted to use unapproved equipment to prep the kicking balls before their game against, yes, the Patriots. An employee of the team was suspended, but the kicker faced no discipline, in fact no players did.

The kicker, like Brady, was probably aware of what was going on and stood to benefit from the act, but nothing happened to him. The NFLPA mentioned that in their lawsuit, filed earlier this week. The precedent was set with that case.

These are just a few examples, but there are plenty of others out there. If you take the time to look, you’ll find countless violations that are similar or worse to this. The results were either warnings or fines for those involved.

The Cell Phone Saga:

Tom Brady destroying his cell phone is an extremely suspicious and fishy act, there is no debating that. This reminded me a lot of Aaron Hernandez, who did the same thing right before he was arrested back in 2013.

NOW, don’t get carried away, I am NOT comparing the two situations, I’m just saying it looks bad. Brady destroyed his phone before meeting with investigators, and that looks bad no matter the spin.

If Brady’s response to it, which came out on Wednesday morning, ends up being true, then this becomes a bit of a non-factor. That said, we may never know the truth. Regardless, it’s an act that looks bad from this angle.

Here is the quote from Brady regarding the phone.

I replaced my broken Samsung phone with a new iPhone 6 AFTER my attorneys made it clear to the NFL that my actual phone device would not be subjected to investigation under ANY circumstances. As a member of a union, I was under no obligation to set a new precedent going forward, nor was I made aware at any time during Mr. Wells investigation, that failing to subject my cell phone to investigation would result in ANY discipline.

Last thing on this cellphone issue, the fact is, it had nothing to do with the investigation. Brady was asked to turn the phone over, but never actually required to do so. Ted Wells had no problem with that, this is a massive detail that is seemingly always forgotten.

The Wells Report:

The Wells Report was meant to be independent, but let’s not kid ourselves, it wasn’t fully an independent investigation. Was it a total witch hunt that was predetermined? Sure, that’s possible, but let’s leave fantasy world for a second here, because that is a highly unlikely scenario.

Most likely, Ted Wells was told by the NFL what to look for and what was suspected. His job was to find it if it was there. The NFL owners clearly have had enough of the Patriots pushing the line, and they wanted Wells to find anything that would allow them to send a message.

Wells, however, could find nothing concrete on this. Instead, we are now dealing with circumstantial evidence and no hard facts. Instead of “Tom Brady did it” we have statements like “It’s more probable than not Tom Brady knew”. Think about that for a second.

Could you imagine your boss saying you more probably than not knew of something and therefore you are getting in trouble for it, with no proof? You’d be angry and you would fight it too.

Lastly, Jeff Pash, an employee of the NFL, actually edited the Wells report before it came out, so let’s not kid ourselves here and say it was completely independent, it wasn’t.

The Lies From The NFL:

Remember that report in January that 11 of the 12 footballs were under-inflated by two pounds each? Yeah, that was a complete and total lie by a source to ESPN’s Chris Mortensen, who never even took the time to correct his monumental mistake.

Remember when the NFL said that Brady “lacked cooperation” throughout the entire process? Yeah, that’s a lie too. Ted Wells himself said that Brady was “totally cooperative”

There are more examples of this throughout the case, like how the NFL said earlier this week that Brady destroyed evidence by destroying his phone.

I know I touched on this above, but Brady offered his phone records up in this, and the NFL had the phones of every Patriots employee it asked for, AKA anyone who could have helped Brady deflate footballs.

Lastly, an investigator for the NFL said that the phone “wasn’t necessary to the case” and Ted Wells said “he didn’t want or need it.” Interesting how now all of a sudden this phone is a big deal….

Are the Patriots trustworthy? Their history would suggest you can’t exactly trust everything they say, but the NFL is arguably worse. Throughout the entire case the league has put out smoking guns to win the PR battle, and it has worked.

However, if you take any ounce of time to go back and read what is being put out there, you can see critical factual flaws in what the NFL is saying. You best believe that will comeback to bite them at some point.

The Patriots History, It Matters:

I mentioned the Patriots history, and it’s something very relevant that just cannot be ignored. Whether or not you like the Patriots, you know they have a reputation as cheaters. It’s not by accident either, the Spygate case rocked professional sports back in 2007.

The Patriots have been fined and have lost draft picks for a variety of different reasons, but none was worse than Spygate. Unfortunately, that likely played a factor in this decision. Once you earn a certain reputation, it is hard to shake that.

The Patriots certainly do not deserve the benefit of the doubt when it comes to this stuff. What happened in Spygate was wrong, and therefore this group of coaches and this owner will always be suspected of things, that’s just how it is.

I’d imagine owners, like Woody Johnson of the Jets, have had their eyes on Belichick and the Pats for years because of this. I’m not complaining about it either, because they brought that extra attention on themselves years ago.

Who Is Right, Who Is Wrong?:

It’s pretty hard to say who is right and who is wrong in this case. Honestly, I think the fair thing to say would be that both sides are wrong here. The Patriots had SOMETHING go on in that locker room, while the NFL has handled this worse than the WWE handles things.

If the Patriots had simply admitted something went wrong and handled it the day after the AFC Championship, they likely would have received a team fine and the story would have been dead by the Super Bowl. Instead, they got into a measuring contest and prolonged this whole thing.

The NFL, meanwhile, has handled this completely wrong. They’ve made things up along the way to cover their tracks, and made a key mistake. They came down heavy on a team and a player with no concrete evidence that anything actually went down, it was a pure reputation penalty.

There was no precedent to suspend Brady, to fine the Patriots that much or to take away a first round draft pick. The NFL did this because they wanted to send some sort of message, because Goodell wanted to look good after he royally screwed up Ray Rice, Adrian Peterson and Greg Hardy.

Both parties are wrong, and in all honesty, both parties look like ten year olds fighting over absolutely nothing.

After all, that’s exactly what this is, a fight over nothing.

Final Thoughts:

Deflategate has been the dumbest sports story of my lifetime, it really has. The Patriots likely did something wrong here, but the NFL is acting like the old Soviet Union in terms of their discipline. The league has spread lies and, quite frankly, went over the line with their rulings.

They’ve alienated one of the most powerful owners in the game and beat-up THE poster-child of their sport, it’s hard to imagine Tom Brady ever respecting this league again. That’s an unfortunate loss for both sides.

In the end, we are likely going to court. If the NFL loses, they’ll look foolish for the fourth time in a year, while if Brady loses, he’ll have faced a suspension for such a little act that might have never even happened. It’s just going to end ugly no matter what.

Both sides would do well to settle on this before court and get back to what is important, football. Unfortunately, the NFL is more concerned with making the month of August look more like “Mean Girls” than camp season.

We wait for the next step.

Patriots – The Jonas Gray Experience

Sunday night was all about that 12. The old 12, Tom Brady, against the new 12, Andrew Luck. It was supposed to be a shootout, the biggest game of the year and in primetime for Indy.

Viewers expecting a battle between Luck and Brady were surprised to see the show stolen by someone who they didn’t expect, heck, who they didn’t even know. His name is Jonas, Jonas Gray.

Gray was a running back for the University of Notre Dame, but was never actually the feature back in college. At best, Jonas was simply a back who split time, but often he found himself as the clear cut back-up.

In 2012, when it was time to go to the draft, Gray never heard his name called by any of the 32 NFL franchises. He got a shot in Miami, but was placed on the PUP list and didn’t play a snap in 2012.

He worked out relentlessly however, and was mentored by star back Reggie Bush, who at the time was in Miami. Gray came to camp with the Dolphins in 2013, but was among the final cuts in late August.

He caught on with Baltimore, signing on to the defending Super Bowl champion Ravens’ practice squad. There, according to Gray, he served as the tackle dummy for superstar Terrell Suggs during practices.

He said both Suggs and Bush taught him how to be a good pro, something he values.

In January of 2014, Gray signed on with the Patriots, and went through the off-season with the team, eventually getting a shot in camp and a good look during the pre-season. He was among the final cuts, but landed on the practice squad and kept grinding away at his dream.

They say hard work pays off, and in this case, it did. Good things come to those who wait. In a game against Buffalo in early October, Patriots starter Stevan Ridley tore his ACL, ending his season and opening a huge hole on the Patriot offense. The replacement was to be internal.

Days later, the Pats elevated Gray to the active roster, and he’s been in the lineup ever since. His past performances were nothing to write about, a 25 yard day here, an eleven yard day there, that is until Sunday.

Jonas Gray exploded onto the scene, rushing the football 37 times, for a total of 201 yards, and the first four touchdowns of his pro career.

In game number four, Gray exploded onto the scene, on Sunday Night Football, and stole the show right from the hands of Tom Brady and Andrew Luck.

He helped pace the Patriots to their biggest win on the road in over three seasons, and will live forever in Patriot history should this season be more than any other year, like 2001, 2003 and 2004.

Is Jonas Gray about to become a superstar in the NFL, the next big running back to take the league by storm? It’s too early to say, it was only one game, but it was still a night to remember.

The Patriots are a team that preaches the “Next man up” mentality, and on Sunday night, the next man up stole the show and paced the Patriots to a huge victory over Indy.

The Jonas Gray experience in primetime, what a thing of beauty it was.

The Patriots Fan’s Guide to TNF – Chargers Or Broncos?

It’s the most pressing question in Patriots Nation right now, who do you root for tonight? The obvious answer is the Chargers, because, well if you root for Peyton Manning then you are breaking rule number one of being a Patriots fan.

Tonight might be the night however, tonight might just be the night to root for Denver to get a victory. Why, you ask? Well let me explain my line of thought here.

The Patriots are currently 5-2 on the season, just a half game back of Denver for the number one seed in the AFC. The Patriots also have games remaining against both the Chargers and the Broncos, with the Denver game being at home a week from Sunday, and the Chargers tilt being on the road.

That game in San Diego is going to be on Sunday Night Football, and will likely be the Chargers second biggest game of the year, only behind their home-date against these same Broncos. You know, on the prime-time stage, that the Chargers will come out flying. Personally, I don’t see a way that the Patriots can go out to San Diego and come home with a win, I just don’t.

On the other hand, the Patriots host Denver, in a venue where Peyton Manning has struggled in a massive way throughout his NFL career. There’s something about it, when Manning comes to New England he rarely leaves with a victory. He could be up 24-0, could have the best offense in football, but some how some way, he never seems to win here.

Personally, I believe that New England’s best chance to get a win against these two teams comes at home against the Denver Broncos, and not on the road in San Diego later on in the season. As long as this team takes care of business on Sunday against the Bears, they should be fighting for the one seed.

We have to put the bias aside here, and look out for what is best for this Patriot team moving forward. If we want to see this team in the Super Bowl, and I’m assuming we all do, then the one seed is an absolute must. The best way to get the one seed? Hope Denver wins tonight and then take care of business against them at home next Sunday afternoon.

Sure, for those three hours tonight you’ll probably feel pretty dirty rooting for the Broncos. I’ll be in a room with the door locked and shades down so no one sees this embarrassing moment of rooting for Manning, but tonight it will happen.

If you are a Patriots fan, and you are interested in the one seed, a Broncos win is the best case scenario. If that happens, and the Patriots take care of business this week and next week, then the one seed will be in New England’s hands. That would be a massive step towards claiming a Super Bowl appearance in January.

The Patriots Empire Strikes Back

Last week, we took a look at the era of Patriot reign, and asked the tough question of it was over or not. Less than a week after being embarrassed in Kansas City, the Patriot empire struck back in a way that not many thought would happen, a 43-17 victory at home over undefeated Cincinnati.

It was picture perfect, and it started on the team’s first play, a 20-yard strike from a fired up Tom Brady to Brandon LaFell, who has turned it on the last two weeks and is starting to look like a legit part of this offense. The Pats, who went for it on a key fourth down, scored on a one-yard Stevan Ridley touchdown that basically put the game away just under five minutes into things.

The Pats, who would get touchdowns from Tim Wright, Kyle Arrington and Rob Gronkowski to go with five Gostkowski field goals, had their best offensive game of the season, and were backed by an upstart defensive unit.

Darrelle Revis was allowed to play man coverage, and he shut-down Bengals top weapon AJ Green all night long. Only when Revis was off the field was Green able to find the end-zone and get a good chunk of his final yardage. The island was out in full force Sunday night, and this was the Revis we had all been waiting for.

Maybe most importantly however was the return of solid offensive line play. Rookie Bryan Stork was solid at center, while veteran Dan Connolly really calmed things down for the Patriots. Both Sebastian Vollmer and Nate Solder, who I ripped to shreds just days ago, looked solid on the night as well. Carlos Dunlap and Geno Atkins were no where to be seen most of the night.

Rob Gronkowski looked like his old self again Sunday, while new additions Tim Wright and Brandon LaFell both had huge impacts on the offense. LaFell provides the Patriots with a solid option with size, while Wright fills the hole left by Aaron Hernandez when he threw his career away in the summer of 2013.

To me, this was a massive game for the Patriots to win. The team showed real confidence and finally showed that fight that pushed them to the AFC title game one season ago. On top of that, the execution was really good, in fact it was what we expected to see from this revamped team all season long. It was a welcomed sign for a team that slept-walked through the first month of the year.

If the offensive line can keep up their momentum this Sunday in Buffalo, the Patriots should be in business. When you block, you can run the ball, and when you can run, it opens up the passing game. Oh, and when that Brady guy has time, well he has this way of making you pay for it.

Are the Patriots back, can we start booking our flights to Arizona for the Super Bowl? Not quite yet, so hold the phone there cowboy, but you can certainly sleep a little easier this week. The empire struck back in a major way Sunday night, and it couldn’t have come a second sooner.

Hey Bill, we’re on to Buffalo.