NFL 2015 Season (2 Viewers)

[mikemiller1955]

George...

your worst case scenario is that Gorappolo loses all 4 games...

and he probably won't...

all you have to do in the NFL is make the playoffs...

just make the playoffs...

it's not a grueling 7 game per team playoff schedule like the NBA...

it's one game at a time...and you advance...

by playoff time...Brady should be in full swing...

just make the playoffs...and win one game at a time...look at the 2011 9-7 NYG...

if NE wins 11.........or maybe 10 games...

you're most likely in the playoffs...

as a NE fan...you should relish this season...it may be a real chance to stick it to the NFL with another ring...

and yea...like you...I would rather give up the 4 early games and have Brady 100% in the stretch where it really matters...

 

[Warrior]

Goodell said in his release that a first time PED user gets four games and he equates PED use to what Brady is accused of doing; getting a competitive advantage through the manipulation of the footballs.

Today on the local news the sports anchor was asked what his thoughts were on this; he said the destruction of the phone is a very bad look.

He also said if deflating the footballs gave Brady a competitive edge, then someone needs to explain to him how the Patriots scored two touchdowns in the first half of the AFCCG vs the Colts with underinflated balls and five touchdowns in the second half with properly inflated footballs.

He also said someone needs to explain to him how Brady throughout his career has thrown more TD's on the road vs at home where the home team provides the ballboys, ie, no chance of deflating.

This whole thing comes back to two things; the Patriots have been on the NFL's radar since 2007, Goodell has just been waiting to clobber them again and Brady brought all of this upon himself with that snarky comment towards Harbaugh as that comment set the wheels in motion for all of this.

Also, Mr Kraft learned the hard way that among NFL owners, he has no friends; pretty clear the majority of them are annoyed at the Patriots success and are happy they got whacked. Guaranteed his whole attitude towards the rest of the owners is now different; the next time there is a strike, he'd better be the LAST person the rest of the owners run to to help them resolve it as Kraft was instrumental in getting the last labor issue resolved.

You're on your own from now all Jerrah and the rest of you back stabbing frauds.

As a toy soldier dealer, I have no enemies in this business, I get along well with the rest of the dealers, some more than others. If anything happened to any of them, the last thing I'd be is happy about it.

To me, the owners relishing this is probably the most disappointing aspect of it; as far as the fans of other teams, the fact that 99% of them are thrilled over this doesn't bother me in the least as that's what I expected, so soak it all in and when your team gets whacked for something, be prepared for other fans to bust your balls over it...................what goes around comes around.

None of you will get any sympathy from me.

 

[mikemiller1955]

You're on your own from now all Jerrah and the rest of you back stabbing frauds.

George...

is this a direct reference to me?

you have used the derogatory moniker of "Jerrah" in the past to refer to Jerry Jones...
and while I have never complained about it being insulting...
never even publicly acknowledged it...
I just took it as "hard kidding"...
but as far as I know...
I'm the only Cowboys fan on this thread...

so...is this a direct reference to me?

Me specifically?

I'm singled out in your group of back stabbing frauds?

is that what you're saying?

you know...ever since we talked...and you asked me to back off Brady on the forum...not only did I...but I have been one of the most supporting posters for leniency...a reduced penalty...and a swift and speedy resolution to this...I have tried to be optimistically encouraging to you over this...

and now...all the sudden...I'm a back stabbing fraud?

 

[jazzeum]

Going to have to disagree with you on this George.

Putting aside what you said in the first part of your post, if this comes down to the NFL and the other owners getting even, it's because the rest of football perceives, justly or unjustly, that the Patriots bend the rules or push the rules up to but not past the breaking point in order to gain a competitive advantage.

If that is the perception, they were bound, sooner or later to get caught. Moreover, if that is indeed the perception, why give Goodell and the other owners the ammunition to catch you. This perception was only accentuated by Brady breaking his phone, the proverbial straw that broke the camel's back. I saw this likened to the missing 18 minute gap in the Nixon tapes. Once this happened -- and obviously the other owners knew it before yesterday -- I don't think Goodell had a choice. Anything less than a 4 game suspension would have been viewed as weakness.

 

[Warrior]

George...

is this a direct reference to me?

you have used the derogatory moniker of "Jerrah" in the past to refer to Jerry Jones...
and while I have never complained about it being insulting...
never even publicly acknowledged it...
I just took it as "hard kidding"...
but as far as I know...
I'm the only Cowboys fan on this thread...

so...is this a direct reference to me?

Me specifically?

I'm singled out in your group of back stabbing frauds?

is that what you're saying?

you know...ever since we talked...and you asked me to back off Brady on the forum...not only did I...but I have been one of the most supporting posters for leniency...a reduced penalty...and a swift and speedy resolution to this...I have tried to be optimistically encouraging to you over this...

and now...all the sudden...I'm a back stabbing fraud?

Mike,
My comment wasn't directed at you personally or anyone specifically on the forum, sorry if you read it that way as it was not intended that way.

The comment towards Jones and back stabbing frauds was from Mr Krafts perspective towards the rest of the owners; reports are coming out that multiple (as in more than one) owners have gone to Goodell and told him not to go easy/reduce the suspension on Brady.

I've never heard of any other situation where the owners went to Goodell and put their .02 cents in; if it doesn't concern your team directly, then stay out of it.

Again, nothing in my post was directed at any forum members, sorry for the confusion due to the way the post was written by me.

 

[sammy719]

Tom,
Destroying the phone was a stupid, idiotic thing to do.

I don't understand how he could do that and not think it would come back to bite him.

If he is innocent and has nothing to hide, then there is no reason to destroy the phone.

That said, the NFL has butchered this thing from jump, they turned a minor thing into a massive scandal.

Why are we just hearing now about the phone, we were told the phone was not given up, not that it was destroyed.

Why; because the NFL held it back for the appeal, the appeal that Roger himself heard.

Now we go to court, this is going to get messier and uglier.

We've been talking about deflated footballs for seven months and counting.

On and on it goes, it's never going to end.

Your first line says it all George, pretty stupid to destroy evidence when it is called into question during a investigation, even after brady made some comments on it today it still made no sense, if you have nothing to hide what is the big deal??, but also after reading the reports about the text messages/calls sent from Brady to the equiptment men (from thier cell phone records) only a day after the story broke and went on for 3 days and before any of this went public Brady had only talked to these 2 guys only a time here or there in the past, just way to much evidence that has now come out.

Sorry George and other Pat fans but it is what it is, as I have lived through the missing white suit, the punch heard around the world, suspended players from banned substances to D.U.I. s, weed, etc. as a fan of the Ravens other fans could care less of my teams punishments/suspensions, and are the first to speak up and scream "hang 'em!!!" "they are all guilty!!!!!! no one is losing sleep in 31 other cities tonite that Brady will possibly miss the first 4 games, just life in the NFL, sounds kinda harsh, kind of like reading a injury report before a big game, so Gronk is hurt this week against my Ravens and won't play that's great!!! no, not really, I wish no injury on any NFL player but if it so happens he doesn't play against the Ravens well that's fine, but next week I'll be his biggest fan and supporter and cheer him on as he plays against the Steelers!!! I personally believe once or if Brady takes it to the courts to hear this case it will tied up for months, if he's not on the field for game 1, I'll be surprised...Sammy

 

[Warrior]

George...

your worst case scenario is that Gorappolo loses all 4 games...

and he probably won't...

all you have to do in the NFL is make the playoffs...

just make the playoffs...

it's not a grueling 7 game per team playoff schedule like the NBA...

it's one game at a time...and you advance...

by playoff time...Brady should be in full swing...

just make the playoffs...and win one game at a time...look at the 2011 9-7 NYG...

if NE wins 11.........or maybe 10 games...

you're most likely in the playoffs...

as a NE fan...you should relish this season...it may be a real chance to stick it to the NFL with another ring...

and yea...like you...I would rather give up the 4 early games and have Brady 100% in the stretch where it really matters...

Understood and valid points all around (as usual). I am sure the Patriots are circling the wagons over this; again, the last time the league whacked them, they went 16-0 and lets be honest, there were more than a couple of instances where they ran up the score that year on teams.

I don't think this team is built to do that again (Hell, no other team has ever won 16 regular season games), but Belichick will have them ready to go on opening night.

All I can say Mike is I know you like to make a wager or two on sports; if the suspension is upheld and Brady sits out the first four games, the fifth game is vs the Colts, the team that is widely recognized as the straw that stirred this drink, so 107-0 wouldn't be out of the question for that game, so circle that one on your calendar.

We'll see how the season plays out; like Michael said, Brady should just take the suspension and move on.

Brad could speak better on this than I ever could, but I don't see how he wins in court; they were fined, the fine was appealed, the appeal was denied by an arbitrator. The fact that the arbitrator was in fact the person who handed down the fine is irrelevant I would assume, near as I can tell, judges don't like to rule against arbitrators.

 

[Combat]

I read today the Pats have suspended the equipment guys indefinitely even though they are still claiming no one did anything wrong. That seems like a strange thing to do if they believe they are innocent.

 

[Warrior]

Your first line says it all George, pretty stupid to destroy evidence when it is called into question during a investigation, even after brady made some comments on it today it still made no sense, if you have nothing to hide what is the big deal??, but also after reading the reports about the text messages/calls sent from Brady to the equiptment men (from thier cell phone records) only a day after the story broke and went on for 3 days and before any of this went public Brady had only talked to these 2 guys only a time here or there in the past, just way to much evidence that has now come out.

Sorry George and other Pat fans but it is what it is, as I have lived through the missing white suit, the punch heard around the world, suspended players from banned substances to D.U.I. s, weed, etc. as a fan of the Ravens other fans could care less of my teams punishments/suspensions, and are the first to speak up and scream "hang 'em!!!" "they are all guilty!!!!!! no one is losing sleep in 31 other cities tonite that Brady will possibly miss the first 4 games, just life in the NFL, sounds kinda harsh, kind of like reading a injury report before a big game, so Gronk is hurt this week against my Ravens and won't play that's great!!! no, not really, I wish no injury on any NFL player but if it so happens he doesn't play against the Ravens well that's fine, but next week I'll be his biggest fan and supporter and cheer him on as he plays against the Steelers!!! I personally believe once or if Brady takes it to the courts to hear this case it will tied up for months, if he's not on the field for game 1, I'll be surprised...Sammy

Agreed Sammy 100%.

The more this goes on, the more it looks bad for Brady; they had a legal expert on the local radio here a short time ago and he said if Brady had come out from the beginning and said he was sorry, didn't know the rule on the balls, the equipment guys took it too far, he apologizes, etc, etc, he gets a fine and a one or two game suspension and life goes on.

The more he denies he did anything the worse it looks. Some yahoo called in and said if he's guilty, why is he pursuing this in court and why keep pushing, the guy said he thinks Brady is innocent.

Reminds me of Rafiel Palmero during the steroid hearings waving his finger at the person and angrily saying he'd never, EVER used PED's when in fact, he had and the truth came out. Deny, deny, deny, guilty.

If this thing goes to court, I guarantee you the NFL has something big they will drop in court; I know if I was guilty of a crime, I'd fess up and not keep pushing and claiming innocence as the more you push and more evidence that comes out you're guilty, the worse you look.

If he had just come out and come clean initially, this would have all gone away by now; from now on, he's Tom Brady, 6th round draft choice, four time SB winner, one time league MVP, CHEATER...............................I wonder if he gets into the HOF now?

 

[mikemiller1955]

Mike,
My comment wasn't directed at you personally or anyone specifically on the forum, sorry if you read it that way as it was not intended that way.

The comment towards Jones and back stabbing frauds was from Mr Krafts perspective towards the rest of the owners; reports are coming out that multiple (as in more than one) owners have gone to Goodell and told him not to go easy/reduce the suspension on Brady.

I've never heard of any other situation where the owners went to Goodell and put their .02 cents in; if it doesn't concern your team directly, then stay out of it.

Again, nothing in my post was directed at any forum members, sorry for the confusion due to the way the post was written by me.

I have kept up with this from the onset of the accusations...

has Kraft directed comments that indicate he is accusing "Jerrah" or the Cowboy's organization of pressuring Goodell to put the hammer down on the Pat's organization...

cause I have not seen it that way at all...
if you have...let me know...
I would like to read that article...

from the comments I have seen from Jerry Jones...
they have been Kraft positive...
pro NE...

the last thing I read was that Bisciotti publicly denied the accusations where ESPN's Sal Paolantonio accused him of pressuring Goodell...

since then...
Paolantonio backed off his comments during a Monday appearance on WJZ-FM in Baltimore...

I don't know of any owners that are pressuring Goodell to crush Brady...

this is a personal thing between Brady and Goodell...

I told you months ago...
it was all about the phone...

now Brady has destroyed the only piece of evidence that had a chance to exonerate him...

why he did it...
only he knows for sure...

the case is built on speculation...
the case is built on...that Brady was more than generally aware of what happened...

but you and me...
were cool...
thanks for the clarification...

 

[Warrior]

Mike,
There were reports that two organizations were pressuring Goodell about not reducing the suspension, the Colts and the Ravens. These are also arguably their two biggest competitors in the AFC and the two organizations that public knowledge confirms were in on the start of the sting vs Brady and the Patriots.

Like I said, Brady made a snarky comment to Harbaugh, Harbaugh dimed them out to the Colts, the Colts dimed them out to the league and the league set up the sting to nail them.

There were other reports that insiders were claiming numerous owners have been saying for years the Patriots push the envelope and they are sick of them. Like Brad said; my only question would be "So they don't actually cheat, but the push the envelope, play within the rules, play up to the rules like with the formations vs the Ravens and owners are sick of that?"

That seems pretty petty to me.

But, we're talking about millionaires and billionaires who are in effect mostly little boys who never grew up, so there you go.

Brady came out with a very strongly worded statement today claiming innocence, it's pretty compelling.

It's also one of two things; he's either innocent as he says, or he's got horrendous people around him advising him/he's a complete and utter moron. Only a moron would continue to claim innocence and be guilty; the evidence is going to come out regarding your guilt at some point, so stop with the "I'm innocent" crap as you keep digging the grave deeper and deeper if in fact you are guilty.

I'm finding this compelling if nothing else; I'm at the point where I want it to go to court and either A.) Evidence comes out showing he's 100% innocent or B.) Evidence comes out showing he's 100% guilty.

Either way, the dumpster fire than ensues will be epic.

Like I said Mike, take the Patriots minus the points vs the Colts, it's going to be a beat down of epic proportions.

Glad we're back on the same page, I don't want you coming into my room at OTSN and punching my lights out, it would be tough to then go to dinner with you missing all my chicklets...............

 

[Combat]

Lance Armstrong proclaimed his innocence for years lying through his teeth even though he knew he cheated and had been caught. MLB was full of deniers about the steroid use. All liars. It is somewhat inexplicable but these guys have enormous egos and are surrounded by hangers on who give them awful advice. If Brady had come clean it would have been a minor fine and done. It's the lies and cover up that is driving this.

 

[mikemiller1955]

It's also one of two things; he's either innocent as he says, or he's got horrendous people around him advising him/he's a complete and utter moron. Only a moron would continue to claim innocence and be guilty; the evidence is going to come out regarding your guilt at some point, so stop with the "I'm innocent" crap as you keep digging the grave deeper and deeper if in fact you are guilty.

I'm finding this compelling if nothing else; I'm at the point where I want it to go to court and either A.) Evidence comes out showing he's 100% innocent or B.) Evidence comes out showing he's 100% guilty.

George...

it's over...

there is nothing left to come out...it died with destroying the phone...

all the evidence is gone...

the facts of the case have been presented...the phone was the key...

without the phone...there can never be any concrete proof either way now...

even if a ball boy came forward and claimed Brady told him to do this...

Brady could still deny it...

nobody...either side can prove it now...

the phone is gone...

it either did or didn't hold all the evidence...

all the proof is gone...it's over...

if anybody is waiting for a smoking gun...a suicide note...or a confession...

it's not gonna happen...

they will hang Brady with terminology that resembles...

"Brady was generally aware of what was happening"...

as the phone is gone...
I guess he has nothing to lose by going to court now...

Brady won't accept any deal unless it is recorded with an.............."I'm innocent"...............clause...

and I don't think Goodell will give him that pleasure...

 

[mikemiller1955]

Lance Armstrong proclaimed his innocence for years lying through his teeth even though he knew he cheated and had been caught. MLB was full of deniers about the steroid use. All liars. It is somewhat inexplicable but these guys have enormous egos and are surrounded by hangers on who give them awful advice. If Brady had come clean it would have been a minor fine and done. It's the lies and cover up that is driving this.

I agree...
Andy Pettitte got off with less than a slap on the wrist...
1 pound air pressure...
it's such a small thing...

America would have forgiven this and moved on...

 

[jazzeum]

Be it politician, athlete or ordinary person, the first impulse seems to deny and then cover up. No one ever seems to learn that lesson. It cost the country a president and a loss of trust. They should probably call this the "Nixon Rule."

 

[Warrior]

The most incorrect assumption I made from jump on this was that the other owners in the NFL would rally around Mr Kraft and support him through this farce.

Boy was I wrong; the other 31 owners are happy as pigs in **** over how this has played out. Brady is gone for four games and the Patriots lost two draft picks, including a #1.

I thought Goodell would get fired over this; the other 31 will probably give him a raise.

Bottom line is the other 31 are sick of the Patriots, owners of sports franchises have massive egos and they're all pissed at how successful the Patriots have been, so they're thrilled over this.

Again, I've read where owners have gone to Goodell and demanded he keep the suspension at four games. They want to see the Patriots crash and burn; no loyalty among thieves, that's for sure.

No offense intended Mike, but I saw today Jerry Jones came out again and praised the commissioner for the job he's doing.

Goodell isn't going anywhere, he's done his job, he's neutered the Patriots and has leveled the playing field for 2015 and beyond.

Way to go Rog.

When any of their teams go on an unprecedented 15 year run of success and the commissioner puts them in the bullseye, maybe they'll feel differently, but not now.

 

[mikemiller1955]

No offense intended Mike, but I saw today Jerry Jones came out again and praised the commissioner for the job he's doing.

I don't think Jerry Jones has actually endorsed Goodell's suspension...

I think his statement was more of a blanket statement concerning Goodell's overall job as commissioner...

the Cowboys have received some pretty hefty Goodell fines for violating rules...

like Kraft...Jones stepped up and paid them...

 

[Warrior]

I don't think Jerry Jones has actually endorsed Goodell's suspension...

I think his statement was more of a blanket statement concerning Goodell's overall job as commissioner...

the Cowboys have received some pretty hefty Goodell fines for violating rules...

like Kraft...Jones stepped up and paid them...

Yes he did and fair is fair Mike; Kraft approached Jones back in 2012? when the Cowboys got whacked with the ridiculous fine over the salary cap and told Jones to pay it for the good of the league or some other such nonsense.

Kraft is also paying his fine "for the good of the league" but today he came out again guns blazing, ripping Goodell for the decision and ripping the NFL for dragging Brady and the organization through the mud.

A few weeks ago, he put his tail between his legs and played nice, saying he would not fight the fine or loss of draft picks.

I wonder if he is going to pull an Al Davis and sue the league now over the fine/loss of picks.

Pick a side and stick to it, the flip flopping is not doing anyone any good.........

 

[mikemiller1955]

Yes he did and fair is fair Mike; Kraft approached Jones back in 2012? when the Cowboys got whacked with the ridiculous fine over the salary cap and told Jones to pay it for the good of the league or some other such nonsense.

Kraft is also paying his fine "for the good of the league" but today he came out again guns blazing, ripping Goodell for the decision and ripping the NFL for dragging Brady and the organization through the mud.

A few weeks ago, he put his tail between his legs and played nice, saying he would not fight the fine or loss of draft picks.

I wonder if he is going to pull an Al Davis and sue the league now over the fine/loss of picks.

Pick a side and stick to it, the flip flopping is not doing anyone any good.........

I admire Kraft...I really do...I really like him...if anybody got a bum deal here...it's him...he seems like one of the most credible, most stoic owners in the league...as the father...he is tangled up in a mess protecting his family but has done it with class and style...definitely an asset to the NFL as a figurehead...it's his prerogative to spearhead a lawsuit if he desires...in my opinion...he is definitely not guilty of anything...

 

[maddadicus]

I admire Kraft...I really do...I really like him...if anybody got a bum deal here...it's him...he seems like one of the most credible, most stoic owners in the league...as the father...he is tangled up in a mess protecting his family but has done it with class and style...definitely an asset to the NFL as a figurehead...it's his prerogative to spearhead a lawsuit if he desires...in my opinion...he is definitely not guilty of anything...

Being the biased Pats hater that I am, Brady did not win the Superbowl, the Seahawks blew it..and Carroll should have been fired right after..The kum-bye-yaa , we all love everybody vibes were starting to really depress me... Michael