Kraft not appealing punishment from NFL

[GMDino]

http://www.nfl.com/news/story/0ap3000000493270/article/new-england-patriots-will-not-appeal-nfl-decision?campaign=facebook_atn_kraft

Has nothing to do with Brady's suspension.

Although one has to wonder if that little chit chat Kraft and Goodell had on the couch the other night wasn't a trade of no lawsuit for a reduced suspension for Tommy boy....

[CarolinaBengalFanGuy]

(05-19-2015, 02:41 PM)GMDino Wrote: http://www.nfl.com/news/story/0ap3000000493270/article/new-england-patriots-will-not-appeal-nfl-decision?campaign=facebook_atn_kraft

Has nothing to do with Brady's suspension.

Although one has to wonder if that little chit chat Kraft and Goodell had on the couch the other night wasn't a trade of no lawsuit for a reduced suspension for Tommy boy....

I thought he dropped it because they did cheat and he ended up deciding money, draft picks, and suspensions was worth winning a Super Bowl.

[Bengal Dude]

Now Brady will be suspended for 2 games.

[Bmoreblitz]

They've kissed and made up

[Bilbo Saggins]

Pretty hard to argue innocence when the league has seen texts from a Pats employee calling themselves a "deflator" as well as texts from Tom Brady assuring said person that they've done nothing wrong. The punishment still seems rather light to me-I'd have liked to see a suspension during the post season so that they can't repeat after the big cheat. Oh, and without the deflation and bending of the eligible receiver rules the Pats never would have made it past the Ravens last year.

[Mike M (the other one)]

If I was a Saints fan, I'd be pissed that Belichick didn't also get suspended, ignorance isn't an excuse.

More specifically, the letter from Commissioner Goodell suspending Payton explained that his denials of knowledge “are inconsistent with the contractual responsibility to supervise and direct the coaches and players, and with the obligations imposed on you by the NFL Constitution and Bylaws.” Goodell also said “[i]t was your obligation to know of such a program and to stop if once you did know.”

http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2015/05/11/why-didnt-belichick-receive-punishment-for-deflategate/


EDIT: I don't think there's much Kraft can do about it, he's one of 32 owners and has to abide by the policy/punishment to his franchise as dictated by the contract he signed when he acquired the team.

Brady is not obligated to follow the rules of that contract, which is why he's appealing thru the NFLPA (which is the group that protects the players from the NFL and owners). There was no pillow/couch talk deals done between them for Brady's lowered suspension.

[magikod]

(05-19-2015, 02:55 PM)CarolinaBengalFanGuy Wrote: I thought he dropped it because they did cheat and he ended up deciding money, draft picks, and suspensions was worth winning a Super Bowl.

lol this.

patriots are lucky they are not taking away the rings.

[*jason*]

I was done with this story 4-5 (whenever) months ago. For 15 years QBs have done whatever they wanted to the ball. Aside from personal comfort, I see no advantage to deflating the ball a lil. The ass whoopin' they put on the Colts in the second half of that game is indicative of that.

I'm as sick of the Patriots as anybody, but I don't think that this rises to the level of spygate, or coaches suggesting that players headhunt guys on the other team.

[GMDino]

(05-21-2015, 08:37 PM)jason Wrote:    
I was done with this story 4-5 (whenever) months ago.  For 15 years QBs have done whatever they wanted to the ball.  Aside from personal comfort, I see no advantage to deflating the ball a lil.  The ass whoopin' they put on the Colts in the second half of that game is indicative of that.

I'm as sick of the Patriots as anybody, but I don't think that this rises to the level of spygate, or coaches suggesting that players headhunt guys on the other team.

Well a slightly deflated ball is easier to grip and the number have shown that Patriots fumble less then well, everyone.

Some of that is surely coaching...some of that may be cheating.

Nonetheless its more important that Brady lied. Flat out lied. And then lawyered up.

[SunsetBengal]

(05-21-2015, 05:43 PM)magikod Wrote: lol this.

patriots are lucky they are not taking away the rings.

(hypothetically) How in the heck would that work out? Do they replay the Super Bowl? Do they just give Seattle the title? What about the Dolts, do they get an opportunity to lose to Seattle?

[Murdock2420]

(05-21-2015, 09:45 PM)SunsetBengal Wrote: (hypothetically)  How in the heck would that work out?  Do they replay the Super Bowl?  Do they just give Seattle the title?  What about the Dolts, do they get an opportunity to lose to Seattle?

College rules? Just vacate the title?

[*jason*]

(05-21-2015, 09:20 PM)GMDino Wrote: Well a slightly deflated ball is easier to grip and the number have shown that Patriots fumble less then well, everyone.

Some of that is surely coaching...some of that may be cheating.

Nonetheless its more important that Brady lied.  Flat out lied.  And then lawyered up.

Yeah...That's what's puzzling about it. Why not just come out when it happened and say... My bad. I like the eqmnt guys to take a little air out of them. I didn't realize blah, blah, blah...

My problem is that the NFL was tipped off, and instead of telling the team to cease and desist, they are more interested in catching them, and making this some big story.... To trample over the NBA Playoffs, Indy, baseball. I guess any publicity is good for them.

[GMDino]

(05-22-2015, 09:16 AM)jason Wrote: Yeah...That's what's puzzling about it.  Why not just come out when it happened and say... My bad. I like the eqmnt guys to take a little air out of them.  I didn't realize blah, blah, blah...

My problem is that the NFL was tipped off, and instead of telling the team to cease and desist, they are more interested in catching them, and making this some big story....  To trample over the NBA Playoffs, Indy, baseball.  I guess any publicity is good for them.

If this was the first time they had been accused I'd agree. But why not give them enough rope and then see what they do out by the tree with the nice high limb?

[magikod]

(05-19-2015, 05:22 PM)Bmoreblitz Wrote: They've kissed and made up

haha nice picture!  

[6andcounting]

I just read this conspiracy from a Pats fan as to why Kraft declined to appeal his fine.

"If Kraft sues the NFL and wins, he'll basically have set a precedent that would've ended the NFL's monopoly through the court system overruling all the NFL's rules that are technically against anti-trust laws. So basically It may seem like Kraft had to choose between his team or the league, but without the league there is no team, so he really had to choose between: preserve his team's reputation but without a league to play in or take a hit to his team's reputation but keep a league to play in."

[Mike M (the other one)]

(05-21-2015, 08:37 PM)jason Wrote:    
I was done with this story 4-5 (whenever) months ago.  For 15 years QBs have done whatever they wanted to the ball.  Aside from personal comfort, I see no advantage to deflating the ball a lil.  The ass whoopin' they put on the Colts in the second half of that game is indicative of that.

I'm as sick of the Patriots as anybody, but I don't think that this rises to the level of spygate, or coaches suggesting that players headhunt guys on the other team.

Some people keep trying to say that it didn't really matter because NE put a whipping on the Colts, and the whipping part is true. However, at the time the balls were deflated, what was the score? 0-0? It was done to give one team an unfair advantage over the other before the game is actually played, and not the first time it was done. You could point back to other games where the final score was close and NE won and claim that it was an advantage for that game.

[BmorePat87]

(06-01-2015, 12:58 PM)Mike M (the other one) Wrote: You could point back to other games where the final score was close and NE won and claim that it was an advantage for that game.

To be fair, only 4 of their 16 wins were by a score or less,  but you can say that about the Ravens game the week before. Ravens led twice with 14 point leads and then again with a 3 point lead. Patriots then win by 4 points.

Who is to say that they didn't possibly have an advantage?

[GMDino]

(06-01-2015, 12:58 PM)Mike M (the other one) Wrote: Some people keep trying to say that it didn't really matter because NE put a whipping on the Colts, and the whipping part is true. However, at the time the balls were deflated, what was the score? 0-0? It was done to give one team an unfair advantage over the other before the game is actually played, and not the first time it was done. You could point back to other games where the final score was close and NE won and claim that it was an advantage for that game.

That's the intriguing part.

the entire game plan of the other team can be affected by suddenly being down 14 points.  Given the stats on the Patriots lack of fumbling and the advantage it would give them to have slightly deflated balls most would think this has gone on for a while.

[GMDino]

http://www.sbnation.com/nfl/2015/7/28/8805315/tom-brady-suspension-appeal-denied-nfl-deflategate-roger-goodell

All four games upheld.

And Brady destroyed the phone!

Quote:NFL commissioner Roger Goodell has denied Tom Brady's appeal of a four-game suspension for his role in the Patriots' DeflateGate scandal, the NFL announced Tuesday. The commissioner, who was arbitrator in Brady's June 23 appeal, determined that the Patriots quarterback did not surface new information to overturn his original ruling.

In a statement, the NFL said that it had concluded that "Brady was aware of, and took steps to support‎, the actions of other team employees to deflate game footballs below the levels called for by the NFL's Official Playing Rules." The statement also alleged that Brady deliberately destroyed his cell phone to hide evidence:

"On or shortly before March 6, the day that Tom Brady met with independent investigator Ted Wells and his colleagues, Brady directed that the cell phone he had used for the prior four months be destroyed. He did so even though he was aware that the investigators had requested access to text messages and other electronic information that had been stored on that phone. During the four months that the cell phone was in use, Brady had exchanged nearly 10,000 text messages, none of which can now be retrieved from that device. The destruction of the cell phone was not disclosed until June 18, almost four months after the investigators had first sought electronic information from Brady."

Goodell maintained that he would be more than willing to reduce or eliminate Brady's suspension if the quarterback provided information that wasn't already covered in the Ted Wells report, specifically information that Brady refused to provide initially like his phone records.

Goodell's outright dismissal of the appeal is somewhat surprising after "a very compelling case" was presented by Brady's lawyers on June 23. The Wells report has been under fire since it was released for only suggesting it was likely Brady knew about the intentional deflation of footballs ahead of the 2015 AFC Championship, with no conclusive evidence.

More than once, the NFLPA suggested the Wells report began with a conclusion and was conducted in support of that conclusion. The Wells report will be the focus of attack if Brady decides to take his appeal one step further into the court of law, which will almost certainly be the next step. Brady would have a strong case in federal court, too. Last year, a federal court overturned the NFL's suspension of Adrian Peterson after it had been upheld by a third party arbitrator.

The fact that Goodell was the arbitrator in Brady's appeal may also bode well for the quarterback. His suspension was based on a report paid for by the NFL and an appeal heard by the NFL's commissioner. The NFLPA requested that Goodell recuse himself from the appeal, but he refused to back down. Perhaps as a result, we likely haven't heard the last of DeflateGate.