Volin, Owners, Sources, and Other Stuff. Maybe.

TheoShmeo

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ForKeeps, that's a little bit cute. But mostly, it's weak and meaningless.

What in Sally Jenkins' last article (and really all of her articles) was inaccurate or not a fair summary of RG's foolishness? I think she nailed it but am open to other ideas if you want to move off snark and into an actual conversation. Either way, she certainly isn't a homer unless she's a closet Pats fan.

And Michael Hurley's last article actually contained some of the same ideas that Volin wrote that I noted above. To wit, he wrote:
Whether that actually happens — now, next week, at the owners’ meetings the week after that, or any time before the draft in late April — will be the real story. If Robert Kraft deems that he has been unmistakably wronged by Roger Goodell and the NFL, and if Robert Kraft demands to have the “DeflateGate” punishments amended and lessened, then we will have ourselves a big-time story. But if, ultimately, the team’s only war is waged on a WordPress blog, then there’s frankly not much to see here.
http://boston.cbslocal.com/2016/03/11/are-patriots-still-fighting-nfl-8000-word-essay-doesnt-make-it-clear/

That premise, which isn't wholly different than Volin's, assumes that Kraft's "demands" carry weight or he somehow has leverage. It also assumes that he hasn't made similar demands already to Goodell and the owners (or some of them).

Just as I think that Volin is off base when he says that the Pats should litigate if they are serious, I think that Hurley is wrong to suggest that the Pats efforts mean nothing unless Kraft "does something." To me, creating that website is a bold, seemingly unprecedented step, and it is probably close to or at the limit of what the Pats can realistically accomplish given the realities of their pact with the NFL and their non-existent chance of forcing the league to rescind the penalties (to the team and Tom).

So while I disagree with Hurley on an important element of the story and that certainly wasn't what I wanted to hear, I thought he did a nice job of presenting some of the key elements in the Pats most recent post and has done well throughout this story.
 

TheoShmeo

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The rodent's money paragraph on Brady/Pats (with the key sentence on Tom bolded and underlined):

Then look at Brady. He didn’t provide the relevant information from his cellphone, and didn’t tell anyone from the NFL that he had destroyed his cellphone until three months after the fact. His four-game suspension is more about his perceived noncooperation than it is football deflation. The Patriots’ $1 million in fines and loss of first- and fourth-round picks were also weighted heavily by the team’s refusal to provide follow-up interviews with John Jastremski and Jim McNally.
Does Volin have a source for the notion that the penalties were more about noncooperation than deflation? I get the logical argument for his position but that level of confidence usually implies that the author has some inside track. Volin cites none. So what do you actually know, Ben?
 

Harry Hooper

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The rodent's money paragraph on Brady/Pats (with the key sentence on Tom bolded and underlined):



Does Volin have a source for the notion that the penalties were more about noncooperation than deflation? I get the logical argument for his position but that level of confidence usually implies that the author has some inside track. Volin cites none. So what do you actually know, Ben?
Does it really matter? Just because some NFL party or parties are now spouting that line doesn't mean it's true.
 

TheoShmeo

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Does it really matter? Just because some NFL party or parties are now spouting that line doesn't mean it's true.
If you step back, all that really matters is that Tom is out for the first four games. How anyone spins the reasons or relative components is a side show. Whether they're right or not.

But from the perspective of evaluating members of the media, I thought it was interesting that Volin expressed his views so firmly and that in doing so implied, at least possibly, that he had a source in addition to the logical inferences he was making to support his conclusion. I exchanged a few e-mails with him and he eventually softened his stance to say that noncooperation "probably" played an important role (paraphrasing). Which is not what he wrote in the Globe.
 
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Harry Hooper

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If you step back, all that really matters is that Tom is out for the first four games. How anyone spins the reasons or relative components is a side show. Whether they're right or not.

But from the perspective of evaluating members of the media, I thought it was interesting that Volin expressed his views so firmly and that in doing so implied, at least possibly, that he had a source in addition to the logical inferences he was making to support his conclusion. I exchanged a few e-mails with him and he eventually softened his stance to say that noncooperation "probably" played an important role (paraphrasing). Which is not what he wrote in the Globe.

OK, you're right. Boy, Ben sure steps in it when he tries to think for himself.
 

richgedman'sghost

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Huh? What were you going to bump the thread for? What made you change your mind? Just curious...
 

Humphrey

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Because Volin made pretty much the same comment in his Sunday notes column a week ago, IIRC.
 

joe dokes

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Why is it always a blueprint? Is there an embargo on other words?
The Texans exposed a couple of significant flaws in the Patriots’ arsenal, providing the blueprint to beat them to any team that has even a marginal quarterback.
Step 1. Have a top-ranked defense.
One paragraph on how good Houston's defense is.
 

Jettisoned

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The "blueprint" has been out there for over a decade: lots of QB pressure with <5 pass rushers, (i.e. hope the pats O-line completely shits itself).
 

joe dokes

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The "blueprint" has been out there for over a decade: lots of QB pressure with <5 pass rushers, (i.e. hope the pats O-line completely shits itself).
As "blueprints" go, that's right up there with "score more points than the other guys."
 

Mystic Merlin

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No no no, it's 'get pressure up the middle and disguise/mix up coverages.' This approach will do wonders against Brady, but beware rolling it out vs Blake Bortles.
 

lexrageorge

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Questions that Volin could have explored had he been so inspired:

1.) Do any of the remaining playoff teams have players of the caliber of the Clowney-Mercilus-McKinney trio?

2.) Does any QB not named Aaron Rodgers do well when the opposing D can generate interior pressure rushing 3 or 4?
 

joe dokes

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But when the Patriots couldn’t get the running game going early on Sunday night, they smartly ditched it and put the game in Brady’s hands.
Didn't they start out with 5 straight passes out of an empty backfield? How is that "ditching" the running game?
 

Van Everyman

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From 50+ this year, kickers are 40/75, 53.3%. Last year at this time they were 52/78, 66.7%. That difference is really the most meaningful one. If NFL kickers were making 50+ yard kicks at the same rate as last year, we're looking at a 20% chance that this is due to random luck, rather than just a 3% chance that it's because of luck. Kickers have been horrible from distance. They still have been worse from under 40 yards - 92.3% this year compared to 95.9% in 2018, but correcting for that discrepancy would only result in an extra 5 kicks being made, which keeps us at just a 7% chance kickers are worse because of random luck. It is the suck from distance that has mattered this year.
Looks like somebody may be lurking in these parts... from Volin’s column today:
Volin really is the laziest reporter in Boston. It’s too bad he failed so miserably in leveraging the Globe job into a national gig as he so clearly tried to do during Deflategate. Now, we’re stuck with him.
 

Van Everyman

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An interesting trend has developed — teams can’t kick field goals anymore. The league-wide success rate through eight weeks was 80.3 percent, the lowest since 2003 (79.2 percent). The success rate was at least 84 percent in every year from 2013-18, with a high of 86.5 percent in 2013.
Accuracy from 20-39 yards and extra points are right in line with past numbers, but long-distance field goal numbers are at their lowest success rates of the past decade. Kickers are only making 71.5 percent of 40-49-yard kicks, down from 76.2 percent last year and 83.0 percent in 2013. And kickers are making just 53.3 percent of 50-plus-yard kicks, down from 63.8 percent last year and 69.5 percent in 2017.
 

PedroKsBambino

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Didn't Tony Mazz steal something from here when he was still with the Herald as well?
 

CantKeepmedown

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Sherm was making the rounds yesterday on twitter, seemingly calling out anyone and everyone that criticized him for the contract he negotiated. Really got into it with Florio.
 

joe dokes

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Being discussed in BBTL but Volin took a bogus DM from some rando on twitter and ran with it on WEEI. He admits he screwed up. Is it okay because he didn't write it in the Globe and it was only on WEEI?

View: https://twitter.com/BenVolin/status/1583088689457995776?s=20&t=PcQJgGR1Ot_9YYkwEgNbJQ
Would it be OK if he said on WEEI that the Patriots were losing because BB is shooting heroin in the bathroom at halftime, according to a witness in a position to know? (/hyperbole because I think Volin brings nothing of value to the Globe). Whether it comes from his work at the Globe or elsewhere at the same time, a situation that causes readers to question whether a reporter's reporting can be trusted is not a good situation for a newspaper [that cares].
 

Mystic Merlin

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A question I have, and the Globe should have: how many other times has this happened with him? The only reason we know about this one is the fake source outed himself publicly.
 

Shaky Walton

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A question I have, and the Globe should have: how many other times has this happened with him? The only reason we know about this one is the fake source outed himself publicly.
The need to be first or bring something novel to the table must weigh really heavily on these guys. Witness Mort on Deflategate and Tomase on Spygate.

And none of them seem to face material consequences when they get it wrong, and publicly so.
 

NickEsasky

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It's not about actual reporting or news anymore. It's about the hot take machine generating clicks and appearances on other media. When that is your goal it becomes a slippery slope to play fast and loose with the rules to just get some takes out there people can react to. It's the ESPN model: create a story then report on the story you created across all your platforms throughout the day.

The problem is there is a subset of fans in this market who gobble up all the negativity. When it actually works, the media has no incentive to stop doing it.
 

Kliq

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It's not about actual reporting or news anymore. It's about the hot take machine generating clicks and appearances on other media. When that is your goal it becomes a slippery slope to play fast and loose with the rules to just get some takes out there people can react to. It's the ESPN model: create a story then report on the story you created across all your platforms throughout the day.

The problem is there is a subset of fans in this market who gobble up all the negativity. When it actually works, the media has no incentive to stop doing it.
And plenty of people that would otherwise be quality reporters are part of the machine because it is one of the only ways to keep a steady job in the media industry.
 

NickEsasky

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And plenty of people that would otherwise be quality reporters are part of the machine because it is one of the only ways to keep a steady job in the media industry.
Who are the reporters being led astray in your opinion? Not snark, generally curious. I suppose Curran was once legit before he got on NBCS Boston and needed to get eyeballs.
 

BigJimEd

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And plenty of people that would otherwise be quality reporters are part of the machine because it is one of the only ways to keep a steady job in the media industry.
There's some truth to this but I think it's more that is one of the easiest and quickest ways to keep a steady job in the media industry. There are some quality successful reporters out there but that takes more effort and time investment.

Very easy to throw out a hot take. Doesn't matter about any facts since, as has been said, there are no consequences these days. Bosses don't care and most consumers move on quickly. There's just that pesky integrity thing some media members have that gets in their way.
 

Bigdogx

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The entire media industry in this country today uses nothing but throw it against the wall journalism, this situation being no different.

Might have
Could have
It is said
Sources tell me

All of these sayings are now sadly considered perfectly acceptable journalism today..
 

tims4wins

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I have the opposite feeling. I think it’s easier to make it as a true reporter than a talking head. It’s hard to establish yourself as a talking head. You earn your stripes on the beat. Even Felger did that long ago.

Now, once you are established maybe it is easier to stay relevant by going the hot take route.
 

Kliq

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Who are the reporters being led astray in your opinion? Not snark, generally curious. I suppose Curran was once legit before he got on NBCS Boston and needed to get eyeballs.
I'm talking more in the macro sense, not necessarily anyone in particular. As Shaky Walton said, the idea of being first or having something novel to say in an overcovered thing like the NFL weighs heavily on these guys, and it leads to them doing dumb shit. Volin made a dumb mistake, but the reason he made such a dumb mistake was likely because he felt pressure to deliver something spicy to the conversation, and there are some specific reasons for that.

There's some truth to this but I think it's more that is one of the easiest and quickest ways to keep a steady job in the media industry. There are some quality successful reporters out there but that takes more effort and time investment.

Very easy to throw out a hot take. Doesn't matter about any facts since, as has been said, there are no consequences these days. Bosses don't care and most consumers move on quickly. There's just that pesky integrity thing some media members have that gets in their way.
The reality in most newsrooms is that cuts are happening all of the time, and sports are historically one of the first things to go. In almost all cases, you are never being judged on the actual quality of your work; you are being judged on how many page views your content is generating and how many subscriptions your articles are adding. There is immense pressure to deliver results and to look like an outstanding asset to the newsroom when the next round of layoffs hit.

Volin made an idiotic, inexcusable mistake and he deserves to be dragged for it. But the reason mistakes like this get made is often not because reporters are lazy and looking for the quickest way to make a buck, they are doing it because even established names in the industry are constantly being laid off and searching for work.

The general public tends to demand high quality, well-sourced, fact-checked reporting, but at the same time what sells to consumers is often poorly-sourced gossip. And even the largest media companies are looking for the revenue that gossip generates clicks, subscriptions and revenue. In turn, these reporters are DYING for anything like that, where they can attach their name to it and see the traffic roll in.
 

Van Everyman

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Just on the merits, this was a dumb take, but not unsurprising coming from Volin, who has proven himself to be lazy, appears to have zero sources within Gillette and regularly quotes David Chao for medical insight. Hence Howe's tweet yesterday (for context, he hates Volin with the fiery passion of a thousand suns for doing stuff like skipping training camp and reporting from his sofa): View: https://twitter.com/jeffphowe/status/1582731446099156995?s=20&t=wpaMq7-MfPbh7M98iQoZiw


If nearly everyone understands 1+1=2 and one person tries to claim 1+1=75, that doesn’t mean you have to listen to them. Mac Jones doesn’t have an ego problem. And 1 plus 1 ain’t 75.
The guy loves nothing more than salacious takes that he thinks may boost his chances at said national gig -- including when he accused Kraft's foundation of supporting the American Enterprise Institution which authored the Deflategate report, not realizing it was actually the Kraft Foods people.
 

Patriot_Reign

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There's some truth to this but I think it's more that is one of the easiest and quickest ways to keep a steady job in the media industry. There are some quality successful reporters out there but that takes more effort and time investment.

Very easy to throw out a hot take. Doesn't matter about any facts since, as has been said, there are no consequences these days. Bosses don't care and most consumers move on quickly. There's just that pesky integrity thing some media members have that gets in their way.
I think Ian Rappaport has built an audience while also doing a good job of ignoring the hot take pressure and isn't just a mouthpiece for whichever owner/ player/ agent is trying to spin an angle like Schefter or Mort.
 

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