#DFG: Canceling the Noise

[PedraMartina]

This past week feels a bit like a microcosm of this whole season.
 
Sunday night tweet re: possible scandal = coming out of the gate with some issues in first 3 weeks. I was a little alarmed, but figured it would blow over.
 
Monday "revelations" through initial BB/TB pressers = the KC loss and week that followed. A horrifying sequence. The national media and all the haters I know went all-in on the end of the BB/Brady era, the ignominious collapse of the dynasty. And as much as I tried to summon the usual confidence that everything would work out as it always does and this would seem like a blip, I had a horrible fear that something more serious might be going on this time.
 
Saturday BB press conference through now = the rest of the regular season and first two playoff games. Triumph; relief; haters backtracking; pride renewed, but with a slight feeling of guilt for having doubted my heroes. And at the same time, everything isn't quite wrapped up yet, so still somewhat freaked out.

 

[nighthob]

I know Irsay is a clown, but shitting on a dude by making fun of his substance abuse problem is being a special brand of asshole.

And this place is ground zero for that special brand of entertaining asshole. And Jimmy Irsay can take it, it's one of the bennies of being born with a silver coke spoon in your mouth.

 

[Koufax]

Just got back from a Fleetwood Mac concert on Long Island.  I can say with compete confidence that everyone on Long Island KNOWs that BB and TB were lying.  Their body language gave them away.   Just thought you'd want to know.

 

[singaporesoxfan]

Just got back from a Fleetwood Mac concert on Long Island.  I can say with compete confidence that everyone on Long Island KNOWs that BB and TB were lying.  Their body language gave them away.   Just thought you'd want to know.

That's just Rumours.

 

[nighthob]

That's just Rumours.

Oh Well, I won't be Jumpin' at Shadows over this.

 

[GeorgeCostanza]

If they took a vote it would be a......landslide.

 

[jacklamabe65]

If they took a vote it would be a......landslide.

Hopefully, this won't be an "Albatross" for the team next Sunday night.

 

[loshjott]

They should just go their own way.

 

[m0ckduck]

Especially since all these allegations of cheating are just Second Hand News anyway. 

 

[Shelterdog]

So, here's what we know:
 
John Harbaugh's former defensive coordinator was Chuck Pagano
 
Chuck Pagano's current general manager is Ryan Grigson
 
Ryan Grigson worked for the Rams and the Eagles when those teams lost to the Patriots in Super Bowls
 
Before Ted Wells came aboard, the investigation was being run by a former Jets official
 
In the past three days, Harbaugh has come out with statements of praise for Belichick and Irsay made his tweet series about how great the Super Bowl will be
 
And, somehow, Jay Glazer stirs this into being a sting orchestrated by the NFL?
 
They'd need a smoking gun. In a case like this, a football used by the NE offense and deflated after being confiscated on the Colts' sideline.
 
They'd need a media patsy, maybe an old drinking buddy of someone involved, who can leak this story;
 
Then a further leak to a more credible media source that all the Pats football were under inflated by the same amount
 
At that point, they'd just have to sit back and wait for the media to do what it does best ... blow things out of whack

 
Glazer reported an NFL source saying that they were watching the Pats' balls going into the game and the Refs were going to check the balls at halftime no matter what--he reported that it was a "sting" or at least a pathetic game of gotcha. 

 

[theapportioner]

Just got back from a Fleetwood Mac concert on Long Island.  I can say with compete confidence that everyone on Long Island KNOWs that BB and TB were lying.  Their body language gave them away.   Just thought you'd want to know.

 
They should apply for one of those media Truth Expert jobs.

 

[JimBoSox9]

 
I would guess that many of the owners find it distasteful.  But while they oversee the league, they don't market it and those that do have made the very wealthy owners even wealthier.  They understand that skill and flash and entertainment sell.  I would also submit that if the Rooneys and Maras were so righteous, they wouldn't employ players who are alleged rapists and domestic abusers as well as perpetrators of other crimes.  These are business people and the NFL is in the business of entertainment.  It is the ultimate in American bread and circus and the reality is that the masses continue to consume it the more warts the better.   I know it sounds crazy but imho, there really is no tipping point for the NFL.  
 
Use whatever cultural reference-point you want - Black Mirror's "The National Anthem" or "Running Man" or anything else - the NFL is a real-life example of how those works are dead-on-balls accurate.

 
Objectively, I think the angle you're pushing is correct in its analysis.  My one problem is this - call it the cynical or realistic approach, it still something that's only going to be done by someone who accepts that he's in the business of sports entertainment, not the business of sport.  Do you think Goodell is that kind of guy?  I don't.  I think his problem is he believes all the bullshit about the purity of the Shield down to his toes.  "Rulebook, Bylaws, League, Me" is probably his personal "Unit, Core, God, Country".  He treats the printed rules as his Bible and shows no ability to understand the handshakes and dynamics that make it all work practically.
 
I dunno WTF happend.  Every possibility seems to hold its own bit of batshit.  I do find it more likely that whatever Goodell did or didn't do was motivated by a desire to hyper-aggressively defend the rules rather than a desire to convert a bit of the league's integrity to own the news for a week.  The latter maybe made sense when Darth Beli was twisting in the wind, but where we are going into Monday with the BB PC and Glazer report, points the media's empty-space speculation back to where the NFL doesn't want it.  To me, silence today indicates they're not handling the reins with a deft and cynical touch.

 

[wiffleballhero]

At this point  I worry that the ball issue has turned into simply a pretext for a wholesale audit of the Patriots. The fact that the league has nothing does not really matter, the lawyers are in the door and if it turns out that along the way they discover that Josh McDaniels draws up his trick plays with an illegal sharpie, that will be enough to 'find' something against the Pats.
 
Otherwise, why not put this to bed now? Why not, you know, talk to Brady (the one and only person who would have to know in any of these paranoid versions of a deflation scheme)?

 

[BoneForYourJar]

Especially since all these allegations of cheating are just Second Hand News anyway. 

Lousy losers, pick their prey but they never cry out loud.

 

[Devizier]

 
I would guess that many of the owners find it distasteful.  But while they oversee the league, they don't market it and those that do have made the very wealthy owners even wealthier.  They understand that skill and flash and entertainment sell.  I would also submit that if the Rooneys and Maras were so righteous, they wouldn't employ players who are alleged rapists and domestic abusers as well as perpetrators of other crimes. 

 
This is a league with at least two teams owned by criminals (Haslam, Wilf). Back of the envelope calculation also has 1/3 of the owners having inherited their teams. So in other words, we're not looking at the best and the brightest here. I fully expect this bunch to be petty, stupid, and ridiculous. I would love it if the curtain gets pulled back on them. Maybe some Sony hack-level leak of internal emails.

 

[MarcSullivaFan]

At this point  I worry that the ball issue has turned into simply a pretext for a wholesale audit of the Patriots. The fact that the league has nothing does not really matter, the lawyers are in the door and if it turns out that along the way they discover that Josh McDaniels draws up his trick plays with an illegal sharpie, that will be enough to 'find' something against the Pats.
 
Otherwise, why not put this to bed now? Why not, you know, talk to Brady (the one and only person who would have to know in any of these paranoid versions of a deflation scheme)?

Because they have one piece of circumstantial evidence, but nothing else. If they don't "investigate" and something turns up three months from now, it's Ray Rice all over again. Also, they're in a bit of bind with Irsay given that he was suspended for six games earlier this season. They have need to impear "impartial," especially given that the accused is the dastardly Patriots. The investigation is a massive piece of ass covering.

This is the opposite of leadership. Goodell is unwilling to be decisive and take the heat that would come with possibly being wrong. So he's convened the second Warren Commission to investigate the case of the partially deflated football.

 

[njnesportsfan]

At this point  I worry that the ball issue has turned into simply a pretext for a wholesale audit of the Patriots. The fact that the league has nothing does not really matter, the lawyers are in the door and if it turns out that along the way they discover that Josh McDaniels draws up his trick plays with an illegal sharpie, that will be enough to 'find' something against the Pats.
 
Otherwise, why not put this to bed now? Why not, you know, talk to Brady (the one and only person who would have to know in any of these paranoid versions of a deflation scheme)?

Then NEP will make a living hell of the other 31 clubs/quarterbacks and demand check of balls, gloves and equipment every single game. If you declare war on this, we will fight you to the last drop of blood. 

 

[wiffleballhero]

Because they have one piece of circumstantial evidence, but nothing else. If they don't "investigate" and something turns up three months from now, it's Ray Rice all over again. Also, they're in a bit of bind with Irsay given that he was suspended for six games earlier this season. They have need to impear "impartial," especially given that the accused is the dastardly Patriots. The investigation is a massive piece of ass covering.

This is the opposite of leadership. Goodell is unwilling to be decisive and take the heat that would come with possibly being wrong. So he's convened the second Warren Commission to investigate the case of the partially deflated football.

If this was simply going overboard on the ball inflation level they would have spoken to Brady on day 1. And if Brady followed the union advice to say nothing then they would have at least leaked that he was stonewalling.

 

[I am an Idiot]

Lousy losers, pick their prey but they never cry out loud.

Something something Tusk

 

[wiffleballhero]

Then NEP will make a living hell of the other 31 clubs/quarterbacks and demand check of balls, gloves and equipment every single game. If you declare war on this, we will fight you to the last drop of blood. 

I am actually hoping for a late, 4th quarter demand that the Seahawks have their knees checked for the required kneepads.

 

[Jettisoned]

I am actually hoping for a late, 4th quarter demand that the Seahawks have their knees checked for the required kneepads.

 
I'm not.  The Seahawks didn't pull this garbage.  Save it for the Ravens, Colts and Jets.

 

[MarcSullivaFan]

Actual scientists find Belichick's explanation plausible. However, none of them have "Science Guy" after their last name.

https://www.bostonglobe.com/metro/2015/01/26/scientists-agree-that-football-will-lose-air-pressure-when-moved-cooler-place/2KfFPHn9dARXXCwMgBMSkO/story.html

 

[Doug Beerabelli]

Just got back from a Fleetwood Mac concert on Long Island.  I can say with compete confidence that everyone on Long Island KNOWs that BB and TB were lying.  Their body language gave them away.   Just thought you'd want to know.

Did they make you cry? Make you break down? Shatter you illusions of Tom?

 

[Vandalman]

 BestofBSMW retweeted


Mike Greenberg ‏@Espngreeny  19h19 hours ago
Again, I may be the most gullible, naive idiot in the world. But I believed Bill Belichick Thursday, and I did again yesterday. #shrinkage

 

[wiffleballhero]

 
I'm not.  The Seahawks didn't pull this garbage.  Save it for the Ravens, Colts and Jets.

You're right.

 

[Dirty Sanchez Forever]

Poor Jim Irsay.  What will he do now that he's no longer a billionaire owner of an NFL franchise.  Anything and everything is fair game when you're the type of low life who intentionally and deviously tries to undermine a business partner in the most public way. 
 
There are no sacred cows.  Speaking of which...
 
The longer this sideshow drags on, the bigger question should become: why is Robert Kraft still actively supporting a commissioner and league office that is not only antagonistic to his franchise and his key employees, but has also proven itself serially inept at managing parts of the business?  How long does Kraft continue to rally other owners around a corrupt commissioner? The longer Goodell remains in place, the more it's Kraft's fault.  And that goes beyond sitting on his hands and acting like a cuckold over this matter. 

 

[Yaz4Ever]

So, here's what we know:
 
John Harbaugh's former defensive coordinator was Chuck Pagano
 
Chuck Pagano's current general manager is Ryan Grigson
 
Ryan Grigson worked for the Rams and the Eagles when those teams lost to the Patriots in Super Bowls
 
Before Ted Wells came aboard, the investigation was being run by a former Jets official
 
In the past three days, Harbaugh has come out with statements of praise for Belichick and Irsay made his tweet series about how great the Super Bowl will be
 
And, somehow, Jay Glazer stirs this into being a sting orchestrated by the NFL?
 
They'd need a smoking gun. In a case like this, a football used by the NE offense and deflated after being confiscated on the Colts' sideline.
 
They'd need a media patsy, maybe an old drinking buddy of someone involved, who can leak this story;
 
Then a further leak to a more credible media source that all the Pats football were under inflated by the same amount
 
At that point, they'd just have to sit back and wait for the media to do what it does best ... blow things out of whack

You live in a fantasy world if you think they could pull that off

 

[Ed Hillel]

The more I hear about this, the less convinced I am that Goodell had a hand in this. I think Kensil concocted this plot on his own. Well, maybe with the help of Irsay, but on his own within the league. If true, Kensil can't possible keep his job, right?

 

[TheoShmeo]

The more I hear about this, the less convinced I am that Goodell had a hand in this. I think Kensil concocted this plot on his own. Well, maybe with the help of Irsay, but on his own within the league. If true, Kensil can't possible keep his job, right?

OK, I'll bite.  How do you have any idea who did what?  You have no visibility into what went on behind the scenes, who was involved, who didn't know, etc.  And while it sure looks like there was a sting of sorts, even that is uncertain.
 
What facts of any kind -- other than the league is investigating in what appears to be a less than complete manner (no interview of Tom) -- do you think that you have?

 

[snowmanny]

It is 7 degrees in Middlesex County. I got in my car this morning and a left rear tire low pressure
warning came on. In spite of the fact that yesterday when it was 36 degrees out I had no warning lights and only one of my tires has low pressure I did not draw the conclusion that someone had snuck into my driveway overnight and tampered with one of my air valves.

About twenty minutes into my drive to work the warning light went off. I did not see this as evidence of a cover up.

Am I wrong? Should I conduct an investigation?

 

[JimD]

The more I hear about this, the less convinced I am that Goodell had a hand in this. I think Kensil concocted this plot on his own. Well, maybe with the help of Irsay, but on his own within the league. If true, Kensil can't possible keep his job, right?

 
I don't believe Goodell had a hand in it, but at some point since last Sunday night he or his aides recognized a golden opportunity to deflect attention away from the Ray Rice fiasco and his other bungled missteps of the past year.  Sadly, he could have possibly burnished his credentials as commissioner had he exercised some actual leadership and put the kibosh on this circus at any point in the past few days.

 

[dcmissle]

You can't be serious. He's a trained assassin.

Do trained assassins have off days? Because Brady has, several times in the playoffs. I wish we would get away from these clichés. The Curran observation may be important, or it may not, but it comes from a good reporter.

Another cliché is, I'd hate to be the Seahawks. John Saraceno, longtime reporter for USA Today, just made that observation on DC radio while I was driving in to work. I've seen it elsewhere.

Really? I would switch places with the Seahawks in terms of how last week went 100 times out of 100. All you hear from people who have been through this experience is that it is good to keep these two weeks as "normal" as possible, that you don't want to get too amped up. The Seahawks have been out of the news, not accused at 6:00 o'clock several days of being cheaters on national news -- not even subjected to endless questions about the pressure of repeating. Carroll must be happy; I would be.

 

[Yaz4Ever]

It is 7 degrees in Middlesex County. I got in my car this morning and a left rear tire low pressure
warning came on. In spite of the fact that yesterday when it was 36 degrees out I had no warning lights and only one of my tires has low pressure I did not draw the conclusion that someone had snuck into my driveway overnight and tampered with one of my air valves.

About twenty minutes into my drive to work the warning light went off. I did not see this as evidence of a cover up.

Am I wrong? Should I conduct an investigation?

Nice

 

[LuckyBen]

It is 7 degrees in Middlesex County. I got in my car this morning and a left rear tire low pressure
warning came on. In spite of the fact that yesterday when it was 36 degrees out I had no warning lights and only one of my tires has low pressure I did not draw the conclusion that someone had snuck into my driveway overnight and tampered with one of my air valves.

About twenty minutes into my drive to work the warning light went off. I did not see this as evidence of a cover up.

Am I wrong? Should I conduct an investigation?

Most likely a conspiracy involving BB and gnomes.

 

[johnmd20]

It is 7 degrees in Middlesex County. I got in my car this morning and a left rear tire low pressure
warning came on. In spite of the fact that yesterday when it was 36 degrees out I had no warning lights and only one of my tires has low pressure I did not draw the conclusion that someone had snuck into my driveway overnight and tampered with one of my air valves.

About twenty minutes into my drive to work the warning light went off. I did not see this as evidence of a cover up.

Am I wrong? Should I conduct an investigation?

 
No. Yes.

 

[Ed Hillel]

OK, I'll bite.  How do you have any idea who did what?  You have no visibility into what went on behind the scenes, who was involved, who didn't know, etc.  And while it sure looks like there was a sting of sorts, even that is uncertain.
 
What facts of any kind -- other than the league is investigating in what appears to be a less than complete manner (no interview of Tom) -- do you think that you have?

I just can't see Roger treating any owner this way, let alone his "best buddy" Kraft. As incompetent as he is, I don't think he'd be disloyal/disobedient enough to fuck a team over like this.

As for the Sting, you now have Glazer, Schefter, and Mort all indicating this was a sting. Or at least Glazer and Schefter. There are no more reliable reporters than those two.

 

[trs]

This just coming up on the boston.com/sports page: http://www.boston.com/sports/columnists/wilbur/2015/01/thats_bs_-_wilson_doesnt_seem_to_buy_belichicks_sc.html.  Wilson reps basically just saying that there's no way the air pressure can change unless it's perhaps stuck in a freezer and then taken out.  A bit odd given the rather hard-to-debate arguments made to the opposite.

 

[amarshal2]

Sting-gate
Stingageddon
Sting-aling-a-ding-dong
Message in a bottle

 

[Harry Hooper]

This just coming up on the boston.com/sports page: http://www.boston.com/sports/columnists/wilbur/2015/01/thats_bs_-_wilson_doesnt_seem_to_buy_belichicks_sc.html.  Wilson reps basically just saying that there's no way the air pressure can change unless it's perhaps stuck in a freezer and then taken out.  A bit odd given the rather hard-to-debate arguments made to the opposite.

 
Gerat line today from BC's Physics Dept. Head Michael J. Naughton, "there is no question that temperature affects pressure, and every football on every football field in history has lost pressure when brought from a warm place to a cooler one"
 
Globe

 

[SMU_Sox]

The level of brilliance in this thread is outstanding. FWM song puns and ichiro vs irsay... Great work. At this point I wonder how the media will react to their own behavior when the NFL comes up with nothing. Because that's what this is, Irsay et al, a big nothing. I'm sure you'll have the tin foil hat crowd that grumbles that something must have been awry anyway and that it was only because the Pats were able to conceal evidence to succeed. But I would hope some would realize that maybe they helped contribute to a witch hunt without evidence and they should have waited before passing judgment. I'm not holding the air in my lungs for that but it would be nice to see a mea culpa or two.

 

[trs]

 
Gerat line today from BC's Physics Dept. Head Michael J. Naughton, "there is no question that temperature affects pressure, and every football on every football field in history has lost pressure when brought from a warm place to a cooler one"
 
Globe

 
Yes, I suppose it comes down to a professor of planetary science at MIT versus the director of 'experiential' marketing at Wilson.  Experiential marketing?  I really did take the wrong classes at university...

 

[johnmd20]

The level of brilliance in this thread is outstanding. FWM song puns and ichiro vs irsay... Great work. At this point I wonder how the media will react to their own behavior when the NFL comes up with nothing. Because that's what this is, Irsay et al, a big nothing. I'm sure you'll have the tin foil hat crowd that grumbles that something must have been awry anyway and that it was only because the Pats were able to conceal evidence to succeed. But I would hope some would realize that maybe they helped contribute to a witch hunt without evidence and they should have waited before passing judgment. I'm not holding the air in my lungs for that but it would be nice to see a mea culpa or two.

 
Seriously. The media won't react to this story at all once it's over. They will simply move onto the next thing, be it a lost plane, a starlet in rehab, or anything else. The accountability is zero when it comes to the media. They build up, they break down, and then move on.

 

[EricFeczko]

So, here's what we know:
 
John Harbaugh's former defensive coordinator was Chuck Pagano
 
Chuck Pagano's current general manager is Ryan Grigson
 
Ryan Grigson worked for the Rams and the Eagles when those teams lost to the Patriots in Super Bowls
 
Before Ted Wells came aboard, the investigation was being run by a former Jets official
 
In the past three days, Harbaugh has come out with statements of praise for Belichick and Irsay made his tweet series about how great the Super Bowl will be
 
And, somehow, Jay Glazer stirs this into being a sting orchestrated by the NFL?
 
They'd need a smoking gun. In a case like this, a football used by the NE offense and deflated after being confiscated on the Colts' sideline.
 
They'd need a media patsy, maybe an old drinking buddy of someone involved, who can leak this story;
 
Then a further leak to a more credible media source that all the Pats football were under inflated by the same amount
 
At that point, they'd just have to sit back and wait for the media to do what it does best ... blow things out of whack

[media]http://vimeo.com/48904663[/media]

 

[Hendu At The Wall]

Did they make you cry? Make you break down? Shatter you illusions of Tom?

All that matters on Sunday is that they move The Chain.

 

[kartvelo]

You know, the use of the word "sting" doesn't necessarily imply that the league was involved. It could simply refer to a relatively innocuous plan hatched by the Colts. They knew Brady liked low-inflation footballs, they understood that the refs don't check the actual inflation, and they may even have paid attention in high school physics class; so they thought they'd try some gamesmanship during the game, to see if they could throw Brady off his game. Just like checking to see if a pitcher's sleeves are too short, or his necklace too long, and oh, while you're out there, ump, see if he has any Vaseline on the bill of his cap. And they planned to pull this out at halftime so the refs would have a chance to check the balls and so the Pats would be thrown off just as they took the field for the second half.
 
Unfortunately, it didn't go the way they'd planned. The refs checked the ball pressure and sure enough it was low, so they pumped them all up, but didn't say anything about it to anyone on the Pats. So the planned ploy ("sting," if you will) didn't have the desired effect. Further, the Pats went on to annihilate them in the second half, which must have infuriated whoever thought this up. Perhaps the level of fury led to a simple, bitter remark to the right person such as, "Yeah, they won, but we caught those bastards with non-regulation balls at the half," and the rest was history.

 

[Joshv02]

This just coming up on the boston.com/sports page: http://www.boston.com/sports/columnists/wilbur/2015/01/thats_bs_-_wilson_doesnt_seem_to_buy_belichicks_sc.html.  Wilson reps basically just saying that there's no way the air pressure can change unless it's perhaps stuck in a freezer and then taken out.  A bit odd given the rather hard-to-debate arguments made to the opposite.

If only there was a way to test these hypotheses.  ... Hmm.  
Well, I give up.  
We should just rely on quotes from various people to make sure that we have a balanced debate.

 

[Leather]

People who live on Long Island choose to fucking live on Long Island; their opinion on matters is less than worthless.  It's like asking a sexual deviant for marriage advice.

 

[Average Reds]

I know Irsay is a clown, but shitting on a dude by making fun of his substance abuse problem is being a special brand of asshole. 

 
We mock Ray Lewis for his involvement in a double homicide.
We mock Big Ben for his involvement in two sexual abuse allegations. 
 
Jim Irsay is essentially an older version of Johnny Manziel:  an entitled a-hole who believes that rules don't apply to him.  So when he decides that it's time to hold others strictly accountable for (allegedly) violating the most innocuous of rules, anything is fair game.
 
Playing the sanctimonious card on members for pointing out Irsay's clownishness and lack of credibility is being a special brand of asshole.

 

[shoosh77]

PT Barnum was Mayor of Bridgeport, CT. Have you ever been to Bridgeport, CT? Trust me, there is such a thing as bad publicity.

 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2B-f7bsWUMQ

 

[Steve Dillard]

Peter King this morning.

We interrupt the Deflategate hysteria (I do believe that is not an overstatement) to bring you this incredible factoid about the state of the two Super Bowl teams approaching the 23rd game of their seasons

GFY Peter. Who created the hysteria by passing along the agenda of your league hacks?