:bravo:There is no Rev said:
Bravo, addresses the team getting the recognition but leaves everyone knowing that they are still a man down. Make a special presentation to the Superbowl MVP and let him raise the flag the rest of the way.
#DFG: Canceling the Noise
- Thread starter nattysez
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Bravo, addresses the team getting the recognition but leaves everyone knowing that they are still a man down. Make a special presentation to the Superbowl MVP and let him raise the flag the rest of the way.
The problem with slinging mud is that you risk having it thrown right back at you. Were Spygate and Deflategate the only times the league has followed up on accusations against the Patriots? Have there been other investigations of the team that were kept private? I really don't want to know what other skeletons the Pats have in their closet.bluefenderstrat said:
1. I agree with you that, no matter what happens from this point on, the vast majority of NFL fans will view this as yet another example of the Patriots cheating.DeJesus Built My Hotrod said:
2. Given (1), what do Pats/Brady have to lose by fighting whatever discipline Brady receives? If there's a suspension, there's an obvious downside to not fighting it--not having your best player on the field for one or more games.
3. Involving lawyers is hardly unprecedented. As we discussed at length a few pages ago, Peterson managed to have the result of his appeal (heard and decided by Harold Henderson, Goodell's designee) vacated in federal court.
This is nothing like the AP situation where he was essentially suspended indefinitely. And Brady may well want to put this thing in the past once the final punishment is decided versus risking further embarrassment. His only shot at redemption is to take his beating and move on.MarcSullivaFan said:
DeJesus Built My Hotrod said:
If it's never going away and the damage is eternal why wouldn't he let an arbitrator tear the report to shreds? I mean if this is the case then there's no "putting it to bed" and no reason to be spending millions for the privilege of it never ever going away.
DeJesus Built My Hotrod said:
Yup. As someone who lives outside the NE area amongst primarily Denver fans I can say that the majority of public opinion on this subject has already been decided. For most people, NE lost any benefit of the doubt over the whole Spygate situation and that feeling hasnt gone away. Fight back to try and clear TBs name isnt going to help him any more at this point as there arent many people left in undecided.
wibi said:
Of course, Brady may want to fight back to clear his name because he wants to clear his name.
It's easy to say (and I'm not saying you did this) to tell someone else to just accept the punishment to make things go away, but it's not always easy for the person being punished.
To what end? Why spend the time and money? He won't change many opinions tearing the Wells story apart. Aside from us, the public has moved on and no high priced attorney arguing against the "science" in the document is going to win anyone back over. Its a losing battle. Better to cut losses and move on.nighthob said:
DeJesus Built My Hotrod said:
Brady is probably fucked either way in the eye of the public. Take your punishment and move on, well, that's proof that he did what he has been accused of. Continue to fight it? He's being petulant and childish and refusing to accept his punishment like a man and move on. He can't win there.
The one thing Brady absolutely should not do is make his next move like a politician by trying to figure out what the public wants. Fuck the public. He shouldn't make his next move based on what fans of other teams think, nor should he make his next move some kind of Pats fanboy wet dream designed to take the whole league down to prove his innocence.
All of that said, if he gets suspended and thinks he has a shot at getting that knocked down through appeal, why would he NOT try to take advantage of that? He doesn't have many years and games left, and they all count. If it's a four game suspension and he thinks he could get that halved or even wiped out by bringing in the lawyers, he better fucking do it. Screw what everyone else thinks, I just want him on the field for as many games as possible.
But facts are facts. If a neutral were to vacate the judgment based on the Wells report on the grounds that the "scientific" basis was unreliable and the remainder speculative, that would become the new state of the facts surrounding this incident. If T B can run the risk of trying to accomplish this, it seems worth the candle.
DeJesus Built My Hotrod said:
Bazinga
I keep getting the sense in this thread that some folks still believe that by proving the faults of the report and so forth, that somehow public opinion will change. It won't. No matter what "proof" comes to light, it will not change existing perception.
And frankly, who gives a fuck if it doesn't?
We are fans of a football team that, for the remainder of the Belichick-Brady era, will always be a lightning rod. There's only two ways to approach this -- accept it as our lot, or move from following the team. Any other road leads to madness
To be clear, I am assuming he appeals the initial punishment. That is an obvious course of action. However going beyond that to try and clear his name is a Sissyphean task.Ralphwiggum said:
I don't care about public opinion, I want Brady to play 16 fucking games this season. Is that so hard to fathom? Christ.
Jumping into this thread a bit late (358!), but when this story came out, I thought it was such a joke I chose to pretty much ignore it and brush it aside. The fact that there's now probably a suspension involved (even though it might be appealed down) is just batshit to me. I'll just choose to believe that this is the league's adoration of the spotlight and stirring controversy. A 1-2 game suspension for Brady keeps the league in the news for another month or so (NBA and NHL playoffs), longer if they choose to drag it out, and shortens the distance to kickoff '15. That's a tradeoff the league makes every time IMHO, and they may not even look at it as a trade off. i.e. assuming Brady and the NEP do everything in their power to fight this, the league is still in the news and the league will continue to get great ratings. They have nothing to lose, other than 1 team's and its fans' respect (who will continue paying money for the NFL product all the same).
My silver lining in all of this is that when people bring this up to me upon learning I'm a Pats fan, and they inevitably ask "what happens next season", I always reply, "welp, the Pats probably win another championship", to which they usually shrug and nod accordingly.
My silver lining in all of this is that when people bring this up to me upon learning I'm a Pats fan, and they inevitably ask "what happens next season", I always reply, "welp, the Pats probably win another championship", to which they usually shrug and nod accordingly.
But heres the thing. The pats and brady s reputation is on the line here, thats the problem not whatever suspension is handed out. Id im brady or bellichick or kraft, i dont care anout the 2-4 games brady loses, thats survivable. I do care a trendous amount that the moral hysteria has damaged my reputation and my accomplishments.DeJesus Built My Hotrod said:
I agree its an uphill battle but you need to fight it to contain the damage and plant the seed of doubt so that at some point in the future, piblic opinion gives a cooler look to this and judges you fairly.
DeJesus Built My Hotrod said:
Gotcha, well, I'm with you on that.
As demonstrated by Wibi's post above conflating Spygate and Ballghazi, most non-Pats fans are not interested in logic or facts when it comes to stuff and there is no point in even bothering to try to change their minds. Pats fans are always going to love the guy regardless. It sure as shit shouldn't be done for PR reasons either way.
Not necessarily.DeJesus Built My Hotrod said:
He could appeal it, and the person in charge of the appeal (or an arbiter, whomever) could not only wipe out the penalty, he could lay such a verbal smack down on the NFL that it is total vindication for Brady.
That would be more redemption for Brady than taking his punishment.
I hope this is true, because the NFLPA will go apeshit, and there's no chance Brady just accepts it and moves on.
Bleedred said:
That would be beyond comprehension. I cannot believe this.
This is just a box to wire vendetta.
Four times as much as knocking out your wife.
How would they even justify 8 games?
Seriously, do they have something we don't know about some how?
Seriously, do they have something we don't know about some how?
Brady has, what, maybe 3 good years left? Maybe 2? Maybe not even. And they are going to take 1/2 of one away over "generally aware" and a report that any lawyer worth anything can see worked backwards from a pre-established conclusion about Brady's involvement?
I've really not been emotionally invested in this issue at all up until now because I thought it was mostly just bullshit and I don't really care what other fans think, but if they take half of a season of Brady's remaining career away I will be livid. That had better be an incorrect report.
I've really not been emotionally invested in this issue at all up until now because I thought it was mostly just bullshit and I don't really care what other fans think, but if they take half of a season of Brady's remaining career away I will be livid. That had better be an incorrect report.
Brady should (and will) fight the suspension, otherwise it's a defacto admission of guilt. But nothing will "clear his name" or "change public opinion". Neither of those things were ever possible.
My best friend's sister's boyfriend's brother's girlfriend heard from this guy who knows this kid who's going with a girl who saw Brady suspended until the playoffs last night.