#DFG: Canceling the Noise

[GregHarris]

Passive investment?  I mean really guys?  It's not like they handed him a friggen bag of cash. 

 

[Harry Hooper]

Are you being sarcastic, because Ley clearly was.

 
 
Whoops, too much multitasking going on!

 

[Bergs]

 
 
JJ has the Dorito dink.  McNally's just fat.  (Maybe he couldn't see where he was pissing?)

 
Dammit.

 

[Ferm Sheller]

The Pats firing these 2 guys would seem to indicate they're not afraid of what they would say. Instead it somehow is being interpreted as weakening their case?

 
That they're being punished for their wrongful roles in deflategate is the prevailing theory.  I'd point out it may be for conspiring to steal shoes.

 

[GregHarris]

I guess he's not going to need a urinal if it was Dorito taco day.  90 seconds seems realistic for a backender following that meal.

 

[Ferm Sheller]

 
Dammit.

 
 
BTW, if I had a Dorito dink, I'd have no dink at all in short time.  There's no way I could resist eating it.  Probably some night when I was drunk, had the munchies and could justify eating my dink in my drunken stupor ("I'll deal with the problem of having no dink later, it won't be so bad, but imagine how awesome that tasty Dorito would be right now.")

 

[tims4wins]

They never addressed the lack of urinal!!!

 
Obviously tongue in cheek, but this is the same type of bending the truth as the "Brady doesn't know McNally" lie.
 
In the Brady-McNally situation, Brady knew him as Burt; Wells report lied that Brady said he didn't know him.
 
In this situation, McNally peed in a toilet, as opposed to a urinal; Wells report lied and said there was no urinal, implying that he didn't have to pee.
 
These types of lies are all over the Wells report, thus further showing what a sham the whole thing was. They took every single activity / action / text etc. and framed it in the worst possible way against the Patriots without any discussion of possible alternatives. Advocacy, not independence.
 
In short, Fuck You, Ted Wells.

 

[Lose Remerswaal]

Who is Joe Banner and why does he spell like a third grader?

 
 

Former Browns and PhI exec

 
And former Brookline, MA resident.

 

[kartvelo]

The Pats firing these 2 guys would seem to indicate they're not afraid of what they would say. Instead it somehow is being interpreted as weakening their case?

Any action or inaction will be interpreted as weakening their case, by some.

 

[loshjott]

I don't understand why the firing of Lenny and Squiggy is such a big deal. Does anyone with any opinion on this whole affair think for a moment they'd work again for the Pats? 

 

[nighthob]

I think it probably was sloppiness rather than a deliberate falsehood. but that's what happens when you get caught up in extravaganzas like this morning's or Wells' press conference. Unforced errors.

It's literally the second paragraph of McKinnon's page. The reporter that "broke" the story read it right from there.

 

[DegenerateSoxFan]

I know everyone here knows this already, but don't waste a moment watching ESPN on this. Just don't. I made this mistake and found myself listening to Lester Munson talking about how solid the Wells report is, while the Pats rebuttal was full of holes. I kid you not. And they're getting killed over the "deflator" explanation. Either they're horribly unlucky if their explanation is the truth, or Goldman messed up even worse than Wells. I'm not confident that the prevailing narrative ever swings in their favor even when the media actually digests the entire Pats response.
 
In retrospect, maybe they made a big mistake by going quietly on the taping back in '07. Most people still don't understand that it was about the location of the cameras, not stealing signals. And even the media types who know better still present it as the Pats spying and stealng signals. I was having an online back and forth with some acquaintances who are crowing about this whole thing (yeah I know, not exactly a productive use of time), and when one made the usual claim about the first three titles being tainted, I asked what specific rule the Pats broke in '01, '03 and '04. "They were taping signals" was response. They, of course, had no idea that not only did the '07 violation only occur due to the location of the cameras, but that there was no prohibition on taping at all prior to '06.  Maybe by not challenging the penalty, and more importantly, not challenging the narrative, the Pats set themselves up for this shitstorm. And gave the rest of NFL and their fans a juicy narrative that that makes them feel better about the Pats being so dominant for 15 years in system heavily geared toward parity. "They cheated" probably feels a lot better to them than "they were smarter and worked harder." Hindsight, yeah. But, given the clear role that the '07 mess played in this one, maybe they failed to challenge the narrative when it really mattered.

 

[djbayko]

I enjoyed this part
 

I would love for their next move to be releasing relevant security footage. That could do a lot to change people's minds if they see Jim sauntering down the hall at a leisurely pace, saying hello to the friendly NFL official, and nonchalantly walking into the bathroom for 2 goddam minutes.

 

[pappymojo]

I am about 75% more likely to buy a Brady shirt than I have ever been in my life.

 

[tims4wins]

I would love for their next move to be releasing relevant security footage. That could do a lot to change people's minds if they see Jim sauntering down the hall at a leisurely pace, saying hello to the friendly NFL official, and nonchalantly walking into the bathroom for 2 goddam minutes.

 
YES, this needs to happen. Especially the part where McNally leaves the refs locker room without anyone saying boo.
 
#releasethevideo

 

[ivanvamp]

Bravo, ivan.  Very nice work.

 
Many thanks.

 

[Bergs]

 
Many thanks.

 
Yeah, that was a great piece of work.

 

[E5 Yaz]

Are you being sarcastic, because Ley clearly was.

 
How did you get that out of a tweet? Just curious

 

[CaptainLaddie]

I believe they had a veteran back-up in Charlie Batch.  (Or was it Byron Leftwich? )
 
Either way, the Pats should probably sign a veteran to back-up Garopollo, or take over in case Garopollo isn't ready.  I still think the suspension will be reduced, if not elmiinated upon appeal, but better to sign a veteran now and give them time to gel with the system during training camp. 

*Garoppolo

 

[86spike]

Is John Jastremski a redhead?
 
Please tell me Dorito Dink is a reference to orange pubes!

 

[E5 Yaz]

I know everyone here knows this already, but don't waste a moment watching ESPN on this. Just don't. I made this mistake and found myself listening to Lester Munson talking about how solid the Wells report is, while the Pats rebuttal was full of holes. I kid you not. And they're getting killed over the "deflator" explanation. Either they're horribly unlucky if their explanation is the truth, or Goldman messed up even worse than Wells. I'm not confident that the prevailing narrative ever swings in their favor even when the media actually digests the entire Pats response.

 
Predictable, of course. Foxsports.com was leading earlier with the weight-loss angle as well.
 
Never give the opponent an easy opening to discredit you

 

[nighthob]

The headline is overblown. He cites talking with two owners, and then mentions Jerry Jones' comments in support of Goodell. Evidence from three owners indicates his support is rising, somehow.

Especially since the two owners are Irsay & Johnson.

 

[jp9183]

 
How did you get that out of a tweet? Just curious

I'd assume just like Ted Wells did with the texts between the staffers

 

[Reverend]

 Frank Schwab of YahooSports: Patriots stupid 'deflator' explanation overshadows its takedown of the Wells Report
 

The New England Patriots' response to Ted Wells' report on deflate-gate will be boiled down to one regrettable line, one that generated a few cheap LOLs on social media and made many people ignore about 18,000 or so interesting words elsewhere in the team's rebuttal that ripped holes in Wells' report.

 

[jp9183]

 
Predictable, of course. Foxsports.com was leading earlier with the weight-loss angle as well.
 
Never give the opponent an easy opening to discredit you

Am I just bias as a patriots fan but there's evidence he was called the deflator in weight related jokes. I really can't fathom how this is being blow up so much because it's different. No one calls anyone Dorito dink either

 

[Ferm Sheller]

Pats should have someone "retro-sign" McNally's old High School yearbook "Hey Deflator:  All my best." and present that as evidence.
 
According to the Wells standard, that's acceptable evidence.

 

[ivanvamp]

The "deflator = weight loss" line will soon be forgotten as the weight of the rebuttal gets more and more air time.  

 

[MarcSullivaFan]

Unforced error. Just like Wells on Tuesday.

 

[loshjott]

 Frank Schwab of YahooSports: Patriots stupid 'deflator' explanation overshadows its takedown of the Wells Report
 

 
This is actually a good thing. Media already moving from "deflator explanation is stupid" to the next meta thing.

 

[E5 Yaz]

Am I just bias as a patriots fan but there's evidence he was called the deflator in weight related jokes. I really can't fathom how this is being blow up so much because it's different. No one calls anyone Dorito dink either

 
The public (and much of the media) doesn't do a deep-dive into reports. They skim off the top. Even if there is such evidence, no one will remember or look for it

 

[E5 Yaz]

 
This is actually a good thing. Media already moving from "deflator explanation is stupid" to the next meta thing.

 
Only if you believe what starts on yahoo will find its way to a talking point to a more widely-viewed media source. Don't bet on it

 

[E5 Yaz]

The "deflator = weight loss" line will soon be forgotten as the weight of the rebuttal gets more and more air time.  

 
Wishful thinking. Second and third day looks at the issue have already been shaded by the immediate response syndrome. 

 

[jsinger121]

 

Christopher Price ‏@cpriceNFL  1m1 minute ago
Rank these Patriots offseason acquisitions in order of importance: Jabaal Sheard, Scott Chandler, Jeffrey Kessler.
 

 

[Ed Hillel]

So, I'm not looking this up at work, but they were mentioning on WEEI that Dorito dink may take on a different meaning if you switch around a letter or two and type it into urban dictionary...

 

[jp9183]

 
The public (and much of the media) doesn't do a deep-dive into reports. They skim off the top. Even if there is such evidence, no one will remember or look for it

I know, I actually got into an argument with a sports hub call screener about this today when I was livid at felger and Maz. I was an avid listener of 98.5 but now I switch to weei from 2-6 because of this.

 

[dylanmarsh]

Here's what happened.
 
Brady is anal about the football.  He knows JJ but only knows McNally tangentially, by a nickname, "Burt" (he doesn't even know him well enough to know that his nickname is "Bird", not "Burt").  McN and JJ make sure the balls are prepared as Brady likes, because if they don't, he can be a real pain in the ass about it.  It's his livelihood, after all.  So they bust his balls behind his back, like most employees do to their bosses.
 
The league, however, is NOT anal about the footballs.  They just don't care.  When the Chargers illegally put stickum on the balls, they get fined $20k, but not for tampering with the footballs - rather, for not cooperating with the investigation.  When the Panthers and Vikings tamper with the balls during a game, all they get is a warning.  There is no real tight procedure or chain of custody vis-a-vis the footballs.  They don't record measurements.  Everything is completely inexact.  Mostly because, in the entire history of the NFL, nobody has ever cared about it that much.  Nobody even thinks that the regulations will be in jeopardy on really cold days when the laws of physics force footballs under the legal psi.  None of the refs ever have even heard of the Ideal Gas Law or consider its impact on footballs.  Nobody cares ever.
 
One day the Pats get footballs back from the refs and the footballs are at 16psi.  Brady can't feel the difference of 0.3 psi, but he sure can tell when a ball that he wants at 12.5 is 3.5 psi higher than that.  Either the refs deliberately over inflate the balls, which would open up a whole other can of worms, or they just do the "inflate, squeeze, put them in the bag" routine.  No precision.  Again, because nobody cares.
 
Except that's too much imprecision and Brady lets the ball guys have it.  Come on guys, how can you let me play with footballs like that?  Smarten up.  12.5!!  He is crystal clear about 12.5.
 
Fast forward to the AFC Divisional game.  The Pats come back and beat the Ravens.  Harbaugh is embarrassed and pissed especially because of the formation stuff (which was perfectly legal).  Brady says afterward that he should know the rulebook better.  This further embarrasses and pisses Harbaugh off.  So he tips off the Colts to the idea that the Pats screw with the footballs.  The Colts alert the NFL, which is filled with people like Kensil who hate the Pats.  
 
That information is passed on to Anderson, and they make sure to check the balls before the game.  But, because nobody cares about it, all he does is a very imprecise check using the logo gauge, and doesn't record them.  Which, if he was part of a "sting", he sure would have been more precise.  But he's the ref.  He was told to make sure to measure the balls, so he does.  Then McN gets the balls and waits for the NFC title game to finish.  It does.  He gets up, walks past dozens of NFL officials with the bag of balls, without anyone saying anything.  Why?  Because they don't frigging care.  If anyone does care, they sure aren't showing it.
 
He stops in the restroom to go to the bathroom because the NFC title game took extra long and he has to go.  He's in there long enough to take a leak.  He brings the balls in there because they're his responsibility and he doesn't want to let them out of his sight.  He then travels to the spot on the field where he's supposed to be.
 
Anderson, meanwhile, shows up on the field and finds McN right where he's supposed to be.  Doesn't chew him out.  Nothing.  Just…normal.  If Anderson is so distraught at losing track of Anderson, and what that might mean for the integrity of the game, all he has to do is replace McN's footballs with the backup balls and have the Pats' balls checked and (if necessary) re-inflated.  He doesn't do any of this.  Why?  Because it's totally insignificant.
 
The game begins and then Jackson intercepts Brady.  The ball is brought to the Colts' sideline.  One of the Colts' people, trying to catch the Pats in this scheme, tests the ball, in violation of NFL rules (he shouldn't be tampering with the ball at all).  Lo and behold, thanks to the Ideal Gas Law, it's under 12.5.  He alerts Kensil.  Halftime comes.  Kensil tells the Pats' ball guys that they're F**ed, because their footballs are under inflated.
 
The balls are brought in at halftime and Anderson and company measure them again.  Again, very little precision, and nothing recorded to compare them to.  They switch gauges and it's just silly.  But they record the Pats' footballs and then just do 4 Colts' balls.  Almost all of the Pats' footballs and 3 of the 4 Colts' footballs are under the legal psi.  The Pats', moreso, so it looks bad (and this is where people get the "If it's science, why didn't the Colts' footballs deflate too" - not knowing that the Colts' footballs started off at a higher psi to begin with).  They have plenty of time to do all the Colts' balls, but they don't.  Why?  Who knows.  The Pats' balls are reinflated but the Colts' are not, which means that the Colts played the entire second half with even more deflated footballs.  
 
They start the inquisition immediately after the game by talking to McN.  The next morning Brady goes on D&C and they spring this news on him and he is like, "Wow, now I've heard it all."  Immediately after that interview he calls JJ and is like WTF is going on?  That leads to several more calls and texts over the next few days as Brady checks in to see how he's doing.  After all, this is craziness.
 
Meanwhile, someone from the NFL office leaks to Mortensen that 11 of the 12 Pats' balls were at least 2 psi under the limit, suggesting something outside of a scientific explanation.  This is something nefarious.  Immediately that report spreads like wildfire and the narrative is created - the Pats were deflating footballs to gain a competitive advantage.  This despite the fact that Brady played much better in the second half with legally inflated footballs.  
 
The narrative is set.  The NFL, knowing the actual measurements (and that Mortensen's report is wrong), and knowing that they are explained by science, have a chance to correct the Mort tweet and bring this story to a place of neutrality.  They don't.  They let this narrative play out.  One short statement from the NFL saying that Mortensen is wrong, and here are the measurements (of the Pats' and Colts' balls), would have been sufficient to at least bring the story back to a neutral place. But no.  They let it play out and the integrity of Belichick, the Patriots, and most importantly, Tom Brady, is put into question.  I say most importantly Brady because BB and the Pats have long been considered "cheaters" due to Spygate, but Brady has never had his integrity questioned ever.  He is, in many ways, the face of the NFL.  
 
In the 2 weeks leading up to the Super Bowl, the Patriots are left twisting in the wind as the NFL allows this narrative, based on an erroneous tweet by Mortensen that the NFL *KNOWS IS WRONG*, to fester.  
 
As public pressure builds on the Patriots and on the league to get them, they happily comply.  Wells is brought in.  An "independent" investigation begins - and it's anything but "independent".  The Pats cooperate.  Brady cooperates.  Science experiments back the Patriots' explanation.  Wells hires a firm that argued that smoking doesn't contribute to lung cancer to be their science experts.  As Wells publishes his report, he leaves out anything that supports the Patriots, or is even neutral.  He includes everything that even hints of Patriots' wrongdoing.  He makes assumptions and derives conclusions from those assumptions.  
 
His conclusion, even after all that, is not that the Patriots definitely did something wrong.  BB, Kraft, and the organization are exonerated.  McN and JJ are thought "more probably than not" to have deflated footballs.  Brady is concluded to "more probably than not" have had "general awareness" of McN and JJ's actions.  This is the strongest claim of guilt that Wells can muster, after 100+ days and 243 pages worth of work.
 
The report is passed on to Goodell and Vincent.  The Patriots are not spoken with before hand to give them an opportunity to respond.  Goodell and Vincent put their finger in the air to test the winds, and the winds are overwhelmingly against the Patriots.
 
They then levy an unbelievably harsh penalty.  Four games (and $2 million) for Brady, $1 million for the team, and a first and fourth round draft picks.  This despite the fact that the original "crime" warrants a $25k penalty per the NFL rulebook.  They are cited for not cooperating (which turns out to not be true), and for prior transgressions (Spygate).  This despite the fact that other teams are multiple time rule breakers (the Jets, with three violations since 2010, and no extra penalties levied on them) do not receive the same treatment.  The punishment for the "crime" of not cooperating is completely out of step with similar infractions (the Chargers received a $20k fine for not cooperating; Brett Favre in 2010 was fined $50k for not cooperating).
 
So the penalty fits neither the original "crime" ($25k), the lack of cooperation (see Favre and SD), nor the idea of multiple-time offenders (see the Jets).  And the penalty is all based on something that is easily explained by science, or at most, is hardly demonstrated by the known facts.
 
How did this all happen?  It seems clear that someone was out to get the Patriots.  Harbaugh had motive - he was embarrassed by them and they are his primary competition in the AFC).  The Colts had motive (rivals).  Kensil had motive (former Jets guy, hates the Patriots).  So many key players involved in this drama had motive to see the Pats take a big hit.  And so they initiated this narrative and let it play out when they could have stopped it right in its tracks, and then they commissioned a one-sided report that ignored all the information that would have put the Patriots even in a neutral, let alone positive, light, and instead only presented any evidence (along with their accompanying commentary) that put the Patriots in a negative light.
 
In other words, this whole thing could have been prevented from the very beginning.  But the NFL let it go and let it grow and let it fester and let it explode.  What was originally something NOBODY cared about EVER in the history of the NFL became one of the biggest scandals in the sport's history.  And, as it turns out, it's all the NFL's fault.

 
For those who missed this post, it sums up the stupidity of this whole this scandal.

 

[MarcSullivaFan]

Yeah, pretty much no one gives a shit about anything the Patriots said other than "Deflator."

The only way they achieve a measure of "revenge" is if Brady gets his suspension reversed or if Goodell slips on a banana peel, falls into an open sewer, and drowns.

 

[Reverend]

I don't suppose it's worth pointing out that Jay-Z uses "deflate" to refer to weight in an analogy, is it?
 
Also, JeniFit would like to have a word.
 
Nobody really does any research anymore, do they?

 

[jimbobim]

Christopher Price ‏@cpriceNFL  1m1 minute ago
Rank these Patriots offseason acquisitions in order of importance: Jabaal Sheard, Scott Chandler, Jeffrey Kessler.
 
1) Kessler 2) Kessler 3) Sheard

 

[pappymojo]

So, I'm not looking this up at work, but they were mentioning on WEEI that Dorito dink may take on a different meaning if you switch around a letter or two and type it into urban dictionary...

 
help me out please.

 

[DJnVa]

http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=dorito
 
Refers to the shaving of pubic hair in a certain shape.

 

[soxhop411]

 
Browns linebacker Karlos Dansby joined PFT Live on NBC Sports Radio to promote Montez Renault, a new skin-care line he developed with former teammate Chris Butler. In so doing, Dansby had some interesting comments about the #DeflateGate controversy.
For starters, Dansby believes Patriots quarterbackTom Brady should be suspended for a full year, if deflation was happening and if he knew about it. Dansby also pointed out that he has separate suspicions about the Patriots.
In 2008, Dansby’s Cardinals faced the Patriots in New England during Week 16 of the 2008 season. The Patriots needed a win to keep their postseason hopes alive. And Dansby said the coach-to-headset communication system, which was first implemented by the NFL in 2008, didn’t function at Gillette Stadium during that snowy day in December.
“My headset was working fine, every game,” Dansby said. “Until the very last game of the year. We get in Foxboro, they couldn’t get my headset fixed, for nothing in the world.”
In that same game, Cardinals quarterback Matt Leinart also had trouble with his own headset. Leinart’s former backup at USC, Matt Cassel, three for 345 yards and three touchdowns in a 47-7 rout.
“I didn’t have not one problem until I went into Foxboro,” Dansby said. “You can ask anybody on that team that year. We didn’t have no problems with my headset until I got to Foxboro. And, man, I tell you every time I came to the sidelines, taking my helmet off trying to fix it. They was trying to fix it, they couldn’t get it fixed. So we had to give hand signals, and we were dead in the water. They ran when they wanted to run, they threw it when they wanted to throw.”
So I asked if it was accident or something deliberate?
“C’mon, man. C’mon,” Dansby said. “It’s not a secret. They gotta do what they gotta do to win, man. They gonna do what they gotta do to win. It’s just how they operate.”
Whether it’s perception or reality, the Patriots already had a hard time escaping that reputation after Spygate. With #DeflateGate, it becomes nearly impossible.

http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2015/05/14/dansby-suspects-foul-play-from-2008-game-in-new-england/

 

[Mooch]

Ivan, this post should be spread far and wide. Outstanding.

 

[soxhop411]

mike freeman ‏@mikefreemanNFL  2m2 minutes ago
Biggest complaints I've heard from teams re Pats are headset outages. Add Jags to this list. http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2015/05/14/dansby-suspects-foul-play-from-2008-game-in-new-england/ …

 

[DJnVa]

http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2015/05/14/dansby-suspects-foul-play-from-2008-game-in-new-england/

 
If my defense gave up 350 and 3 TDs to Matt Cassel I'd make excuses too.
 

 

[Reverend]

http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=dorito
 
Refers to the shaving of pubic hair in a certain shape.

 
There is more than one definition. One in particular is far, far nastier than that one.
 
It has to do with hygiene.

 

[tims4wins]

Of course he would say that, wouldn't you be embarrassed if Matt Cassell dropped 47 on your ass?

 

[Silverdude2167]

 
mike freeman ‏@mikefreemanNFL  2m2 minutes ago
Biggest complaints I've heard from teams re Pats are headset outages. Add Jags to this list. http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2015/05/14/dansby-suspects-foul-play-from-2008-game-in-new-england/ …
 

Freeman loves pilling on the pats.

 

[Otis Foster]

I'm not sure this really washes.  The NFL had already made it a big deal.  They leaked the erroneous report that the balls were >2 psi under regulations and did nothing to correct that misapprehension, they let the narrative build that this was an egregious assault on the integrity of the game, they let a media discussion continue all week in which a fair number of voices were calling for Belichick and/or Brady to be suspended for the Super Bowl.  By doing so, they (a) boxed the Patriots into a corner in that initial week in which the team was forced to respond very forcefully and (b) made it 100% obvious to the Patriots that this was going to be an antagonistic process in which they were unlikely to get a fair hearing and in which none of the Patriots complaints about league conduct would get any traction whatsoever.
 
Once we've arrived at that point, subsequent decisions by the Patriots to offer less than full cooperation weren't going to help matters but the league was likely going to hammer them no matter what given the evidence discussed by the Wells Report. 
 
I don't see any scenario where Tom Brady hands over his cell phone (assume it contains nothing of interest) and McNally does a second interview focuses on his "deflator" text (assume he makes the weight-loss claim) and the league lets the Patriots off with a slap on the wrist because they fully cooperated.  That just doesn't square with the rest of the evidence.

You may be right on the leaks issue.

The major point I was trying to make is this - the NFL deliberately or negligently let this issue develop. Once Grigson received word that a game ball was underinflated, they were in a jam. They hadn't done anything of substance on the first warning. That would sound very bad in the press. They knew Grigson would go public with this at some point, and was certain to do it quickly if the NFL didn't react.

So they did, with a screwed up half time check. They then tried to get ahead of the curve, by treating any violation as an act against nature, with a Claude Rains type reaction of shock. This created a new dynamic, and here we are.

It wasn't a big deal until the NFL allowed it to get out of hand.

 

[dcmissle]

What a shit show ...