#DFG: Canceling the Noise

[drbretto]

 
 
 
 
Wait--they're upset with the treatment of Brady?
 
Is this the first crack in the damn?
 

 
I don't know about first crack, but it's evidence at the very least that it's not the 31 vs 1 that some people seem to think it is. I've said it before, but ultimately, the longer this goes on, the less funny this gets to other owners. Sooner or later, the anti-Pats stuff will fade but Roger's constant public embarrassments will linger and more and more will see him as the loose cannon that he is. 
 
http://mmqb.si.com/2015/07/16/nfl-roger-goodell-fans-opinions-seahawks-colts-texans-jets-packers-the-mmqb-100
 
This is an older article that was posted a long time ago, but incase anyone had missed it, it's worth a read if you like anti-Goodell porn. He is basically being compared to the captain of the Titanic. And it fits. The NFL certainly appears as unsinkable but the owners aren't all cartoon character billionaires. These are people smart enough to have amassed billions of dollars and as much fun as some of them are having with this while it was just a public pissing match against the Pats, and as much as they are backing him publicly, there's no way some of them aren't keeping one eye open.

 

[Revkeith]

No idea how the NFL works, but aren't all the NFL attorneys on retainer?

 

[twothousandone]

It is remarkable how different this process has been from, say, the Rose investigation by Dowd/Giamatti/Fay Vincent--those were honorable guys with ethics. Contrast with Roger/Vincent/Kensil.

Get Pete Rose to say something like that on camera. That would get coverage.

 

[dcmissle]

So Google Mike Kensil.

One can hide but for so long.

 

[jose melendez]

By the way, these owners still "support" Goodell. He makes them lots of money.
— Jim Trotter (@JimTrotter_NFL) July 31, 2015

I've never understood this... is the COmmissioner really making them money?  Someone else wouldn't do as well?

 

[Rook05]

<p>

 
 


 
By the way, these owners still "support" Goodell. He makes them lots of money. Jim Trotter (@JimTrotter_NFL) July
link to tweet 31, 2015
 
 
 
These owners said the case is a bad look for NFL and never should've gotten to this point. Reiterated Kraft point: lawyers too involved.
Jim Trotter (@JimTrotter_NFL) July
link to tweet 31, 2015

I know that this is the common refrain, but at some point someone has to realize that this circus harms the brand of the Shield. Yes, no one will care once the games start, but Goodell has shown no ability to minimize these distractions or learn from his his mistakes. The 32 might be happy cashing their checks today but between the toxic dialogue with the players, the growing NFL player health concerns, and seemingly non-impartial employees and investigations, Goodell is needlessly adding risk to the gravy train.

Edit: de-quoted myself.
 

 

[CoffeeNerdness]

Why is support in quotes?

 

[ifmanis5]

What does Roger bring to the table ie making them money? If anything he's hurting them with botching handling of Rice, refs, concussions, etc.

 

[Sportsbstn]

What does Roger bring to the table ie making them money? If anything he's hurting them with botching handling of Rice, refs, concussions, etc.

It could be easily argued that Kraft has made the NFL owners much more money than Goodell. Easily...

 

[loshjott]

It's a tipping point thing. They are making tons of money so why rock the boat? When there is a credible alternative to make them more money, or avoid future reductions in making money, they'll move in that direction.
 
Never underestimate how easy it is to do nothing while continuing to make lots of money.

 

[Tim Salmon]

I've never understood this... is the COmmissioner really making them money?  Someone else wouldn't do as well?

 
This baffles me, as well.  NFL revenues trended sharply upward under Tagliabue, and the product sells itself.  It's like congratulating someone with a trust fund for sitting back and earning 6-7% per year instead of shoving the money under a mattress.

 

[Bleedred]

It's a tipping point thing. They are making tons of money so why rock the boat? When there is a credible alternative to make them more money, or avoid future reductions in making money, they'll move in that direction.
 
Never underestimate how easy it is to do nothing while continuing to make lots of money.

The new CFO guy may be his replacement and the beginning of the end, but in reality, it really doesn't matter.  If RG gets deposed at some point, it won't be "RG was a power hungry ignoramus who was as unethical as he was a fool."   Rather, it will be "Roger has left an indelible mark on this game for the good.  He was a great commissioner, overseeing an unprecedented era of growth and popularity for our sport.  We all owe him a tremendous debt of gratitude"
 
It sucks, but that's just the way it is.  

 

[Hoya81]

I've never understood this... is the COmmissioner really making them money?  Someone else wouldn't do as well?

 
The NFL has really made a push towards maximizing several new revenues streams (NFL Network/CBS thursday night package/London series) and pushing the limit on existing broadcast partners for renewals. The average value of NFL franchise is rapidly increasing. Even franchises out of the top markets (Cleveland and Buffalo) are getting billion dollar price tags. Goodell is getting the credit for being in charge at the right time.

 

[JayMags71]

Goodell is getting the credit for being in charge at the right time.

A lot of time, that's enough. 80% of success is showing up. it doesn't hurt that he doesn't care that he's considered a sock-puppet for the owners.

 

[Shelterdog]

 
The NFL has really made a push towards maximizing several new revenues streams (NFL Network/CBS thursday night package/London series) and pushing the limit on existing broadcast partners for renewals. The average value of NFL franchise is rapidly increasing. Even franchises out of the top markets (Cleveland and Buffalo) are getting billion dollar price tags. Goodell is getting the credit for being in charge at the right time.

 
What we don't know is what his role was in coming up with the strategy for the tv contracts? What was his role in executing them? Who masterminded the (very, very successful) lockout and concussion settlement negotiations?  My guess is that Roger didn't have much to do with any of these but those are all hugely important decisions for the league that somebody did a good job on.

 

[lambeau]

It's like Jeb Bush being governor from 1998-2007--perfect timing to take credit for the Florida real estate boom.

 

[Eddie Jurak]

 
The NFL has really made a push towards maximizing several new revenues streams (NFL Network/CBS thursday night package/London series) and pushing the limit on existing broadcast partners for renewals. The average value of NFL franchise is rapidly increasing. Even franchises out of the top markets (Cleveland and Buffalo) are getting billion dollar price tags. Goodell is getting the credit for being in charge at the right time.

And it may be not so much "getting the credit" as just simple risk aversion.  
 
They are doing well financially on Goodell's watch, why rock the boat?

 

[mikeot]

More from Sally Jenkins
 
 
 
 
 
http://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/the-nfls-basic-due-process-is-the-real-issue-in-the-deflategate-controversy/2015/07/30/ebda3b02-3666-11e5-9d0f-7865a67390ee_story.html

 
Was about to share this; nobody has written with more clarity about Ballgahzi from the getgo than Sally Jenkins. 

 

[CaptainLaddie]

At what point does Kensil start to get some shit from the NFL?
 
I mean, this is fucking ridiculous.

 

[Nick Kaufman]

 
They set out to get Belichick. I bet some, like Kensil, are A. dumbfounded that BB was cleared and B. still believe BB was the mastermind and got away with it.

 
They thought they had an open ended straight flush draw, but they really had a backdoor flush gutshot, but they doubled down because they were pot committed.

 

[DJnVa]

I'd say this release is a by-product of Kraft speaking out.

 

[lambeau]

Now that  Kensil being the leaker has been taken national by Florio, I wonder if it will rise to the level of influencing the litigation on the bias issue. It seems  bias is awfully close to being established.

 

[jsinger121]

 
http://wellsreportcontext.com/league-failure-to-correct-misinformation/

 

[Reverend]

When you post tweets with t.co links, people, don't put it in ""s because it adds the last " to the link and kills the link.
 
It happens a lot.

 

[ivanvamp]

Gotta remove the " at the end of that link.  
 
In the Feb 18, 2:54pm email from Pash to Robyn Glaser, he said this, regarding the leaks and the fact that the NFL could quite easily (and SHOULD) correct the misinformation.
 
"Once the investigation is completed and the facts are known, any incorrect reporting will be shown for what it is."
 
The NFL did not need the investigation to be completed.  They KNEW the ESPN reports were false.  Kensal (probably) was the one who leaked the false information in the first place.  So clearly, the NFL itself was very, very content to allow these false reports to damage the Patriots, instead of doing the right thing to correct them.
 
They corrected publicly Schefter when he said that the NFL only gave Brady 4 hours in his appeal, within a couple of hours.  Why didn't they correct the false information that damaged the Patriots?  
 
Clearly, they WANTED the false information to be out there.  This email exchange is incredibly embarrassing for the NFL.

 

[pappymojo]

What a prick.

 

[koufax32]

Did I miss a link to the referenced most recent Florio piece? Forgive my Buchholz if I did.

 

[CaptainLaddie]

That's fucking crazy.
 
This really has been a hatchet job since day one.

 

[riboflav]

Gotta remove the " at the end of that link.  
 
In the Feb 18, 2:54pm email from Pash to Robyn Glaser, he said this, regarding the leaks and the fact that the NFL could quite easily (and SHOULD) correct the misinformation.
 
"Once the investigation is completed and the facts are known, any incorrect reporting will be shown for what it is."
 
The NFL did not need the investigation to be completed.  They KNEW the ESPN reports were false.  Kensal (probably) was the one who leaked the false information in the first place.  So clearly, the NFL itself was very, very content to allow these false reports to damage the Patriots, instead of doing the right thing to correct them.
 
They corrected publicly Schefter when he said that the NFL only gave Brady 4 hours in his appeal, within a couple of hours.  Why didn't they correct the false information that damaged the Patriots?  
 
Clearly, they WANTED the false information to be out there.  This email exchange is incredibly embarrassing for the NFL.

 
I'd argue it's only embarrassing if A. people other than Patriots' fans know about it; B. understand the substance of the exchange; and C. give a shit.

 

[ivanvamp]

 
I'd argue it's only embarrassing if A. people other than Patriots' fans know about it; B. understand the substance of the exchange; and C. give a shit.

 
Well, you are 100% correct, of course.  And the odds of those three things being true are slim and none, and slim's in Texas.

 

[Reverend]

Did I miss a link to the referenced most recent Florio piece? Forgive my Buchholz if I did.

 
 
Florio:

I like and respect Mort. As Adam Schefter of ESPN said on WEEI on Thursday, Mortensen is a pioneer in this business. But his false report should be the centerpiece of the story. Because without that false report there is no story. More specifically, without that false report, there is no finding of cheating.
The false report instantly changed the narrative from “the NFL checked the Patriots footballs at halftime” to “someone deflated 11 of the 12 the Patriots footballs by two pounds each; what did Brady and Belichick know?” It made another Ted Wells investigation logical, it put the Patriots on the defensive, and it kept the Patriots from responding to the accurate PSI readings by pointing out that, on one of the two air-pressure gauges used, they fall squarely within the range expected by the Ideal Gas Law.
On Thursday, Schefter suggested that Mort was given false information by one or more high-level NFL officials. On Tuesday, the circumstances suggested that Stephen A. Smith of ESPN was given true information by one or more high-level NFL officials to introduce to the public the notion that “Tom Brady destroyed his cellphone.”
This would be a perfect topic for an ESPN Outside the Lines investigation as to how the NFL manipulated the media on multiple occasions for P.R. purposes. If only a couple of prominent ESPN employees hadn’t been pulled into this mess.
 

 

[Van Everyman]

Florio is going to go to town on this exchange w Pash.

 

[ifmanis5]

Gotta remove the " at the end of that link.  
 
In the Feb 18, 2:54pm email from Pash to Robyn Glaser, he said this, regarding the leaks and the fact that the NFL could quite easily (and SHOULD) correct the misinformation.
 
"Once the investigation is completed and the facts are known, any incorrect reporting will be shown for what it is."
 
The NFL did not need the investigation to be completed.  They KNEW the ESPN reports were false.  Kensal (probably) was the one who leaked the false information in the first place.  So clearly, the NFL itself was very, very content to allow these false reports to damage the Patriots, instead of doing the right thing to correct them.
 
They corrected publicly Schefter when he said that the NFL only gave Brady 4 hours in his appeal, within a couple of hours.  Why didn't they correct the false information that damaged the Patriots?  
 
Clearly, they WANTED the false information to be out there.  This email exchange is incredibly embarrassing for the NFL.

That's what I was screaming about in the original Ballghazi thread. For 2 weeks the NFL hung the Pats out to dry on purpose. It was a deliberate attack and the press and the public ate it all up because they love to hate NE. It's just sad that the NFL Office is no better than the rest of the Pats haters. In fact, they've been driving the bus.

 

[edmunddantes]

It was also a pressure tactic to see if they could make someone screw up and confess since NFL at time still didn't know for sure anything was wrong. 
 
I'm betting Kensil or someone had been up late watching too many cop dramas.

 

[ifmanis5]

I think we need a new thread title. Roger shot first.

 

[lambeau]

http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2015/07/31/report-mike-kensil-was-mortensens-main-source/
This is Florio picking up the scoop by John Dennis (!) re Kensil.

 

[drbretto]

I love how everything Kensil related uses that same pic that makes him look like a giant asshole.

 

[Stevie1der]

That's what I was screaming about in the original Ballghazi thread. For 2 weeks the NFL hung the Pats out to dry on purpose. It was a deliberate attack and the press and the public ate it all up because they love to hate NE. It's just sad that the NFL Office is no better than the rest of the Pats haters. In fact, they've been driving the bus.

 
Warning, tinfoil post ahead:
 
I honestly wonder if the NFL may have left this info out there as a passive aggressive tactic to distract the Patriots from the Super Bowl sufficiently enough to give the Seahawks an advantage.  I think 90% of fans stop giving a shit about this story if the narrative becomes, "who cares, they didn't beat the Seahawks and the Colts probably wouldn't have either," and the league then quietly punts this to the side.  Having an "illegitimate" Super Bowl champion in the eyes of many made the NFL go full derp ahead. 
 
Edit: And just to clarify, I don't think there was any official mandate to screw with the Pats' preparation in advance of the Super Bowl.  But I don't think it's a bridge too far to think that the NFL may have just decided to go into a holding pattern with regards to correcting the official record until the Super Bowl was over and then make a decision on how agressively to pursue the case based on the outcome of the Big Game.

 

[LuckyBen]

 
Warning, tinfoil post ahead:
 
I honestly wonder if the NFL may have left this info out there as a passive aggressive tactic to distract the Patriots from the Super Bowl sufficiently enough to give the Seahawks an advantage.  I think 90% of fans stop giving a shit about this story if the narrative becomes, "who cares, they didn't beat the Seahawks and the Colts probably wouldn't have either," and the league then quietly punts this to the side.  Having an "illegitimate" Super Bowl champion in the eyes of many made the NFL go full derp ahead. 

It would not surprise me at all if this was meant to distract the Pats from winning. The leak while the Pats were on their flight would back this up. It was always going to be a big deal by the NFL if the Pats won or lost though. What a huge FU by the Pats to the league to win against the Hawks.

Edit: in regards to leak never being corrected.

 

[allstonite]

Yeah this has gotta be all Kraft. He can't sue but he can embarrass the hell out of the NFL with the info he has. Between the emails, probably feeding John Dennis Kensil' name or at least pointing it out for him to dig into, and the press conference he's doing what he still can

 

[DJnVa]

Seems people are getting confused:
 
1--The context report is 100% Patriots produced and they've acknowledged that.
 
2--The emails were posted TODAY even though they were from February.

 

[Dr. Gonzo]

We saw other Pash content before, but this string is one we haven't seen to this extent before. 

 
Yes, I believe the exchange below was on there already.
 
https://wellsreportcontext.files.wordpress.com/2015/05/pash_correspondence1.pdf

 

[lambeau]

OMG--Kraft is going nuclear, going after Pash, Kensil--Vincent will be next. I guess by Citizens United this doesn't defy the judge's order to deescalate since Kraft is an independent issues PAC.

 

[Bleedred]

Methinks Jonathan Kraft has more of Bob's ear these days.

 

[pappymojo]

OMG--Kraft is going nuclear, going after Pash, Kensil--Vincent will be next. I guess by Citizens United this doesn't defy the judge's order to deescalate since Kraft is an independent issues PAC.

 
Kraft would be the NFL, no? :lol:

 

[Nick Kaufman]

OMG--Kraft is going nuclear, going after Pash, Kensil--Vincent will be next. I guess by Citizens United this doesn't defy the judge's order to deescalate since Kraft is an independent issues PAC.

 
Problem is it's less of a nuke and more of a really sharp arrow.

 

[DavidTai]

I have a difficult time thinking that's all to it, especially on a Friday. If this is more of a warning shot, then could there be more on the way starting Monday?

 

[ifmanis5]

I love how everything Kensil related uses that same pic that makes him look like a giant asshole.

Seriously doubt there are non-a'hole shots of him.

 

[Van Everyman]

 
Kraft would be the NFL, no? :lol:

Unless I'm mistaken, Kraft is not a party to this case. Berman is directing the League and the Players Association (and perhaps Yee) to settle.

 

[AB in DC]

This whole thing started because the NFL was leaking info and the Patriots were told not to say anything. 
 
Now the Patriots are leaking info and the NFL has been told not to say anything.
 
 
Turnabout is fair play, wouldn't yall say?