NatetheGreat said:
Sure. The "good of the league". The owners don't want this to drag out and they don't want to wind up in court with Brady.
#DFG: Canceling the Noise
- Thread starter nattysez
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Sure. The "good of the league". The owners don't want this to drag out and they don't want to wind up in court with Brady.
There are a lot of flaws in that Kraft has to trust to follow through on the hug.NatetheGreat said:
Part of the QPQ hug could be to for RG to recuse himself, appoint a Brady-friendly arb, and then maybe the 4-games disappear.
And if the hug was known among the inner circle of owners, and RG reneged, he may find support vanish.
It is pretty surreal living in a world where football teams are evil and criminal attorneys are paragons of virtue.AB in DC said:
I feel the same way. Already decided not to do fantasy football this year, and it's something I'd been doing since 1989. Definitely making plans to do other things on Sunday's in the Fall.Seels said:
From a Patriots fan's perspective, this just gets worse and worse and worse. I get why Kraft probably had to do this, but it will be spun for the rest of our lives as a total capitulation by a group of guilty cheaters.
What a bunch of fools we've been. Goodell isn't being brought down by this, he's been exponentially empowered. He's hell bent on embarrassing Brady next and will not reduce the punishment unless Tom bows down and kisses his boot live on SportsCenter, and even then His Highness would probably just reduce the suspension by a game or two.
This has completely sucked the fun out of sports for me right now.
What a bunch of fools we've been. Goodell isn't being brought down by this, he's been exponentially empowered. He's hell bent on embarrassing Brady next and will not reduce the punishment unless Tom bows down and kisses his boot live on SportsCenter, and even then His Highness would probably just reduce the suspension by a game or two.
This has completely sucked the fun out of sports for me right now.
troparra said:
Those are Rapoport's words, not necessarily Goodell's (or Rapoport's source's).
Calm down Winston! We were busy dealing with footballs out of spec by at least 3%!Corsi said:
Do you really think that the Artless Roger is getting Kraft's vote when his contract comes up for renewal? Do you think that Kraft is going to bail him out during his next major fuck up? (Which is almost certainly going to be the next CBA negotiations.) Revenge is a dish best served cold.JimD said:
j44thor said:
I think it was something along these lines. It was a public shaming for not accepting it the first time, and speaking out against the puppet of the good old boys. Everything about this league that's off the field really sucks, I'm not sure why the owners think having a puppet who does everything he can to keep the focus on the sausage-making is a great idea. Football is better when it's about football.
Right. Which is why I assume Goodell asked his friend Bob Kraft to do what was best for the league. The optics of accepting the penalty look better than dragging the fight out in court.SeoulSoxFan said:
My "who gives a shit" was directed towards those of us that care what opposing teams' fans think of the Pats. I fully admit to having tuned the media out about two days after the story initially broke. This thread has been my go-to for Deflategate news.
I kind of want to know how someone can go from vehemently defending the team the way he did, and be willing to put up a fight just a couple of weeks ago, to - at least from an optics standpoint - looks like someone who completely folded today. That's how it's going to look outside of New England (and to lots of the mediot writers in Boston, the same).
Seems like they didn't play the PR scenario though too well. What could they have otherwise expected?
Seems like they didn't play the PR scenario though too well. What could they have otherwise expected?
There's no way to sugar coat this: it's ugly. It's been ugly since the initial tweet from Kravitz, and it hasn't changed. Goodell was looking for any excuse to punish the Patriots; his minion Jets flunkies in the league office told Goodell that the Patriots cheat, and so Goodell felt he needed to appease those minions no matter the cost. There is really no other reason for this whole episode; Goodell did not get any extra owner votes by spanking the Pats. The league did not get any extra money from the sponsors or the TV networks. And the media will still be ready to attack Goodell the next time there is a controversy involving an off field incident. None of that matters; Goodell looks tough in front of Kensil and Vincent and the NFLPA. Good for him.
Kraft had no real options if the other owners were not going to support him. The other owners are making money; they could care less about Wells reports or ball pressure or other distractions. They really could care less about Tom Brady; remember, he's just "cattle". And they'll still be around long after Brady's profile is enshrined in Canton. So I cannot really blame Kraft. Someone mentioned Al Davis and his lawsuits. It's a poor analogy; most of those lawsuits were around far more substantial issues than draft picks and ball pressure. As noted above, the team could have been penalized for posting the Wells Context rebuttal; so Kraft may very well have been acting in the best interest of the team by dropping this.
The local mediots really took a step down; none were able or willing to do any sort of critical analysis of the situation. Volin and Gasper are really no better than Borges, Tomase, Felger & Mazz, and CHB.
About all we can hope for is Brady's appeal. Kessler is no amateur, and with the NFLPA backing Brady, TB12 does have far better options than Kraft ever did. It's way too early to handicap Brady's appeal chances. And time will rehabilitate Brady's image in the mind of most fans and media; nothing can take away from his accomplishments on the field.
Goodell's ego and his need to appeal to his minions in the league office will eventually be his undoing. That's my story, and I'm sticking with it. Perhaps this episode will eventually sow the seeds of his undoing; time will tell.
Kraft had no real options if the other owners were not going to support him. The other owners are making money; they could care less about Wells reports or ball pressure or other distractions. They really could care less about Tom Brady; remember, he's just "cattle". And they'll still be around long after Brady's profile is enshrined in Canton. So I cannot really blame Kraft. Someone mentioned Al Davis and his lawsuits. It's a poor analogy; most of those lawsuits were around far more substantial issues than draft picks and ball pressure. As noted above, the team could have been penalized for posting the Wells Context rebuttal; so Kraft may very well have been acting in the best interest of the team by dropping this.
The local mediots really took a step down; none were able or willing to do any sort of critical analysis of the situation. Volin and Gasper are really no better than Borges, Tomase, Felger & Mazz, and CHB.
About all we can hope for is Brady's appeal. Kessler is no amateur, and with the NFLPA backing Brady, TB12 does have far better options than Kraft ever did. It's way too early to handicap Brady's appeal chances. And time will rehabilitate Brady's image in the mind of most fans and media; nothing can take away from his accomplishments on the field.
Goodell's ego and his need to appeal to his minions in the league office will eventually be his undoing. That's my story, and I'm sticking with it. Perhaps this episode will eventually sow the seeds of his undoing; time will tell.
At lunch yesterday with a bunch of fans of various NFL teams, a Jets fan said what I think most opposing fans actually think: DeflateGate is wildly overblown (no pun intended), there's probably something there but gamesmanship is no big deal, and -- this is the key point -- he would trade places with Pats fans (having a four time winner and some road kill to deal with) in a heart beat.
Other than fans of, perhaps, the Steelers, Niners and Cowboys, I think that is a sentiment shared by many. Other fans like to tweak us for the same reason that some opposing fans like to come into this thread or a game thread moments after something bad happens to our team. It's fun for them and they know we'll react.
But worrying about what opposing fans think is silly for a lot of reasons, not the least of which is that I think most of them really do realize that DeflateGate is nothing much more than a boon to opportunists and haters.
Other than fans of, perhaps, the Steelers, Niners and Cowboys, I think that is a sentiment shared by many. Other fans like to tweak us for the same reason that some opposing fans like to come into this thread or a game thread moments after something bad happens to our team. It's fun for them and they know we'll react.
But worrying about what opposing fans think is silly for a lot of reasons, not the least of which is that I think most of them really do realize that DeflateGate is nothing much more than a boon to opportunists and haters.
I'm no PR pro, but it looks to me like the Pats dramatically overplayed their hand last week and look rather foolish today for it. Maybe a more measured "we're considering all our options" tone was the strategy they should have pursued? Acknowledge that they disagree with the Wells report while also acknowledging the limited avenues of recourse available to the team?PseuFighter said:
Sorry if this is a sort of ignorant question, but has Boston ever had a really great, objective football writer? Will McDonough maybe? It just seems like, in general, the way this has been covered in Boston has been utter crap, regurgitating tweets and leaks and dragging out a nonsensical soap opera without doing any, you know, reporting. It's frustrating.
Rusty13 said:
According to the pleading, the league sent a letter to Henderson, instructing him not to comply with the district court's order and to refrain from holding a hearing until the league had completed its appeal. And Henderson complied.
The exhibits aren't included with the NFLPA's filing, but it's pretty clear -- the league does whatever the hell it wants because nobody really stops them. They don't give a shit about optics or public opinion, because there really is never any accountability. They know there will always be defenders and that's good enough to blur the issue and allow them to keep doing what they are doing, backed by their army of embedded "journalists".
fairlee76 said:
Yeah if the plan all along was to eventually turn around and bend over, they played their hand wrong. Roger has now made a damn fool out of Kraft several times over. I'm starting to think he's not as dumb as we've all imagined.
This is more like Braveheart. Kraft is now Robert the Bruce with Roger being Longshanks and Brady as William Wallace.Remagellan said:
Jonathan Kraft must still be screaming, "Moe, Larry, cheese!" after this afternoon's debacle.
who gives a shit if he gets Krafts vote, Kraft is one of 32 and 31 other owners are seemingly happy that the Patriots are made to eat their shit right now.nighthob said:
I couldn't fucking imagine something like this happening to the 9ers with Tagliabue, the Bulls / Spurs / Lakers under Stern....Yankees under Bud....
The Pats got railroaded with literally zero recourse. Fuck this corrupt shit of a league
I think this is spot on. I live in NYC and had dinner with close friends this weekend, a table full of hostile personae - a Jets fan, a Giants fan, a Broncos fan. And it went like this: a bit of needling which I laughed at (I just shrugged and smiled, because, well, the Super Bowl(s)), then admission that this was a pine tar incident gone mad, and then...that was it. Wasn't talked about again. In the end? Well, four Super Bowls.TheoShmeo said:
They all are smart enough to know better. The ones who aren't smart enough? Who gives a sh*t about them?
If you're linking to a Shaugnessey article, please say that so I'll know not to click.
Thanks.
Thanks.
After all of this I hope McNally at least as the sense to cash in with a 'Depends' advertising contract.
McDonough was an axe grinder who would also occasionally defend Whitey Bulger in print. When he died they had to pry his frozen jaw off Parcells' hog with a crowbar.
I wouldn't expect a fellow owner to know anything about the Ideal Gas Law, or the statistical invalidity of the Exponent analysis, or possible alternative interpretations of the text messages. Nor would I expect such an owner to even care enough to assist Kraft in launching a rebellion. Let's face it: the quote from Shank's article is the definition of "I'm about to faint from lack of surprise".
Well put. I'm in an area (northeast PA) that is isn't exactly loaded with Pats fans, and most people I've talked to think the penalties were way too harsh, even if they think the Pats were monkeying around with balls. I'm talking Eagles fans who think it should've been a fine and that's it. Despite the fact that the Pats really have gotten fucked harder than any other team, I do get the sense that folks are thinking "If it could happen to them..."TheoShmeo said:
That said, it sucks that Kraft isn't going the distance with this (even if there really isn't anything sure to get them past a 12(b)(6) motion). The first rounder is a real pisser. At some point, when you're a frickin' billionaire, doesn't making a stand for what you believe in matter more than five or ten million and the (maybe) goodwill among your fellow members of the club?
Then again, I am not a billionare.
I love how all the write ups on the story today all parrot the same 'preponderance of evidence' talking point from Wells. All the evidence they have adds up to an old guy in the bathroom and some texts which could be read a bunch of different ways. Am I missing something?
Thanks, DSF. I don't think it's the money of the fight for Kraft. I think it's the drama and distraction of the fight. A fight he could not win.
The CHB -- and yeah, thanks Soxhop for linking an article by that worthless piece of crap without warning us -- glosses over what to me is the KEY POINT: Kraft could not have won.
I happen to think that Kraft played this perfectly with the exception of including the Deflator nonsense in the Context Paper.
Kraft reacted with scorn and had his team issue that report. Then he got to the meetings and after doing a little work determined that he had no support from the other owners and that he was simply not going to win. At that point, he decided not to drag this thing out.
Where is the mistake? OK, I get it, people wanted him to fight the good fight. Go Pats! But who fights a fight that cannot be won? Idiots, that's who. Guys like the CHB would criticize Kraft either way. If he fights an unwinnable fight he's an arrogant tone deaf bastard. If he capitulates it must mean he's conceding. Garbage in both cases.
As I mentioned when the press conference ended and the Curly Haired Boy also alluded to, sadly enough, the one thing that I fault Kraft for -- and I think this really sucked big time -- is that he did not say something supportive of Tom Brady today. I mean, why not? Unless doing so would have violated an understanding he has with Goodell regarding a reduction of the penalty (and that would actually not surprise me at all), then I would have expected some words of encouragement and support for Mr. Brady.
But other than that, I think Kraft handled this perfectly, and I am kind of surprised at the level of negativity toward him.
The CHB -- and yeah, thanks Soxhop for linking an article by that worthless piece of crap without warning us -- glosses over what to me is the KEY POINT: Kraft could not have won.
I happen to think that Kraft played this perfectly with the exception of including the Deflator nonsense in the Context Paper.
Kraft reacted with scorn and had his team issue that report. Then he got to the meetings and after doing a little work determined that he had no support from the other owners and that he was simply not going to win. At that point, he decided not to drag this thing out.
Where is the mistake? OK, I get it, people wanted him to fight the good fight. Go Pats! But who fights a fight that cannot be won? Idiots, that's who. Guys like the CHB would criticize Kraft either way. If he fights an unwinnable fight he's an arrogant tone deaf bastard. If he capitulates it must mean he's conceding. Garbage in both cases.
As I mentioned when the press conference ended and the Curly Haired Boy also alluded to, sadly enough, the one thing that I fault Kraft for -- and I think this really sucked big time -- is that he did not say something supportive of Tom Brady today. I mean, why not? Unless doing so would have violated an understanding he has with Goodell regarding a reduction of the penalty (and that would actually not surprise me at all), then I would have expected some words of encouragement and support for Mr. Brady.
But other than that, I think Kraft handled this perfectly, and I am kind of surprised at the level of negativity toward him.
PseuFighter said:
IAN Edward Bernays, but what else should they have done that would have had a bettr PR outcome?
miracleofmidre said:
This should be pinned in 900000 point type.
And this too.TheoShmeo said:
Someone had to play the grownup here. Kraft did. That particular fire is getting no more oxygen. smart people dont get into fights they are sure to lose; and they certainly dont prolong them when they have a chance to end them.
