Football Air Pressure Controversy

[barrett]

Originally Posted by HPF Bob

Thanks for putting words in my mouth. I think (warning: opinion) that the Patriots cheated but the NFL couldn't prove it. This isn't a court of law. The Black Sox were found not guilty (their signed confessions magically disappeared) in court but Judge Landis still gave the players lifetime bans.

Maybe with access to Brady's cellphone, the circumstantial case could be proven with a confirming text. But we'll never know. Not unless the NSA steps forward with proof.

So, yes, the Patriots get away with cheating again.

How dense are you Bob? They didn't get away with anything. They got fined a 1st and 4th round pick and fined $1,000,000. That is the opposite of getting away with something.

[HPF Bob]

Originally Posted by barrett

How dense are you Bob? They didn't get away with anything. They got fined a 1st and 4th round pick and fined $1,000,000. That is the opposite of getting away with something.

But all the Patriots care about is winning - at any cost.

Think they care about a big fine? They just went out and signed Reggie Wayne.

Think they care about losing draft picks? They'll just trade Garoppolo next winter and get them back.

Keeping Tom Brady for 16 games means a lot more to them than fines or draft picks. Yeah, they "got away with it". Belicheat and Brady are laughing their asses off.

[Nconroe]

Hate to get into this, but didnt they say only one ball was deflated out of 12, 11 balls deflated was misinformation.

And didnt Brady do better after halftime when balls were all inflated properly.

So lots of rhetoric over nothing.

Then the rules say 25k fine for messing with equipment so if your opinion right the fine is out of line.

Then this is the fifth discipline overturned by courts recently, so this is likely worse for league image than anything.

Of course there is even precedent for people destroying a phone and not being punished.

So mistake was made by nfl trying to entrap someone due to unproven speculation.

The case being appealed is about the nfl process so not even about deflated balls.

This year i think they are using calibrated guages, measuring each ball before game and halftime, and keeping in possession of nfl till needed. Things that in hindsightvshould havevalways been done.

[barrett]

Originally Posted by HPF Bob

But all the Patriots care about is winning - at any cost.

Think they care about a big fine? They just went out and signed Reggie Wayne.

Think they care about losing draft picks? They'll just trade Garoppolo next winter and get them back.

Keeping Tom Brady for 16 games means a lot more to them than fines or draft picks. Yeah, they "got away with it". Belicheat and Brady are laughing their asses off.

Do you truly think they are laughing about the loss of a 1st and 4th round pick? Nobody who knows anything about football could really think that.

[HPF Bob]

So, what was their punishment for Spygate, you may be asking?

The Patriots were also fined $250,000, and stripped of their first-round selection in the 2008 NFL Draft;

So the Patriots have had to forfeit their #1 pick before yet they still returned to the Super Bowl. It hardly slowed them down. If they're missing out on the 30th best player in the draft, is it really such a hindrance?

[barrett]

Originally Posted by HPF Bob

So, what was their punishment for Spygate, you may be asking?


So the Patriots have had to forfeit their #1 pick before yet they still returned to the Super Bowl. It hardly slowed them down. If they're missing out on the 30th best player in the draft, is it really such a hindrance?

Bob, I am going to assume that you are blinded by your hate of the Patriots, because I always assumed that you know about football. Nobody who knows anything about football would say something as dumb as 1st round picks don't matter because a team once won a super bowl almost a decade after losing a 1st round pick.

[HPF Bob]

What hurt them more was Brady getting knocked out with a knee injury for one season. Since then, they have not failed to make the playoffs and, three years hence, were back to the Super Bowl and have been in the AFC Championship Game four straight seasons. So losing that first-rounder (32nd pick in the draft) hardly slowed them down at all.

For a team like the Texans, losing their #1 pick is a substantial blow. For the Patriots, it was just collateral damage.

[barrett]

Originally Posted by HPF Bob

What hurt them more was Brady getting knocked out with a knee injury for one season. Since then, they have not failed to make the playoffs and, three years hence, were back to the Super Bowl and have been in the AFC Championship Game four straight seasons. So losing that first-rounder (32nd pick in the draft) hardly slowed them down at all.

For a team like the Texans, losing their #1 pick is a substantial blow. For the Patriots, it was just collateral damage.

You are embarrassing yourself every time you argue that a 1st round pick doesn't matter (even a low one).

But you don't believe a 1st doesn't matter. You just think it's not enough because New England partially overcame it once. So are you saying you don't want the Patriots punished, you want them punished enough so they can't win?

With no proof they did anything wrong, plenty of scientific uncertainty anything even happened, and the NFL leak that started the whole thing being a lie, you want them punished in a way that makes sure they cannot make the super bowl for at least 3 years? What does that look like? Postseason ban like college? Removal of Tom Brady for the year?

What about Minnesota and Carolina? Do you think they should be let off the hook since they lose already without penalties? If a team cheats and loses you don't seem to care.

Tell me exactly what you think should happen Bob? What should be done to Bellicheat (especially since the NFL's own investigation cleared Bellicheat of any involvement)? What would be a big enough punishment to stop you from whining?