Former NFL players reaction to DeflateGate and Brady

[Hass2Carlson]

The NFL is willing to take another hit to their credibility in exchange for protecting their crown jewel. It's not an investigation, it's feet dragging until the game is over. I want to play a full strength Patriots team but it's wrong. Someone needs to be punished but it won't happen until the game is decided. Just how happy are football fans going to be if Belicheat and Shady are champions?

 

[253hawk]

I like how the media asked him straight up "Is Tom Brady a cheater?" And his reply was "I don't believe so."

What??? Who answers an accusation like that? Why not just a flat-out "No"? In what world do you answer such a question any other way? "I don't believe so" reeks of guilt; he doesn't think messing with the balls is cheating.

 

[pehawk]

They played the second half with balls that were legal and scored 28 points. I think this is being blown way out of proportion and the media is feasting on it (shocking, the media driving a story - who knew!).

How many convicts do you know that got caught and that was the very first time they committed the crime?

The answer is zero, zero convicts.

Incorrect. I got caught whilst in my maiden foray into sexual assault. All it did was make me smarter; 363 days since my last accusation. True bill.

I think there's ALOT of NFLPA Alumni types that will want to see the Pats go down. It adds another layer of awesome and sexiness to the game.

 

[marymoorhawk]

They played the second half with balls that were legal and scored 28 points. I think this is being blown way out of proportion and the media is feasting on it (shocking, the media driving a story - who knew!).

How many convicts do you know that got caught and that was the very first time they committed the crime?

The answer is zero, zero convicts.

So enough with the argument that this didn't have an impact on the Colts outcome. No it didn't, but it sure as hell could have had an impact on years and years of much closer Patriots games, including the one the very week before against the Ravens.

Do you honestly think Brady just started doing this for the Colts game? Dudes been in the league for 14 years.

Speaking of blowing things out of proportion - comparing this to convicts?

More like a speeding ticket. Sure, its against the rules (or law) but its not really a serious crime to me. Do you throw someone in jail for speeding? No, you slap them with a fine and move on. Exactly what they should do here and be done with it.

Can we play the game already?

 

[Sports Hernia]

Brady said he's not talked to the NFL. Quite an "investigation" the NFL is doing on this scandal. Probably like the Ray Rice fiasco:

NFL: So, Tom, did you do anything wrong?

Brady: No.

NFL: OK, we believe you. I guess that covers everything we're supposed to do here. He said no, after all. No point in wasting time conducting an actual investigation.

The vast majority of criminal investigations, as an example, involve investigating everything AROUND a main suspect. You do a lot of fact-finding before you try to convict. Just sayin'.

I hope you are right. I hope they know the answer BEFORE they ask him the question about the situation, if he comes clean he gets a lesser punishment, if he lies to the their face then they hammer him.

 

[Ron Burgundy]

On Super Bowl Sunday, every ball in the entire state of Arizona will be inflated exactly to NFL specifications.

Which is why the Seahawks have a very good chance to beat the Pats** just like the Giants did. Neutral site, Hoodie has a little less control over things, and suddenly they're not quite as good. Hoodie knows EVERYTHING that goes on, according to at least one former player. He knows how many grams each used bar of soap in the showers weighs, you can't tell me he didn't know footballs were underinflated.
Good luck in the SB. :th2thumbs:

 

[marymoorhawk]

According to NFL rules and regulations:

"Anyone who alters the inflation of a ball faces a $25,000 fine"

http://abcnews.go.com/Sports/deflate-gate-nfl-ball-rules/story?id=28346557

So they have rules in place for this type of infraction (like there are for other ways teams/players gain an edge such as PED's, etc) so can we just apply them and move on?

Obviously not - what am I thinking, we have ads to sell and need clicks and viewers!

 

[Mick063]

It will be interesting to see Brady throw a ball that he isn't comfortable with.

Avril has been known to strip sack. A slicker ball just may be the ticket.

 

[Sgt. Largent]

They played the second half with balls that were legal and scored 28 points. I think this is being blown way out of proportion and the media is feasting on it (shocking, the media driving a story - who knew!).

How many convicts do you know that got caught and that was the very first time they committed the crime?

The answer is zero, zero convicts.

So enough with the argument that this didn't have an impact on the Colts outcome. No it didn't, but it sure as hell could have had an impact on years and years of much closer Patriots games, including the one the very week before against the Ravens.

Do you honestly think Brady just started doing this for the Colts game? Dudes been in the league for 14 years.

Speaking of blowing things out of proportion - comparing this to convicts?

More like a speeding ticket. Sure, its against the rules (or law) but its not really a serious crime to me. Do you throw someone in jail for speeding? No, you slap them with a fine and move on. Exactly what they should do here and be done with it.

Can we play the game already?

I agree it's being blown out of proportion, I just don't like the "well it didn't affect this blowout game" argument, because that's not the point. The point is we have a franchise with a systemic problem of cheating and no matter how serious the infraction Belicheat and his merry band of rule benders need to be punished more severely than a fine.

 

[NorCalHawk12]

NFL: Coach Belichick, did you order the “Deflation?”
Mediots: You don’t have to answer that question!
Coach Belichick: I’ll answer the question!
[to NFL]
Coach Belichick: You want answers?
NFL: I think we’re entitled to.
Coach Belichick: You want answers?
NFL: We want the truth!
Coach Belichick: You can’t handle the truth!
Coach Belichick: We live in a world that has balls, and those balls have to be guarded by men with striped shirts. Who’s gonna do it? You? You, Mr. Microphone? I have a greater responsibility than you could possibly fathom. You weep for the Colts, and you curse the Patriots. You have that luxury. You have the luxury of not knowing what I know. That the Colts loss, while tragic, probably saved games. And my existence, while grotesque and incomprehensible to you, saves games. You don’t want the truth because deep down in places you don’t talk about at parties, you want me on those balls, you need me on those balls. We use words like honor, code, loyalty. We use these words as the backbone of a life spent defending something. You use them as a punchline. I have neither the time nor the inclination to explain myself to a man who rises and sleeps under the blanket of the very football that I provide, and then questions the manner in which I provide it. I would rather you just said thank you, and went on your way, Otherwise, I suggest you pick up a football, and run a post pattern. Either way, I don’t give a damn what you think you are entitled to.
NFL: Did you order the “Deflation?”
Coach Belichick: I did the job I...
NFL: Did you order the “Deflation?”
Coach Belichick: You’re Goddamn right I did!

 

[MrThortan]

Patiently waiting on the NFL's official ruling after the investigation is done. Something I find curios is that "scientist" on both side of the weather debate have been claiming it was either significant enough to account for the 2psi, or it wasn't. One Boston physicist says it didn't and another Boston physicist said it did. Both provided mathematical equations to support their claim, but both can't be right. I think it shows that just because an authority on a subject makes a claim, it doesn't make it true. Regardless, I have been entertained.

~Back to lurking~ Go Hawks!

 

[v1rotv2]

To all those that say if it did not make a difference does it really matter if the balls were deflated? First, if it did not make a difference then why do it? Second, you have to ask how long have they been doing the deflation thing? And third, which is a biggie, intentional deflation of the balls is clear evidence that the intent was to gain an illegal advantage. That alone is a fine-able offense.

When you add in the organizations past conduct it's clear that the Pats ownership is OK with this type of conduct. The punishment has to be huge.

 

[marko358]

To all those that say if it did not make a difference does it really matter if the balls were deflated? First, if it did not make a difference then why do it? Second, you have to ask how long have they been doing the deflation thing? And third, which is a biggie, intentional deflation of the balls is clear evidence that the intent was to gain an illegal advantage. That alone is a fine-able offense.

When you add in the organizations past conduct it's clear that the Pats ownership is OK with this type of conduct. The punishment has to be huge.

They've been doing this since 2007 to answer your question. The stats show it.

 

[NOLAHawk]

Brady said he's not talked to the NFL. Quite an "investigation" the NFL is doing on this scandal. Probably like the Ray Rice fiasco:

NFL: So, Tom, did you do anything wrong?

Brady: No.

NFL: OK, we believe you. I guess that covers everything we're supposed to do here. He said no, after all. No point in wasting time conducting an actual investigation.

Now where is that Lynch and his shoes? We need to really punish his outlandish behavior.

 

[RiverDog]

They played the second half with balls that were legal and scored 28 points. I think this is being blown way out of proportion and the media is feasting on it (shocking, the media driving a story - who knew!)

Is it illegal, yes and if it can be proven then punishment should follow (for me that means a hefty fine) but it had zero impact on the game - or close to zero impact. These calls for Brady to be suspended for the game or the Pats should be required to forfeit are agenda driven and nothing more than click bait.

Give us the Pats at full strength and lets go out and win the game.

The possible effect it may or may not have had in the outcome of the game against the Colts is completely irrelevant.

What is relevant is that there was almost certainly an attempt by a HOF quarterback to gain an unfair and illegal competitive advantage in at least one game and probably more. It is no different than getting caught with PED's. MLB has had to deal with similar issues involving corked bats and doctored baseballs. The argument has never been whether or not it had an impact on a specific game.

I do not want to see the Pats heavily penalized as some have suggested (I've seen proposed that they have every draft pick in the 2015 draft taken away from them). It punishes too many innocents and disproportionally rewards three specific teams within the AFC East. IMO what needs to happen is that both Brady and Belichick receive some form of significant discipline, and for Belichick, it's his second offense while he's been with the Pats so they need to come down pretty hard on him.

But I do agree with you that any punishment be deferred to the 2015 regular season.

 

[Basis4day]

I like Colin Coherd's suggestion for punishment.

Patriots on Hardknocks for two seasons.

 

[Largent80]

Good, this clown needs to end his time in NE with a BIG FAT LOSS, and a bigger asterisk next to his supposed larger than life personna.

 

[MagHawk]

NFL: Coach Belichick, did you order the “Deflation?”
Mediots: You don’t have to answer that question!
Coach Belichick: I’ll answer the question!
[to NFL]
Coach Belichick: You want answers?
NFL: I think we’re entitled to.
Coach Belichick: You want answers?
NFL: We want the truth!
Coach Belichick: You can’t handle the truth!
Coach Belichick: We live in a world that has balls, and those balls have to be guarded by men with striped shirts. Who’s gonna do it? You? You, Mr. Microphone? I have a greater responsibility than you could possibly fathom. You weep for the Colts, and you curse the Patriots. You have that luxury. You have the luxury of not knowing what I know. That the Colts loss, while tragic, probably saved games. And my existence, while grotesque and incomprehensible to you, saves games. You don’t want the truth because deep down in places you don’t talk about at parties, you want me on those balls, you need me on those balls. We use words like honor, code, loyalty. We use these words as the backbone of a life spent defending something. You use them as a punchline. I have neither the time nor the inclination to explain myself to a man who rises and sleeps under the blanket of the very football that I provide, and then questions the manner in which I provide it. I would rather you just said thank you, and went on your way, Otherwise, I suggest you pick up a football, and run a post pattern. Either way, I don’t give a damn what you think you are entitled to.
NFL: Did you order the “Deflation?”
Coach Belichick: I did the job I...
NFL: Did you order the “Deflation?”
Coach Belichick: You’re Goddamn right I did!

 

[Hawkpower]

They played the second half with balls that were legal and scored 28 points. I think this is being blown way out of proportion and the media is feasting on it (shocking, the media driving a story - who knew!).

How many convicts do you know that got caught and that was the very first time they committed the crime?

The answer is zero, zero convicts.

So enough with the argument that this didn't have an impact on the Colts outcome. No it didn't, but it sure as hell could have had an impact on years and years of much closer Patriots games, including the one the very week before against the Ravens.

Do you honestly think Brady just started doing this for the Colts game? Dudes been in the league for 14 years.

Speaking of blowing things out of proportion - comparing this to convicts?

More like a speeding ticket. Sure, its against the rules (or law) but its not really a serious crime to me. Do you throw someone in jail for speeding? No, you slap them with a fine and move on. Exactly what they should do here and be done with it.

Can we play the game already?

Plenty of people go to jail for speeding. All depends on the severity of the offense. If you had a loved one killed by someone driving 97 miles an hour, your stance on its seriousness would probably change.

Kind of like deflating one football one time is different than potentially gaining an advantage in every game you have played since 2007.

Kind of like that.

 

[bigskydoc]

The NFL will do everything in their power to slow roll the investigation. Why wouldn't they.

They stand to lose a lot of money if BB & TB aren't in Arizona next week.

The NFL loves anything that brings attention in the offseason, especially if it is attention on a legacy franchise and at the expense of the attention one of the upstart franchises would otherwise get.

I would announce the findings in the week after the big game and the punishment a week later.

The damage is already done so even bad publicity is good for the NFL at this point.

-bsd RPA