Mike Salk getting twisted in knots by Deflate-Gate

(I didn't want to shack this, but wasn't quite sure where to post, so I went with the NFL forum).

I like Salk and think he is an asset for Seattle sports talk, but he is a little bit of a homer and always has been. What makes him unique is that due to his work history in Seattle and his personal sports history in Boston, he's a bit of a dual-homer for both the Hawks and Pats.

Hearing him twist around deflate gate on 710 this week has been amusing to say the least. Basically saying that it doesn't matter if a team cheats, it only matters on their "wikipedia page." That this doesn't undo how good a team the Patriots are over their history (a counter to an argument that literally no one has made). He doesn't even have anybody to argue with, and he's already using a pre-emptive straw man fallacy. The level of insecurity and the instinct to minimize and cover up is funny as hell to watch unfold. Quite honestly it feels like the same things we've heard from a few homertastic visitors to this site over the last few days.

I'm not hating on the guy, I just love it because it forces him to express incredibly awkward opinions in favor of the opponent of his broadcast market's Super Bowl team.

Brock knows what's up, but like usual just gives a knowing smile and let's Salk dig and dig.

Not much I can add to what you put here....pretty comprehensive coverage of the topic. He's still doing it today, and it's almost hard to listen to.....he REALLY sounds desperate....almost like he's trying to convince himself! Like you said, it's very reminiscent of the Marvin-esque scramblings of most of the Pats fans that are coming in here.

Salk is still holding on to the idea that it could still be "weather related"!! If I remember right, he isn't well known for admitting to being wrong about things, so how's he going to climb himself out of the gigantic hole he's digging? Feel kind of sorry for the guy, like I do for all Patriot fans. It's easy to personalize these things (fandom), so identifying so closely with a team like this makes it feel like you have to apologize for something they personally had nothing to do with. We certainly know what that's like after all the BS we had with adderall. Not sure if this is better than the press obsessing on their contrived narrative about us having nothing to do with our incredible comeback in the NFCCG.

I just hope this doesn't have the effect on their team like spy-gate did in 2007 (thank goodness for Manningham!). It's just too bad that we couldn't have a game untarnished by all this ridiculousness. Most likely, regardless of WHO wins, there will always be a "Yeah-but" attached to this championship.

One thing is certain, Bellichick deserves every second of this coming at him. The biggest question is whether the NFL will have the cojones to punish him sufficiently to discourage him (and others) from pulling this kind of crap in the future. It sure seems like they're angling towards the scapegoat route. At the very least the Patriots are trying to steer it in that direction.

Salk is about as pragmatic of a sports personality as it gets, so he's having a hard time with the absurdity of the entire situation.

But remember, he is from the NE area, so a part of him probably doesn't like it when the Pats are being dragged through the mud like this.

What happened to him over there? Whenever he says anything about his experience over there, he sounds like a POW trying to avoid having to discuss it.

Laloosh":3cjov1d4 said:

What happened to him over there? Whenever he says anything about his experience over there, he sounds like a POW trying to avoid having to discuss it.

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Yeah. I wouldn't want him to be directly confronted on it, since it really has no bearing on his job here and I like the chemistry they have on the show (I even like Danny O'Neil better in the mix he's now in). He's a likeable guy and I wouldn't wish him put through the wringer like I would someone like Harbaugh or Belichick.

......but to be a fly on the wall last year in NE

The 710 hosts have been kind of weird about deflate-gate. I can't put a finger on it and maybe I'm imagining stuff but they seem to be really trying to down play it.

They bring up over and over that it had not effect on the outcome of the game. So if the scoreboard says one thing, than cheating is OK and doesn't matter?

Part of me wonders if Salk is telling them behind the scenes to not make a big deal out of it. It's a huge deal, this is a very bad situation for the NFL.

Salk is a big homer for the Seahawks too. There are a few times a week that he takes pro-Seahawks positions that even I wouldn't take as a life-long hawks fan.

There is definitely some Marvin49 in his nature, but I like the guy. Homerism aside, he's very brave by media standards and rarely hesitates to call out a bullshitter (unless it's Pats / Seahawks related). He has some blind spots, but I like his intestinal fortitude.

As an aside, I have a ton of respect for Brock. No ego with that guy whatsoever, and he gets along with ANYONE they put next to him. Team player all the way.

amill87":130l1k8l said:

The 710 hosts have been kind of weird about deflate-gate. I can't put a finger on it and maybe I'm imagining stuff but they seem to be really trying to down play it.

They bring up over and over that it had not effect on the outcome of the game. So if the scoreboard says one thing, than cheating is OK and doesn't matter?

Part of me wonders if Salk is telling them behind the scenes to not make a big deal out of it. It's a huge deal, this is a very bad situation for the NFL.

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Getting the same vibe, and have the same theory. Salk has major clout on 710.

I think part of it too is a desire to avoid over-confidence.

amill87":21c0d8iu said:

The 710 hosts have been kind of weird about deflate-gate. I can't put a finger on it and maybe I'm imagining stuff but they seem to be really trying to down play it.

They bring up over and over that it had not effect on the outcome of the game. So if the scoreboard says one thing, than cheating is OK and doesn't matter?

Part of me wonders if Salk is telling them behind the scenes to not make a big deal out of it. It's a huge deal, this is a very bad situation for the NFL.

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I don't really think so. Each of the personalities seems to be reacting exactly how you would expect them to react.
O'Neal is distracted by the term "balls" and giggling like boy in puberty. Wyman obviously wants to talk about something else and can't think how deflating the ball would make a difference (Because hes a LB rarely touched the ball in a meaningful way). Moore is bipolar. Bob hates Bellichick. Salk is a Patriots homer etc. etc.

He did that the other day with Mark Brunell and Drew Bledsoe trying to get support from them but Brunell blew it up, saying a deflated ball was definitely an advantage.

Radio hosts live twitter because it allows them to invent topics to be self righteous or indignant about. "Everybody on twitter is saying that this is the end of Bradys career!"

When actually, maybe one or two random people said such a thing. This allows pundits to play the "defender" of some poor victim or topic. I think that is the kind of stuff you are referring to as Straw Man arguments Kearly?

kearly":p0k5cr8p said:

Salk is a big homer for the Seahawks too. There are a few times a week that he takes pro-Seahawks positions that even I wouldn't take as a life-long hawks fan.

There is definitely some Marvin49 in his nature, but I like the guy. Homerism aside, he's very brave by media standards and rarely hesitates to call out a bullshitter (unless it's Pats / Seahawks related). He has some blind spots, but I like his intestinal fortitude.

As an aside, I have a ton of respect for Brock. No ego with that guy whatsoever, and he gets along with ANYONE they put next to him. Team player all the way.

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This is spoton. The main thing I don't like about Salk is he goes to far at times when he's taking digs at people.

But he is the Station Manager I believe. He has a lot of say over what goes on there.

Was listening today and it kind of made me sad to hear Brock and Dilfer falling in line with Salk now, even as more and more evidence makes this scandal look increasingly damning. Really hard to say this isn't a big deal after the fumble data came out.

IMO this is much, much worse than Spygate. It involved cheating in an actual game, cheating that has probably gone on every game for eight years. Spygate was about taping warmups. There is no proof that Spygate had any meaningful impact to help the Patriots, but there is proof that deflategate did. Then you have the lying over it. During SB week. As a repeat offender.

Even the Patriots version of Marvin would probably admit this is a big deal at this point.

I just hope for Salk's sake that he doesn't hold on to the bitter end and cause a lot of people to lose respect for him. Better just to let it go.

Wyman who I normally like, was in full "defend the shield" mode today. He and some other players, Lawyer Malloy was another one are in denial that the game they love can be tainted or manipulated even though deep down they know it is true.

Plus 710 carries the local NFL a team's broadcast so there could have been marching orders from above and way above to poo poo deflate-gate. As a Hawks fan that generally hates the NFL and the way it's run It's going to be fun to watch what the next shoe to drop is. 8)

kearly":30vuvjxu said:

Even the Patriots version of Marvin would probably admit this is a big deal at this point.

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I know you're not on Twitter Kip, but I follow a few Patriots bloggers who like to talk draft.

Every single one of them, to a MAN, has gone on the defensive BIG TIME. Like a collection of extreme Marvin's. It's cringeworthy. They're trying really, really hard.

They're desperate. Absolutely desperate.

theENGLISHseahawk":34rzvud9 said:

kearly":34rzvud9 said:

Even the Patriots version of Marvin would probably admit this is a big deal at this point.

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I know you're not on Twitter Kip, but I follow a few Patriots bloggers who like to talk draft.

Every single one of them, to a MAN, has gone on the defensive BIG TIME. Like a collection of extreme Marvin's. It's cringeworthy. They're trying really, really hard.

They're desperate. Absolutely desperate.

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That could be a good reason a majority of their fanbase has the same opinion, they are parroting those guy's words:

I listen to Brock & Salk and it's my favorite show but IMO Salk is not a conspiracy guy and I think a lot of his views on Deflate-Gate are shaped by this opinion. If he caves on this he has to open his mind on more conspiracy theories. As for guys like Dilfer, Wyman and other ex players and coaches are just company men.

Laloosh":1s1hxmz9 said:

What happened to him over there? Whenever he says anything about his experience over there, he sounds like a POW trying to avoid having to discuss it.

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The northeast is a pretty aggressive and brutal culture to contend in. He probably thrives out here in the calmer, passive-aggressive NW. I was born into it, so it's all I know, but I wouldn't want to try to live among the northeast mentality.

pugs1":2csvfn03 said:

I listen to Brock & Salk and it's my favorite show but IMO Salk is not a conspiracy guy and I think a lot of his views on Deflate-Gate are shaped by this opinion. If he caves on this he has to open his mind on more conspiracy theories. As for guys like Dilfer, Wyman and other ex players and coaches are just company men.

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To be fair, Salk has spent most of his energy minimizing how much it actually matters rather than attempting to deny it. Salk is a decently smart guy, and has his limits when it comes to making desperate arguments. It will be interesting to see if he buys into the Saturday press conference nonsense. I bet he will, but at least until now he's avoided saying that he believes Brady and Belichick.

theENGLISHseahawk":16ynh6u0 said:

Every single one of them, to a MAN, has gone on the defensive BIG TIME. Like a collection of extreme Marvin's. It's cringeworthy. They're trying really, really hard.

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Oh I'm sure. I'm just saying that this has become a very big deal and everyone knows it (including Salk, who pretends otherwise). The fact that Pats fans are freaking out so hard is because they know what is at stake. And it's a lot more than a suspension, fine, or draft pick. The real thing they fear is the damage it would cause to the Patriots legacy. There's a very real fear that if this goes poorly the Patriots lasting image could be like that of Barry Bonds.

Salk is still at it today. It's hard to listen to.....I'm actually embarrassed for him. I guess people just have to dismiss the "Gate" thing or else it throws BB, TB and the entire organization into question. Do they deserve any of their trophies? They took away some of USC's championships retroactively.....but I just can't imagine that ever happening in the NFL. How would that even be done? Give those Lombardi's to all of their opponents?

It makes me angry to think of getting away with this for so long, just the fact that such a culture of duplicity is allowed to fester and thrive. You know they'd never let a non-legacy team get away with it (even though they still wouldn't take away championships from such a team).

I like Salk a lot, but his homerism is off the charts. Even when talking about the Hawks. It'd be nice for him to tone it down a bit. I know he has to play for his local audience....ahh, maybe that's it? Maybe he's gun shy about being critical after "leaving" (or was it fired?) Boston? Maybe he burned some bridges somehow?