I didn't lose any respect for Brady as a player or competitor... If he actually did this I lost respect for his intelligence. Dude is the best quarterback of all time, why risk that reputation for an "advantage" that offers zero real world in game tactical advantage?! If he did this he has to be pretty dense in the head (granted most NFL players are).
I think the evidence is very clear that Tom Brady knew it was happen because he told them to do it. Now the question is, how long should he get suspended? I'm thinking 6-8 games. If he has owned up to it, maybe just a one game suspension, but since he lied and denied directly to the fans, media, league and commissioner, I think he deserves a much stiffer penalty. What do you think?
I like to believe I am sports purist. I dont like to blame the refs, the on field rules, or anyone else for my team or individual loss. I have nothing really against the Patriots, I love the way they play. Hard nosed and they shut their mouths. That being said, this is a team that has blatantly cheated before and gotten away with it pretty much. My response as a commissioner. Fine the Patriots $5,000,000, dock them their entire 2016 draft, take away their Super Bowl, and suspend anyone involved in the cheating for one year.
Considering the penalty they gave the Saints for creating an "incentive program", cheating is much worse of an offense and the penalty should be much stiffer.
It's not a murder trial....O,M an idiot would believe he didn't do it with all the evidence they have...0???
I didn't care for how ho hum he was in that interview he did. Kind of downplaying it and like he was above the law. I've lost some respect for him. And yes it's not a murder trial and there are far bigger infractions in the world. But, he blatantly lied to the public and now not even coming clean still. I'd say at least 8 games for him and Bellecheck (who probably isn't squeaky clean either).
I agree with 8 games minimum... And I also lost tons of respect for him and I DO believe Bellyfat knew about and probably encouraged it...he is a cheater, after all
The question being, do they get punished based on the infraction alone or does impact of the game have any influence. While I believe that Brady is completely guilty of this, I'm not convinced that had that much impact on his play. I read an article this morning by Peter King that outlined Brady's QB statistics both home and away, they were nearly identical. Deflating the football could only be done at home. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
The outcome of the game should have zero to do with it. The intent to cheat is what this is all about, compounded by the constant lying by every involved. It doesn't matter one bit that their cheating didn't have the desired effect, the fact that they cheated is the problem. Just as if you were in school and you copied off the guy sitting next to you and got caught. Would the teacher punish you less because you chose to cheat of a D student, then if you had cheated off the A student on the other side of you. No, cheating is cheating.
Does deflating a ball have 0 outcome on the game? The AFC championship game, no, it would not have changed the outcome. But how about the overall body of work of the patriots? Since the rule was enacted in 2006, the number of fumbles by the patriots have been half of the next lowest team. Prior to the rule change in 2006, they were an average team. If you go 20 more touches than the next lowest team without a fumble, you're going to win more games, score more points, have more attempts... Again I'm hugely biased but quite honestly I haven't been one to push for an 8+ game suspension. However, the more I think about it and read on stats and numbers, it looks like it just affect one game, it looks like it has affected most of his career.
It more probable than not, nothing happens to Brady. In the rule book it's a 25,000 fine for tampering with the balls. The NFL still cannot prove the Patriots did it. Any fine/suspension levied gets reversed by an arbitrator. Signed "The Needler"
If this was a different QB we wouldnt have 23 pages. Other QB's have mentioned that they have messed with balls to get them the way they like them but that doesn't seam to matter. Teams bend the rules all the time but when certain teams do it then they should be out of football.
If this was Manning, Rodgers, Brees, etc, caught cheating in a conference championship game, we would certainly still have a very lengthy thread. I'll still be surprised if any hefty suspension comes down on Brady. His character and respect are what really took a hit from this.
