Deflating deflategate --[Mod Edit] AEI Opinion Piece in NY Times

[BradyFTW!]

It's true that the AEI report has received little attention. That, however, shouldn't be a surprise. The media* ran with and became invested in the Deflategate story and Brady/Patriots "cheating". It would be unprecedented for them to start reporting on stories that would call into question their own ethics and competence. That's just not how media operates.

Yet even without wide mention of it, the AEI report definitely has meaning. If the hornet's nest gets stirred up again -- I assume it could be when the appeal process begins or the legal process comes to a head -- this time around things like the AEI report mean idiot media will be forced, unwillingly, to temper their 'Brady cheated' sales pitch. It may even force them to spend time speaking about the multi billion dollar corporation's behavior, it's actual case against Brady, and that Brady may actually be 'innocent'(gasp!).

Yup, I don't expect the media to do any kind of an about face, but if they do it won't happen now anyway. The report can't be the story itself. It could maybe happen once the actual happens. If Brady's punishment gets overturned, the AEI report will be front and center as an explanation for why. That's very good for us, since something was going to be front and center, and better the science than questions about the Kraft/Goodell relationship.

Only if/when it becomes apparent that Goodell went nuts levying an incorrect punishment based on a misunderstanding of high school science, I could maybe then see the media using it as a chance to trash on Goodell for trying to scapegoat an innocent team. I don't think it'll happen, but if there's anyone more hated than the Pats it's Goodell himself, so I guess it's not outside the realm of possibility.

 

[TheBostonStraggler]

Yup, I don't expect the media to do any kind of an about face, but if they do it won't happen now anyway. The report can't be the story itself. It could maybe happen once the actual happens. If Brady's punishment gets overturned, the AEI report will be front and center as an explanation for why. That's very good for us, since something was going to be front and center, and better the science than questions about the Kraft/Goodell relationship.

Only if/when it becomes apparent that Goodell went nuts levying an incorrect punishment based on a misunderstanding of high school science, I could maybe then see the media using it as a chance to trash on Goodell for trying to scapegoat an innocent team. I don't think it'll happen, but if there's anyone more hated than the Pats it's Goodell himself, so I guess it's not outside the realm of possibility.

Well said.
Unfortunately the key phrase is "I don't think it will happen". While Goodell is more disliked, he isn't front and center to the mass of dummies of the general public. The Patriots, on the other hand, are front and center every season (and even off season). The Patriots are the ones ruining the chances of 'NFL happiness' to the mass of dummies. Now add in Goodell's powerful reach into media and it comes down the Patriots being the easier and sweeter target for those that peddle clickbait to the mass of dummies.
With Goodell being about PR justice/not about what's fair or just, and with the AEI report never going to get significant coverage, there wasn't and isn't any real chance Goodell's motivation/direction changes. IMHO the moment Wells and Goodell threw Brady and the Patriots under the bus, the case was closed to Goodell and to the media (the prick might try to look magnanimous and cut it down to two games or the like). Goodell got his Napoleonic win and fat clickbait was handed to the media on a silver platter. And, with a few noted exceptions, no one in that profession would question such a bounty -- not even when the source was someone disliked, someone whose judgment and decision making had been rebuked multiple times by independent legal sources, someone whose questionable motivations and integrity had shown through on the Rice case.

Bottom line: From the moment of the Wells Report being completed, this was going to be about getting the issue in front of a sanctioned-legal third party official. So while the AEI report is just a little poke in the eye of the media as well as something that will cause some of them pause when writing anything further on it (or even avoiding writing on it at all), I think the AEI has better value of the legal side. It isn't a bunch of people with axes to grind pointing out inconsistencies and exculpatory items in the Well Report, it is a relatively respected and more tangibly independent source (whether just a morale booster, a roadmap, or actual 'expert' evidence).

 

[SVN]

http://espn.go.com/boston/nfl/story...mailbag-back-deflategate-tom-brady-appeal-nfl

Q. Mike, the AEI report is a devastating look at the science underlying the Wells report, which they concluded was "deeply flawed." The question is, will the NFL, after spending millions of dollars and creating a media circus, have the courage to acknowledge this and alter its penalties? This latest piece should be the final nail in Roger Goodell's coffin. From a fan point of view, his leadership has stood for one thing: total incompetence. -- Sean S. (Seattle, Washington)

A. Sean, to this point in the process I have seen very little (if any) introspection from the NFL as to its handling of the entire situation. An example of this is that in the 243-page Wells report, there is just one paragraph that touches on how the league conducted its investigation and any flaws/mistakes along the way. Likewise, there have been few (if any) public comments acknowledging what could have been done differently by the NFL. So based on that, it seems the league office is not budging and thus it's hard for me to believe anything will significantly change in the NFL's approach at this point.

 

[Ivan]

http://espn.go.com/boston/nfl/story...mailbag-back-deflategate-tom-brady-appeal-nfl

Q. Mike, the AEI report is a devastating look at the science underlying the Wells report, which they concluded was "deeply flawed." The question is, will the NFL, after spending millions of dollars and creating a media circus, have the courage to acknowledge this and alter its penalties? This latest piece should be the final nail in Roger Goodell's coffin. From a fan point of view, his leadership has stood for one thing: total incompetence. -- Sean S. (Seattle, Washington)

A. Sean, to this point in the process I have seen very little (if any) introspection from the NFL as to its handling of the entire situation. An example of this is that in the 243-page Wells report, there is just one paragraph that touches on how the league conducted its investigation and any flaws/mistakes along the way. Likewise, there have been few (if any) public comments acknowledging what could have been done differently by the NFL. So based on that, it seems the league office is not budging and thus it's hard for me to believe anything will significantly change in the NFL's approach at this point.

Reiss is right on the money, Goodell will treat the AEI report like it was one of our posts and dismiss it outright. He already knows the truth because he's the one who paid for it, and there is simply no refuting truths that cost five million to purchase. Goodell will take offense to Brady challenging the Wells Report and will uphold the suspension with a warning not to upset the 32 or he will do damage to his legacy....


Brady is headed to court and I will have my popcorn ready when he does. My fondest hope is that Goodell, Kensil, and Vincent end up with their heads on pikes in Brady's Trophy Room, will see?

 

[SVN]

Reiss is right on the money, Goodell will treat the AEI report like it was one of our posts and dismiss it outright. He already knows the truth because he's the one who paid for it, and there is simply no refuting truths that cost five million to purchase. Goodell will take offense to Brady challenging the Wells Report and will uphold the suspension with a warning not to upset the 32 or he will do damage to his legacy....


Brady is headed to court and I will have my popcorn ready when he does. My fondest hope is that Goodell, Kensil, and Vincent end up with their heads on pikes in Brady's Trophy Room, will see?

Dont know if the court thing will resolve this year. Heard people even on this board more well versed with the court process say that brady will file an injunction and play all year with the hearing happening next year.

 

[Ivan]

Dont know if the court thing will resolve this year. Heard people even on this board more well versed with the court process say that brady will file an injunction and play all year with the hearing happening next year.

Fine with me as long as he tears them apart when it finally happens.

 

[vyrago]

The first time NdGT got it wrong by making a sophomore mistake: not using absolute pressure.

After he fixed this, he actually did the calculation completely correctly. He fell victim, however, to believing the Chris Mortensen lie (that 11 of 12 footballs were deflated by at least 2 psi).

NdGT declared that there was no way that the ideal gas law alone could account for a 2 psi pressure drop because it only gets a little over half of that (about 1.15). Of course, the actual drop was not 2 psi, it was 1.01 psi (logo gauge) or 1.39 psi (non-logo gauge).

So his second attempt was only in error due to a misplaced trust in the validity of the Chris Mortensen lie.

And CM's retraction? I haven't heard it yet; have you?

 

[Palm Beach Pats Fan]

And CM's retraction? I haven't heard it yet; have you?

ESPN?
a retraction?
ever?

 

[mosey threetupu]

Anyone notice the banner ads for the report appearing? The study itself has been shown to be independent but who is running th ad campaign? Would be interesting to know.

 

[neuronet]

Only if/when it becomes apparent that Goodell went nuts levying an incorrect punishment based on a misunderstanding of high school science, I could maybe then see the media using it as a chance to trash on Goodell for trying to scapegoat an innocent team. I don't think it'll happen, but if there's anyone more hated than the Pats it's Goodell himself, so I guess it's not outside the realm of possibility.

I agree it will never happen, they will never see us as innocent of anything because of 2007, and our continued dominance that they think they cannot explain otherwise, and the misinformation spread by Tomase The Incompetent. So they will at best see it as an understandable overreaction to a team we should all be suspicious of anyway, serves 'em right.

Hope I'm wrong...

 

[SVN]

another guy who starts to criticize the messenger instead of reading the message

Greg A. Bedard ‏@GregABedard 2m2 minutes ago
AEI sure liked slapping own backs about bounty scandal. Unless I missed it, Tagliabue never mentioned it or used "injury data" in decision

 

[Jackson 2]

another guy who starts to criticize the messenger instead of reading the message

Greg A. Bedard ‏@GregABedard 2m2 minutes ago
AEI sure liked slapping own backs about bounty scandal. Unless I missed it, Tagliabue never mentioned it or used "injury data" in decision

That doesn't mean it didn't influence his decision. Bedard's another guy who's evolved over time into a snark machine when it comes to NE. Too much time working with MMQB and Peter Dink.

 

[RobertWeathers]

another guy who starts to criticize the messenger instead of reading the message

Greg A. Bedard ‏@GregABedard 2m2 minutes ago
AEI sure liked slapping own backs about bounty scandal. Unless I missed it, Tagliabue never mentioned it or used "injury data" in decision

Yes- he did miss it. The NFL used AEI's research to weasel their way out of Goodell's mess.

 

[SVN]

and again he chooses to ignore the facts .Its hard arguing when they dont want to make an objective point...frustrating.


@GregABedard kinda like @BenVolin line of thinking...find holes at the messenger but lets not talk about the message.Greg A. Bedard ‏@GregABedard 25s26 seconds ago
@SVN2010 @BenVolin Ted Wells, his lab and a renowned scientist say math is good. These guys say no. Who am I supposed to believe?

1. 
   
   

 

[Brady2Moss]

Big tough guy Greg back at it again, nothing to see here folks, another media type to realize being an ass translates into more $$ than being objective. Hypocrisy runs high while he cries about AEIs financial stake in this despite his whole "hot take" being motivated by $$.

 

[SHOWTIME15]

That doesn't mean it didn't influence his decision. Bedard's another guy who's evolved over time into a snark machine when it comes to NE. Too much time working with MMQB and Peter Dink.

Peter King is on our side in deflategate. He says he can't see the evidence.

 

[SVN]

vs ‏@SVN2010 12m12 minutes ago
@GregABedard @BenVolin So you find the wells report expln of gauges and how anderson must have misremembered to fit the readings believable?


Greg A. Bedard ‏@GregABedard 9m9 minutes ago@SVN2010 @BenVolin Not necessarily, like I said on F&M. Because you can make the science look various ways, I put it in toss up column

Wall Defender ‏@IBelieveBrady 2m2 minutes ago
@GregABedard @SVN2010 @BenVolin Then you must put the txts & bathroom trip in toss up column too. They can be interpreted in different ways.

Greg A. Bedard ‏@GregABedard 42s43 seconds ago
@IBelieveBrady @SVN2010 @BenVolin ok, Mr. Wall Defender. If you say so.

vs ‏@SVN2010 7m7 minutes ago
@GregABedard @BenVolin yes so wells assumption of anderson's memory and gauges ,his interpreration of science could be wrong too , right?
Greg A. Bedard ‏@GregABedard 5m5 minutes ago
@SVN2010 Maybe. Maybe not.

 

[cmasspatsfan]

Bedard reminds me of the dumb guy on the Big Bang Theory who said "that's what I like about science, theres no right answer"

 

[Kdo5]

Bedard reminds me of the dumb guy on the Big Bang Theory who said "that's what I like about science, theres no right answer"

He's really come into his own as a snarky arse in recent months. Felger must be proud.

 

[SVN]

I think people like bedard want to be on the side which they think will win the argument. They feel the nfl nailed the pats and chnces of that going away are less so lets lean towards them.
I dont expect them to praise AEI or the pats but at least take a critical look at the wells report as well. I was surprised when Peter King agreed with AEI and said the nfl went overboard.