Bill Belichick will meet with the media today at 9:30 a.m

Belichick shoulud say he'll take "lie detector tests, truth serum, whatever they want....have to draw the line at waterboarding though, that I won't do at my age".

DefenseRules said:

They will probably suspend Brady instead.

Click to expand...

Won't happen. Not in a million years.

It feels like the NFL is sharpening their knives over this. Either Belichick is concerned for the legacy after all the Super Bowl talk has been replaced with chatting about cheating, or Goodell is threatening some serious penalties. There might be something to a suspension, which would be outrageous.

I just turned on ESPN radio for the first time since Sunday. Then Jorge Sedano came on and I turned it off again.

@Edwerderespn: Bill Belichick's denials are going to shift suspicion to Tom Brady.

@mortreport: After Belichick’s remarkable opening statement, clearly he has shifted the focus to Tom Brady

Media's already starting

I overreacted, and you're probably right Jack. But why do you guys think BB/Brady agreed to do this course of action (shifting the media frenzy of stupidity to Brady?)

Brian Dawkins already pinning it on Tom

Did Tom say, "lemme handle this?"

Uncle Rico said:

The only thing with the "I had no knowledge" bit is ... this guys knows the rule book inside and out. And.. when Brady said something after the Ravens game about the Ravens should study the rule book, I cringed a bit; now I know why.

Click to expand...

You realize that this stuff is not even in the NFL rule book by now don't you? It is in the NFL Field Operations guide. This is a book that goes into all sorts of details on a whole lot of issues, such as how often to water a natural grass field, when it should be mowed, how to inflate footballs, when/where to use cameras, game security, ticket refund policies, etc. I doubt that any player or coach knows it chapter and verse as they would the actual rule book.

The idea that BB should know every tiny detail in the Pats org is absurd. Try calling your local Mayor and ask him how much gas the Chief of Police has in his cruiser or what the chain of evidence rules are for the District Attorney. They don't know that stuff because they don't have to know it.

condon84 said:

He didn't have to say that. It surprised me that he said it to be honest. Maybe it's nothing but I suspect the media might start to put Brady more in the spotlight after this.

Click to expand...

I feel that if that happens or if Brady is singled out for punishment, other star QB's are going to go to bat for him. This isn't some run of the mill QB- this is one of the best QB's in NFL history getting singled out for something that is now sounding like an activity all QB's partake in to some extent- and I don't think the other QB's are liking this whole spectacle either.

Fixit said:

BB's in the clear, and he knows it. And the Chicken Littling about "throwing Brady under the bus" is freakin' epic.

Click to expand...

Yea he didn't throwTB under the bus, but he did leave it to him to offer another point of view and additional insight into how game day balls are handled. With that, TB has plenty of wiggle room in his response.

No question BB/TB collaborated on their positions and stories....and Kraft...and Stacy James.

I think he at least took a little bit of the edge off the situation. I don't suspect the media to as foaming at the mouth as they were with Bill.

All of this has to take a toll on BB.

Today I truly heard and certainly felt a real mob mentality.

I choose to believe him and i hope he can just calm down the next couple of days and throw himself into his work which will take his mind off of all this garbage.

...and my FAVORITE quote of BB's presser..."We never make the conditions of the footballs an excuse"

Absolute classic...in other words, put on your big boy pads and play ball...

Thought BB handled it brilliantly, and logically..

Next will be what Tom Brady has to say, I suspect that his responsibility will be deferred also..

Have restored some of my faith in this team and common sense.. except for the mediots who were looking for a pound of flesh..

Wow! BB straightforwardly proclaims his innocense and says TB will address more. Expecting TB to say the same. Also alluded to the fact that the balls were only slightly below NFL standards. They are also finally reporting on ESPN that BB had no knowledge of below weight balls and that the NFL is having trouble finding any evidence of wrongdoing.

Palm Beach Pats Fan said:

You realize that this stuff is not even in the NFL rule book by now don't you? It is in the NFL Field Operations guide. This is a book that goes into all sorts of details on a whole lot of issues, such as how often to water a natural grass field, when it should be mowed, how to inflate footballs, when/where to use cameras, game security, ticket refund policies, etc. I doubt that any player or coach knows it chapter and verse as they would the actual rule book.

Click to expand...

Curious: Doesn't it specify a $25,00 fine somewhere? Is that in the rule book? or the Field Operations Guide?

My take: Belichick probably didn't know. The NFL has no proof of any wrongdoing and won't be able to find any such proof. Brady will say he likes them at the 12.5 number, and has no idea how they got deflated from there. It will end there. The NFL has no idea how any of this happened and hence are "angry, disappointed, and distraught" because they won't be able to satisfy the media. Bad for the NFL, better (but not the best, because it isn't a full exoneration) for the Patriots.

Palm Beach Pats Fan said:

You realize that this stuff is not even in the NFL rule book by now don't you? It is in the NFL Field Operations guide. This is a book that goes into all sorts of details on a whole lot of issues, such as how often to water a natural grass field, when it should be mowed, how to inflate footballs, when/where to use cameras, etc. I doubt that any player or coach knows it chapter and verse as they would the actual rule book.

Click to expand...

We are talking about a man who is most likely the most meticulous, well-prepared, informed coach in NFL history. Of course he has read it.

I bet he reads that sitting on the can in the morning.

Lol NFL Network replaying the entire news conference already. They haven't even commented on it yet, other than the local reporter (Randy Moss, no not that Randy Moss) saying that BB sounded sincere.

josh77 said:

I feel that if that happens or if Brady is singled out for punishment, other star QB's are going to go to bat for him. This isn't some run of the mill QB- this is one of the best QB's in NFL history getting singled out for something that is now sounding like an activity all QB's partake in to some extent- and I don't think the other QB's are liking this whole spectacle either.

Click to expand...

Maybe that's the play. Retired QBs have been outspoken about how common an issue this is.

PatsDeb said:

Wow! BB straightforwardly proclaims his innocense and says TB will address more. Expecting TB to say the same. Also alluded to the fact that the balls were only slightly below NFL standards. They are also finally reporting on ESPN that BB had no knowledge of below weight balls and that the NFL is having trouble finding any evidence of wrongdoing.

Click to expand...

Link? Details?

Honestly, if brady is the one responsible, belichick shouldn't take the fall for this.

They have nothing on Belichick. I believe him that he has no idea how much air pressure is in the footballs on game day. This is a Brady situation and he will have an explanation today at 4:00PM. Brady is a big boy and can handle the heat.