It is official! The league has made a bad situation a disaster

As the tide turns, PFT buries the lead story

But what was the NFL really found? As one league source has explained it to PFT, the football intercepted by Colts linebacker D’Qwell Jackson was roughly two pounds under the 12.5 PSI minimum. The other 10 balls that reportedly were two pounds under may have been, as the source explained it, closer to one pound below 12.5 PSI.

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So now the story is changing? Now I don't want this story to die. The fight back must be furious and I am proud of Patriots nations fight out there. Pats have dominated comments sections of every story and have overwhelmed the masses.

vuudu said:

As the tide turns, PFT buries the lead story

So now the story is changing? Now I don't want this story to die. The fight back must be furious and I am proud of Patriots nations fight out there. Pats have dominated comments sections of every story and have overwhelmed the masses.

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Seriously. I just saw that and posted it in another thread. What a joke this whole thing is.

vuudu said:

As the tide turns, PFT buries the lead story

So now the story is changing? Now I don't want this story to die. The fight back must be furious and I am proud of Patriots nations fight out there. Pats have dominated comments sections of every story and have overwhelmed the masses.

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Got the link so I can post on another forum?

Archeryaddict12 said:

Got the link so I can post on another forum?

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Buried in paragraph 3: http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2015/01/25/nfl-bears-plenty-of-blame-for-deflategate/

upstater1 said:

No, not if you take into account that the leagues interpretation emphasized "during the game," and in 2006, it came to the NFLs attention twice that teams taped the Patriots signals. The first time, in a Phins game, the NFLs Steve Lic responded, "that's football." In the second instance, it was the Jets. the NFL claimed the Pats gave the Jets permission to film from the field. permission to break the NFL rules? Huh?

The Patriots denied it.

It's understandable that anyone would wonder if the NFL was serious about a perfunctory memo when the NFL twice ignored it in Patriots games.

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Recall also that the Packers told Estrella to stop filming from the field in 2006.

There was no evidence of filming on the field in the Miami case. Miami supposedly used standard TV tapes and enhanced the sound to capture audibles Brady was using. No rule prohibits that. It's not taping from the field. The Pats never argued this as a in their submissions to the League as evidence to counter any charges leveled against them.

The Jets should have been penalized. Filming from the mezzanine seats near the end zone is illegal. Mangini was probably lying about permission. I don't know why the Patriots failed to file a claim with the league, but I can guess there was a lot more to it, a can of worms nobody wanted to open.

If the NFL EVP of Football Operations, whose office is a few doors down from Goodell's, issues a memo cleared by the NFL GC, it probably means they're serious.

The rule is stupid and the penalty was harsh but it's hard to argue that the NFL would look the other way because of the two instances you cite. Even Kraft would probably agree.

TomPatriot said:

Recall also that the Packers told Estrella to stop filming from the field in 2006.

There was no evidence of filming on the field in the Miami case. Miami supposedly used standard TV tapes and enhanced the sound to capture audibles Brady was using. No rule prohibits that. It's not taping from the field. The Pats never argued this as a in their submissions to the League as evidence to counter any charges leveled against them.

The Jets should have been penalized. Filming from the mezzanine seats near the end zone is illegal. Mangini was probably lying about permission. I don't know why the Patriots failed to file a claim with the league, but I can guess there was a lot more to it, a can of worms nobody wanted to open.

If the NFL EVP of Football Operations, whose office is a few doors down from Goodell's, issues a memo cleared by the NFL GC, it probably means they're serious.

The rule is stupid and the penalty was harsh but it's hard to argue that the NFL would look the other way because of the two instances you cite. Even Kraft would probably agree.

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It was the NFL EVp of operations Anderson who claimed they had permission. Did the patriots need to make it official after he said something like that? He could have said we were unaware, it hasn't been brought to his attention.

TomPatriot said:

Recall also that the Packers told Estrella to stop filming from the field in 2006.

There was no evidence of filming on the field in the Miami case. Miami supposedly used standard TV tapes and enhanced the sound to capture audibles Brady was using. No rule prohibits that. It's not taping from the field. The Pats never argued this as a in their submissions to the League as evidence to counter any charges leveled against them.

The Jets should have been penalized. Filming from the mezzanine seats near the end zone is illegal. Mangini was probably lying about permission. I don't know why the Patriots failed to file a claim with the league, but I can guess there was a lot more to it, a can of worms nobody wanted to open.

If the NFL EVP of Football Operations, whose office is a few doors down from Goodell's, issues a memo cleared by the NFL GC, it probably means they're serious.

The rule is stupid and the penalty was harsh but it's hard to argue that the NFL would look the other way because of the two instances you cite. Even Kraft would probably agree.

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Let me address some points regarding the handling of the rules violation by the POS commissioner. The penalty was out of proportion with regard all previous more serious rules violations such as the cap violations by the Broncos and 49ers which warranted only the loss of a third pick not a first. Then by the destruction of the tapes without explanation he left a permanent stain on the Pats reputation. Then the failure to punish the Jets for the same action with a rationale that even an idiot wouldn't believe has shown his total lack of impartiality which exists to this day. The fact that Kraft supinely accepted the punishment is a contributing factor to why this BS is going on today. I concur with the sentiment that if Kraft fails to support BB and Brady fully with all his supposed influence, then it's time for them and the Pats fan base to leave.

IcyPatriot said:

http://espn.go.com/espn/fp/flashPollResultsState?sportIndex=sportsnation&pollId=4679268

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LOL... Washington State and Indiana, cradles of skepticism...

Mike Ditka has got BB's back. He came out with a very emotional support and says he believes BB and this was media driven.

NFL Office = Incompetent. No other explanation exists. They've managed to nearly ruin the pinnacle of their season and have done so with questionable evidence after a week they had good reason to do so.

Either they knew they were going to nail the Pats because they did enough previous work they could be sure they wouldn't jeopardize the Super Bowl or they went on a fishing trip and have botched the investigation and what should have been a week long of hype and fun. If it were the former they would have laid out the goods by now. The people running the league are an embarrassment. This screw up is nearly worse in terms of damage to their brand than the Rice fiasco has been.

Goodell said everything stops and starts with him. That means he's even more inept than he appeared this fall. Incredible, because an ambulance chasing lawyer from the outskirts of Topeka, KS, could have masterminded a better 6 months.

Brady'sButtBoy said:

NFL Office = Incompetent. No other explanation exists.

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Nope, NY bias and jealousy are driving this. Jets/Ravens and Colts have been bullied by the Pats and looked at it as a chance for revenge....Jets guy Keisel (?sp) leading the initial investigation, Sgt Schultz Pagano " I know nothing and "my team never lose, it's always the refs/cheaters/some other factor" Harbaugh....

But the NFL's incompetency is the icing on top.......

This controversy is not over yet. Watch for the media and NFL to tack on a new angle next week.
The amount of clicks that are being generated by deflategate is quite salivating for this controversy to have a prolonged shelf time.

upstater1 said:

It was the NFL EVp of operations Anderson who claimed they had permission. Did the patriots need to make it official after he said something like that? He could have said we were unaware, it hasn't been brought to his attention.

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My understanding is that Mangini made the claim, making it the Pats word against his. I don't recall Ray Anderson claiming that. If Anderson did claim Mangini had permission, the Pats could still have filed a complaint, if only to make a record. They probably didn't do it either because they were filming from the field too or they didn't think it was that big a deal or they thought it was commonplace.

The "punishment" is where this got really sketchy for the NFL.

PapaTrips said:

I'd like to ask DI as he is a lawyer and others who have legal training, is it possible to sue a media outlet or are they immune?

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The media is certainly not immune. However, since the plaintiff would be a public figure, the bar is set very very high and therefore it would be really hard for the plaintiff to get a libel/slander victory. Plus, the plaintiff would open himself to the discovery process.

PapaTrips said:

I know this next step is a dream but I'd like to see the Pats take legal action against the league.

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It has been reported by SI's Michael McCann (a sports lawyer) that all 32 teams have signed contracts agreeing they cannot sue each other and cannot sue the league.