I still don't think Goodell is out to get the Patriots.[/B] I think this time he may be on the Pats' side. If he finds out that Kensil and/or Grigson tried to set up the Pats and kept on leaking info to the media to smear the Pats especially during the weeks up to the Super Bowl, I think he is going to come down hard on them. I think he did not like that there was a major controversy right before the Super Bowl after the Ray Rice, Greg Hardy, and Adrian Peterson messes this season.
Rob, what does he have to DO? Wear a "I Hate the Pats" T-shirt?
Lets look at the RECENT record. He let the Jets and Falcons virtually skate after direct evidence linked them to CHEATING. (I never felt what Cleveland did was a crime to begin with) Admitted cheating and not more than one day of blowback and NOTHING since, nor will there be. Compared that to the manufactured crime of DEFLATEGATE. Look at his initial attack claim how serious the infraction was. Look at the well timed leaks that came from HIS office. Look at the continued attack from the "sports network of record". This was never an "innocent until guilty" investigation. HIS office allowed this to fester the entire 2 weeks leading up to the Super Bowl and over 3 month since. Any comment he's ever made has either been innocuous, evasive, or threw more dirt on the Pats. (the Charlie Rose comments).
And don't get me started with "camerplacementgate". After HE destroyed the tapes, which made the Pats look more guilty and NEVER gave an explanation, he actually came out and publically said that
the Pats did NOTHING that gave them an unfair advantage on any other team. As far as I can tell, over the last 8 years, and ALL the "cheating comments" and slander the Patriots and their fans have had to take, our "neutral arbiter"
NEVER made that comment again. Nor did he ever make any effort to simply tell the truth enough times to counter the avalanche of slander the Pats faced that year and every year since.
All he had to have done is explain what the Pats did, why they were fined and punished and that it had NOTING to do with cheating......ever That's all he has to do now. Are you holding your breath, Rob?
This is going to end, and probably soon, but there will likely be no satisfaction for Bob Kraft, BB, Brady, and us. I'm sure there will be something in there for us to "claim" victory, and reasonable people to understand that we did nothing and this was a manufactured scandal, by haters. But I am just as sure there will be enough vagueness and "gray" that the haters and their ilk can hold on to and the slander will continue, because the league is never going to let it go until the Pats are brought down to the rest of the league's mediocrity.
Ever wonder how NJ was given such a free hand to win back Revis? Has anyone ever given you a good explanation how the Pats knew enough details about the Jets deal to know they had to drop out a full day before the Jets were supposed to be able to even offer him a deal. Or how Mehta knew the exact details of the contract structure a full 3 days before the Jets were supposed to be able to offer Revis a deal. It doesn't matter that it was unlikely that Revis was ever coming back regardless. The Jets were given free reign to interfere with the Pats ability to exclusively bargain with him. It was over the moment Revis knew they'd make him the highest paid CB in the league (which that Pats could have done), and also put up $40MM up front guaranteed (which the Pats couldn't)
NOTHING in the past several years has ever given me the impression the Pats have been playing on a level playing field, The league still believes, that while ONCE nice , what the Pats are continually doing, is bad for the league in general. They want the Pats to go away already....at least for a while. And while the attacks might be more subtle after the recent black eyes, I have no reason to believe they are going away.
