"I don't get why the League would want to make Brady look guilty if he isn't"

Rob0729 · May 9, 2015

I have heard this a lot in recent days. The argument is that there needs to be motivation for a conspiracy and there is none because Brady being guilty is the worst possible scenario for the league to have one of their most marquee players being a cheater. But I ask is it?

The League has gotten out pretty good for this. For the last few months, the growing feeling is the League was incompetent for having a 100 day investigation that will produce nothing and they may have intentionally smeared the Patriots too boot. Now they released a report that goes out of its way to exonerate anyone in the League of any wrong doing and ignore the leaks all together while burying Brady and no one is complaining about the League anymore.

The best way to take heat off yourself is to make someone else the bigger enemy. Goodell comes down hard on Brady and the Pats and they win a lot of good will back with the rest of the country for finally taking a hard stance and not sweep things under the rug. If Goodell gives Brady a 6-8 game suspension, he will be commended for most of the country. People will forget the Ray Rice stuff. People will forget the Adrian Peterson stuff. And now Brady is the bad guy. I think Goodell thinks this has been a good week for him.

Do I think Goodell was part of a sting? No. I think others were. Do I think Goodell is using this to rehab his image at Brady's expense? Sure.

But like most things Goodell does, it will likely come back to bite him. Brady is not going to go down quietly and between him and Giselle, he has unlimited resources to fight this if he chooses to. If he feels clearing his name is worth spending millions and millions to do so, he will do everything he can to fight it. This could end up blowing up in Goodell's face.

I think that Goodell wanted to find the Patriots guilty. Wells went digging to find guilt and not necessarily the truth. I think if the Wells report did not have the Pats' guilty, it would have been the worst case scenario for Goodell and the League. Making Brady the fall guy might not be ideal, but it is far better than coming up with nothing after all this.

TBR · May 9, 2015

Unfortunately I have to agree

Seacoast Fan · May 9, 2015

Rob0729 said:
I have heard this a lot in recent days. The argument is that there needs to be motivation for a conspiracy and there is none because Brady being guilty is the worst possible scenario for the league to have one of their most marquee players being a cheater. But I ask is it?

The League has gotten out pretty good for this. For the last few months, the growing feeling is the League was incompetent for having a 100 day investigation that will produce nothing and they may have intentionally smeared the Patriots too boot. Now they released a report that goes out of its way to exonerate anyone in the League of any wrong doing and ignore the leaks all together while burying Brady and no one is complaining about the League anymore.

The best way to take heat off yourself is to make someone else the bigger enemy. Goodell comes down hard on Brady and the Pats and they win a lot of good will back with the rest of the country for finally taking a hard stance and not sweep things under the rug. If Goodell gives Brady a 6-8 game suspension, he will be commended for most of the country. People will forget the Ray Rice stuff. People will forget the Adrian Peterson stuff. And now Brady is the bad guy. I think Goodell thinks this has been a good week for him.

Do I think Goodell was part of a sting? No. I think others were. Do I think Goodell is using this to rehab his image at Brady's expense? Sure.

But like most things Goodell does, it will likely come back to bite him. Brady is not going to go down quietly and between him and Giselle, he has unlimited resources to fight this if he chooses to. If he feels clearing his name is worth spending millions and millions to do so, he will do everything he can to fight it. This could end up blowing up in Goodell's face.

I think that Goodell wanted to find the Patriots guilty. Wells went digging to find guilt and not necessarily the truth. I think if the Wells report did not have the Pats' guilty, it would have been the worst case scenario for Goodell and the League. Making Brady the fall guy might not be ideal, but it is far better than coming up with nothing after all this.

You could be right. Or, it could just be, Goodell is a totally incompetent ****head.

Rob0729 · May 9, 2015

Seacoast Fan said:
You could be right. Or, it could just be, Goodell is a totally incompetent ****head.

Make no doubt about it. Goodell is incompetent. But he needs a win bad in the eyes of most of the public after bumbling Ray Rice, Adrian Peterson, Greg Hardy, etc. He wants to make sure he gets Deflategate right and that means finding the Patriots guilty (or at least a significant fall guy) and punishing them hard.

LloydBraun · May 9, 2015

Regardless of his initial words, I believe Kraft will fight this hard as well. His QB and his team (and brand) are being dragged through the mud once again due to hate by the media, other teams and the league. Enough is enough.

Take Rog's job and then hang another banner. Or two!

Gator Mike · May 9, 2015

Or, it could be that the powers that be in the NFL office are still more than a little upset with Brady for putting his name first on the players' antitrust lawsuit. You could argue that lawsuit cost the owners big.

BUSTAMOVE · May 9, 2015

Don't think he ever forgot about "Brady vs NFL" 2011 antitrust Law suit. He is an egotistical maniac. The NFL has allowed him to become what he is.

Bobsyouruncle · May 9, 2015

The thing they're missing is that the investigation had to find a bad guy and it was either Brady OR the NFL. Shocker, they cleared the NFL. If the investigation found this whole thing was just smoke and mirrors than its just another f*** up by a commissioner mired in f*** ups. And that would be the headline, Goodell is a moron.

What's good for the NFL is to give into the mob. When the mob wants blood you give it to them. They gauge the mob and hammer down based on the level of hate. The difference is we're on the side getting hammered. I'm sure Brady is not the first person to get unjustly railroaded by the NFL. Bounty gate appears to be mostly smoke and mirrors, there are probably many more. But Pats fans were just as guilty as anyone else of joining the bounty Gate mob without looking at the evidence because we like watching the mighty fall- like everyone else.

I.M. Fletcher · May 9, 2015

If we are talking conspiracy theories, how about the league trying to separate the Brady/Belichick/Kraft relationship right when the LA franchise(s) are about to be welcomed back in to the league.

Coincidence? Sure, but the only thing better than Brady being the league golden boy in Boston, is for him to be the golden boy/bad boy in LA.

fnordcircle · May 9, 2015

I think the Patriots are a convenient media distraction. We're no longer talking about how Goodell is a supreme ******* for doing his damndest to sweep a disgusting incident of spousal abuse under the rug.

No, instead we're talking about football inflation levels. Goodell is universally reviled so anything they can do to redirect public outrage is what they're going to do until he's finally ridden out of town.

Rawky77 · May 10, 2015

Rob0729 said:
I have heard this a lot in recent days. The argument is that there needs to be motivation for a conspiracy and there is none because Brady being guilty is the worst possible scenario for the league to have one of their most marquee players being a cheater. But I ask is it?

The League has gotten out pretty good for this. For the last few months, the growing feeling is the League was incompetent for having a 100 day investigation that will produce nothing and they may have intentionally smeared the Patriots too boot. Now they released a report that goes out of its way to exonerate anyone in the League of any wrong doing and ignore the leaks all together while burying Brady and no one is complaining about the League anymore.

The best way to take heat off yourself is to make someone else the bigger enemy. Goodell comes down hard on Brady and the Pats and they win a lot of good will back with the rest of the country for finally taking a hard stance and not sweep things under the rug. If Goodell gives Brady a 6-8 game suspension, he will be commended for most of the country. People will forget the Ray Rice stuff. People will forget the Adrian Peterson stuff. And now Brady is the bad guy. I think Goodell thinks this has been a good week for him.

Do I think Goodell was part of a sting? No. I think others were. Do I think Goodell is using this to rehab his image at Brady's expense? Sure.

But like most things Goodell does, it will likely come back to bite him. Brady is not going to go down quietly and between him and Giselle, he has unlimited resources to fight this if he chooses to. If he feels clearing his name is worth spending millions and millions to do so, he will do everything he can to fight it. This could end up blowing up in Goodell's face.

I think that Goodell wanted to find the Patriots guilty. Wells went digging to find guilt and not necessarily the truth. I think if the Wells report did not have the Pats' guilty, it would have been the worst case scenario for Goodell and the League. Making Brady the fall guy might not be ideal, but it is far better than coming up with nothing after all this.

Froob · May 10, 2015

LloydBraun said:
Regardless of his initial words, I believe Kraft will fight this hard as well. His QB and his team (and brand) are being dragged through the mud once again due to hate by the media, other teams and the league. Enough is enough.

Take Rog's job and then hang another banner. Or two!

We can do it, serentity now!

Rawky77 · May 10, 2015

My take is that Brady was the easiest to frame and also offered the greatest benefits to the NFL. If they can destroy TB12s credibility then they can rehabilitate Peyton as the Goat who does not have to cheat because he is just that good.
I also think Kraft made a deal. The NFL exonerate the Pats and BB but does not fight the punishment. The argument is TB12 has the Union to protect him and BB does not get another hit that he can ill afford.

Not saying in any way that anyone should have been charged with wrong doing in this fiasco but the NFL had too much to lose not to charge someone.
Incompetence, by the NFL, has a price and TB12 just had the bad luck of being the only one with the ability to fight back and get the punishment rescinded. Of course his reputation may never recover but in their eyes such is life. unfortunately this is often how business decisions are made. When it comes to fighting for principles only the poor see the value, the rest only see the value in their check book.

NashuaPats · May 10, 2015

Harvard and MIT physicists, the founder of Headsmart Labs, and high school kids predicted the psi range that the Patriots balls were measured at. Yet, the NFL opened a $5 million dollar investigation? Clearly, Goodell had some other motivation.

YOUGOTMOSSED · May 10, 2015

Rob0729 said:
I have heard this a lot in recent days. The argument is that there needs to be motivation for a conspiracy and there is none because Brady being guilty is the worst possible scenario for the league to have one of their most marquee players being a cheater. But I ask is it?

The League has gotten out pretty good for this. For the last few months, the growing feeling is the League was incompetent for having a 100 day investigation that will produce nothing and they may have intentionally smeared the Patriots too boot. Now they released a report that goes out of its way to exonerate anyone in the League of any wrong doing and ignore the leaks all together while burying Brady and no one is complaining about the League anymore.

The best way to take heat off yourself is to make someone else the bigger enemy. Goodell comes down hard on Brady and the Pats and they win a lot of good will back with the rest of the country for finally taking a hard stance and not sweep things under the rug. If Goodell gives Brady a 6-8 game suspension, he will be commended for most of the country. People will forget the Ray Rice stuff. People will forget the Adrian Peterson stuff. And now Brady is the bad guy. I think Goodell thinks this has been a good week for him.

Do I think Goodell was part of a sting? No. I think others were. Do I think Goodell is using this to rehab his image at Brady's expense? Sure.

But like most things Goodell does, it will likely come back to bite him. Brady is not going to go down quietly and between him and Giselle, he has unlimited resources to fight this if he chooses to. If he feels clearing his name is worth spending millions and millions to do so, he will do everything he can to fight it. This could end up blowing up in Goodell's face.

I think that Goodell wanted to find the Patriots guilty. Wells went digging to find guilt and not necessarily the truth. I think if the Wells report did not have the Pats' guilty, it would have been the worst case scenario for Goodell and the League. Making Brady the fall guy might not be ideal, but it is far better than coming up with nothing after all this.

Why? Perhaps Goodell is as sinister and petty as we think he is and still has loyalties with his old Jets teams. Another possibility, Goodell is a marketing genius and all this is being orchestrated to maximize buzz for the league and generate ratings and revenue.

Think about it from a marketing standpoint. In sports, having a individual or team take on the "heel" role is ratings gold. For this to work, the heel has to be successful. What better team for this than the Patriots? They win. You're NEVER going to convince rival fans to love and respect them. However, when the Patriots go on the road, ticket prices skyrocket. When the Patriots are in the Superbowl, rating are through the roof.

How will the New England faithful feel about their team as the "heel"? Just make the case against them seem questionable and have inconsistent treatment for other well known infractions (Aaron Rodgers admission and heated balls in other games). The New England faithful are outraged at how their beloved team is being treated so unfairly and now they're galvanized! Ratings! Ratings! Rating!

Look at all the attention and action the league is getting. People are fixated on the NFL in May after the draft!

Look at Brady appearing at the Mayweather fight (I've never seen anyone play the heel role so brilliantly and have it pay off so well). Brady expresses his admiration for Mayweather and says "I'm okay with some people not liking me" . . . hmmmm, maybe Brady learned something from "Money May."

Maybe I'm over-thinking this and Goodell is simply a biased, petty douche that enjoys throwing his weight around. But maybe, just maybe, he's figured out that all this Patriots drama is rating gold and he's milking it for all he can.

Let's face it. All that talk about the Patriots being the model franchise and a dynasty and all being repeated all the time gets old and people want the talking heads to "change the ****ing record already." Now Patriots have a "dark side"; Now Brady is the good guy gone bad! Look at how well that plays in pro-wrestling!

To purest like myself, this is revolting garbage. From a sleazy marketing view point, this is the mother-lode.

Just a thought.

TheBostonStraggler · May 10, 2015

Credit to Deus for being the first, AFAIK, to coin the phrase, PR justice. Once the NFL exec office went down the path of PR justice, things like this half assed sting and the Wells report were bound to happen. Adopting PR justice was bound to create an office culture that eliminated non PR justice dissent and certainly make consideration of 'fairness of action' not anywhere as importance as it should.

When the word "misbehavior", "illegal" or "cheating" gets repeated in the media, I'll bet the personnel and processes of the NFL exec office kick into a singular high gear in order to accomplish one of the following: (A) To find out what happened in order to be most fair about its next decisions/actions (B) try to make sure their next decisions/actions will be accepted by or even approved by the media/mob.

If the answer is B then you have you answer as to why the NFL would go down the Defame-Gate path it has when other obvious avenues existed to sate everyone involved with the possible exception of, you guessed it, the media/mob.

Side note: The media loves the story 'good guy vs bad guy'. They will work overtime to bend, twist, omit, exaggerate to make person A almost virtuous while person B is nearly nonredeemable. The media absolutely loves that kind of story (hence why they will lie to make it happen), and too much of the simpleminded viscerally eat up a story that has that basis. So, ultimately, a villainous Tom Brady probably raises viewership potential. Hey, tuning in to root for the universally known bad guy to fail is good TV....

supafly · May 10, 2015

Rawky77 said:
I also think Kraft made a deal. The NFL exonerate the Pats and BB but does not fight the punishment. The argument is TB12 has the Union to protect him and BB does not get another hit that he can ill afford.

Not saying in any way that anyone should have been charged with wrong doing in this fiasco but the NFL had too much to lose not to charge someone.
Incompetence, by the NFL, has a price and TB12 just had the bad luck of being the only one with the ability to fight back and get the punishment rescinded. Of course his reputation may never recover but in their eyes such is life.

I mean...anything is possible, but I'd have a hard time believing that:

1) Goodell and the NFL would actually allow a scenario to occur where Belichick was allowed to walk free

2) Kraft and the Pats would throw the face of their franchise under the bus

BradyBranch39 · May 10, 2015

1. Goodell is every bit as incompetent as we can imagine. And probably more.
2. People he works for and people who work for him are tired of having fewer super bowls available for their teams because Brady & BB hog them all.
3. Yee could definitely be right about some ~~fixing~~ agendas/staging going on. There are some pretty powerful underground criminals out there who have some level of influence over sports leagues.

“I don’t know if the malice was intentional. They’ve been winning for a long time, as we know, and I’ve always told my friends who’ve inquired about the NFL — I tell them, there is no jealousy or envy like NFL jealousy or envy.”

“I’m saying that it’s my opinion that there may be people within the NFL who have certain agendas as to how they want to see certain teams perform or how games be staged.”

BradyBranch39 · May 10, 2015

4. HE USED TO WORK FOR THE FreaKING NEW YORK JESTERS.

Joker · May 10, 2015

The NFL offices genius is Jeff Pash....born and raised in Brooklyn...head lawyer of the NFL
25. Jeff Pash: Executive VP and General Counsel, NFL
While Roger Goodell is the name everyone recognizes when it comes to the top power circles of the NFL, Jeff Pash (No. 25) is the second most powerful man in the league. A brilliant legal mind with a low-key, amiable personality, Pash was instrumental in helping negotiate the collective bargaining agreement in 2011 and has tremendous sway when it comes to complex issues.

http://www.nfl.com/news/story/0ap30...-of-balls-in-afc-title-game-led-by-pash-wells

Goodell....NY born and raised...that's once

Jeff Pash...2nd most powerful man in the NFL...NYC born and raised...that's twice

Mike Kensil...ex-president as was his father, of the New York Jets...and, well, uh...just READ this and then YOU decide

"
Kensil's father, Jim, occupied similar positions to the one his son is in now (except in reverse). Beginning in the league office, Jim Kensil rose to become NFL executive director, running many of the day-to-day operations. Former NFL commissioner Pete Rozelle referred to him as "my offensive and defensive coordinator." Following that, he became team president of the Jets in 1977, staying in the role until 1988.

Correspondingly, Mike Kensil worked in the same role for the Jets for 28 years before moving to the league office. He was in New York for Bill Belichick's infamous "one day reign" over the team before departing for New England. Kensil was fired in 2006 by former Belichick assistant Eric Mangini (all of this was noted by CSNNE reporter Tom Curran in a January column). The obvious implication in noting the ties to the Jets was that Kensil hates the Patriots (or, specifically, Belichick).

"I do know that Kensil has been agitating about footballs for months with the Patriots" Curran told WEEI's Dennis & Callahan on Wednesday morning. "He has been asking around about possible football manipulation for months, leading into this. So, it's kind of his white whale." Curran did add context that he's always heard Kensil to be "a good man," for what it's worth.

Again, those supposed Jets ties to the current investigation are speculative, but the most recent Deflategate report only seems to further rope Kensil into the story.

As the Outside the Lines article noted, it was Kensil who apparently decided to personally intervene and head down to check the PSI of the game balls at halftime during the AFC Championship. That Kensil (and not the referees themselves) would check the status of the footballs is somewhat peculiar.

http://bostinno.streetwise.co/2015/...e-lines-report-involves-former-jets-employee/

That's THREE strikes....coincidence???????????????????? Really, any of you actually believe this is ALL one big coinky-dinky???

"I don't get why the League would want to make Brady look guilty if he isn't"

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