Patriots Legal Counsel Rebuttal of Wells Report

Sfpat · May 14, 2015

Rob0729 said:
I hate to say it, but this another misstep by the Pats. This is going to get them creamed in the court of public opinion.

They should have disclosed the relationship right away. Now people are going to say the Pats tried to pass off a paid expert as an independent expert. Just look at the comments on the PFT article on it.

If you truly believe this, then you have to claim the Wells report was pure BS and has no merit or standing whatsoever and that no penalties were justified and that Brady and the Pats are entitled to any and all damages that they desire because Wells has a long history of being the NFLs hitman.

YOUGOTMOSSED · May 14, 2015

primetime said:
I know I'll probably get run up a tree for this, but the explanation of the "Deflator" line just reeks of ********. Sorry, but it had to be said. I still think the whole thing is ridiculous, but come on.

It probably could have been finessed better by saying it was just an inside joke between these two but whatever. I think they're solid on the science. Your average slack-jawed dingus NFL fan isn't going to get their head around it but a neutral arbitrator might.

Sadly, we don't seem to be living in an enlightened society these days but I hold out hope that this will be decided before a neutral arbitrator who will be able to see through the Wells report BS.

signbabybrady · May 14, 2015

Can't make this up. I was listening to WEEI using the app and a commercial came on that started "Would you like to deflate your belly fat...." I feel like I just got trolled by the directors of the Truman Show.

This was not some promo read by the host either.

Sfpat · May 14, 2015

Patriot_in_NY said:
Actually....... I don't read that into it at all.

When there is a pile of money already on the table....... There is no harm in letting the other side know that you are holding a hand full of aces when you know exactly wht they are holding. They will either fold (you get the $$), try to bluff and throw more money down on the table (where they will eventally lose even more $$). Either way........ the NFL is playoing with an open hand (the wells report) and the Patriots clearly think they have a better hand. Why not call them out.

If the NFL chooses to keep playing with their shytty "open" hand, they will still lose in the end. The only question is "at what price". A high stakes game of chicken if you will.

Patriots will be exhonerated in the end. Sure, haters will always be haters, but at least they will not have this sitting as a "official" stain on their legacy.

I could not have said it better

Rob0729 · May 14, 2015

Sfpat said:
If you truly believe this, then you have to claim the Wells report was pure BS and has no merit or standing whatsoever and that no penalties were justified and that Brady and the Pats are entitled to any and all damages that they desire because Wells has a long history of being the NFLs hitman.

No I don't. I am speaking how this will be perceived in the court of public opinion not my opinions. The court of public opinion believes the Wells report and the Pats are guilty, anything to poke holes in the Pats' response will be blown up into huge proportions.

scott99 · May 14, 2015

Rob0729 said:
I hate to say it, but this another misstep by the Pats. This is going to get them creamed in the court of public opinion.

They should have disclosed the relationship right away. Now people are going to say the Pats tried to pass off a paid expert as an independent expert. Just look at the comments on the PFT article on it.

I have to agree with this. Everything I read in the rebuttal got me psyched, it just brought up so many good points that ALL of us have been talking about. I loved that it brought up the line that "Has there ever been a game in the history of the NFL where they checked the balls" or something to that effect, loved that it brought up the Minnesota/Carolina game with the heated footballs, etc.

But the "deflator" explanation kind of made me cringe. The way I scoffed at most of the Wells report when I read it, this explanation just didn't sound kosher to me. Playing Devil's Advocate, if I wasn't a Pat's fan, or I wasn't a Pat's fan but thought the Wells Report was BS, I'd probably say, this is the ONLY thing in the rebuttal that isn't a slam dunk.

Oops, replied to the wrong quote, This was in reply to the guy who said he didn't believe the "deflator" explanation.

Sfpat · May 14, 2015

YOUGOTMOSSED said:
I don't know if the media is going to harp on it but, frankly, that is unacceptably careless. I know they're anxious to get out a rebuttal but, like I said, haste makes waste.

I doubt if Kraft even knew he made the investment

Dr Pain · May 14, 2015

primetime said:
I know I'll probably get run up a tree for this, but the explanation of the "Deflator" line just reeks of ********. Sorry, but it had to be said. I still think the whole thing is ridiculous, but come on.

Were it not for the later coat text I would agree with you

Joey007 · May 14, 2015

Loved what Bomani Jones on ESPN actually said: "When a report like the Wells report puts 100 pages of chemistry 'science' in the report they are trying to con you. Smart move by the Patriots ripping that apart."

YOUGOTMOSSED · May 14, 2015

Sfpat said:
I doubt if Kraft even knew he made the investment

Probably an innocent oversight, but it is potential ammunition for the mediots who are not likely to start retracting their harsh words for the Patriots simply because of those pesky, inconvenient "laws of physics."

primetime · May 14, 2015

scott99 said:
I have to agree with this. Everything I read in the rebuttal got me psyched, it just brought up so many good points that ALL of us have been talking about. I loved that it brought up the line that "Has there ever been a game in the history of the NFL where they checked the balls" or something to that effect, loved that it brought up the Minnesota/Carolina game with the heated footballs, etc.

But the "deflator" explanation kind of made me cringe. The way I scoffed at most of the Wells report when I read it, this explanation just didn't sound kosher to me. Playing Devil's Advocate, if I wasn't a Pat's fan, or I wasn't a Pat's fan but thought the Wells Report was BS, I'd probably say, this is the ONLY thing in the rebuttal that isn't a slam dunk.

I thought the scientific explanation was good even though it was largely speculation and declaring at the end it was moot, and then it turned out the Patriots obfuscated the business relationship between them and McKinnon. That it was an objective opinion felt too good to be true.

There's probably enough in there to get the penalties lightened, but it's not going to change the court of public opinion.

primetime · May 14, 2015

YOUGOTMOSSED said:
Probably an innocent oversight, but it is potential ammunition for the mediots who are not likely to start retracting their harsh words for the Patriots simply because of those pesky, inconvenient "laws of physics."

There was an article in the Globe in October that mentioned Kraft.

I'm sure he knew he had invested. Frankly, it stinks to high heaven and the fact they didn't disclose that at first is very bad.

YOUGOTMOSSED · May 14, 2015

primetime said:
I thought the scientific explanation was good even though it was largely speculation and declaring at the end it was moot, and then it turned out the Patriots obfuscated the business relationship between them and McKinnon. That it was an objective opinion felt too good to be true.

There's probably enough in there to get the penalties lightened, but it's not going to change the court of public opinion.

I don't care about friggen "public opinion" I care about Brady's suspension being vacated, getting the draft picks back, and most importantly Goodell's resignation from being NFL commissioner.

YOUGOTMOSSED · May 14, 2015

primetime said:
There was an article in the Globe in October that mentioned Kraft.

I'm sure he knew he had invested. Frankly, it stinks to high heaven and the fact they didn't disclose that at first is very bad.

meh! Science is science. Either he has it right or he doesn't.

Deus Irae · May 14, 2015

I just want to reinforce how stupid Wells was to focus on the texts without sufficient context. "What now?" you ask?

Well, I give you..... Dorito "dink" (Link to Urban Dictionary NSFW):

http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=Dorito ****

Deus Irae · May 14, 2015

primetime said:
There was an article in the Globe in October that mentioned Kraft.

I'm sure he knew he had invested. Frankly, it stinks to high heaven and the fact they didn't disclose that at first is very bad.

It's a complete non-issue

wahwho · May 14, 2015

What do you think of the sections in the rebuttal that were calling out Wells to release drafts and notes between Exponent and his firm? They did it several times, and at least once really hammered on the point hard enough that it stood out to me. To me that read like the Pats know, or at least strongly suspect, that Wells influenced the language of the science reporting and there would be something in the drafts they could use to poke (more) holes in Exponent's conclusions.

SVN · May 14, 2015

Reiss's opinion
http://espn.go.com/blog/boston/new-...ints-on-the-patriots-rebuttal-to-wells-report

PatsFanInLondon · May 14, 2015

One thing about this "deflator" explanation: this isn't the Patriots desperately trying to come up with an excuse - it's what JJ and JM told them. Furthermore, this explanation (which I admit doesn't look great) is at a minimum every bit as plausible as referring to illegally deflating footballs?

Haters gonna hate. Mediots have their own agendas and act accordingly. The truth, however, is there in black and white - this is a witch hunt, pure and simple.

upstater1 · May 14, 2015

They should have avoided the deflator text and focused in the science

Patriots Legal Counsel Rebuttal of Wells Report

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