http://mmqb.si.com/2015/05/20/nfl-extra-point-new-rule-passes/
and of course the first question he is asked
Kraft and Deflategate. So, why did New England owner Robert Kraft capitulate Tuesday and say he’d accept the NFL’s punishment in the Brady/deflated-footballs case?
Two reasons: He didn’t have the stomach to go rogue, a la Al Davis, in the courts; Kraft, though bitterly disappointed in the NFL’s sanction of his team, doesn’t have the stomach to battle the league in what would be an ugly case. And Kraft’s a league guy.
The one thing I don’t know is whether something about Tom Brady’s defense, or Brady’s word, bothers Kraft. Only he would know that. But in the past two or three days, it’s become apparent Kraft would not challenge the league—much to the chagrin of so many Patriots fans.
and of course the first question he is asked
ARE THE PATRIOTS PERENNIAL CHEATERS? I am a Rams fan. And with “Deflategate” a hot topic, I can’t help but think about how this all started with the Patriots and where it went from there. The Super Bowl between the Pats and Rams in 2002 brought up questions about how the Pats seemed to know plays that the Rams had never used before. These questions were brought up by players like Kurt Warner and Marshall Falk, who to this day haven’t changed their minds at all in their opinions. The investigation ended when the NFL found “no evidence” and then destroyed the tape they had without making it public. Then there was “Spygate” and the Pats were found guilty. Now there is the latest scandal, in which there is only “circumstantial evidence” of guilt. I feel that the constant in all of this is the Patriots. So tell me, if other teams are cheating also, as has been alleged, then are the Patriots just too stupid to figure out how to cheat and not get caught? And since they’ve been accused so many times, how can they be so arrogant as to think they are being railroaded when the very nature of their team reeks of cheating for the past 15 years?
—Dennis F., Warrenton, Mo.
There is an overwhelming thought among some in the media and certainly among some fans. Patriots cheat, Patriots cheat some more, Patriots cheat even more after that. It has been fashionable to call the Patriots cheaters after Spygate. That made it open season. If anything, fans of the 31 other teams looked at any small instance—say, for instance, coaches’ headsets all going out at Gillette Stadium—and accused the Patriots of cheating. Sideline headsets go out in every stadium in the NFL. Does that mean that Cincinnati and Minnesota and San Diego are cheating when headsets go out in their stadiums?
The Patriots deserve the vitriol for Spygate and they may deserve the anger and skepticism of NFL fandom for the more recent ball-deflation scandal. I still don’t think it has been proven. But there is a mania in America that says any time there is a scintilla of evidence that something is fishy in Foxboro that the Patriots are cheaters. You can choose to believe that. I don’t
