Great Grantland article on Kraft selling out Brady

I respectfully suggest you read the entire article

"The four-game suspension that Goodell dropped on Brady is still the most disproportionate element of the whole affair, and the one that most clearly demonstrates that the commissioner remains over his head in his job....

Kraft and the team sold out the franchise’s greatest player — and, undeniably, its greatest asset — for the purpose of getting right with Goodell and the rest of the owners....

Again, unless the outlines of a sub rosa arrangement become plain prior to Goodell’s personally hearing Brady’s appeal of Goodell’s own sanctions — “Kafka? Mr. F. Kafka? White courtesy phone, please” — Brady has been left out there in the wind to twist. He has been positioned by his own team as the last unpunished “cheater.” And even if there is a deal in place, what happened to Brady this week is unconscionable....

And, at the moment, the only person who is out there fighting is Brady. This week, by accepting the league’s punishment, Robert Kraft lined up with his fellow owners against his own quarterback as surely as the Steelers will line up against the Patriots in September. He made Tom Brady into the Last Cheater. It is possible that this will not end well at all."

http://grantland.com/the-triangle/robert-kraft-deflategate-tom-brady-roger-goodell-suspension/

brady should turn on Kraft publicly. He won't because he has class but I don't wanna see Kraft hugging Brady in the locker room after every win. I wish Brady would tell him he'll play for the team but just stay out of his way.

Sorry, it's a 4/10, wouldn't bang. The logical leaps he asks the reader to make, such as going Al Davis= Patriots turn into the less than mediocre Raiders on the field (and while claiming it is the only logical choice in the same sentence) is laughable to me.

Plus extra disappointing because I was hoping it was written by Bill Simmons.

"I would reiterate here that I believe there was some jiggery-pokery done to the footballs used in the first half of the AFC Championship mismatch, and that it beggars belief that the quarterback didn’t know anything about it. "

What's so great about this article again?

I actually wish that Tom would get his suspension overturned, they get ready for the opener and Jimmy G is sidelined due to a small injury and then Tom tells them he is retiring the morning of the game. They have no one to QB the team and we get blown out by the Steelers to a half empty Stadium with only Steeler fans in the stands.!! I can't believe I just wished for a Patriot loss, I never thought I would see the day !!

Awful article

what Kraft did was wholly in the long-term interest of his franchise. Once the fanatics in the fan base realize that it is in their interest to have Kraft remain an influential insider, rather than turn late in life into a 21st-century Al Davis

INFLUENTIAL??? Received worst penalty EVER for an infraction that did not happen

I believe there was some jiggery-pokery done to the footballs used in the first half of the AFC Championship mismatch, and that it beggars belief that the quarterback didn’t know anything about it.

Writer unfamiliar with Ideal Gas Law

Foxypats said:

I actually wish that Tom would get his suspension overturned, they get ready for the opener and Jimmy G is sidelined due to a small injury and then Tom tells them he is retiring the morning of the game. They have no one to QB the team

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Edelman would QB the team and beat the Steelers 49-10.

Charles Pierce's worst article, snobbishly casting aspersions at the "foolish" masses of loyal, dedicated, disappointed Patriots fans. What a Hunter Thompson wannabe.

I should have recognized CP's failed attempts at humor style mixed in with factual misunderstandings

PatsWickedPissah said:

Awful article

what Kraft did was wholly in the long-term interest of his franchise. Once the fanatics in the fan base realize that it is in their interest to have Kraft remain an influential insider, rather than turn late in life into a 21st-century Al Davis

INFLUENTIAL??? Received worst penalty EVER for an infraction that did not happen

I believe there was some jiggery-pokery done to the footballs used in the first half of the AFC Championship mismatch, and that it beggars belief that the quarterback didn’t know anything about it.

Writer unfamiliar with Ideal Gas Law

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I am not quite sure what the benefits are of being an "influential" owner are, please explain them.

Nunchucks said:

I am not quite sure what the benefits are of being an "influential" owner are, please explain them.

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Good question.
It seems to be an obligatory chant by those attempting to be profound but fundamentally ignorant.

I like Pierce but it appears he too is ignorant about basic science (like Shank on with Zo today).

Reporters appear to be terminally stupid. Guess that's why they went into journalism instead of a technical occupation, that emphasizes logical thinking.

HE presumes Brady had SOMETHING done to the Footballs pre game..... Yet the science says nothing was done to the balls.

He ignores the many facts that point to a sting. Including the many ex Jets with their fingerprints all over this operation. As well as the false information fed to his employer to blow the story (and ratings) up.

HE Ignores the way Wells had to torture the data (and ANderson) to make a thin case that McNally could have possible deflated the balls ~.3 psi.....This from a company that produced reports 'disproving' that second hand smoke could produce adverse health effects.

HE ignores the lack of process that indicated how much the nfl cared about psi pre Pats sting.

HE ignores that Goodells had to make this about the Patriots in spite of the physical evidence that nothing was done to the footballs, the alternative was to focus on the people in his office the lies told by his people. Do I think Goodell was directly involved...NO. I think it was Kensil & company. TO admit where the REAL Scandal was would have indicted his operation and led to his destruction.

This is also the reason why the idiot reporters parroting the meme "Golly Gee why would they NFL want to trash the reputation and suspend the 'face of the league'" is so silly. It came down to trashing the Patriots and Brady in particular or exposing how vengeful and incompetent he and his staff are. Goodell chose to have Wells cover his *** and the truth be dam*ed.

A report showing the NFL front office as incompetent vengeful fools was an unacceptable outcome, especially after the year the NFL front office just had.

patsfan13 said:

I like Pierce

PWP: Only God knows why

It came down to trashing the Patriots and Brady in particular or exposing how vengeful and incompetent he and his staff are. Goodell chose to have Wells cover his *** and the truth be dam*ed.

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and our owner went along with this w/o protest

PatsWickedPissah said:

and our owner went along with this w/o protest

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Pierce has written a number off good article in Grantland even if this is a stinker.

PatsWickedPissah said:

Awful article

what Kraft did was wholly in the long-term interest of his franchise. Once the fanatics in the fan base realize that it is in their interest to have Kraft remain an influential insider, rather than turn late in life into a 21st-century Al Davis

INFLUENTIAL??? Received worst penalty EVER for an infraction that did not happen

I believe there was some jiggery-pokery done to the footballs used in the first half of the AFC Championship mismatch, and that it beggars belief that the quarterback didn’t know anything about it.

Writer unfamiliar with Ideal Gas Law

Click to expand...

It again brings me back to a pretty simple thought: what's the point of 'influence' if you can't influence anyone that unprecedented penalties for an offense you didn't even commit are wrong? Either Kraft doesn't have any influence, or having influence is useless. In either case, why should I care about his status among his 31 buddies?

Brandon_Cox said:

I respectfully suggest you read the entire article

"The four-game suspension that Goodell dropped on Brady is still the most disproportionate element of the whole affair, and the one that most clearly demonstrates that the commissioner remains over his head in his job....

Kraft and the team sold out the franchise’s greatest player — and, undeniably, its greatest asset — for the purpose of getting right with Goodell and the rest of the owners....

Again, unless the outlines of a sub rosa arrangement become plain prior to Goodell’s personally hearing Brady’s appeal of Goodell’s own sanctions — “Kafka? Mr. F. Kafka? White courtesy phone, please” — Brady has been left out there in the wind to twist. He has been positioned by his own team as the last unpunished “cheater.” And even if there is a deal in place, what happened to Brady this week is unconscionable....

And, at the moment, the only person who is out there fighting is Brady. This week, by accepting the league’s punishment, Robert Kraft lined up with his fellow owners against his own quarterback as surely as the Steelers will line up against the Patriots in September. He made Tom Brady into the Last Cheater. It is possible that this will not end well at all."

http://grantland.com/the-triangle/robert-kraft-deflategate-tom-brady-roger-goodell-suspension/

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A good read but I would love to ask Pierce what exactly does he think happened when he says:

"I would reiterate here that I believe there was some jiggery-pokery done to the footballs used in the first half of the AFC Championship mismatch, and that it beggars belief that the quarterback didn’t know anything about it."

Does he not understand that the average PSI of the measured balls were right in line with what nature intended them to be. That if you line up all the worse case connect-the-dots scenario that on average the balls were .21 psi below? That's 1.9% and certainly within any margin of error using crappy gauges.

Nunchucks said:

I am not quite sure what the benefits are of being an "influential" owner are, please explain them.

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If what we've just witnessed is a byproduct of Kraft's high and mighty influence, all the more reason for him to have gone down with the ship.

Kraft has parlayed his supposed influence into having yet another worst penalty ever, this time concocted from thin air. Can anyone explain Kraft's influence? Kraft is Goodell's *****, and he has received nothing, and been treated like ****. Ridiculous premise.

And the Raiders suckage has to do with the fact that the raiders can't win on the field which has nothing to do with the NFL. At least Al Davis wasn't purging draft picks, and the reason he wasn't is because Al Davis wasnt a monumental p****. The league didn't want to push Al because Al pushed back.

Garbage article. And **** Kraft.

PatsWickedPissah said:

Once the fanatics in the fan base realize that it is in their interest to have Kraft remain an influential insider, rather than turn late in life into a 21st-century Al Davis

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Totally unsupported in the article. Hence it's not a good article at all.