Why I think Kraft caved in.

PatsFanSince74 said:

So, that leaves me with five possible explanations.


He decided to eat the penalties for the team and bet that Goodell would blink when it came to upholding Brady's suspension since, unlike Kraft, Brady would have no constraints if it came to suing the League, including no financial constraints. Maybe he figured that the last thing Goodell wants is for anybody to force litigation and discovery and by removing the threat of an Appeal by the team, he felt he was leaving the door open for Goodell to say that the penalty to the team was enough and Brady was free to play on opening night. No "deal" was made, but Kraft calculated it that way. 15% chance.

%.

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Interesting thoughts.
I know you assign this a low probability but it confounds me that the Wells report implicated Brady while clearing the team and the coach, yet the "penalty to the team was enough" WTF???

Lewis Carroll would have found this mind blowing.

PatsWickedPissah said:

Interesting thoughts.
I know you assign this a low probability but it confounds me that the Wells report implicated Brady while clearing the team and the coach, yet the "penalty to the team was enough" WTF???

Lewis Carroll would have found this mind blowing.

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To mix metaphors, with the Wells Report, we've gone through the Looking Glass and we ain't in Kansas anymore.

PatsWickedPissah said:

Interesting thoughts.
I know you assign this a low probability but it confounds me that the Wells report implicated Brady while clearing the team and the coach, yet the "penalty to the team was enough" WTF???

Lewis Carroll would have found this mind blowing.

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"First the sentence, then the trial!"

You need to have grounds for a lawsuit. "We gave him unlimited powers, but I don't like how he used them." isn't really grounds, is it? Unless he succeeds in destroying the anti-trust exemption, the courts have no say in what penalties are assessed to any team.

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He had grounds - they just amount to suing the other 31 owners. This happens all the time in the business world - suing your partners for damaging the business, or devaluing your bit of it. You don't really understand the dynamic at play here, IMHO.

Goodell works for Kraft - and the other owners. They pay his salary. So you can damn well bet that he would listen to any appeal. Its very unlikely he would sue though - since the NFL is making a lot of money collectively - and that's the major reason to sue. But the legal avenues are absolutely there.

You don't think sullying the reputation of your team, slapping it with large fine and costing it draft picks unjustly is grounds for a lawsuit. The grounds aren't the problem its just the other 31 pissed off owners you have to deal with.

They are going to say hey Kraft - " GOODELL IS YOUR GUY. YOU PICKED HIM. YOU BACKED HIM. YOU PAY HIS SALARY." Kraft said oh yeah - and took the hit and went back to the party. Why suffer if your worth billions?

BigPeteG said:

He had grounds - they just amount to suing the other 31 owners. This happens all the time in the business world - suing your partners for damaging the business, or devaluing your bit of it. You don't really understand the dynamic at play here, IMHO.

Goodell works for Kraft - and the other owners. They pay his salary. So you can damn well bet that he would listen to any appeal. Its very unlikely he would sue though - since the NFL is making a lot of money collectively - and that's the major reason to sue. But the legal avenues are absolutely there.

You don't think sullying the reputation of your team, slapping it with large fine and costing it draft picks unjustly is grounds for a lawsuit. The grounds aren't the problem its just the other 31 pissed off owners you have to deal with.

They are going to say hey Kraft - " GOODELL IS YOUR GUY. YOU PICKED HIM. YOU BACKED HIM. YOU PAY HIS SALARY." Kraft said oh yeah - and took the hit and went back to the party. Why suffer if your worth billions?

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I get it.
So every few years the NEP have to let themselves get raped, degraded and severely penalized on a phony charge to keep the other 31 owners from getting POed.

Interesting.

goz421 said:

Upon contemplating the sudden turn of events I starting to think The owners and Goodell decided to take this approach. I'm sure they told Kraft all of next season the balls will be measured before and after games. That if if shown the balls can naturally deflate to the level they did in Colts game then then penalization of the draft picks will be revisited.

All Kraft spoke about was fairness. This would have been the most logical fair conclusion the owners meeting could draw. Maybe it is not all nefarious and perhaps the Pats ball people did deflate the balls.

The Brady issue is a completely different thing.

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Brewskies said:

I am so tired about talking about Deflaggate and wether Brady was stupid with his presser or comments after and if Kraft gave in to pressure from the wealthy. Lets get on with football and regardless how we start, lets go with Jimmy G. I can't control what happens but for sure I support the Pats, first. If Brdy wins great, if he loses so be it. I have moved on.

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There's no doubt that you have the best plan of attack in dealing with this situation. I agree that it's time to move on. Unfortunately, there's still that shred of hope that we all cling to in regards to Brady's case, and that small shred of hope is going to overshadow anything else for the duration of the summer. Let's just hope that it doesn't end up as the latest in a long list of offseason letdowns.

supafly said:

There's no doubt that you have the best plan of attack in dealing with this situation. I agree that it's time to move on. Unfortunately, there's still that shred of hope that we all cling to in regards to Brady's case, and that small shred of hope is going to overshadow anything else for the duration of the summer. Let's just hope that it doesn't end up as the latest in a long list of offseason letdowns.

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If your suggestion is the path that the Pats and Brady choose to take then the "moving on" will be done by fans like me and I'm sure I'll have lots of company.

A Brady lawsuit that exposes the NFL* corruption that results in the Pats being made whole is the only acceptable outcome.

Otherwise the Pats will become a losing franchise, or just get hit with another phony scandal with even more outrageous penalties if they insist on keeping on winning.

The NFL* status quo is unacceptable for a Pats fan.

I'm a life long Pats fan and really don't care about this ,as we are champs anyhow. The simple facts are we spend so much time listening to media and looking at every angle that we sometimes loose sight of the obvious.

One; The body gives away when one is lying. Interrogators know how to read eye direction and body language to determine when one who is lying. Two; It will be no secret by the middle of next year exactly how much balls deflate. The silence will then be backed by statistics. Nothing will be hidden. Sometimes we neglect to consider Occam's Razor. That is the most obvious answers are right in front of us and most times true.

True or not, blah, who gives a hoot. We are world champs and nothing will ever dampen that.

The Gr8est said:

If your suggestion is the path that the Pats and Brady choose to take then the "moving on" will be done by fans like me and I'm sure I'll have lots of company.

A Brady lawsuit that exposes the NFL* corruption that results in the Pats being made whole is the only acceptable outcome.

Otherwise the Pats will become a losing franchise, or just get hit with another phony scandal with even more outrageous penalties if they insist on keeping on winning.

The NFL* status quo is unacceptable for a Pats fan.

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Not "my" suggestion, just a response stating that I agree with @Brewskies attitude that we need to get back to football and out of the soap operas and rumor mills.

If you're expecting a "lawsuit that exposes the corruption that results in the Pats being made whole," I wish you luck in your pursuit. If it goes anything like the other numerous letdowns that we've seen this offseason in regards to this issue, I wouldn't suggest holding your breath.

So far, we've had:

1) "We'll get a fair and impartial investigation" since it's Ted Wells (people actually stood on this)

2) The famous "the tide is turning" threads (parts 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6--each representing a different month)

3) "The Pats will be fully exonerated, as there is no reason to accept a small 25k fine. I won't stand for it"

4) "The Ravens and Colts will be punished, not us. This includes many high level executives as well"

5) "We'll be getting a mid round draft pick from the Revis tampering, possibly even the Jets 6th overall pick"

6) "Roger Goodell will either be fired or forced to resign, as he has no support from the other 31 owners"

7) "Kraft will be suing--and the team will be going 'scorched earth' on their asses"

8) "Goodell will be forced to step down from hearing the appeal, since he'll be a witness. The NFLPA is brilliant in their approach"

9) "Brady will surely sue for defamation of character (still to be determined). He'll have his full suspension completely overturned, and bring to light all of the corruption that is involved in the NFL process"

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Considering that not ONE of these has come true and we've wasted half a year on this nonsense, yes.....some of us are ready to move on to real football that's played on the field again. If Brady wins anything or has a suspension reduced, all the better. In the meantime, I'm sure you can understand and appreciate the skepticism, and the belief that some of us will be focusing on real football again.

You know what Belichick said he was guilty of spygate. He said of what filming in front of 80000 people. Therefore exposing the ridiculous nature of the nfl and the fact now no one cares. The same will one day be said of deflategate.

I cant wait for the day coach is done and he freely speaks of it all. Oh the humanity. he will make them all look even further like the fools they are.

supafly said:

Not "my" suggestion, just a response stating that I agree with @Brewskies attitude that we need to get back to football and out of the soap operas and rumor mills.

If you're expecting a "lawsuit that exposes the corruption that results in the Pats being made whole," I wish you luck in your pursuit. If it goes anything like the other numerous letdowns that we've seen this offseason in regards to this issue, I wouldn't suggest holding your breath.

So far, we've had:

1) "We'll get a fair and impartial investigation" since it's Ted Wells (people actually stood on this)

2) The famous "the tide is turning" threads (parts 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6--each representing a different month)

3) "The Pats will be fully exonerated, as there is no reason to accept a small 25k fine. I won't stand for it"

4) "The Ravens and Colts will be punished, not us. This includes many high level executives as well"

5) "We'll be getting a mid round draft pick from the Revis tampering, possibly even the Jets 6th overall pick"

6) "Roger Goodell will either be fired or forced to resign, as he has no support from the other 31 owners"

7) "Kraft will be suing--and the team will be going 'scorched earth' on their asses"

8) "Goodell will be forced to step down from hearing the appeal, since he'll be a witness. The NFLPA is brilliant in their approach"

9) "Brady will surely sue for defamation of character (still to be determined). He'll have his full suspension completely overturned, and bring to light all of the corruption that is involved in the NFL process"

-----------------

Considering that not ONE of these has come true and we've wasted half a year on this nonsense, yes.....some of us are ready to move on to real football that's played on the field again. If Brady wins anything or has a suspension reduced, all the better. In the meantime, I'm sure you can understand and appreciate the skepticism, and the belief that some of us will be focusing on real football again.

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I never believed that it would be a fair investigation but I was surprised by the level of biased punishment especially after the wrist slap for the Jets. I also have been one of the Kraft's biggest critics but his cravenly pathetic behavior exceeded my lowest expectations.
Thus far everything has been in Goodell's NFL where the biased POS and the gang of 32 including the pathetic putz owner of the Pats control matters. As soon as the POS rules and it goes to court then at least Brady will have justice and we can return to football.

flasox27 said:

Thus far everything has been in Goodell's NFL where the biased POS and the gang of 32 including the pathetic putz owner of the Pats control matters. As soon as the POS rules and it goes to court then at least Brady and the Pats will have justice and we can return to football.

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Possibly. The reality is that we have no idea what will happen. There are many variables in court room settings which cannot be predicted, yet everyone is assuming the best case scenario with every aspect.
All we can do is hope for the best---but at the same time prepare for the worst, and I think that is being overlooked a bit.

Either way, the bottom line is that we'll be in TC next month and will be forced to return to real football no matter what.

goz421 said:

You know what Belichick said he was guilty of spygate. He said of what filming in front of 80000 people. Therefore exposing the ridiculous nature of the nfl and the fact now no one cares. The same will one day be said of deflategate.

I cant wait for the day coach is done and he freely speaks of it all. Oh the humanity. he will make them all look even further like the fools they are.

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Like yourself, I would be very interested in hearing Belichick's behind the scenes thoughts on the matter, but I have a feeling that we can pretty much nail what he thinks on our own.

supafly said:

Not "my" suggestion, just a response stating that I agree with @Brewskies attitude that we need to get back to football and out of the soap operas and rumor mills.

.....some of us are ready to move on to real football that's played on the field again. If Brady wins anything or has a suspension reduced, all the better. In the meantime, I'm sure you can understand and appreciate the skepticism, and the belief that some of us will be focusing on real football again.

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So you come to this non-football thread to bemoan the discussion of non-football matters (knowing you will provoke a response)? Perhaps you will agree that for many others this is a pretty important issue. It is precisely because we don't know what will happen that people voice their predictions (just like the football stuff, no?). In the near term, I share your thoughts in what is likely to transpire. One exception would be that after the resolution of Brady's suspension, one way or another, I don't think things will go back to the way they were before. Sure, the games will be played and the talk will turn mostly to football, but the corruption that created this mess will remain, and as long as it does there will be fans who continue to call attention to it. In the very least, I hope that the discussion will raise awareness of the people responsible for the injustice and hasten their departure.

I don't mind that there's still this last gasp hope people are putting in Brady. I'd just say don't hang your hat on it, and don't hang yourself if it doesn't go how you want it to.

The fact remains that there's a difference between "It's fundamentally unfair" and "It will go my way as long as I fight hard enough."

You can win in court, and still have the same scenario happen that Kraft might have been afraid of -- whatever the NFL* throws into the media (and just coincidentally, into the record,) if they end up in court.

If you imagine that football teams are boy scout troops, per the NFL* theoretical ideal, there is nothing to worry about.

If the Pats are shown not to be boy scouts, even if all sorts of crap about the NFL* comes out, we will be back to saying, "Wait, nobody looked at the other 31 teams." It'll be like delivering a big fresh new sideline bucket of Haterade to every other fan in the country -- not that I give a **** about them now.

So to me, it's six of one, half a dozen of the other, at this point. You can win the battle and end up still having this one special franchise in New England that everybody else will look at funny.

The question is whether you choose to buy into the myth of the "Cheatriots" or get caught up in the parroting of mantras by sportscasters and people in bars.

I don't see "vindication" in the "you get 'em Tommy!" theory of life... I mean, we'd have our own personal vindication, but the media will be a mixed bag, and every fan of every other team will always be whining b1tches about how "At least my team, the Jaguars, doesn't cheat!"

Yeah guess we'll all have to live w/that. There's just one answer,

"Translation: you can't beat us on the field."

The NFLPA exists because let's face it ... it's owners vs players ....

Kraft is at the owners meeting ... not the players meeting.

He could not hide behind players are my family ******** that he spews.

I don't mind that there's still this last gasp hope people are putting in Brady. I'd just say don't hang your hat on it, and don't hang yourself if it doesn't go how you want it to.

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I don't think Brady's suit will get rid of Goodell etc etc. But he will likely get his suspension lifted - assuming it still stands. Even if he doesn't play - he will get paid for those games. Lost in this its hopeless thread is the fact that management is denying a union guy money - based on some dubious assumptions.

This case is dream for the NFLPA - and I would be shocked if any suspension handed down by Goodell didn't get challenged. It would actually shock me less to see Goodell repeal the suspension or reduce it to a fine.

In the court system unions are very strong. Courts do not take kindly to screwing over of union members - even if those union members are very rich.

Mack Herron said:

So you come to this non-football thread to bemoan the discussion of non-football matters (knowing you will provoke a response)? Perhaps you will agree that for many others this is a pretty important issue. It is precisely because we don't know what will happen that people voice their predictions (just like the football stuff, no?). In the near term, I share your thoughts in what is likely to transpire. One exception would be that after the resolution of Brady's suspension, one way or another, I don't think things will go back to the way they were before. Sure, the games will be played and the talk will turn mostly to football, but the corruption that created this mess will remain, and as long as it does there will be fans who continue to call attention to it. In the very least, I hope that the discussion will raise awareness of the people responsible for the injustice and hasten their departure.

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Well, a couple of posts ago I came here to agree with another poster who suggested that we try and get back to football.

Since that post was openly questioned, I chose to elaborate upon why I was agreeing with him in the first place. Much like a lot of our threads and discussions, the subject matter shifted a bit. To answer your question, no--my intent wasn't to bemoan the discussion of non football matters, simply to agree with another poster who suggested trying to move on.

As I said, unfortunately the Brady issue is going to overshadow anything else for most of us, so that is understandable. At the end of the day though, this is about football on the field (for me, anyway). Unfortunately, I am not expecting the exposure of corruption, or any type of full exoneration, which is likely impossible at this point.

For many of us there is simply no going back to football unless this is resolved. As it stands football is a sham- can't trust the organization that runs it, can't trust any owner, can't trust any referees or officials. How am I supposed to get on board with this?