Florio Rips NFL Response to Mortensen Report

NashuaPats · Jun 24, 2015

hambone1818 said:
I never did either, after cameraplacementgate I chalked it up to incompetence, a new commish dealing with his first big story and completely bungling it and letting public outcry drive the penalties.

But between this 'scandal' and the Jets 'penalty' for a clear-as-day tampering charge I just don't see any other explanation. Based on past precedence the Jets should have lost a pick and swapped picks with the Pats somewhere, it's just plain as day based on the prior penalties. And the '11 of 12 footballs 2 psi low' report, I mean that was never, ever corrected. People in the NFL offices knew the real numbers, knew the insanity that was going on in the media, and watched Belichick and Brady give their Thursday press conferences based on false information. Even then they could have done something. Then they watched Belichick give his Saturday press conference on the same false info, Kraft address the press, allowed the Wells investigation to proceed for two months without ever correcting the narrative that had taken hold of the story.

Something real is going on here, and I don't think it's possible to chalk it up to basic incompetence anymore. There's a real bias at NFL headquarters, from the letter to the Pats that was wrong to the Mort report to Vincent's tweets to the NFL.com tweets to Schefter's twitter battle with Aello (sp?) yesterday; I'm not sure it'll be enough to succeed in court in a defamation suit (if it ever gets that far) but to anyone watching this story closely it's plain as day.

To add to this, at the time the NFL began investigating:
They did not know about the pee break
They did not know about the deflator text
They did not know about transient curves
They had no reason to doubt Anderson's memory of which gauge he used
The average football measured 11.49 per the gauge Anderson used which is exactly what the IGL dictates.

I understand the initial surprise at the ball measurements, but by Monday morning if not Sunday night, they had to have known about the IGL.
There was no reason whatsoever to be suspicious of any wrong doing. Zero. Nada.

There is a reason they decided to open an investigation that had nothing to do with air pressure.
There was a reason they leaked false information.
There was a reason they lied to the Patriots about the psi measurements.
There was a reason they chose Exponent as their science consultant.

I don't know what that reason or reasons are. But it had NOTHING to do with footballs. It was purely vindictive.

juny · Jun 24, 2015

Palm Beach Pats Fan said:
That's Michael Smith. Smith said he had read the Wells Report, the context report, and the AEI report and the science seemed lousy to him.

The other two (Greenberg, Jemele Hill) were pretty quiet. I imagined sirens were going off and red lights were flashing, with voices in their ears saying "Code Red, REPEAT, Code Red, pro-Patriots talk, let's nip this in the bud right now!"

Smith is probably getting his discipline as we speak!

From wikipedia on Michael Smith -- "Prior to joining ESPN on a full-time basis, Smith covered the New England Patriots and the NFL from 2001 to 2004 as a reporter for the Boston Globe."

Joey007 · Jun 24, 2015

Lol I love how ESPN's longest tenured NFL talking heads are this guy and the guy who's famous for "They hate their coach".

RayClay · Jun 24, 2015

Nunchucks said:
I just cannot buy into this conspiracy theory that the NFL is out to get the Patriots in order to create more parity in the league.

That's not a conspiracy theory, that's league policy.

PatsWickedPissah · Jun 24, 2015

Palm Beach Pats Fan said:
I don't necessarily think it was a parity-driven conspiracy. I think it was driven by some guys among the group of Kensil, Pash, Vincent and maybe even Grigson that each just had a bug up their ass about the Patriots. Beyond all logic they were convinced of wrongdoing from the very beginning. After the ball was rolling they were also willing to lie (11 of 12) to drive the effort.

I'm having my cake & eating it too.

I believe it originated the way you stated. There was no day one Goodell led conspiracy to ensure parity.

HOWEVER, once it happened Goodell and the league's owners were astute enough to realize that they were handed a golden opportunity to strike a major blow for league parity, a goal that ALL 32 owners (sad to say) believe maximizes total revenue and franchise book value. We Patriots fans are the only ones who love seeing the Pats as perennial playoff participants. The rest of the league is sick of us and who can blame them?

NYCPatsFan · Jun 24, 2015

Dr Pain said:
Just got on WEEI and brought up the letter from Gardi, SVP from the NFL containing lies of 10.1PSI and that the Colts balls were all 12.5 and above. They were trying to minimize it because hey the Patriots won but eventually they did get the significance of the NFL lying to the Patriots in the letter. Keep hammering this http://wellsreportcontext.com/nfl-letter-to-patriots/

It boils me to see such a glaring discrepancy between the NFL's official letter and the Wells report.

and yet, this inept NFL is so arrogant and worse, powerful enough to smear and tarnish reputations based on imaginary infractions.

Koma · Jun 24, 2015

hambone1818 said:
Something real is going on here, and I don't think it's possible to chalk it up to basic incompetence anymore. There's a real bias at NFL headquarters, from the letter to the Pats that was wrong to the Mort report to Vincent's tweets to the NFL.com tweets to Schefter's twitter battle with Aello (sp?) yesterday; I'm not sure it'll be enough to succeed in court in a defamation suit (if it ever gets that far) but to anyone watching this story closely it's plain as day.

When you listen to the hardcore Patriots Haters, you'll find that their theories are based on what they believe happened, not anything supported by any real evidence. They usually have taken a real event, like taping defensive signals, and let their imaginations run devising this whole "system" around without anything tangible to support it.

In this situation, there's are events, documents, and behaviors that support the idea of an anti-Patriots agenda in league headquarters. If it was just one thing, like the NFL.com tweets, it could be dismissed as someone getting carried away. Taken all together, though, I don't see how anyone could say the league's actions aren't suspicious.

varjao · Jun 24, 2015

hambone1818 said:
I never did either, after cameraplacementgate I chalked it up to incompetence, a new commish dealing with his first big story and completely bungling it and letting public outcry drive the penalties.

But between this 'scandal' and the Jets 'penalty' for a clear-as-day tampering charge I just don't see any other explanation. Based on past precedence the Jets should have lost a pick and swapped picks with the Pats somewhere, it's just plain as day based on the prior penalties. And the '11 of 12 footballs 2 psi low' report, I mean that was never, ever corrected. People in the NFL offices knew the real numbers, knew the insanity that was going on in the media, and watched Belichick and Brady give their Thursday press conferences based on false information. Even then they could have done something. Then they watched Belichick give his Saturday press conference on the same false info, Kraft address the press, allowed the Wells investigation to proceed for two months without ever correcting the narrative that had taken hold of the story.

Something real is going on here, and I don't think it's possible to chalk it up to basic incompetence anymore. There's a real bias at NFL headquarters, from the letter to the Pats that was wrong to the Mort report to Vincent's tweets to the NFL.com tweets to Schefter's twitter battle with Aello (sp?) yesterday; I'm not sure it'll be enough to succeed in court in a defamation suit (if it ever gets that far) but to anyone watching this story closely it's plain as day.

I completely agree. Also, as Reiss stated, when the NFL rule committee changed the rule about the tricky formation we used against the Ravens, it was a signal that things would not go "wells" for the Patriots.

DaBronxPats14 · Jun 24, 2015

VectorPrime said:
Make no mistake, Florio is only beating this drum because he wants credit for his report on the real PSI readings he gave back in January. He never got credit even when Mort's report was proven to be false. If the NFL was using his stats and report to base their lies around he'd be just fine since he is no friend to the Pats. But I guess we need any ally we can get so it's good he's being loud about this, even if for his own reasons.

Exactly! And you can throw in Schefter as well. Schefter is Mortensen's partner in crime but now since Mort got caught lying, they're playin good cop bad cop while Mort is layin low Schefter is comin off like a good guy givin us positive feed back on Brady/PSI news. Schefter tryin to look good with but make no mistake about it, if it all goes bad for Pats/Brady he will drop us like 3rd period French and turn on venom.

Fawn Lebowitz · Jun 24, 2015

Florio sucks. Why would anyone waste their time reading his trash?

patsfan13 · Jun 24, 2015

Fawn Lebowitz said:
Florio sucks. Why would anyone waste their time reading his trash?

Cause it pisses off trolls like you?

ViperGTS · Jun 24, 2015

robertweathers said:
I also think that is an unlikely motive.

What I do think is that certain people around the league absolutely hate BB and because he runs the show here, they will do whatever they can to destroy him and look for ways to get him out of the league. Draft picks, hurt his players, etc.

Unlikely? Au contraire. It's 70 percent about parity. It's also a good chunk about tremendous apathy towards them for constantly wrecking story lines that generate interest the NFL wants. Manning is a footnote, when he was supposed to be the one with 5-7 rings. Now they have been a thorn in Lucks' side, dispatching him and his merry band of Dolts everytime they play.

If your don't think owners of AFC teams that constantly have to play or get through the Pats (especially the AFCE) for the past 15 years aren't complaining to Goody you are mistaken. Prodding him to do something, anything. Picking at the end of the first round doesn't seem to faze them. That's why the penalty was so harsh. To do something to get them back to the pack. Anything.

You cannot sell parity, and have one singular team (a non NY northeast team at that) year after year be the shining beacon of counter-parity. It's really simple actually.

1960Pats · Jun 24, 2015

MitchKumstein said:
I believe that maintaining parity is a factor in the NFL targeting the Patriots. But I think it's only one of several reasons. I think other factors include:

The number ex-jets employees now working for the NFL who carry grudges against Belichick/Patriots

goodell desperately needing to gain support from fans and owners, and what better way to get it than by punishing the team that 90% of the fans and players hates

goodell also needing to repair his image of being a weak commissioner, so he's trying to look like a badass with this ridiculous punishment

You are forgetting one of the important reasons. Brady is white and the blacks around the NFL want a white man to be punished. At least that's what Jason Whitlock believes, and if he says it then it's how most blacks probably feel. The race-baitors are winning folks.

1960Pats · Jun 24, 2015

RayClay said:
That's not a conspiracy theory, that's league policy.

Then Bob Kraft needs to do everything he can to help them achieve that goal. So far so good.

1960Pats · Jun 24, 2015

ViperGTS said:
Unlikely? Au contraire. It's 70 percent about parity. It's also a good chunk about tremendous apathy towards them for constantly wrecking story lines that generate interest the NFL wants. Manning is a footnote, when he was supposed to be the one with 5-7 rings. Now they have been a thorn in Lucks' side, dispatching him and his merry band of Dolts everytime they play.

If your don't think owners of AFC teams that constantly have to play or get through the Pats (especially the AFCE) for the past 15 years aren't complaining to Goody you are mistaken. Prodding him to do something, anything. Picking at the end of the first round doesn't seem to faze them. That's why the penalty was so harsh. To do something to get them back to the pack. Anything.

You cannot sell parity, and have one singular team (a non NY northeast team at that) year after year be the shining beacon of counter-parity. It's really simple actually.

The NFL didn't seem to mind when it was Pitt, SF or Dallas, with or without breaking rules.

The funny thing is, it's Goody's (and Kraft's) goal to have parity in the league, and (thanks to B&B) he screwed that up too. Is there anything that Goodell touches that doesn't turn to crap?

ViperGTS · Jun 24, 2015

1960Pats said:
The NFL didn't seem to mind when it was Pitt, SF or Dallas, with or without breaking rules.

The funny thing is, it's Goody's (and Kraft's) goal to have parity in the league, and (thanks to B&B) he screwed that up too. Is there anything that Goodell touches that doesn't turn to crap?

Much different era today. How big was the Draft (the ultimate in hope/parity driving) back then? It's a 24/7 NFL news cycle now. Hard Knocks etc. Their model doesn't work (ie sales) if one team is constantly dominating.

Your Kraft angle is interesting. I suppose Kraft is part of the parity group. He won't fire his coach so that probably drives the other owners nuts. Or cut TB.

BradyFTW! · Jun 24, 2015

1960Pats said:
The NFL didn't seem to mind when it was Pitt, SF or Dallas, with or without breaking rules.

The funny thing is, it's Goody's (and Kraft's) goal to have parity in the league, and (thanks to B&B) he screwed that up too. Is there anything that Goodell touches that doesn't turn to crap?

If it was 2015 and Goodell was commissioner, they would. They care now because those are the times we live in, Goodell is a particularly incompetent commish, and New York hates seeing a New England team dominate.

1960Pats · Jun 24, 2015

ViperGTS said:
Much different era today. How big was the Draft (the ultimate in hope/parity driving) back then? It's a 24/7 NFL news cycle now. Hard Knocks etc. Their model doesn't work (ie sales) if one team is constantly dominating.

Your Kraft angle is interesting. I suppose Kraft is part of the parity group. He won't fire his coach so that probably drives the other owners nuts. Or cut TB.

The model says that they need parity, yet they have not had that or anything close to that in Goodell's entire tenure. And they have made money hand over fist the whole time. Something doesn't add up.

I really do think the whole thing is an attempt to discredit the Pats because of jealousy, and it came at a time when the Pats won the SB with incredible plays, from Brady, the offense and defense, to outstanding coaching.

Too bad because Goody and the Jesters are helping fans miss out on one of the greatest QB's, HC's and teams of all time. The 2014 Pats playoff run was one of the best of all time too.

I can't describe how lucky I feel that it's our team they're all crying about.

ViperGTS · Jun 24, 2015

1960Pats said:
The model says that they need parity, yet they have not had that or anything close to that in Goodell's entire tenure. And they have made money hand over fist the whole time. Something doesn't add up.

I really do think the whole thing is an attempt to discredit the Pats because of jealousy, and it came at a time when the Pats won the SB with incredible plays, from Brady, the offense and defense, to outstanding coaching.

Too bad because Goody and the Jesters are helping fans miss out on one of the greatest QB's, HC's and teams of all time. The 2014 Pats playoff run was one of the best of all time too.

I can't describe how lucky I feel that it's our team they're all crying about.

Well there hasn't been a repeat SB winner since '04. That's pretty good parity I think. It is shame that the best QB ever and best coach ever are not respected as they would be 20-30 years ago.

Dr Pain · Jun 24, 2015

1960Pats said:
You are forgetting one of the important reasons. Brady is white and the blacks around the NFL want a white man to be punished. At least that's what Jason Whitlock believes, and if he says it then it's how most blacks probably feel. The race-baitors are winning folks.

Michel Smith said something similar on Mike and Mike at 6 this morning. Using the term "Golden Boy" is being used almost in that vein. Read up on Wells and his time at Holy Cross to add a bit more there. I was very impressed by Smith this morning.

Florio Rips NFL Response to Mortensen Report

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