PFT: Brady ruling expected this week, litigation seen as inevitable

XLIX · Jul 19, 2015

Danger Zone said:
Nobody believed that cold weather deflated footballs naturally.

Maybe teams came into a cold Foxboro, got their asses beat and started pointing fingers at the softer footballs.

I actually think that's what happened. I think the Ravens conducted a little test on the ball they intercepted and the ball was around 2 to 2.5 PSI under (because that was a much colder night than the Indy game). Not knowing physics, they jumped to all sorts of conclusions and passed the word to the Colts who passed it to the league office.

In fact, my pet theory is that may have been where Gardi's blatantly false 10.1 PSI number came from. But 10.1 PSI is in the range of what the Ideal Gas Law for the ball from the Ravens game.

VectorPrime · Jul 19, 2015

I just wish we had some actual facts to go on. What a sham the Wells 'investigation' was, it can't be said enough.

supafly · Jul 19, 2015

VectorPrime said:
I just wish we had some actual facts to go on. What a sham the Wells 'investigation' was, it can't be said enough.

Agreed. As soon as I saw Pash's name as co-investigator, I knew it was going to be bad news. To take it one step further, the league allowing them to be thrown under the bus in the weeks leading up to its biggest game showed me their hand rather quickly.

That said, I didn't think it would be any worse than a fine for an equipment violation, with the absolute worst case scenario leading to the loss of a mid-round pick. This has been worse than ever imagined.

Oswlek · Jul 19, 2015

MagicMarker said:
Sorry for the confusion. What follows is the verbatim comment from Pro Football Talk.

3menandablog says:Jul 19, 2015 12:29 PM
Sat next to John Clayton on a flight recently. He told me it’s known that Tom Brady has been cheating for the last 8 years with the footballs. I’m sure he’ll get off still.

Clayton is a man for which an ad hominem attack is both an accurate and a sufficient rebuttal. He may very well be the worst national reporter on the face of the planet. For any subject. If he says it, it is invariably some combination of wrong and just plain stupid.

RayClay · Jul 19, 2015

cmasspatsfan · Jul 19, 2015

Roger's got his finger in the air seeing how the winds blow. If he keeps it at 4 he looks foolish with Hardy's getting cut to 4, a woman beater is getting the same penalty as someone who might have known a little air was let out of the balls. If he cuts it to 0 there will be backlash from the other teams owners and fans, and Roger looks foolish. My guess is he knocks it down to 2, but now he knows it still goes to court, and Roger looks foolish. He's in this pickle of his own doing so whatever makes him look the most foolish is what I'm hoping for.

VectorPrime · Jul 19, 2015

supafly said:
Agreed. As soon as I saw Pash's name as co-investigator, I knew it was going to be bad news. To take it one step further, the league allowing them to be thrown under the bus in the weeks leading up to its biggest game showed me their hand rather quickly.

That said, I didn't think it would be any worse than a fine for an equipment violation, with the absolute worst case scenario leading to the loss of a mid-round pick. This has been worse than ever imagined.

Funny, my absolute 'worst case' was a a 25-50k fine lol. Man how I wish I could have my 'worst case scenario.'

RelocatedPatFan · Jul 19, 2015

You know I was going to say the thoughts expressed by Clayton were bunk based on the belief that..If it was well know that Brady altered footballs (what I assume he meant when he used the word cheated...as it what follows is automatically going to be considered the truth), then why wouldn't the NFL just lock up the chain of custody after they received the footballs?

Then I thought, they're just not that smart and forward thinking...so it may not be as bunk as I thought.

One question I'd like to hear QBs answered. Do they prefer having 2 different pressures for their footballs? I mean, if Brady really wanted them below 12.5, it seems unlikely he'd be able to do that for away games. Wouldn't that inconsistency show up in his play during away games? A little critical thinking and perspective could certainly be used from the National media. I know, I ask too much.

MagicMarker · Jul 20, 2015

Clayton's comments that I found odd:

He said Brady would want a couple of pounds of air out of football because he had a banged up shoulder and it was less strain on his arm. Somebody must have told him it was "pounds per square inch" and not "pounds" because he caught himself next time. Nobody told him that the difference in weight between a ball at 12.5 PSI and 11.5 PSI is little bit more than the weight of a dollar bill. If they did, he still kept telling that story anyway.

Another thing that bothers me is Clayton always seems to stick to his story even when the facts no longer support it. After Tedy Bruschi's stroke, Clayton said he should retire because he was risking his health if he tried to come back. Then, after it turned out it was a congenital defect that once repaired didn't put Tedy any more at risk than any other player, he still said the same thing.

So, I'd say, it's possible some player several years ago said the Patriots were deflating the footballs -- and the facts or any of the problems in the Wells report are not going to cause him to change his mind.

supafly · Jul 20, 2015

MagicMarker said:
Clayton's comments that I found odd:

He said Brady would want a couple of pounds of air out of football because he had a banged up shoulder and it was less strain on his arm. Somebody must have told him it was "pounds per square inch" and not "pounds" because he caught himself next time. Nobody told him that the difference in weight between a ball at 12.5 PSI and 11.5 PSI is little bit more than the weight of a dollar bill. If they did, he still kept telling that story anyway.

Another thing that bothers me is Clayton always seems to stick to his story even when the facts no longer support it. After Tedy Bruschi's stroke, Clayton said he should retire because he was risking his health if he tried to come back. Then, after it turned out it was a congenital defect that once repaired didn't put Tedy any more at risk than any other player, he still said the same thing.

So, I'd say, it's possible some player several years ago said the Patriots were deflating the footballs -- and the facts or any of the problems in the Wells report are not going to cause him to change his mind.

So...let me get this straight---

After 6 months of dealing with this nonsense and patiently awaiting the ruling on the appeal, the freaking crypt keeper pops up out of nowhere with new "information" suggesting Brady's long-time guilt?

You really couldn't make this **** up if you tried. I'm beyond words at this point.

VectorPrime · Jul 20, 2015

The actual weight difference between a football at 12.5 psi and 11.5 psi must be like a tenth of a ounce.

Fencer · Jul 20, 2015

MagicMarker said:
This is interesting.....Who do you think the "source familiar with the situation" is? Is it someone in Tom Brady's camp? That would mean the NFL has already told them what the ruling is. I doubt that.

Is it someone in the league office who knows this whole thing was a set up? Seems more likely. Let's get that guy to talk to the press if it is.

Lawyers and bureaucrats are sometimes straightforward and helpful about setting expectations for procedural matters even when they're totally corrupt jerks about the substance.

Now, the NFL is such a clown show that they haven't even gotten that part right, as Goodell keeps postponing a decision in the hope that some way out of the mess he's created will somehow appear. Still, it's not impossible that some procedural news be given to the other side in a spirit of helpfulness ...

Fencer · Jul 20, 2015

The Gr8est said:
I hope the Pats DEMAND that the league take and publish readings of balls, for the upcoming season, for ALL teams to be taken before, during, and after games using controlled conditions of the same calibrated gages, same environment, and same storage conditions, and same time elapsed when removed from the playing environments.

Actually, one reason for a delay could be that the NFL wants to announce its new ball-management policies around the same time.

Fencer · Jul 20, 2015

MagicMarker said:
The problem is, they couldn't prove it -- but they believed it so much they massaged the data until it got to the result they wanted:

The phrase is "torture the data until it confesses".

aluminum seats · Jul 20, 2015

VectorPrime said:
Funny, my absolute 'worst case' was a a 25-50k fine lol. Man how I wish I could have my 'worst case scenario.'

Yeah, I remember thinking how pissed I'd be if they got fined. Ha.

aluminum seats · Jul 20, 2015

supafly said:
So...let me get this straight---

After 6 months of dealing with this nonsense and patiently awaiting the ruling on the appeal, the freaking crypt keeper pops up out of nowhere with new "information" suggesting Brady's long-time guilt?

You really couldn't make this **** up if you tried. I'm beyond words at this point.

We really shouldn't waste two seconds on some random commentator making stuff up.

MagicMarker · Jul 20, 2015

supafly said:
So...let me get this straight---

After 6 months of dealing with this nonsense and patiently awaiting the ruling on the appeal, the freaking crypt keeper pops up out of nowhere with new "information" suggesting Brady's long-time guilt?

You really couldn't make this **** up if you tried. I'm beyond words at this point.

No...these were Clayton's comments in January/February.

The Gr8est · Jul 20, 2015

VectorPrime said:
Funny, my absolute 'worst case' was a a 25-50k fine lol. Man how I wish I could have my 'worst case scenario.'

Many of us were not only not expecting a fine, but were believing that the Pats would be receiving compensation from the Colts, Ravens, or both.

In a sane world with competent and honest league leadership that would have been the case.

Kontradiction · Jul 20, 2015

The Gr8est said:
Many of us were not only not expecting a fine, but were believing that the Pats would be receiving compensation from the Colts, Ravens, or both.

In a sane world with competent and honest league leadership that would have been the case.

Not to mention a first round pick from the Jets for tampering with Revis while he was still under contract.

Joker · Jul 20, 2015

KontradictioN said:
Not to mention a first round pick from the Jets for tampering with Revis while he was still under contract.

Shirley you jest....

PFT: Brady ruling expected this week, litigation seen as inevitable

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