Let's all forgive Bob Kraft

I never thought I would even consider forgiving him but he did a damn good job today. I won't change my overall opinion but he did a good job.

Clonamery said:

Yeah.

Actions, Bob, actions not words, will SHOW that you are with Brady (and us fans).

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Key date is August 11. There is a special owner's meeting tentatively to address the move of a franchise to LA but I have a feeling the agenda just changed a bit.....

TheBeers said:

I accept his apology, you don't.. That's cool. He seemed sincere to me. I would like to see some action though. We have already heard a strong statement from him once, and he backtracked on it.

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You're entitled to be as much of a sucker as you want. Greg Bedard gets it. A lot of posters here get it. You don't get it.

It's no surprise. Most people are sheep just waiting to be sheared. Now you know you're one of them. You can pretend Kraft has been unconscious during every previous discipline situation under Goodell, if that makes you feel better.

I agree with those who would like him to back up his talk with some action. I am sure there are things he can do, short of a lawsuit, to tweak the NFL office and other owners:

- Opt out of doing anything to help NFL. No more TV negotiations, labor relations work, or anything else that helps the league.

- Plain black or plain white NFL shield on the championship banner (never happen but I'd like to hear fans calling for it). Remove the NFL shield from Gillette wherever it is not required. Wear the black or white version of the shield pinned on his suit in public.

- Cut Pats merchandise pricing - throw a bone to his fans, reducing (even if token) the revenue that is shared. I doubt he controls this but maybe there is something he can do along these lines. Maybe even cut or partially refund ticket prices.

One of the "benefits" of a personal Defamation suit that Tom & Gizelle can afford, is to force the members of the Cabal to "lawyer up", even if Goodell can have the NFL pickup some of their legal expenses. This can be ruinously to these cretins and justice supplied that way is still justice delivered. After all Tom and Bob have been docked $3 million, and they can spend that making life miserable for these malicious Front Office fools, and perhaps not having to spend it in fines.

Deus Irae said:

You're entitled to be as much of a sucker as you want. Greg Bedard gets it. A lot of posters here get it. You don't get it.

It's no surprise. Most people are sheep just waiting to be sheared. Now you know you're one of them. You can pretend Kraft has been unconscious during every previous discipline situation under Goodell, if that makes you feel better.

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I get it, that's why I said I'd like to see some action. It's okay for us to disagree. I am not getting into one of these long drawn out internet arguments with you though because it's pointless and boring. Thanks for the dislike though, I thought you didn't like giving those out...

TheBeers said:

I get it, that's why I said I'd like to see some action. It's okay for us to disagree. I am not getting into one of these long drawn out internet arguments with you though because it's pointless and boring. Thanks for the dislike though, I thought you didn't like giving those out...

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I don't like giving them out, but I give out such things when others have given them to me, and it's appropriate. You gave me a disagree, meaning you opened up the responses, and my response was completely appropriate. So, other than you being an ass, What's your point?

And you don't get it, or you wouldn't have disagreed with me in the first place.

Goodell is a guy who swore the Wells report was great, yet he still punished the Patriots even though that same Wells report insisted that BB and Kraft (a/k/a the Patriots) were completely innocent. Yet you're willing to buy that crap about Kraft believing his laying down and taking it without lube was going to help Brady. You have to think that Kraft is one of the stupidest men on the planet in order to buy that story.

Does this mean that Kraft won't pay the fine or accept the penalty?

I'm open to forgiveness if today's speech is a precursor to action; real action. I understand his options are probably limited, but I'm taking the wait-and-see approach to see what happens, if anything, because I think it's unwise to close the mind to possibilities. That said, I'm not expecting anything too earth-shattering from Kraft beyond this...I hope I'm wrong.

I hope I'm wrong when I think he might host Goodell* in the owner's box for opening night.

I hope I'm wrong when I think that he'll allow the NFL celebrations to go on as scheduled.

I hope I'm wrong when I think he'll be embracing Goodell* again one day while hammering out another CBA that favors the league.

When the league has hurt the franchise as gravely as it has in recent years, something less than an Al Davis-esque antagonizing of the league seems like falling short of the mark.

What exactly are we supposed to be forgiving him for?
He just admitted that the exact thing we have been pissed off at him about was something we were right about and he was wrong about.
Are we saying that since he understands he screwed his own team, then he is forgiven for doing it?

Deus Irae said:

I don't like giving them out, but I give out such things when others have given them to me, and it's appropriate. You gave me a disagree, meaning you opened up the responses, and my response was completely appropriate. So, other than you being an ass, What's your point?

And you don't get it, or you wouldn't have disagreed with me in the first place.

Goodell is a guy who swore the Wells report was great, yet he still punished the Patriots even though that same Wells report insisted that BB and Kraft (a/k/a the Patriots) were completely innocent. Yet you're willing to buy that crap about Kraft believing his laying down and taking it without lube was going to help Brady. You have to think that Kraft is one of the stupidest men on the planet in order to buy that story.

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I don't believe I've ever given a dislike or disagree on this site. I think you have me confused with someone else. And I do get it, I just choose to accept Bob Krafts apology as a man. I've already said I would like to see him back it up with some action. Your opinion is just like mine, an opinion. Call me names if you like, I can take it. I generally respect you as a poster Deus, and like I said earlier, I'm not getting into a long argument with you on this. Pick a fight with someone else.

TheBeers said:

I don't believe I've ever given a dislike or disagree on this site. I think you have me confused with someone else. And I do get it, I just choose to accept Bob Krafts apology as a man. I've already said I would like to see him back it up with some action. Your opinion is just like mine, an opinion. Call me names if you like, I can take it. I generally respect you as a poster Deus, and like I said earlier, I'm not getting into a long argument with you on this. Pick a fight with someone else.

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I'll go back and look at the alerts. If I misread it, I'll delete my dislike, and you have my apologies for the careless reading that would have involved. If not, it'll stay*. As for the rest, saying "I'd still like" doesn't change that you bought his nonsense. He played you like a fiddle. Noting that isn't picking fight with you, because there's nothing to fight about. You're willing to buy the obvious lie that a man who's been excelling in this sort of thing for the better part of 70 years was absolutely blindsided by the Keystone cops operation that is the NFL front office, and I'm not willing to embarrass myself by doing the same. It's that simple.



Edit: I went back and looked. It was my mistake, and the dislike was removed.

Okay Deus, I'll put it this way.. I was extremely pissed when Kraft capitulated. I will again be extremely disappointed, even more than I was before, if he doesn't back up this recent statement with action.

McCann says Kraft could still sue the league, though the odds of success are low.

Fine. Let's see Kraft put his money where his mouth should have been the whole time. File suit. Include the nuclear option of going after the anti-trust exemption. let him do that, and fight it all the way to the Supreme Court, using every option and argument, and then we can talk about forgiveness.

Until then, he's just blowing smoke up a whole lot of asses.

Deus Irae said:

McCann says Kraft could still sue the league, though the odds of success are low.

Fine. Let's see Kraft put his money where his mouth should have been the whole time. File suit. Include the nuclear option of going after the anti-trust exemption. let him do that, and fight it all the way to the Supreme Court, using every option and argument, and then we can talk about forgiveness.

Until then, he's just blowing smoke up a whole lot of asses.

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Yes and yes again

Let me join the talk is cheap chorus here. We have all seen Battling Bob become the pathetic putz overnight before. Let's just see how long this lasts when the pressure comes from the real powers of the NFL like Rooney and Mara who starting tell him he is hurting his place in League history. The important thing to consider also is that he doesn't blame Goodell personally which is like blaming the Third Reich and omitting Hitler. So there is still time for Goodell to pet him on head and watch him rollover like a good retriever. I will give Kraft credit for a good PR move when apparently he realized that all 32 fan bases hated him and the one that counted wasn't buying his BS anymore. Unlike some of the people here, I haven't forgotten everything Kraft did from 2007 to this day to harm the team in his slavish devotion to the POS Goodell and it will take a lot of actions to prove to me this isn't just a PR stunt to appease the fans.

Forgive or not forgive is meaningless to me since it was never personal. The fact remains that 90% of the folks on this site saw immediately what Kraft took weeks to learn, and his failure to appeal not only harmed Brady but also has legal ramifications since he did not pursue all means at his disposal to contest the alleged unfairness. Meanwhile, we can finally lay to rest the empty admonishments of the Kraft apologists who insisted that he must be right and we must be wrong because he's Kraft and we're not.

Untill I see action from Kraft, my opinion is this is purely a PR move by him to appease NE fans because he has been utterly condemned by them for his initial reaction to the team punishment. He was probably shocked by the overwhelmingly negative reaction.

borg said:

Churchill and Truman negotiated with Stalin, in good faith (LMAO), and Eastern Europe lived under oppression for the next half century. Despite Stalin's notorious history of death and imprisonment in the goulags for tens of millions, despite Stalin's pacts with the Hiltler in the late 30's that opened the door for the Nazi invasion of Poland, the US and UK afforded standing to Stalin at Potsdam......and half a continent learned first hand the consequences of short sighted negotiations with a desperate leader. Sound familiar?
Kraft was hoodwinked, he was naive, he was inept....and he discarded the#1 rule in negotiations: never relinquish leverage. Once Bob deferred to a desperate commissioner, all he had left was "words"......and that's what we saw today..........useless words.
For those so wanting a feel good moment of forgiveness.....have at it. Forgiving incompetence is not one of my strengths.

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The analogy borders on absurdity. Stalin had a huge army occupying Eastern Europe after the defeat of the Nazis. Americans were not going to fight another costly war to free Poland, Czechoslovakia, Hungary, and other countries from communism. Truman and Churchill were just recognizing facts.

I was very disappointed with how he gave-in to Goodell. Today's statement was great and refreshing to hear, but it should only be the start. The pieces of garbage in the league office can't be trusted and I hope Bob has finally learned that.