New from Tom Curran: Goodell's Loaded Message

http://www.csnne.com/new-england-patriots/roger-goodell-delivers-loaded-message-hof

Why would Goodell feel compelled to even point out that “the rules apply to everybody?” Who is under the impression that they do not? What would be the relevance of standing on that parapet when explaining his decision in a quick, drive-by interview?

Because this is all about symbolism. That this is about the “criminal” and not the “crime” is so much at the forefront of this case that the words fall from Goodell’s lips with ease.

I'm starting to think that Göodel is kind of a douchebag.

Ivan said:

I'm starting to think that Göodel is kind of a douchebag.

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you might be on to something.

Like the article says he's feeding off the perception that the Pats are habitual line-steppers (hold my drink *****!).

He has ignorance on his side as every Pats hater disavows the fact that other teams push the boundaries. " Success breeds contempt" is an adage that has been proven repeatedly with the Patriots.

I would love to ask the haters/trolls if they would defend their guy if the tables were turned. Of course they would but they give the standard BS reply "I value fairness too much, if my team gets busted I would be ashamed" blah blah blah. I also don't wish to denigrate myself by asking them.

Bottom line is there is too much money to be had in pro sports, no one is playing fairly. If people don't like the notion that a level playing field doesn't exist, that's fine. I would advise said folks to stop watching sports. I realize everyone is out there doing "gamesmanship", I just want my team to win d%#*!@t!

NE_Zealot said:

Like the article says he's feeding off the perception that the Pats are habitual line-steppers (hold my drink *****!).

He has ignorance on his side as every Pats hater disavows the fact that other teams push the boundaries. " Success breeds contempt" is an adage that has been proven repeatedly with the Patriots.

I would love to ask the haters/trolls if they would defend their guy if the tables were turned. Of course they would but they give the standard BS reply "I value fairness too much, if my team gets busted I would be ashamed" blah blah blah. I also don't wish to denigrate myself by asking them.

Bottom line is there is too much money to be had in pro sports, no one is playing fairly. If people don't like the notion that a level playing field doesn't exist, that's fine. I would advise said folks to stop watching sports. I realize everyone is out there doing "gamesmanship", I just want my team to win d%#*!@t!

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I am fine with your statement as long as it is the business of playing football. What is going on now is not about the business of playing football. The moment scumbag Goodell changed his story -- verifying he lied and will do anything to win -- it became a faceless powerful corporation looking to annihilate an individual who doesn't have 1/100th the power the corporation does. Whether it's a whistleblower getting 'paid back' for speaking the truth or a powerful energy company dumping toxics without regard (or whatever the case), everyone should be outraged by this. All media should be calling the NFL on this. And if that doesn't happen you guarantee it will happen again to someone else by some other corporation. Maybe to you, maybe to me, maybe to a bunch of us. These corporations have extreme power. Without the balance of them being called to account when they act like Goodell has, we're screwed. When huge power goes unchecked when they act appallingly then plain and simple we are screwed....

Wow, between Goodell's ridiculous sleazy shot, Harbargh's "illegal type of thing" BS and Grigson's "please protect the purity of the shield sire," Curron really lined up a greatest hits there. It's like a douchebag parade.

If this was about “integrity” we wouldn’t have so many instances of conniving, deceitful, scummy acts by the league and/or its attorneys since this started.

It’s been about the optics of propping up 345 Park Avenue while chopping down the Patriots. It’s been about symbolism. Words like “rules” and “integrity” are just shields for The Shield to hide behind since we’ve all sniffed out what this really is about.

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Hoodie said:

http://www.csnne.com/new-england-patriots/roger-goodell-delivers-loaded-message-hof

Why would Goodell feel compelled to even point out that “the rules apply to everybody?” Who is under the impression that they do not? What would be the relevance of standing on that parapet when explaining his decision in a quick, drive-by interview?

Because this is all about symbolism. That this is about the “criminal” and not the “crime” is so much at the forefront of this case that the words fall from Goodell’s lips with ease.

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I agree this is now a lot about symbolism. The root of this fiasco, of course, is coaxing the NFL season outcome. The scumbags simply don't like and don't want BB winning. Brady is, IMHO, paying the price for the dislike in many NFL circles of BB. The scumbags got a whiff of something they thought could get BB directly on. When it wasn't enough to rig their contrived story to hurt him directly, they hurt him indirectly via picks and his QB.
Consider this: imagine if BB would have texted the word "deflate" in absolutely any context to anyone around the time of the Dorito Dinks texting their nonsense? Right now BB would be suspended and would be suspended for the entire season. Their case could have been as thin as paper and they would have hung it on him with a sleazy Wells type framing and a massive media blitz using the right hot button words (and their ministers of propaganda over at ESPN). Anyone think BB wouldn't have been walloped by the league for any text reference whatsoever to deflate??

Fortunately the scumbags have found out they picked the wrong NFL player to bully and harm. They forgot when Brady is challenged he is as tough as a bull. So while the scumbags may still win this fiasco, Brady has already made them pay a toll. Goodell's reputation has been hit. When a reputation is harmed from being exposed a blatant liar, this definitely can be the first step to the liar's downfall. We can only hope this is the case here and there is justice every so often...

They forgot that Brady and his wife are worth a third of a billion dollars and can afford to fight back.

VectorPrime said:

They forgot that Brady and his wife are worth a third of a billion dollars and can afford to fight back.

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There is truth that the Bradys have the means to mount an excellent defense, however, they are still not anywhere remotely close to the power of the NFL. The NFL has an EXTREMELY powerful media apparatus that Brady doesn't and couldn't have. This means all the money Brady would put into the fight is going to be diluted from a PR standpoint (if not in the legal system). Also remember that scumbag Goodell is playing with house money while Brady would, eventually, be paying out of his own pocket. The NFL can slide 5 million to someone like Wells and another 5 million to the legal team etc etc. And while Brady has the money to pay 5 million for an actual expert investigation and 5 million to a legal team, that is just a brutal punch to the gut for Brady to have to pay (it's close to, basically, the net value of an entire NFL season paycheck for him).

To put the kind of money into a defense against the mighty NFL would be some level of a 'slap' to their liquid worth. Not Brady, not any individual (except about 30 people on the planet) does that without it being harmful to them on some level. On the other hand the NFL pays 10 million in legal fees then rolls over and goes to sleep without blinking an eye, then wakes up in the morning to an espresso while they trash their opponent with their huge media apparatus.
Just is what it is....

oh how I wish Brady didn't make fun of Harbaugh in the post game conference. It was awesome at the time but ughh

NE_Zealot said:

He has ignorance on his side as every Pats hater disavows the fact that other teams push the boundaries. " Success breeds contempt" is an adage that has been proven repeatedly with the Patriots.

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At least as far as the NFL goes, since 2000 has been the Patriots Century.

It's basically a cat and mouse game between the Patriots on one hand and the rest of the league on the other, and most of the time, the Patriots are the cat.

The dumb thing about suspending Brady is that it actually increases the likelihood of their worst fear (namely, that the status quo of Patriot dominance will continue) coming true.

VectorPrime said:

oh how I wish Brady didn't make fun of Harbaugh in the post game conference. It was awesome at the time but ughh

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Yep, kind of reminds me of the comment (while laughing) "oh, they think we're only going to score 17 points on Sunday," prior to the SB defeat to end the perfect season. As we know, they didn't even score that.

There's another one in there about "owning the Steelers" prior to their 2011 loss in the regular season, but that would be getting a bit nitpicky. After all, we all appreciate a fiery leader in Brady, but yes I agree that it would be nice to have a couple of those comments back in the holster.

ctpatsfan77 said:

The dumb thing about suspending Brady is that it actually increases the likelihood of their worst fear (namely, that the status quo of Patriot dominance will continue) coming true.

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Oh, let's hope so. I couldn't possibly think of a better scenario to end this whole thing once and for all. (EDIT: adding the obvious disclaimer of rather seeing Brady victorious in court, for @Wordsmyth's sake )

Garoppolo going off for 350+ on opening night would be a sight to see. Leading the team to a 3-1 record while getting the attention of the entire league may be as sweet as a postseason victory. It would be a bold statement to the rest of the country that the Pats are still going to be the team to beat in the future, even as they prepare for a Brady departure (in their minds, anyway).

I don't want Jimmy to even have a chance at doing well because I don't want the inevitable QB controversy story all over the media.

VectorPrime said:

I don't want Jimmy to even have a chance at doing well because I don't want the inevitable QB controversy story all over the media.

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At this point, I would welcome the controversy with open arms, VP. At least we'd be hearing positive news coming from good play on the field. Most teams don't even have ONE capable QB, let alone two. Let them talk about it all day and night for all I care.

I can't tell you how many times I constantly have to hear (from about 2011 on....) "as soon as Brady retires in the next year or two the Pats are done, so enjoy it now" comments here in Pittsburgh.

This all said, I personally don't feel as though there would be much of a controversy. I think the situation is much different from say, 2008 with Cassel--meaning that you'd never trade Garoppolo this time around, but Bill Belichick may have a much different opinion than mine!

Brady plans to play 5-7 more years

I think this might have been TC's best article.

I think he is dead-on.