Howie Long on "deflategate": The Integrity of the Process is Flawed

RayClay said:

You go Howie

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Massachusetts boy.

Joseph K. Brady said:

Strahan called the Patriots out specifically in the Giants victory parade and mocked the Pats for playing 3-4 on his first show in 2008, saying the Giants exposed the Patriots O-line and proved the need for all teams to play 4-3. He's also said that he and all the Giants greatly respect the Patriots and that anybody who picked the Giants to win SB42 were idiots so he's a tough one to read.

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Yea he does flip-flop.

I know Bradshaw thinks Tom deflated balls. His brain is fried anyway

RelocatedPatFan said:

Agreed, but your point is? I thought Howie did an excellent job as Travolta's enforcer (in the movie).

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I'm referencing a line from the movie. Figured it would be recognizable since it was used in all the trailers...

I don't care where he comes from. He makes a hell of a lot more sense than the junk I've heard from the idiots on the four letter.

robertweathers said:

With Howie and JJ supporting TB12 Fox NFL Sunday has a strong pro-Pats/Brady/BB support system there.

I've never heard Strahan talk bad about them. Maybe because he beat them

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On the morning CBS news show shortly after the AFCCG, Strahan openly mocked Brady and the Patriots. His spiel included a demo with 2 footballs, one at the required PSI and another sightly below. His contention was that using the deflated ball was a huge advantage and an egregious form of cheating.

Jackson 2 said:

On the morning CBS news show shortly after the AFCCG, Strahan openly mocked Brady and the Patriots. His spiel included a demo with 2 footballs, one at the required PSI and another sightly below. His contention was that using the deflated ball was a huge advantage and an egregious form of cheating.

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Ok. Didnt catch that. He sucks then.

robertweathers said:

Ok. Didnt catch that. He sucks then.

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You aren't entirely wrong. I have seen him interview Brady and be very respectful and complimentary. He's been hypocritical in that to their face, he's one way, yet when no one from the Pats happens to be present, he's very different.

I liked what Long had to say and the gusto he exhibited as well. Would love to see the JJ clip.

I'd rather say the Hijacking of the process = corruption.

Bobs My Uncle said:

The process is fine ..... it's the integrity of those who are entrusted to act on the process who have integrity issues.

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As someone who grew up in the 70's in a country ruled by a dictator, I can tell you that I lived through the adage of power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely. Unfortunately there are very few people in this world that have turned out to be truly benevolent dictators when put into a place of such power.

In a system such as one the NFL has currently, the commissioner is granted absolute discretion to dispense "justice". It is far too easy for people entrusted with that power to fall into the trap of wielding it instead to solidify their own leadership and use justice as an excuse.

In the NFL they charge you with cheating and ban you four games. In the real world they charge you with sedition and execute you.

This is why the process has to change.

The tide has been slowly changing, as has the image of Brady.... but despite all of the recent positive press, it probably will never change for BB.. his demeanor and football brilliance is confusing for those outside of Foxboro..

The intent to destroy BB has completely been aborted by the incompetence of the Boyz on Madison Avenue..

Here are some quotes from the discussion:

Jimmy Johnson: "I got so tired of this whole story. It was so overblown and absolutely ridiculous because it had no bearing on the outcome of the games. Had this been the Jacksonville Jaguars, it would have been a little blip in the newspaper and maybe they would have taken away a late pick. That would have been it. Roger Goodell – I think he was influenced by those owners to hand out some ridiculous penalties."

Terry Bradshaw: "This game is all about, I’m sorry, quarterbacks and the offense, and I thought this whole thing was ridiculous. A half a pound? Pound-and-a-half? Are you kidding me? And you’re going to suspend the guy for four games? I thought it was a joke. I threw those footballs. I know how hard they were to grip. God bless Tom Brady. I wish I’d have been smart enough for somebody to say, ‘Hey, drop it a little bit.’ My whole point is let them take the air out. There should be no ruling on it. Just go to the refs and say, ‘I’m playing with nine pounds. I’m playing with four pounds.’ Who cares?"


Quotes from:
http://fangsbites.com/fox-nfl-sunday/nfl-on-fox-quotage-for-week-1-of-the-2015-season.html

Here's more:

Michael Strahan: "The counter to that is there is a rule. They should change the rule. Everybody says, ‘Well, why does this happen to the Patriots? Why the Patriots?’ It’s because they’re got pulled over. When you’re in a group of speeding cars, you’re the one who got caught. Unfortunately, the team has had other things that have happened in the past. But I don’t think this penalty was for this particularly. I think it was for, as Jimmy said, probably the owners that got beat by the Patriots, but more so about some of the things the Commissioner has gone through – with the Ray Rice case and some of the criticisms that made him really have to step up and do something a little more harsh than I think we all felt should have happened, but he did hand down that ruling, and now this is one decision you have to live with because he lost in court which stripped him of power, in my opinion."

Howie Long: "There are a couple of things about it. One is if you’re going to call into question the character of Tom Brady, and you’re calling him a liar and a cheat, those are big accusations. Here’s a guy that’s won four Super Bowls, three Super Bowl MVPs, two league MVPs, and to the best of my knowledge, has led an exemplary life on and off the field. If you’re going to make those accusations, you better come with something better than ‘it’s more likely than not,’ and to watch Tedy Bruschi and Willie McGinest have to go on TV every day and validate the championships that they won really bothers me. There’s a lot of talk about the integrity of the game, and I get it, and I support that. How about some integrity in the process because if anything has become apparent in this process, it’s that the integrity of the process is flawed and it needs to be changed."


http://fangsbites.com/fox-nfl-sunday/nfl-on-fox-quotage-for-week-1-of-the-2015-season.html

smg93 said:

As someone who grew up in the 70's in a country ruled by a dictator, I can tell you that I lived through the adage of power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely. Unfortunately there are very few people in this world that have turned out to be truly benevolent dictators when put into a place of such power.

In a system such as one the NFL has currently, the commissioner is granted absolute discretion to dispense "justice". It is far too easy for people entrusted with that power to fall into the trap of wielding it instead to solidify their own leadership and use justice as an excuse.

In the NFL they charge you with cheating and ban you four games. In the real world they charge you with sedition and execute you.

This is why the process has to change.

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I agree that it may well be easier to change the process and, thus, remove all threat of power corruption than it is to find a person who will wield said power with honestly and integrity. But, I have no doubt that such honorable people exist.

Thanks for the thread and those verbatim comments!

So glad to see reputed guys like Howie speak up.

What angers me is the public silence by so many other current QBs on this subject, including guys like Ben with whom Brady seemed to have a friendly chat on the field before the kick off last week.

I am sure some of them would have txted TB to give their support. But why not come out in public and decry this smear of one of their own?

And of course, we have some clueless QBS in Dallas and Carolina that openly mock and make fun.

smg93 said:

As someone who grew up in the 70's in a country ruled by a dictator, I can tell you that I lived through the adage of power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely. Unfortunately there are very few people in this world that have turned out to be truly benevolent dictators when put into a place of such power.

In a system such as one the NFL has currently, the commissioner is granted absolute discretion to dispense "justice". It is far too easy for people entrusted with that power to fall into the trap of wielding it instead to solidify their own leadership and use justice as an excuse.

In the NFL they charge you with cheating and ban you four games. In the real world they charge you with sedition and execute you.

This is why the process has to change.

Click to expand...

Power certainly does corrupt to a degree. In dictators, I wonder how much power actually corrupts vs. the corruption that most amass to attain such power. That would be a really hard comparison to test, but testing the corrupting effects of power itself isn't nearly so hard. The effects were much more extreme than I would have thought.

http://www.ted.com/talks/paul_piff_does_money_make_you_mean?language=en

Howie Rules!

Joseph K. Brady said:

Strahan called the Patriots out specifically in the Giants victory parade and mocked the Pats for playing 3-4 on his first show in 2008, saying the Giants exposed the Patriots O-line and proved the need for all teams to play 4-3. He's also said that he and all the Giants greatly respect the Patriots and that anybody who picked the Giants to win SB42 were idiots so he's a tough one to read.

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Strahan is good friends with brady.

RelocatedPatFan said:

Suddenly, I feel like watching Broken Arrow again.

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I forget, how did Howie die on that one, did he get blown up?

andrewssix said:

Here's more:

Michael Strahan: "The counter to that is there is a rule. They should change the rule. Everybody says, ‘Well, why does this happen to the Patriots? Why the Patriots?’ It’s because they’re got pulled over. When you’re in a group of speeding cars, you’re the one who got caught. Unfortunately, the team has had other things that have happened in the past. But I don’t think this penalty was for this particularly. I think it was for, as Jimmy said, probably the owners that got beat by the Patriots, but more so about some of the things the Commissioner has gone through – with the Ray Rice case and some of the criticisms that made him really have to step up and do something a little more harsh than I think we all felt should have happened, but he did hand down that ruling, and now this is one decision you have to live with because he lost in court which stripped him of power, in my opinion."

Howie Long: "There are a couple of things about it. One is if you’re going to call into question the character of Tom Brady, and you’re calling him a liar and a cheat, those are big accusations. Here’s a guy that’s won four Super Bowls, three Super Bowl MVPs, two league MVPs, and to the best of my knowledge, has led an exemplary life on and off the field. If you’re going to make those accusations, you better come with something better than ‘it’s more likely than not,’ and to watch Tedy Bruschi and Willie McGinest have to go on TV every day and validate the championships that they won really bothers me. There’s a lot of talk about the integrity of the game, and I get it, and I support that. How about some integrity in the process because if anything has become apparent in this process, it’s that the integrity of the process is flawed and it needs to be changed."


http://fangsbites.com/fox-nfl-sunday/nfl-on-fox-quotage-for-week-1-of-the-2015-season.html

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I have to say the above 4 quotes, even Strahan, were more well though out than I would expect from Sports Media talking heads. I certainly can't remember hearing well thought out comments back to back to back on ESPN (though to be fair I've watched very little ESPN for many years now).

Long's comment is sentiment that has gotten very little air time but is of the most important considerations. That the media and fans so blindly accept a railroading and so thoughtlessly smear someone is an enlightening comment on how appalling human nature can sometimes be.

Bradshaw's comment is a sentiment that hasn't gotten much mention yet it is a worthy point of discussion. Does there need to be a PSI specification or should a team simply be able to (pre game) inform the officials what PSI they want their footballs at?

I guess that settles it - if I ever get another cat, I'm naming it Meowie Long!