The more time that goes on, the more I have trouble rooting for Kraft

AzorianPats said:

I was disappointed Kraft didn't put up more of a fight, but the guy has done way more good than bad. What other owner would you want?

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Haslan

Armchair Quarterback said:

Ok, I'll take a hypothetical poll and get back to you.

Billionaires generally didn't get that way by lying down and being conciliatory.

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You do that..

Oh, billionaires don't become billionaires by blowing money on appeals they'll never win.

tom444 said:

If you had told me in 1970 that the Patriots will have 15 straight years of unbridled success, and even than people will complained about the owner who put it all together, I'd have laughed in your face. But here we are.

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Whats the point of all that success when you have criminals in the league office forging public opinion that your team cheated to accomplish that success?

Brady, who has made incredible sacrifices building a legacy here in New England and winning multiple Championships as an ambassador of the game with class, doing and saying all the right things... is defamed in grand fashion on the biggest media platform on earth

He deserves better than that

Jackson 2 said:

Bob Kraft may be the reason why Patriots fans dislike Bob Kraft. But, the main reason why Brady got booed and other fans' boards are full of NE hatred isn't Bob Kraft. It's Bill Belichick. End of story.

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Close. It is called winning.

AzorianPats said:

OK, name me a billionaire that is ready to fight against other billionaires?

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Perhaps Mark Cuban, but he's in a different sport.

Besides, I don't think Kraft was ever the Give em Hell type.

Jackson 2 said:

Bob Kraft may be the reason why Patriots fans dislike Bob Kraft. But, the main reason why Brady got booed and other fans' boards are full of NE hatred isn't Bob Kraft. It's Bill Belichick. End of story.

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Actually, it's mostly John Thomase.

mosi said:

Close. It is called winning.

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Agree. You'll notice I wrote "main reason", not "only reason." Winning is clearly a significant reason, but in a pecking order, I believe it's Bill, first and foremost.

JarOfMayo51 said:

Whats the point of all that success when you have criminals in the league office forging public opinion that your team cheated to accomplish that success?

Brady, who has made incredible sacrifices building a legacy here in New England and winning multiple Championships as an ambassador of the game with class, doing and saying all the right things... is defamed in grand fashion on the biggest media platform on earth

He deserves better than that

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Standing center stage is a comely young lady. Entering from stage right is a mustachioed man wearing a black cape. Everybody boos.

Don't take it so seriously, it's part of the game.

He is an individual. At the very least, he could have said - in stronger words - that his team was being wrongfully railroaded because of jealousy and pettiness. He wouldn't have lost money or "his precious seat at the table"... To file an appeal would have been simple. The fact he "couldn't win" is trumped by the fact that he didn't stick up for the two guys who made him successful in the NFL. Kraft got lucky by picking up BB before he became successful. The rest is all BB and Brady.

Kraft can burn in hell. The NFL can live anywheres. Being from out of town, it doesn't really concern me that the stadium is in Foxborough. So "he saved the team" rings hollow for some fans.

I guarantee if Kraft went AL Davis on the NFL life down the road would be worse for him, fans and players for this team. It might make some of us fans feel better if he fought more but in the end we still wouldn't have the pics and those crusty old billionaires would make life he'll for the KRAFTS And The Team IN general.
Have to file this under sometimes life serves you a **** sandwich and you have to eat it.
Who gives a rats ass what other fans think of us or brady? They hated us before deflategate, they'll hate us in the future and they'd hate us if deflategate never happened. You gotta let it go.

farn said:

Being from out of town, it doesn't really concern me that the stadium is in Foxborough. So "he saved the team" rings hollow for some fans.

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Ha ha. Support another team than. Who cares.

tom444 said:

Ha ha. Support another team than. Who cares.

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I can support this team and still have objections re the owner's decisions.

farn said:

I can support this team and still have objections re the owner's decisions.

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You can do whatever you want. But I live here. The notion that it doesn't matter where the team is makes zero sense to us. It's a local team, just like the Red Sox, Bruins, and Celtics.

cmasspatsfan said:

I guarantee if Kraft went AL Davis on the NFL life down the road would be worse for him, fans and players for this team. It might make some of us fans feel better if he fought more but in the end we still wouldn't have the pics and those crusty old billionaires would make life he'll for the KRAFTS And The Team IN general.
Have to file this under sometimes life serves you a **** sandwich and you have to eat it.
Who gives a rats ass what other fans think of us or brady? They hated us before deflategate, they'll hate us in the future and they'd hate us if deflategate never happened. You gotta let it go.

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I don't know how things work in the club of 32 owners. Please list a few examples of how the "crusty old billionaires" would make life hell for the Krafts and also for the team.

The first thing he could have done was not roll over like a beaten, whimpering dog.

Instead of his gutless cave-in (which, BTW, is one of the first things haters point to -- "Of course Brady did it. His own owner unconditionally accepted the Wells report and the penalties") he could have instead have called out the Wells report for being the piece of crap it is, denounced the punishments for the ridiculousness they were, said that he and the team supported Brady unequivocally, said something like "I really wanted to sue the league. I had our legal team researching the best way to do so. However, due to the league's governing agreements my legal team tells me a lawsuit has very little chance of succeeding and so, at the current time, I am not taking that path".

Then going forward from there he should have actually fought the PR war rather than going off and hiding in a cave. His little passive-aggressive updates to the "Wells Report in Context" site don't count. He should have stopped his Goodell-tonguing and his "Roger is doing a great job. Those other people at the league office, not so much" garbage. He should have put the ball literally right in the league's face by either hooking a ball up to a pressure sensor live on the jumbotron or at least facilitated a news crew doing it.

Actually, on reflection, before any of that what he should have done was leak the league's insane "Yeah, we lied to you about the numbers, and here are the actual numbers, but you can't tell anyone" letter. If the real numbers had come out in the media when NE got that letter the narrative would have been completely different.

Mack Herron said:

Not necessarily. Kraft could have assumed the role of the cowardly lap dog because he thought it would be good for his financial future. He could have made such an assumption even if it were incorrect. Of course we cannot know what he was thinking. What we can say is that he did not act out of any principled sense of right and wrong. He willingly relinquished his ability to think and act for his team and his QB and placed his trust in Goodell. He now admits that was a mistake, but we still see him schmoozing with Goodell while his QB gets booed at a ceremony where he was being honored, and his team is forever regarded as unethical cheaters. In terms of managing the brand, as they say in the business world, Kraft gets an "F". And he is crying all the way to the bank.

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The brand remains intact as long as they win and retains value.

Mack Herron said:

Not necessarily. Kraft could have assumed the role of the cowardly lap dog because he thought it would be good for his financial future. He could have made such an assumption even if it were incorrect. Of course we cannot know what he was thinking. What we can say is that he did not act out of any principled sense of right and wrong. He willingly relinquished his ability to think and act for his team and his QB and placed his trust in Goodell. He now admits that was a mistake, but we still see him schmoozing with Goodell while his QB gets booed at a ceremony where he was being honored, and his team is forever regarded as unethical cheaters. In terms of managing the brand, as they say in the business world, Kraft gets an "F". And he is crying all the way to the bank.

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The brand remains intact as long as they win and retains value.

The person who has handled this worse is Tom. I don't mean the awkward first press conferences which are understandable as he was not given facts by the NFL, I mean the Brady who let Goodell lie about what he said etc... He needed to/needs to come out, call out the NFL, defend himself and bring up that Goodell has been accused of perjury by judges I believe. Simply toast Roger so harshly and intensely that no reporter in the next ten years will ever be able to sit with Goodell and NOT ask him about Goodell's reputation for fraud, lying and perjury.

I read somewhere about Tom's favorite book the Four Agreements and picked it up, and it is definitely light weight, touchy feely, don't let other people define you crap and not a plan on how to deal with a PR crisis. We thought Manning was the Gee Willikers aw shucks guy but he defended himself the right way and intensely. He and his team attacked Sly etc... Brady should have/should do the same thing. Brady showed himself a light weight competitor vs Manning who handled it like a real competitor. Brady needs to make sure that the terms Goodell and Liar are forever linked in every person in the US's minds the way Brady and Cheater now are.

I am not happy Bob didn't go Al Davis but remember shortly before this the NBA forced an owner to sell for politically correct reasons. (Stirling is an idiot and not defending him) Any bets on if Kraft broke the owners agreement and suid he would be forced to sell by the other members as Stirling was? Bob's fake humble I was a fan and am the assistant commissioner along with the Patriots winning and bit of antisemitism among some owners possibly, makes Bob a hated man and Bob is a man desperate to be liked and have everyone get along. In this way he is very different than many owners. Bob is a better person than the likes of Jerry Jones. I like that Bob authorized Wells report in Context and has kept at it. I hope he is able to stab Goodell when the time is right. That expression revenge is a dish best served cold comes to mind.

Now lets talk Mr Goodell. Goodell was taking huge pressure from black players for the discipline and he used Wells to go after the highest visibility white player. They used Wells for Incognito and Brady. Goodell smacked down the self proclaimed assistant commissioner much to the delight on a majority of owners and he smacked Brady to hurt Kraft, Belichick and placate angry black players.

If I am advising Brady I tell him he is F'ing up. A win in court is a small win. Roast Goodell with the white hot intesity of the sun. Smear him with the unvarnished truth. The great statistical season he had this year enables this defense and he should rub that in their noses as he trashes Goodell. Go on 60 minutes and do it, Have press conferances with Mort (if he is better) Attack, attack and attack, then do it again. It is time for Brady to drop the Gee Willikers aw shucks guy public act and fight for his reputation and good name. Those boos are what you will be hearing outside of NE for the rest of your life if you don't.

The league took the picks. Kraft is part of the league. When you become an owner, you are accepted in an exclusive club. If he fought the other owners, he would most likely breach a contract they have. There is no way Kraft is giving up his rock star, filthy rich image for a players reputation or a draft pick. His hands are tied by being a member of one of the most profitable businesses in the world. And that is most important to him.

ivanvamp said:

I understand the frustration. But what avenues were available to Kraft? Haven't we been over this? He had no options. It's easy to say he was a coward; what was he supposed to do?

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Perhaps he had no options in overturning the penalty. But at the very least, he could have said: "This penalty is unacceptable to us" and left it at that -- just putting everyone on notice that the Patriots' stance on the matter is "under protest." He didn't have to publicly state that the Patriots ACCEPT losing the draft picks! That just wasn't right.