NFL Appeal oral arguments thread

Froob said:

We need to just ignore this clown already. Don't bother reposting his crap.

Click to expand...

I think it's a great source of comedic relief.

Mack Herron said:

Click to expand...

Great. So Clement just continued Goodell's lies and the judges never questioned it. Either they already knew of the lies and wanted to see how many times the NFL would continue to lie, or they didn't really prepare for this case and weren't aware of the lies, or they just don't care about fairness and don't care about the lies.

I can GUARANTEE you one thing: If Brady ends up suspended, the league will ABSOLUTELY MAKE SURE that our first 4 games will be (in no particular order):

@ Denver
vs. Seattle
@Pittsburgh
vs. Cincinati

If divisional opponents week is somewhere during those first 4 weeks of the season, you can bet your balls we'll be playing on the road against the Jets on that particular week.

They will do everything they can to make it has hard as possible for the Pats to get as few wins as possible with a backup QB during the first 4 games. Mark my words! They would love nothing more than maximizing that suspension in the form of Pats starting the season with an 0-4 record.

Ross12 said:

Great. So Clement just continued Goodell's lies and the judges never questioned it. Either they already knew of the lies and wanted to see how many times the NFL would continue to lie, or they didn't really prepare for this case and weren't aware of the lies, or they just don't care about fairness and don't care about the lies.

Click to expand...

The problem with lawyers and judges (no disrespect intended as a good one is worth their weight in gold) is, in my experience, they tend to believe they're the smartest people in the room. The moment independent and lauded scientists disproved Deflategate, it should have be thrown out of the courts.

The world really is in an interesting position. It's a crying shame that the obvious course of action is rarely the option taken. Welcome to the litigation generation.

Ross12 said:

Great. So Clement just continued Goodell's lies and the judges never questioned it. Either they already knew of the lies and wanted to see how many times the NFL would continue to lie, or they didn't really prepare for this case and weren't aware of the lies, or they just don't care about fairness and don't care about the lies.

Click to expand...

The bold is my biggest fear.

sieglo said:

Considering Trump is likely to be the next POTUS, and he unequivocally backs Brady, Kraft, and the Pats... If I'm a federal judge I'm thinking that ruling against Brady could be a career-limiting move.

Click to expand...

Sarcasm is a lost art on this Board. Thank you!

JMC00 said:

Click to expand...

Agree. But, why did you leave out "Notice?"

Guys....lets see how this plays out. The facts remain the same....

Todd Bradley said:

Both sides were hammered though.

They're only saying it "looks bad" for Brady because most thought this was going to be an easy layup.

No one thought the judges would bring the cellphone into questioning.

No one obviously knows why they did, but most mediots are taking that as a sign of doom, when in reality that has litlte to none to do with Berman's ruling. Thus I can't see why I should get worked up over info not pertinent to the actual appeal. Brady's guilt or innocence isn't what's at stake here, it's process and procedure.

Click to expand...

Yes. You put your finger on the issue. There was a fantasy among Brady supporters, which I admit that I shared on a visceral level, that the hearing would devolve into a trashing of the NFL's position with three Federal Judges ROFLing at the League's position.

Instead we got exactly what we should have gotten. A very tough revisiting of the issues that Berman did not highlight in order to extract arguments for their merit.

Contrary to what has been said by many here yesterday and today, these Judges were very well prepared...so prepared that they ignored most of what Berman said and went to the heart of why some would suggest that he was wrong.

I'm suspending judgment until I read the transcript and ideally hear the tape, but right now I'd say this is a toss up, with Chin the deciding vote. In my gut, I think Chin will return to his roots in Labor Law and uphold Berman. If he doesn't, I will read the majority opinion very carefully.

Ross12 said:

I think it's a great source of comedic relief.

Click to expand...

Yeah it's funny but, I'd prefer we only give clicks to the writers actually writing real content and not click bait trolling.

dannydyn said:

I can GUARANTEE you one thing: If Brady ends up suspended, the league will ABSOLUTELY MAKE SURE that our first 4 games will be (in no particular order):

@ Denver
vs. Seattle
@Pittsburgh
vs. Cincinati

If divisional opponents week is somewhere during those first 4 weeks of the season, you can bet your balls we'll be playing on the road against the Jets on that particular week.

They will do everything they can to make it has hard as possible for the Pats to get as few wins as possible with a backup QB during the first 4 games. Mark my words! They would love nothing more than maximizing that suspension in the form of Pats starting the season with an 0-4 record.

Click to expand...

Eh, I don't know about that. They didn't do that to us last year. Plus that's bad for ratings and the Patriots are a big ticket item.

Ross12 said:

Great. So Clement just continued Goodell's lies and the judges never questioned it. Either they already knew of the lies and wanted to see how many times the NFL would continue to lie, or they didn't really prepare for this case and weren't aware of the lies, or they just don't care about fairness and don't care about the lies.

Click to expand...

What won't the NFL lie about? They sound just like the cops from "Making a Murderer." They really need to make a documentary called "Making a Cheater."

ausbacker said:

The problem with lawyers and judges (no disrespect intended as a good one is worth their weight in gold) is, in my experience, they tend to believe they're the smartest people in the room. The moment independent and lauded scientists disproved Deflategate, it should have be thrown out of the courts.

The world really is in an interesting position. It's a crying shame that the obvious course of action is rarely the option taken. Welcome to the litigation generation.

Click to expand...

I hear you dude. Have always wanted to be a lawyer but life didn't work out that way to this point. I believe I am the smartest person in the room currently but don't tell my wife that.

You're right otherwise though. It should really have been as simple as "science shows it didn't happen, the end." Unfortunately we have to involve judges to question whether an evidently partial arbitrator can discipline an employee for doing nothing wrong.

robertweathers said:

The bold is my biggest fear.

Click to expand...

Yeah, it seems so unlikely but if you read everything through that lens it makes it all very scary. I just keep telling myself that there's no way 3 appellate judges declined to prepare themselves at all for this case and they're simply being jerks to both sides because they enjoy it.

TommyBrady12 said:

I read somewhere that the party who gets the tougher questions on oral argument more often than not ends up winning.

Click to expand...

It's either (1) the judges screwing around or (2) bad judges.

In a perfect world, judges would ask GOOD questions during oral argument. The so called "tough" questions sound like the crap you hear on "The O'Reilly Factor" or some dumb ESPN show.

Ross12 said:

Yeah, it seems so unlikely but if you read everything through that lens it makes it all very scary. I just keep telling myself that there's no way 3 appellate judges declined to prepare themselves at all for this case and they're simply being jerks to both sides because they enjoy it.

Click to expand...

Yes and for them to 1/2 ass their preparation is a complete insult to Berman and both parties.

Froob said:

What won't the NFL lie about? They sound just like the cops from "Making a Murderer." They really need to make a documentary called "Making a Cheater."

Click to expand...

The team had already been docked a first-round pick for a crime they didn't commit. Now their quarterback is on the line again, and some want to see him put away for good.

YOUGOTMOSSED said:

It's either (1) the judges screwing around or (2) bad judges.

In a perfect world, judges would ask GOOD questions during oral argument. The so called "tough" questions sound like the crap you hear on "The O'Reilly Factor" or some dumb ESPN show.

Click to expand...

Which is weird for supposedly high level judges.

Just goes to show that anyone should consider themselves lucky if they can stay out of the courts their entire life as you have no idea what you'll end up with. It's sad.

robertweathers said:

Yes and for them to 1/2 ass their preparation is a complete insult to Berman and both parties.

Click to expand...

Right, agreed. I don't think they would do that. So it makes me think they were just F-ing around for an hour and will rule in favor of Brady relatively quickly and be done with it. But I wouldn't be shocked if they were really just 2 or 3 dumb f*** jerks.

Ross12 said:

The team had already been docked a first-round pick for a crime they didn't commit. Now their quarterback is on the line again, and some want to see him put away for good.

Click to expand...

Tell the truth Jim [McNally]. We have your back don't worry. Now tell us what Tom did.

Ross12 said:

I hear you dude. Have always wanted to be a lawyer but life didn't work out that way to this point. I believe I am the smartest person in the room currently but don't tell my wife that.

You're right otherwise though. It should really have been as simple as "science shows it didn't happen, the end." Unfortunately we have to involve judges to question whether an evidently partial arbitrator can discipline an employee for doing nothing wrong.



Yeah, it seems so unlikely but if you read everything through that lens it makes it all very scary. I just keep telling myself that there's no way 3 appellate judges declined to prepare themselves at all for this case and they're simply being jerks to both sides because they enjoy it.

Click to expand...

Everything you need to know about becoming a lawyer:

BelichickFan said:

Which is weird for supposedly high level judges.

Just goes to show that anyone should consider themselves lucky if they can stay out of the courts their entire life as you have no idea what you'll end up with. It's sad.

Click to expand...

If there was an "I couldn't agree more" button, I would press it.