After Over 500 Days, Goodell's Comments Remain Head-Scratching

[Jackson 2]

I don't understand why when he says these things that some reporters or any reporter challenge his statements with the facts. He gets away with it time after time after time.

I agree with you. He gets very, very few tough questions (Curran, Reiss and a couple of other NE guys excepted) and when he does, he never answers those tough ones directly. He veers off on a tangent and concludes his responses at places miles from the original question. He's actually very good at that and those asking the few tough questions rarely get to ask a follow-up. He's playing with a deck that's rigged in his favor on every, single hand that's dealt. No one will ever pin him down. Just not happening.

 

[Tony2046]

I really like the chances of an en banc hearing.

I expect the court to ask for a reply from the NFL this week.

Why? Well because Goodell has proven time and time again that he can lose even when given incredible odds to win. He truly has a nose for picking the wrong battles.

My prediction: ( Based on a highly superior delusional optimism acquired watching Boston Sports teams over the last 20 years) (I blame Brady, Papi, Timmy and Garnett for it) "This is our F'ing century"

This week - Court asks for NFL reply.

A few months from now - Court grants en banc hearing. (Rumors about Goodell's job security begin to surface)

The beginning of next year - Brady wins en banc hearing and ruling is once again overturned. (Goodell is told not to appeal to the SC) (Rumors of his job security increase)

Before the next season start - Goodell is fired and sued for the remainder of his salary under the provisions of article 46. Kensil is sent to Siberia to grow NFL interest in that region.

Yes Sah!!

 

[Ivan]

That was an opportunity for Goodell to show...INTEGRITY... and end this, even if it meant firing some of his closest advisers/friends. He could have told the truth, that Kensil, Vincent and company acted over zealously and were wrong in their assumptions.

Had Goodell done that, he would have been praised for taking a stand and making the right decision, even if it made him look bad and led to the dismissal of some of his inner circle. I don't believe it would have led to his dismissal, because, if he survived the Ray Rice debacle, he could survive this. Even if it did, it wouldn't have been immediate and Goodell could have engineered a nice soft and lucrative exit, while having a say in who his successor is.

As far as Goodell having some dirt on New England, why wouldn't he use this information to get Brady and the team to back down, accept things, and drop this? If he's not going to play that card now, when would he? I think it's simpler: Goodell doesn't believe "his guys" were wrong and he definitely doesn't believe that he could ever be wrong.

As I said earlier, Goodell could have made a tough call and ended this all sometime between January and May of 2015. Instead, he chose to protect his cronies and himself. In the long run, that decision will do more to damage the integrity of the game than 11 footballs below 12.5 PSI.

I agree completely. Goodell should have fired everyone involved in the sting the minute he find out what they had done. Had he done ago he could have claimed the high ground on integrity and made it clear every franchise would be treated fairly by his office. Instead, he engaged in a cover, up to protect his staff and feed the appetite of the owners who wanted to extract, revenge on the Patriots for their dominance. As a result Goodell had destroyed whatever died of credibility he may have had remaining.

 

[Koma]

I don't understand why when he says these things that some reporters or any reporter challenge his statements with the facts. He gets away with it time after time after time.

Some, like the Washington Post, have been doing this, but no one you would think of as an "NFL guy (or gal.)"

Just to use him as an example, but someone could be receiving the Peter King Award for Journalistic Integrity 20 years from now if he would just start writing and asking "Why is the commissioner lying about deflategate?" He knows the source for the 11 of 12 balls story and he believes Brady was railroaded, but he stops there and doesn't explore the story any further.

It's funny that the media complains about Belichick not giving them enough in press conferences and owes the fans better answers, but they give Goodell a complete pass for being even more evasive and lying in his PCs. In journalism school, everyone idolized Woodward and Bernstein. When the folks in the sports media have their chance to do something similar, the vast majority are satisfied to keep their mouths shut and keep collecting a check.

 

[NashuaPats]

From the article:

“Brady stated that he suggested that the Patriots give the game officials a copy of Rule 2 when they delivered game balls prior to each game, so that the officials would know that it was not necessary to inflate them further"​

While this is true and a good point, the reason Brady had them print off the rules in the first place was because he did not know what the rules were as stated in the text messages. This was five months after the "deflator" text. How could he be running a risky scheme to deflate the balls below the minimum led by an immature part time employee when he didn't even know what the rules were in the first place? It doesn't make any sense. And of course it doesn't make sense that he would want to highlight the rules to the refs while essentially conning them on the matter. Wells just glossed over this because he wasn't trying to learn the truth, but trying to frame Brady as directed by Goodell.

 

[The Gr8est]

I agree with you. He gets very, very few tough questions (Curran, Reiss and a couple of other NE guys excepted) and when he does, he never answers those tough ones directly. He veers off on a tangent and concludes his responses at places miles from the original question. He's actually very good at that and those asking the few tough questions rarely get to ask a follow-up. He's playing with a deck that's rigged in his favor on every, single hand that's dealt. No one will ever pin him down. Just not happening.

The reason Goodell doesn't get asked any hard questions is for the same reason that no reporters will ask Obama any hard questions.

If you do you will lose your access, and it may even be a career killer.

 

[The Gr8est]

From the article:

“Brady stated that he suggested that the Patriots give the game officials a copy of Rule 2 when they delivered game balls prior to each game, so that the officials would know that it was not necessary to inflate them further"

While this is true and a good point, the reason Brady had them print off the rules in the first place was because he did not know what the rules were as stated in the text messages. This was five months after the "deflator" text. How could be running a risky scheme to deflate the balls below the minimum led by an immature part time employee when he didn't even know what the rules were in the first place? It doesn't make any sense. And of course it doesn't make sense that he would want to highlight the rules to the refs while essentially conning them on the matter. Wells just glossed over this because he wasn't trying to learn the truth, but trying to frame Brady as directed by Goodell.

This is an excellent point that never occurred to me. Thanx for bringing this idea to light.

The NFL*, Brady, and possibly some of the referees, all had one thing in common. Before Defamegate none of them knew what the standards were for ball pressure, or even gave it a second thought.

 

[grux]

I think the original deflategate targets were Belichick and Kraft. The owners are jealous of Krafts success and want to knock him down a peg or two. The league and owners are convinced that Belichick can't continue to win year after year without an illegal competitive edge.

I am sure Kensil was one the phone with Goodell the minute after he told someone within the patriots organizition your in big F--ing trouble for supposedly playing with under inflated balls. Goodell was probably grinning from ear to ear thinking this was his chance to take down Belichick. I bet Goodell called Kraft to let him know that his coach was going to be suspended. This is when I think that Belichick threatened to use some of the dirt that he has on the league and other teams. I wouldn't be surprised if he has some tapes stored away of other teams stealing signals. Belichick is to smart to get burned by the league twice. Sorry Roger but you will never out smart Bill Belichick.

Then Roger had to turn to plan B because the story was gaining steam and he had to place the blame on someone. I am sure the other owners (most likely Steve Biscotti because Kraft publicly backed Roger throughout the Ray Rice fiasco) were pressuring Goodell to penalize the Patriots. I am sure Roger was confident that Kraft wouldn't fight the team penalties because he cares to much about the other "31". Then the icing on the cake would be suspending Brady. He was also probably confident that Kraft could talk Brady into not fighting the 4 game suspension. Thankfully Brady is a fighter and isn't going to let the league punish him for something he didn't do.

In the end, Roger wouldn't end deflategate because he is too arrogant and stupid. He also has the backing from some of the other "31" owners who are jealous of Kraft, Belichick and Brady. Hopefully the courts rule in Brady's favor and he never misses a game. If he does miss 4 games, I hope he files a defamation suit and goes scorched earth against the league.

 

[Ian]

From the article:

“Brady stated that he suggested that the Patriots give the game officials a copy of Rule 2 when they delivered game balls prior to each game, so that the officials would know that it was not necessary to inflate them further"

That's not only from the article, that's straight from the Wells Report, which, as I wrote, makes the whole thing even crazier. That's the only thing you hear about Brady wanting in that report as it pertains to psi, yet that part gets glossed over like there was some bigger "scheme" involved.

 

[AtomicDawg]

Wow. Roger Goodell is actually a robot. Because the comments he made at this golf event are almost VERBATIM to comments he made a year ago during owners meetings in NYJFL* HQ.

“I have a lot of respect and admiration for Tom,” he said. “I know him personally. As I say, I admire him tremendously. He is a future Hall of Fame player, but our rules apply to everybody. They apply to every single player. Every single player expects those rules to apply to everybody. Every coach does, every fan does, every partner, every team does.”

And further Googling takes us back to a month prior of him saying it AGAIN, at the Pro Football Hall of Fame honoring.....get this......JUNIOR SEAU!!!

“The integrity of the game is something we will always protect. The rules apply to everybody,” Goodell told The Repository. “That is my job in particular, to make sure everyone from our players to our coach, to our fans and our partners, that they all recognize we’re going to play by these sets of rules, and that’s part of our values and standards.”

I'm sure more instances of him saying the "I" word are more prevalent, but the phrase "rules apply to everybody" really irks me. The rules apply to the New England Patriots, it's players, it's staff and no one else. Unless he chooses otherwise, that is.