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Azzwipe Mike Freeman actually manages to write something somewhat coherent and sensible:
Rival Exec: 'The Patriots Should Get Those Picks Back'
I spoke to many of these same sources, 10 interviewed in total, and they now have completely the opposite view. They believe the NFL got the investigation wrong—or mostly wrong—and that the Patriots never cheated. They believe that's the new consensus around the league.
What they say next is even more staggering.
"I hate the Patriots. I despise them," said one NFC team executive, who like everyone else interviewed, asked to remain anonymous for fear of angering the league office. "But they really should get those picks back."
...
The reason, though, is a selfish one. Players, coaches and executives have come to view the Patriots' situation as a referendum on commissioner power. Many of the sources I spoke to used the same word: "railroaded." As in, NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell railroadedthe Patriots. As in, the commissioner used his power unfairly and arbitrarily.
They think, in effect, that what happened to the Patriots could happen to any of them.
It's not that they have sympathy for the Patriots. It's about fear of Goodell's power. If Goodell can punish the most influential franchise in football so harshly based on questionable science and investigations, they wonder, then what does that mean for the rest of us?
Rival Exec: 'The Patriots Should Get Those Picks Back'