Wells reportedly keeping NFL in the dark on investigation

[VectorPrime]

If people under Goodell are going to go down for this then Kraft's backing of Roger makes all the sense in the world.

 

[Ivan]

All depends on what Bob Kraft we get...the one who came out guns blazin' the Monday of the Super Bowl, or the one who recently backed Goodell and said he has a very difficult job to do.

If he's 2007 'take one for the team in Spygate' Kraft then he may roll over...I hope that's not the guy we get, but he didn't become the most powerful owner in the most powerful league in the US by making corporate waves.

I will be as disgusted as anyone else if Kraft allowed the league to sanction them for no wrongdoing, however when Kraft said Goodell had a tough job he also said he needs to get his office under control, which indicated to me that the Patriots know who it is that was leaking and causing trouble for them in the league office and expect something will be done about it.

 

[Ivan]

4) As you say, this is not a court of law. There is no punishment for withholding anything.

Robert Kraft is one of those actually paying for the investigation and report, Roger Goodell and Mike Kensil are not paying a dime for it.

 

[shmessy]

All depends on what Bob Kraft we get...the one who came out guns blazin' the Monday of the Super Bowl, or the one who recently backed Goodell and said he has a very difficult job to do.

If he's 2007 'take one for the team in Spygate' Kraft then he may roll over...I hope that's not the guy we get, but he didn't become the most powerful owner in the most powerful league in the US by making corporate waves.

This is different than 2007.

2007 the penalty way out measured the crime, but let's be honest here - - BB ignored a clearly written directive from the NFL office there. The penalty was an enormous overreaction, but there was a clear and proactive overstepping of the very ticky tack rule. As stupid as it was (like your kid in the backseat giving a cop the finger), there was something to point to - - and hence, Kraft calling BB a 'schmuck" afterwards.

This time, the Patriots are complete blindside victims of a set up. This is why Kraft is reacting differently. He knows there is nothing to call BB a schmuck about this time because BB nor Brady did anything at all.

 

[shmessy]

Robert Kraft is one of those actually paying for the investigation and report, Roger Goodell and Mike Kensil are not paying a dime for it.

I hear what you are saying, but that should never be the reason.

Justice should be the reason.

In this case, you don't have to sink to the "money pays" rationale. With every new revelation it becomes obvious that the truth is on the Patriots side.

I'd hate that the rest of the nations thinks like you do on it, because the Patriots will never be truly exhonerated in that case.

 

[Ivan]

That should never be the reason.

Justice should be the reason.

In this case, you don't have to sink to the "money pays" rationale. With every new revelation it becomes obvious that the truth is on the Patriots side

I'm not in any way suggesting that The Wells Report will give favor to the Patriots because they are partially paying for it, I'm referring to the idea that Wells works for Goodell and will do the league office's bidding and tailor the report against the Patriots out of loyalty to the office. As Kraft said he's a partner and owner of the league, the league office works for them they don't own the league.

 

[JoeSixPat]

That is the conundrum. An attorney (Wells) has an obligation to zealously represent his client (NFL). What happens if the investigation he was hired to do ends up with a result that harms ( the reputation at least) of his client if it finds wrong doing on Park Ave. Does he report it or is it buried????

Wells is not going to ruin his well established reputation in his field or wreck his firm by burying or ignoring evidence. He's here to act as an impartial party and he will do so. Simple as that.

That's really what it comes down to - which path will he take?

The thing is, we've seen this type of thing before where a firm like Well's will assert a strict definition of what they were hired to investigate

They might assert that they were hired to investigate the on field activities and refrain from investigating the NFL itself - and simply provide specific but limited findings directed towards ball security alone, for example

Wells might suggest that he completed his mandate and be done with it.

I'm not holding my breath expecting more - but the length of this investigation does give me some hope that they are more focused on the NFL than the Patriots, so one never knows

 

[TheBeers]

That's really what it comes down to - which path will he take?

The thing is, we've seen this type of thing before where a firm like Well's will assert a strict definition of what they were hired to investigate

They might assert that they were hired to investigate the on field activities and refrain from investigating the NFL itself - and simply provide specific but limited findings directed towards ball security alone, for example

Wells might suggest that he completed his mandate and be done with it.

I'm not holding my breath expecting more - but the length of this investigation does give me some hope that they are more focused on the NFL than the Patriots, so one never knows

I mentioned a similar thought in another thread, and you're right. We just don't know the scope of the investigation. It's hard to imagine they have only been investigating tampering with footballs this whole time.. And yet I would not be shocked if that were the case.

 

[tom.kordis]

Let's assume for a second that the Well's report finds either:
1. The Pats let air out of those balls, or
2. "We think that they doctored the balls, but just can't prove it."

... and they decide to penalize the Pats. Or not penalize them, just leave the stigma of "possible cheaters" hanging around the organization's neck.

Next November or December or January, some footballs are filled in some locker room to 13.0 psig at 72°F.
They are brought out onto the field & used in a game played at 50°F. or 40°F. or 30°F. or 20°F.

Then some investigative reporter, or the Pats equipment manager, sticks a pressure gage into the football just before half time & reads 12.1 psig (at 50°F). or 11.6 psig (at 40°F). or 11.0 psig (at 30°F). or 10.5 psig (at 20°F).

AS EVERY SINGLE BALL MUST READ.!!
(as long as nobody tampers with them by adding air during the game.)

If they sanction the Pats, how foolish, how unjust, how utterly incompetent will Wells, Goodell & the NFL office look WHEN (not "if") this happens??

Do you guys think that this inevitable scenario has been overlooked by Wells, Goodell or Kraft??

The NFL has backed itself into a corner.
They have no way out, other than "the Pats did nothing, and we just never understood, prior to this incident, how pressure & temperature interact in footballs."

There is no negotiating with Mother Nature on this issue.

 

[farn]

I underestimated how fickle humans are nowadays.

This was the single most pressing issue in North America in January 2015. Everyone was talking about it. Newscasts. "How to talk about Deflategate to your kids". People crying.

No news for months. No one talking about it for months. Nobody cares. How can people have been SO grossly enthralled and now lose interest ? The whole thing makes me puke. And any unfavourable decision will make me puke again.

 

[ChoWZa]

It's because the merit of the deflated football accusation was never relevant.