Bob Kravitz writes about Deflategate [Four Games in Fall Documentary]

[SHOWTIME15]

The public is not a jury that's vetted to decide a case. They're prone to read headlines and ultimately believe exactly what they were hoping for, but it's hard to emphasize how impossible it would have been for Brady to ever win any type of PR battle when this isn't just the public but a fanbase that by its nature only supports about 3% of NFL players and sees the other 97% as the enemy/opponent, and beyond that, judging the merits of a case based on their negative perception of Brady.

Accusations alone, with even a shred of perceived credibility, are enough to fry the most envied/hated player in the NFL. Let's not act like people screaming "Brady destroyed his phone" are arguing from a position of reason and evidence and many weren't already running to Twitter to declare that "Brady is overrated!!!" at the same time. A big chunk of fans and observers who really wanted to know the truth - and were willing to actually hear Brady's defense and consider the evidence and arguments - realize that Brady didn't do anything, or even if he were guilty of some tiny infraction, it was both neglibible and that the NFL was guilty of much more. A lot of knowledgable fans and sports writers cite Deflategate as the time Goodell lost all credibility as an arbiter.

Before the Wells Report, most of the public chatter was that Goodell was going to "destroy the evidence" and that he'd let Brady off with a slap on the wrist because it's bad for business. Most people were 100% convinced Brady was guilty after the fake January PSI report and there would never be a way to convince those people anyway.

That's the PR front that he was dealing with, not an investigatory board made up of scholars and jurors pledged to finding the truth.

I stand by my belief that Goodell acts based on public perception. Not doing what Goodell/Wells wanted didn't help. You can argue that he still would have been found guilty, which might be true, but I'm convinced had he allowed Wells to examine his phone's contents it would have been a much more difficult case for Wells to argue and for the public to deem him a cheater. Goodell operated under the "more probable than not" standard under the old CBA. You give him any ammunition, he would have used it against you. Ask yourself this question, why would Brady destroy his cell phone on the DAY of the investigation? Even if he was innocent, do you think it helps? He said he wanted to switch over to the new iPhone 6, which wasn't really new but in actuality came out in September 2015 (and the investigation was in March 2016). Like I said, he didn't help himself.

 

[PatsWickedPissah]

Well said. I put it this way when talking to the yahoos.

Sometimes it is necessary to keep two competing ideas in one's head at the same time (usually beyond the mental ability of a yahoo). In this case:

1) The balls were inflated indoors in a room heated to approximately 72 degrees Fahrenheit. To the extent that their original weight was actually measured accurately before the game, at halftime, after around three hours of exposure to a cold rain and temperatures in the low 40's, the average weight of the balls was 0.23 psi below the expected mean for what it should have been under those circumstances according to the laws of physics. That is less than the weight of a toothpick and well within one standard deviation of the expected mean weight. In other words, the balls weighed just about exactly what they should have weighed according to the laws of physics, to the tolerance of a toothpick's weight. The balls were not "soft." The balls had not been "deflated" during that magic 90 seconds in a men's room.

2) It is possible, if not likely, that Brady, like many other NFL QB's including, as observed by @luuked, Aaron Rodgers, has a preference for balls in a specific region of the permitted range. The irony is that, perhaps because of the Playoff circumstances,, no one even had a reasonable chance to check the pressure of the balls in this instance.. When "properly inflated" balls were put in play during the second half, Brady did even better than he did in the first half...he could have beaten the Dolts that day throwing watermelons.

I'm an engineer. I believe I made the 1st PV=nrT post here on Patsfans refuting the league BS..
The weight or mass of the balls does not change. The pressure inside the football changes with temperature.

 

[venecol]

Is it me or is @TommyBrady12 the only person on this forum (possibly in NE) that trusts both Goodell and the NYFL to do the right thing by the Patriots.

Maybe its because he lives in the most powerful city on Earth. Lmao.

 

[203Pat]

Is it me or is @TommyBrady12 the only person on this forum (possibly in NE) that trusts both Goodell and the NYFL to do the right thing by the Patriots.

Maybe its because he lives in the most powerful city on Earth. Lmao.

He is an embarrassing troll. I pity him, it is sad to see.

 

[SHOWTIME15]

Maybe its because he lives in the most powerful city on Earth. Lmao.

Better than living in whatever craphole you live in.

 

[NashuaPats]

Regarding Brady not handing over his phone, it was the Players Union that objected to Wells/the NFL obtaining the phone. Naturally, they were protecting a players rights and did not want to set the precedent for a player handing over a personal phone for an NFL investigation. Wells/the NFL agreed.

It’s routine for celebrities who are followed by paparazzi to frequently get new phones. Brady is unusual for a football player in that other football players don’t have paparazzi following them everywhere. Brady’s wife is a much bigger star than he is world wide. She can’t go shopping or to the gym without paparazzi following her.

As Brady said, he gets a new phone every 3-4 months. He didn’t “destroy” it himself. He gave it to a personal assistant to dispose of and set up his new phone as he normally did.

It should have been a moot point anyway since the league had the phones of the other “culprits” and therefore all the relevant texts anyway. Plus Brady requested a history of his texts from the phone company who responded with a letter that they were unable to recover them.

Anyone harping over the word “destroyed” is just falling for the NFL’s propaganda.

 

[203Pat]

I can't believe all this nonsense is being rehashed again. I really can't believe that in the 5 years since we seemed to have developed a faction of Colts/Steelers/Broncos/Jets fans that seem to spend their time on a Patriots board bashing the franchise's greatest player.

 

[Ice_Ice_Brady]

I stand by my belief that Goodell acts based on public perception. Not doing what Goodell/Wells wanted didn't help. You can argue that he still would have been found guilty, which might be true, but I'm convinced had he allowed Wells to examine his phone's contents it would have been a much more difficult case for Wells to argue and for the public to deem him a cheater. Goodell operated under the "more probable than not" standard under the old CBA. You give him any ammunition, he would have used it against you. Ask yourself this question, why would Brady destroy his cell phone on the DAY of the investigation? Even if he was innocent, do you think it helps? He said he wanted to switch over to the new iPhone 6, which wasn't really new but in actuality came out in September 2015 (and the investigation was in March 2016). Like I said, he didn't help himself.

Here you go...you got played despite knowing the NYFL only serves up lies and exaggerations...how do you still bite at their hook?

Stephen A. Smith "hears" (doesn't know) Tom Brady destroyed his phone

ESPN's Stephen A.

profootballtalk.nbcsports.com

But ignoring Smith won’t make him go away, so let’s just deal head on with it. Smith claimed today that he has a source telling him that the NFL is likely to uphold Tom Brady’s four-game suspension, and that Brady destroyed his cell phone to hide text messages to the Patriots’ ball boys.

“I’m hearing that Tom Brady actually destroyed his cell phone,” Smith said on the air.

Smith later clarified that he was just “hearing” that Brady destroyed his phone, and can’t confirm that for certain.

“I don’t know,” Smith added.

Stephen A. Smith doesn't seem to realize he was used by the NFL

Six months after the NFL apparently leaked false information to Chris Mortensen of ESPN regarding the PSI readings for 11 of 12 Patriots footballs used in the AFC title game, the NFL expertly leaked true information to Stephen A.

profootballtalk.nbcsports.com

Raissman quoted the explanation from MDS regarding the difference between someone from ESPN’s army of NFL insiders “reporting” that the NFL will contend the cellphone was destroyed and paid opinion factory Stephen A. Smith offering up a wishy-way, less-than-forceful claim that the phone was destroyed: “If ESPN’s respected veteran NFL reporters say they’re ‘hearing’ what Goodell is ‘likely’ to do, we can reasonably surmise that they’re ‘hearing’ it from well-placed sources within the league office. Even if such a report turned out to be wrong, if it came from a respected reporter it was probably based on contact with sources who are in a position to know what they’re talking about. When it comes from Smith, it doesn’t mean anything.”

 

[sb1]

If Brady wins the Super Bowl too bad he won't get the chance to have a BB-to-Tom-Jackson moment if Mark Brunell tried to interview him.

 

[SHOWTIME15]

Here you go...you got played despite knowing the NYFL only serves up lies and exaggerations...how do you still bite at their hook?

Stephen A. Smith "hears" (doesn't know) Tom Brady destroyed his phone

ESPN's Stephen A.

profootballtalk.nbcsports.com

But ignoring Smith won’t make him go away, so let’s just deal head on with it. Smith claimed today that he has a source telling him that the NFL is likely to uphold Tom Brady’s four-game suspension, and that Brady destroyed his cell phone to hide text messages to the Patriots’ ball boys.

“I’m hearing that Tom Brady actually destroyed his cell phone,” Smith said on the air.

Smith later clarified that he was just “hearing” that Brady destroyed his phone, and can’t confirm that for certain.

“I don’t know,” Smith added.

Stephen A. Smith doesn't seem to realize he was used by the NFL

Six months after the NFL apparently leaked false information to Chris Mortensen of ESPN regarding the PSI readings for 11 of 12 Patriots footballs used in the AFC title game, the NFL expertly leaked true information to Stephen A.

profootballtalk.nbcsports.com

Raissman quoted the explanation from MDS regarding the difference between someone from ESPN’s army of NFL insiders “reporting” that the NFL will contend the cellphone was destroyed and paid opinion factory Stephen A. Smith offering up a wishy-way, less-than-forceful claim that the phone was destroyed: “If ESPN’s respected veteran NFL reporters say they’re ‘hearing’ what Goodell is ‘likely’ to do, we can reasonably surmise that they’re ‘hearing’ it from well-placed sources within the league office. Even if such a report turned out to be wrong, if it came from a respected reporter it was probably based on contact with sources who are in a position to know what they’re talking about. When it comes from Smith, it doesn’t mean anything.”

Brady himself said at the hearing to Goodell that he always destroys his old phones when he gets a new one. Why would it be any different for the particular phone that Wells wanted to examine? Note, I said examine, not take possession of. Wells merely wanted to have a computer guy search his texts and emails for keywords, and that this was to be done in front of Brady and his attorneys I assume. And then he goes and destroys his phone on the same day of his investigation. On what planet is that a good idea, even if he wasn't trying to be deliberately evasive?

 

[lancerman]

It must be nice to have local media that doesn't hate their NFL team.

Seriously go to any western or Midwestern state and watch the sports sections of the news and it’s the most positive training wheels approach to covering teams. In MA the Pats could be taking knees in the SB and Bob Ryan will go off about how they aren’t breaking from the huddle properly

 

[Actual Pats Fan]

Brady himself said at the hearing to Goodell that he always destroys his old phones when he gets a new one. Why would it be any different for the particular phone that Wells wanted to examine? Note, I said examine, not take possession of. Wells merely wanted to have a computer guy search his texts and emails for keywords, and that this was to be done in front of Brady and his attorneys I assume. And then he destroyed his phone on the same day of his investigation. On what planet is that a good idea?

U.S. troops stumbled upon and were exposed to silos containing WWI-era mustard gas, technically a WMD.

IRAQ WAR JUSTIFIED!!!

 

[sb1]

Brady himself said at the hearing to Goodell that he always destroys his old phones when he gets a new one. Why would it be any different for the particular phone that Wells wanted to examine? Note, I said examine, not take possession of. Wells merely wanted to have a computer guy search his texts and emails for keywords, and that this was to be done in front of Brady and his attorneys I assume. And then he goes and destroys his phone on the same day of his investigation. On what planet is that a good idea, even if he wasn't trying to be deliberately evasive?

What if it wasn’t? Would that surprise anybody?

 

[Ring 6]

DG all these years later has only added to Brady's legend. The league trying its best to get him out of the game on air pressure and he comes back goes 11-1, leads the 28-3 comeback in the SB and wins MVP.

Unfortunately the story will always include convicted of cheating

 

[Ring 6]

U.S. troops stumbled upon and were exposed to silos containing WWI-era mustard gas, technically a WMD.

IRAQ WAR JUSTIFIED!!!

Nah it was the madman who wouldn’t allow inspectors in to verify he hadn’t violated the restriction against building WMDs. Imagine ignoring that and being wrong

 

[sb1]

Unfortunately the story will always include convicted of cheating

He was acquitted by Judge Berman for that.

The NFL’s appeal was only successful because 2 out of 3 judges said they have to defer to the arbitator’s ruling as crooked as the arbitrator and the process might be.

 

[Triumph]

 

[Ice_Ice_Brady]

Brady himself said at the hearing to Goodell that he always destroys his old phones when he gets a new one. Why would it be any different for the particular phone that Wells wanted to examine? Note, I said examine, not take possession of. Wells merely wanted to have a computer guy search his texts and emails for keywords, and that this was to be done in front of Brady and his attorneys I assume. And then he destroyed his phone on the same day of his investigation. On what planet is that a good idea?

Brady shouldn't have to justify or explain why he didn't want to turn over - or give for examination - his phone or need to explain the circumstances of getting rid of it.

Requesting someone's personal property with no actual proabable cause for wanting it is contrary to any good faith investigative practice. It isn't the way an investigation works. You don't in good faith ask for someone's phone, computer, etc. as a catch-all wide net. It's no different than asking Brady "Would you volunteer to have your parents and some other relatives come talk to us?" Why on earth would he do that? It's no different than saying, "Hey, would you voluntarily let us come into your house for a few days while we comb it? We figure you'd want to prove your innocence."

You simply do not ask someone to voluntarily turn over a massive trove of information so that you can pick and poke away at it with the intent of searching for incriminating evidence. See the critcism by John Dowd, who investigated Pete Rose, about the unprofessional tactics used by Wells in reqeuesting the phone. The other aspect Dowd brings up is that in asking Brady to volunteer his phone, Wells did not present any consequences. That is, failing to volunatarily give one's personal property was not the scope of the investigation. It was presented to Brady as a choice if he wanted to use it to further prove his innocence, not as a demand which, if denied, would lead to a presumption of guilt or even more ridiculous, an obstruction of the investigation, which Goodell later argued in arbitration against..himself...and found his argument to be persausive to...himself.

No, this wasn't a legal proceeding and this wasn't law enforcement, but it brings up the very reason why search warrants require probable cause granted by an objective third-party, and why search warrants are often very limited in their scope, and why someone who opts not to voluntarily hand over their private propery, should not be seen as guilty by any extent of the law. It puts them in a crappy, no-win position, like we have here.

 

[Actual Pats Fan]

Regarding Brady not handing over his phone, it was the Players Union that objected to Wells/the NFL obtaining the phone. Naturally, they were protecting a players rights and did not want to set the precedent for a player handing over a personal phone for an NFL investigation. Wells/the NFL agreed.

It’s routine for celebrities who are followed by paparazzi to frequently get new phones. Brady is unusual for a football player in that other football players don’t have paparazzi following them everywhere. Brady’s wife is a much bigger star than he is world wide. She can’t go shopping or to the gym without paparazzi following her.

As Brady said, he gets a new phone every 3-4 months. He didn’t “destroy” it himself. He gave it to a personal assistant to dispose of and set up his new phone as he normally did.

It should have been a moot point anyway since the league had the phones of the other “culprits” and therefore all the relevant texts anyway. Plus Brady requested a history of his texts from the phone company who responded with a letter that they were unable to recover them.

Anyone harping over the word “destroyed” is just falling for the NFL’s propaganda.

Tom Brady:

"Oh my gosh, I wasn't supposed to replace my phone like I always do!!! I didn't realize!!! ... I also didn't gather, save and retain the whiskers left from my shaving for the last three months. I didn't realize they were relevant to the investigation. I didn't save any of my watermelon rinds, either. I just threw them away like I always do. Well, I blew it. I'm guilty. I can't prove I'm innocent..."

Brady is the model of an unselfish, team player who takes and accepts responsibility and is really a top role model in sports.

To some extent, after two decades, there's gotta be a voice inside him saying, "I don't need this. You don't need this. No other teams anywhere in professional sports get treated like this. I want to enjoy my last years playing having fun."

We should be eternally thankful Tom stayed here as long as he did. I would suggest to any and all Patriots fans to not be upset at all by any of it. Since 2007 we have proof positive that the league, media and opponents always have and always will have no limits to their baseless hatred, bottomless denigration, unwarranted disrespect, total corruption, complete ignorance of facts and reality and pure unbridled prejudice and bias.

Can we please forever put to bed the nonsense that this happens because we won? All the sh*t dumped on this team for forty years and we never won a championship. The crap was amped up before we even won our first official one. It's not Tom, it's not Bill Belichick and it's not Bob Kraft.

Billy Sullivan, yes, did cause much of the media criticism. But this morphed into denigration and belittlement of the team's on field accomplishments. Our. Local. Media. Sucks.

The Celtics? Okay, yes, all the winning (and Red's cigar) I get it, whatever. But the NBA didn't pay $millions and lie in court. The Bruins? Okay, so Art Skov said in 1972, "I'm gonna get your team!" and so yeah he did a couple years later, but that was one guy. Yes the NHL didn't like us but those guys who went up into the stands in MSG didn't do any time.

 

[sb1]

This still pisses me off. The league was trying to torch his reputation right down to the ashes over a fabrication.