OT: Dolphins Owner Steven Ross Suspended, Picks Forfeited, For Tampering With Brady, Payton

Bill Lee said:

You asked a question, then when you didn't get the answer you wanted you accused someone else of raising a "deflection", while all along your "question" was a textook "deflection".

OT: Dolphins Owner Steven Ross Suspended, Picks Forfeited, For Tampering With Brady, Payton

Both sides have their responsibility. I always find too easy when the management or the fans put the onus on the employee or the player to always have the right attitude regardless of all the sh*t they have to deal with. When you come to the point where you piss off the best player in nfl...

www.patsfans.com

Look in the mirror...

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I didn't get the answer to my question

PatsWSB47 said:

Your honor, everything he just said is BS. I asked where the sanctimonious moral outrage was when we benefitted from tampering. Miami tampered with Brady and Brady engaged with them. Torches and pitch forks to the streets!!! Brady never left to go to Miami. Talks were talks. Blount immediately landed on the Pats after "talks" I think Anyone who claims that wasn't very likely is being disingenuous. Tampering happened and we benefitted.

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Thats ********.

There is no way Belichick was playing the tamper game during the 2014 season with Blount. Absolute Zero Chance of that happening. Belichick was burned by the league for spygate - and a lot of people around the league thought the punishment was too light - and they are still out for his blood - To This Day. The zeal with which the league investigators tried to tie Belichick to both the Bengals "spygate II" and to "deflategate" should tell you as much. The league spent a year ... a full year ... trying to tie BB to spygate II... I gotta say it again - A year investigating that bull crap. Think about that. Belichick tampering during the season for a running back? You have got to be ****ing kidding me.

PatsWSB47 said:

Didn't have to if we knew he was going to what he did before hand so we could jump in first.

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Mountain of ifs in your “proof”

PatsWSB47 said:

I didn't get the answer to my question

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You got an answer, a true one, you just didn’t get anyone to fall into your trap of calling speculation fact.

PatsWSB47 said:

No doubt Miami exploitted and embellished all of Brady's discontent but I'm pretty sure Brady was already soured on the Pats. Garopollo, SB 52, singling him out in team meetings etc.

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Garopollo was a non issue, always was, just a case of people making up
something to create drama.
Going to 4 SBs in 5 years and losing one of them isn’t a reason for “discontent”.
He was coached the same was for 20 years.

Something changed.

Lagaffe_07 said:

The tampering began after the Patriots created discord with Brady on their own. The number of false narrative your create in your mind is quite impressive

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They went to 4 Sbs in the 5 years prior and won 3 of them.
Discord is in your mind.

RobertWeathers said:

I'm not trying to be evasive but in all honesty I don't know. The Squealers cut him and either LG called NE or upon hearing the news NE called his agent.

I think that scenario is far more likely than LG texting BB and asking for advice on how to shoot his way out of Pitt or BB doing the same in the inverse.

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His argument is ridiculous on its face. Blount was a cut in the middle of the season. He had to clear waivers. Anyone above the Patriots on the waiver wire could have claimed him

PatsWSB47 said:

Didn't have to if we knew he was going to what he did before hand so we could jump in first.

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He was cut. He had to go thru waivers. Period. End of story. There was no "didn't have to" ... That's not how the league works.

Ring 6 said:

They went to 4 Sbs in the 5 years prior and won 3 of them.
Discord is in your mind.

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Brady started to be unhappy with Bill after BB put personal matter before what was best for the team in SB 52 and threw away a SB while Brady was putting historical numbers. For that matter Gronk was pissed too that’s why Bill tried to trade him two month later.

You really need to stop the boose

Lagaffe_07 said:

Brady started to be unhappy with Bill after BB put personal matter before what was best for the team in SB 52 and threw away a SB while Brady was putting historical numbers. For that matter Gronk was pissed too that’s why Bill tried to trade him two month later.

You really need to stop the boose

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Did Brady tell you that?
That’s what we are down to now, your argument is what you think was in Brady’s mind on something he never commented on?
And his is it a personal matter? You making that up too? Did you miss Butler admitting he lost his spot by sucking in practice and not being prepared?

Gronk was “traded” because Gronk wouldn’t give a decision about whether he was retiring and was making a mockery of it, so BB forced his hand. If he was so pissed why did he come back?

What’s next, Brady left because Belichick called Giselle a slut?

Pape said:

Thats ********.

There is no way Belichick was playing the tamper game during the 2014 season with Blount. Absolute Zero Chance of that happening. Belichick was burned by the league for spygate - and a lot of people around the league thought the punishment was too light - and they are still out for his blood - To This Day. The zeal with which the league investigators tried to tie Belichick to both the Bengals "spygate II" and to "deflategate" should tell you as much. The league spent a year ... a full year ... trying to tie BB to spygate II... I gotta say it again - A year investigating that bull crap. Think about that. Belichick tampering during the season for a running back? You have got to be ****ing kidding me.

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Blount was asked if he knew he’d have a job waiting in New England if he and the Steelers parted. Blount offered no answer. Pressed again, he offered: “I didn’t know nothin’.”
He did reveal one very telling thing, though: He was in almost constant contact with his former Patriots teammates, especially running back Stevan Ridley.

“I stayed close with a lot of guys,” Blount said. “I stayed close with Ridley. I stayed close with Shane [Vereen]. I stayed close with all of my running backs. I stayed close with Devin [McCourty]. I stayed close with a lot of guys. Like I said, it’s a close-knit team. It’s really like a brotherhood.

“They supported me through everything that I’ve been through.”
Blount also wouldn’t say how quickly Belichick reached out after he was cut. “He just said, ‘Be ready to go,'” Blount said.


I didn't invent the whole thing. I think it's more likely than not the Pats knew of the trouble brewing in Pittsburg and plenty of Pats players had to be aware of Blount's feelings about landing back here. I thinks its unlikely they all kept it a secret from coaches. And It's not a big stretch to imagine that most teams wouldn't want to take a chance on a disgruntled player that walked out on his team. Nor is it a big stretch to imagine him being welcome back here especially since he was a good teammate here and his side of the story very may have been communicated to the "lots of guys" Blount said he stayed close to. Of course I cant prove this but why is it so hard to swallow that the Pats would let him know he'd be welcome back here?

PatsWSB47 said:

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/early-lead/wp/2015/01/29/legarrette-blount-is-at-the-center-of-latest-patriots-conspiracy-theory/

Blount was asked if he knew he’d have a job waiting in New England if he and the Steelers parted. Blount offered no answer. Pressed again, he offered: “I didn’t know nothin’.”
He did reveal one very telling thing, though: He was in almost constant contact with his former Patriots teammates, especially running back Stevan Ridley.

“I stayed close with a lot of guys,” Blount said. “I stayed close with Ridley. I stayed close with Shane [Vereen]. I stayed close with all of my running backs. I stayed close with Devin [McCourty]. I stayed close with a lot of guys. Like I said, it’s a close-knit team. It’s really like a brotherhood.

“They supported me through everything that I’ve been through.”
Blount also wouldn’t say how quickly Belichick reached out after he was cut. “He just said, ‘Be ready to go,'” Blount said.


I didn't invent the whole thing. I think it's more likely than not the Pats knew of the trouble brewing in Pittsburg and plenty of Pats players had to be aware of Blount's feelings about landing back here. I thinks its unlikely they all kept it a secret from coaches. And It's not a big stretch to imagine that most teams wouldn't want to take a chance on a disgruntled player that walked out on his team. Nor is it a big stretch to imagine him being welcome back here especially since he was a good teammate here and his side of the story very may have been communicated to the "lots of guys" Blount said he stayed close to. Of course I cant prove this but why is it so hard to swallow that the Pats would let him know he'd be welcome back here?

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No one forced the steelers to release him. We just saw deshaun watson make ten million dollars after refusing to play for the texans. Nothing BB or the Patriots could have said or done could have forced pittsburgh hand. Blount quit on the steelers because Todd Haley ****ed him and featured Leveon Bell as the steelers #1. Read more of that stuff - he had enough when Haley didnt call his number once in the steeler game vs the titans...

Blount talking to players is not tampering.

Blount talking to the Patriots after his release is not tampering.

Belichick talking to Blount after he was released is not tampering. You did read the part that said "after he was cut", right? As soon as the paperwork hits the league, any player is fair game.

Is it smart to call the player and tell them if you clear waivers, we will bring you back? It is.

And the final nail - The Patriots didn't claim him off of waivers. They waited until he was a free agent, and able to sign anywhere, with anyone. They let the process play out - above board. Think BB is so stupid that he would risk getting suspended and fined by the league for doing something like that? Think he is so stupid he'd give the league ammunition to strip even more draft picks from the Pats? Because we both know that is exactly what would have happened.

PatsWSB47 said:

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/early-lead/wp/2015/01/29/legarrette-blount-is-at-the-center-of-latest-patriots-conspiracy-theory/

Blount was asked if he knew he’d have a job waiting in New England if he and the Steelers parted. Blount offered no answer. Pressed again, he offered: “I didn’t know nothin’.”
He did reveal one very telling thing, though: He was in almost constant contact with his former Patriots teammates, especially running back Stevan Ridley.

“I stayed close with a lot of guys,” Blount said. “I stayed close with Ridley. I stayed close with Shane [Vereen]. I stayed close with all of my running backs. I stayed close with Devin [McCourty]. I stayed close with a lot of guys. Like I said, it’s a close-knit team. It’s really like a brotherhood.

“They supported me through everything that I’ve been through.”
Blount also wouldn’t say how quickly Belichick reached out after he was cut. “He just said, ‘Be ready to go,'” Blount said.


I didn't invent the whole thing. I think it's more likely than not the Pats knew of the trouble brewing in Pittsburg and plenty of Pats players had to be aware of Blount's feelings about landing back here. I thinks its unlikely they all kept it a secret from coaches. And It's not a big stretch to imagine that most teams wouldn't want to take a chance on a disgruntled player that walked out on his team. Nor is it a big stretch to imagine him being welcome back here especially since he was a good teammate here and his side of the story very may have been communicated to the "lots of guys" Blount said he stayed close to. Of course I cant prove this but why is it so hard to swallow that the Pats would let him know he'd be welcome back here?

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There is no rule against speaking to former teammates.
What EXACTLY are you saying you think happened?

Did the Patriots tamper with Antonio Brown?
Less than five hours after being released from the Oakland Raiders, wide receiver Antonio Brown signed with the New England Patriots—a team that has pursued him since March. Because of Antonio Brown's suspect behavior throughout his time with the Raiders, many feel the Pats played a hand in his release and should be investigated for tampering. However, the NFL is not pursuing any investigation. Plus, New England doesn't need to tamper to convince players to play for them.

Most teams will cover their tracks pretty well when tampering, but the Pats dirty laundry is out in the open thanks to Antonio Brown's antics. There is no way a sane human would fight that hard for a helmet with $30 million on the line, illegally wiretap their coach and post a fine letter on social media to criticize their boss. Brown obviously wanted to be released so he could go to the Patriots.
The signs are all there. The team already may have tampered to get LaGarrett Blount back on their team after being released by the Steelers in 2015. The Patriots have had a sordid history of cheating from Spygate to Deflategate, and working to get AB before he was actually available is not only within the realm of possibility, it's probable.

Patriots Signing Part of an NFL Long Con for the Ages?​

After Brown was cut, it was widely joked that he would join the Patriots, due to their history of having outrageously good things happen to them and their reputation for signing talented players with controversial backgrounds to low-risk deals. I even joked about this in a story about Brown’s release! Still, it was stunning to see it happen, and happen so quickly. Too quickly, many believe. You’d think that Brown would have remained a free agent long enough to weigh offers from various teams, perhaps even visiting some that were interested in signing him. Apparently not! Five hours and two minutes passed between Adam Schefter’s tweet announcing Brown’s release and the tweet announcing the details of his new Patriots contract. He literally could not have flown from Oakland to Boston in that time. It all wrapped up too neatly, too easily, too expeditiously.

The Suspicious Pittsburgh-to–New England Pipeline​

On November 18, Pittsburgh cut him. On November 20, he signed with the Patriots. On November 23, he ran for 78 yards with two touchdowns in New England’s 34-9 rout of the Lions. On January 18, he dominated in the AFC championship game against the Colts, and on February 1 he led the Patriots in carries in their Super Bowl win over the Seahawks.
Ahead of that Super Bowl, Blount was bluntly asked whether he tried to get cut by the Steelers with the understanding that he could always sign with New England if things went south. He didn’t exactly deny the allegation. Charles Robinson of Yahoo Sports reported that Blount smiled, laughed, and said, “I didn’t know nothing,” when asked whether he knew that he would sign with the Pats if the Steelers cut him loose. Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk reported that Blount said “it doesn’t matter” when asked whether he had tried to get cut by the Steelers, and Ed Bouchette of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette laid out why it would be virtually impossible for the league to catch one of its teams tampering this way. “No one would know except the agent and the other team’s rep,” Bouchette wrote.
It was never proved that anything fishy happened between Blount and the Patriots. The NFL didn’t even investigate the potential tampering charges. But three years later, a similar situation unfolded. James Harrison, the onetime defensive player of the year who spent 14 of his 15 NFL seasons with Pittsburgh, fell out of the team’s plans in 2017 and grew increasingly frustrated with the franchise. He says he asked the team to cut him three times during that season, and his teammates made the case that he also tried to get cut via his actions, as Harrison skipped several practices, slept (and snored) through meetings, and didn’t join the rest of the Steelers on a trip to visit injured teammate Ryan Shazier in the hospital. On December 23, Harrison was finally cut by Pittsburgh; on December 26, Harrison signed with the Patriots, and went on to play in New England’s regular-season finale.
There weren’t any cries of collusion when Harrison signed with the Pats. However, this seems relevant because Harrison is still friends with Antonio Brown. At the end of the 2018 season, when Brown was feuding with the Pittsburgh coaching staff, the two even filmed a series of videos together, with Brown promising to give Harrison scoops on his fallout with the team.



I'm not posting this stuff to try and expose the Pats as cheaters. I've spent since 2007 defending them and I wont stop doing that. Every team tampers. Every team. So now Tom Brady gets involved with something that's been done league wide for as long as the tampering rule has been in place. Suddenly now everyone on this board that has had a hair across their azz has become sanctimonious and morally outraged. Tom's the debil.

PatsWSB47 said:

Didn't have to if we knew he was going to what he did before hand so we could jump in first.

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So you willfully agree that BB convinced ever other team to not pick Blount off waivers, and tell them he would be the first at the table once he hit FA? Who was talking to him?

XLIX said:

LOL yeah I called him out for that idiotic comment too. I have been posting to forums like this for about 25 years and can say that until now, I have never seen a player being criticized for wanting to win rings.... everytime I think I have seen it all, someone manages to lower the bar just a wee bit more....

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Can you believe someone was so vulgar and classless to call Brady a...wait for it....cover your children's ears.....he called Brady a Ring Chaser.

Yikes. How does this forum not censor such a vile insult.

Ring Chaser. Most unintentionally funny thing I have read in a long time.

Noexcusesfornumber5 said:

So you willfully agree that BB convinced ever other team to not pick Blount off waivers, and tell them he would be the first at the table once he hit FA? Who was talking to him?

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Read the article i posted. It says it would be virtually impossible for the league to discover tampering in a case like that.....and its quite plausible that the teams ahead of the Pats wouldn't want a malcontent who walked out on his team where a team aware of the plan would be left standing to take him. Anyway I'm not trying to make a legal case that the Pats definitely tampered with Blount My point is that all teams tamper and everyone knows it. I just tried to show a few instances where it was plausible. Im not the only one thise the 3 article i posted. Now that its Brady in the headline it seems his involvement is the work of the devil.

PatsWSB47 said:

Did the Patriots tamper with Antonio Brown? | The Tylt

Less than five hours after being released from the Oakland Raiders, wide receiver Antonio Brown signed with the New England Patriots

thetylt.com

Did the Patriots tamper with Antonio Brown?
Less than five hours after being released from the Oakland Raiders, wide receiver Antonio Brown signed with the New England Patriots—a team that has pursued him since March. Because of Antonio Brown's suspect behavior throughout his time with the Raiders, many feel the Pats played a hand in his release and should be investigated for tampering. However, the NFL is not pursuing any investigation. Plus, New England doesn't need to tamper to convince players to play for them.

Most teams will cover their tracks pretty well when tampering, but the Pats dirty laundry is out in the open thanks to Antonio Brown's antics. There is no way a sane human would fight that hard for a helmet with $30 million on the line, illegally wiretap their coach and post a fine letter on social media to criticize their boss. Brown obviously wanted to be released so he could go to the Patriots.
The signs are all there. The team already may have tampered to get LaGarrett Blount back on their team after being released by the Steelers in 2015. The Patriots have had a sordid history of cheating from Spygate to Deflategate, and working to get AB before he was actually available is not only within the realm of possibility, it's probable.

Was Antonio Brown’s Patriots Signing Part of an NFL Long Con for the Ages?

The All-Pro wide receiver’s move to New England sent shock waves across the league. It’s also prompting us to view his Raiders antics in an entirely different light.

www.theringer.com

Patriots Signing Part of an NFL Long Con for the Ages?​

After Brown was cut, it was widely joked that he would join the Patriots, due to their history of having outrageously good things happen to them and their reputation for signing talented players with controversial backgrounds to low-risk deals. I even joked about this in a story about Brown’s release! Still, it was stunning to see it happen, and happen so quickly. Too quickly, many believe. You’d think that Brown would have remained a free agent long enough to weigh offers from various teams, perhaps even visiting some that were interested in signing him. Apparently not! Five hours and two minutes passed between Adam Schefter’s tweet announcing Brown’s release and the tweet announcing the details of his new Patriots contract. He literally could not have flown from Oakland to Boston in that time. It all wrapped up too neatly, too easily, too expeditiously.

The Suspicious Pittsburgh-to–New England Pipeline​

On November 18, Pittsburgh cut him. On November 20, he signed with the Patriots. On November 23, he ran for 78 yards with two touchdowns in New England’s 34-9 rout of the Lions. On January 18, he dominated in the AFC championship game against the Colts, and on February 1 he led the Patriots in carries in their Super Bowl win over the Seahawks.
Ahead of that Super Bowl, Blount was bluntly asked whether he tried to get cut by the Steelers with the understanding that he could always sign with New England if things went south. He didn’t exactly deny the allegation. Charles Robinson of Yahoo Sports reported that Blount smiled, laughed, and said, “I didn’t know nothing,” when asked whether he knew that he would sign with the Pats if the Steelers cut him loose. Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk reported that Blount said “it doesn’t matter” when asked whether he had tried to get cut by the Steelers, and Ed Bouchette of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette laid out why it would be virtually impossible for the league to catch one of its teams tampering this way. “No one would know except the agent and the other team’s rep,” Bouchette wrote.
It was never proved that anything fishy happened between Blount and the Patriots. The NFL didn’t even investigate the potential tampering charges. But three years later, a similar situation unfolded. James Harrison, the onetime defensive player of the year who spent 14 of his 15 NFL seasons with Pittsburgh, fell out of the team’s plans in 2017 and grew increasingly frustrated with the franchise. He says he asked the team to cut him three times during that season, and his teammates made the case that he also tried to get cut via his actions, as Harrison skipped several practices, slept (and snored) through meetings, and didn’t join the rest of the Steelers on a trip to visit injured teammate Ryan Shazier in the hospital. On December 23, Harrison was finally cut by Pittsburgh; on December 26, Harrison signed with the Patriots, and went on to play in New England’s regular-season finale.
There weren’t any cries of collusion when Harrison signed with the Pats. However, this seems relevant because Harrison is still friends with Antonio Brown. At the end of the 2018 season, when Brown was feuding with the Pittsburgh coaching staff, the two even filmed a series of videos together, with Brown promising to give Harrison scoops on his fallout with the team.



I'm not posting this stuff to try and expose the Pats as cheaters. I've spent since 2007 defending them and I wont stop doing that. Every team tampers. Every team. So now Tom Brady gets involved with something that's been done league wide for as long as the tampering rule has been in place. Suddenly now everyone on this board that has had a hair across their azz has become sanctimonious and morally outraged. Tom's the debil.

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"Im not posting this stuff to try and expose the Pats as cheaters... but its exactly what I'm implying..."

Jesus ... Man, you are jumping thru every hoop, posting every bit of innuendo you can find trying to prove beyond a doubt that the Patriots have tampered with players in the hopes that it absolves Tamper Brady ...

Guess what - it doesn't. Tom Brady made a shi tty play in talking with the lieami dolphins multiple times over the course of 2019.

Nothing you say can or will make it alright because "we (maybe) did it too"

Folks defending Brady and dismissing his actions as harmless should engage in a simple exercise:

Ask yourself how you would perceive this situation - a player under contract with their current team engaging in specific, detailed, and ongoing contract discussions with a division rival over the course of 4-6+ months, beginning during training camp and continuing throughout the entirety of the regular and post season - if that player was Aaron Rodgers.

I'd be curious what thoughts and feelings such a scenario would evoke. Perhaps I'm wrong, but my sense is that Rodgers would be (rightfully) lambasted by nearly poster here, and if this hypothetical scenario had happened during the year 2015, for instance, I'd imagine there would be a frequent narrative along the lines of: "Can you imagine Brady doing THIS type of thing? Sleazy backdoor meetings on yachts? Throwing in the towel on his current team? No way! That's what sets him apart from Rodgers, that's what makes Brady the GOAT, that's the mentality, discipline, and outlook that makes him so good! Brady has character. Rodgers is an ego-driven diva who only cares about himself."

And I'd agree with that; I'd be one of the people saying those things because I think that's all true. If you have presented me with this situation as a hypothetical, before it happened, and asked me if Brady would be above doing this type of thing, I would have said "yes, he is". I'm disappointed that I was wrong, not because I feel personally wronged by Tom Brady, but because what he did was lousy.