Only way out

[GrogansArmy]

I know we all feel betrayed by Kraft today. I'm not sure about the rest of you all, but to me it was like a punch in the gut. For months now he seemed to be implying he would fight to the death for the Brady, the team, and the fans because he knew and believed all the accusations were untrue. Then all of a sudden, overnight, he just reverses course and capitulates and leaves everyone associated with the Patriots to hang out and dry.

That said, while in the short term we will have to hear from everyone, even some of our own, that we are cheaters and we deserve this punishment there is a light at the end of the tunnel:

Keep Winning.

I now understand the true meaning of Al Davis' motto "Just win, Baby". Its not just winning for winning's sake, but it's to shut up all the haters. Not just because winning feels good (of course it does!), but more because he and his team had become a pariah (which we are now and have been since spygate). To keep on winning even after rules had been changed to prevent you from winning, was the only thing that would shut everyone up.

This is what we need to do and I have faith in TB and BB that we will still keep on winning and pissing off the haters.

 

[Crazy Patriot Guy]

Then we'll simply be accused of something else and Kraft will bend over again for the league so as to not ruffle any feathers.

 

[PATS16N0]

We defend the team all the time like cornered animals but Kraft can't. Then he hugs Go-to-Hell after telling us to **** off.

How many 1st rounders have we lost since the start of our dynasty? 1 for signing Belichick? 1 for Crygate. 1 for PSI. This is the league just taking out our kneecaps so the have-nots can compete.

I just really can't picture myself emotionally invested after Brady is gone. League is too corrupt now.

 

[SoonerPatriot]

We defend the team all the time like cornered animals but Kraft can't. Then he hugs Go-to-Hell after telling us to **** off.

How many 1st rounders have we lost since the start of our dynasty? 1 for signing Belich? 1 for Crygate. 1 for PSI. This is the league just taking out our kneecaps so the have-nots can compete.

I just really can't picture myself emotionally invested after Brady is gone. League is too corrupt now.

It's the WWE without the integrity.

 

[IllegalContact]

I'm just glad I got to experience 4 super bowls.....

for the rest of my life I can be a cynic about the front office and just say they suck

 

[Soul_Survivor88]

I know we all feel betrayed by Kraft today, not sure about the rest of you all, but to me it was like a punch in the gut. For months now he seemed to be implying he would fight to the death for the Brady, the team, and the fans because he knew and believed all the accusations were untrue. Then all of a sudden, overnight, he just reverses course and capitulates and leaves everyone associated with the Patriots to hang out and dry.

That said, while in the short term we will have to hear from everyone, even some of our own, that we are cheaters and we deserve this punishment there is a light at the end of the tunnel:

Keep Winning.

I now understand the true meaning of Al Davis' motto "Just win, Baby". Its not just winning for winning's sake, but it's to shut up all the haters. Not just because winning feels good (of course it does!), but more because he and his team had become a pariah (which we are now and have been since spygate) and winning was the only thing that would shut everyone up.

The problem is that the season doesn't start for several months... and in the meantime, this story will only continue to fester...as long as the Patriots are discussed, the image of us being cheaters will simmer in the minds of many across the country.

There's a good chance that if Brady takes the NFL to court, his name will be cleared, and maybe some good will come out of this mess

 

[Koma]

Then we'll simply be accused of something else and Kraft will bend over again for the league so as to not ruffle any feathers.

Gronk will be found to have been wearing non-approved shoelaces or the league will determine that the field turf at Gillette hasn't been regularly mowed, as per league standards. Whatever it is, it will be the treated at the most important matter in NFL history, until someone else does it.

 

[PATS16N0]

Gronk will be found to have been wearing non-approved shoelaces or the league will determine that the field turf at Gillette hasn't been regularly mowed, as per league standards. Whatever it is, it will be the treated at the most important matter in NFL history, until someone else does it.

Shoelacegate.

The media could make it work. I can already picture Shannon Sharpe yelling "When I was playing Tight End, I didn't need to use illegal shoelaces. I respected the integrity of the game."

 

[Calhoun44]

"The only way out" thread title implies that we are trapped in something. I don't feel trapped. I do feel bad about the injustice done to the team I root for, but damn folks it is only a game. I enjoy the competition and the excitement of all the victories this team has celebrated. I agree it would be nice to have the cherry on top of others respecting what we as fans get to honor every time they win, but I don't think it will ever happen even if this whole mess were somehow to get cleaned up. I am just gonna keep on enjoying the ride without my cherry on top.

 

[GrogansArmy]

I understand all of your frustrations and I feel the same way, but recall that after some time had passed after spygate and we kept winning, only the most ardent haters didn't recognize our accomplishments. While those same haters used not winning a SB as evidence of that we couldn't win without video taping, MOST of the rest of the country respected us and were scared to play us, because we kept winning even after spygate.

Proof: Ticket prices soar for every game that the Patriots are the visiting team.

 

[Gwedd]

Gronk will be found to have been wearing non-approved shoelaces or the league will determine that the field turf at Gillette hasn't been regularly mowed, as per league standards. Whatever it is, it will be the treated at the most important matter in NFL history, until someone else does it.

It's like I posted on another thread... Kipling wrote "The problem with paying the Dane Geld, is you never get rid of the Dane." They're like the mob. The league basically said to Kraft "Nice franchise you got there. Shame if something happened to it." Kraft refused to kowtow at first, and demanded an apology. The next thing you know, Goodell and his thug monkeys lay a smackdown on him and the team. 1st round pick gone. Million dollars gone. QB gone for 4 games. Etc. So like a good little Neville Chamberlain, Kraft bows to the bullies and says "we reluctantly accept this" just like Chamberlain claimed his pact with the German Chancellor would lead to "Peace in our time!"

Well to h3ll with that, and to h3ll with Kraft. I've had it with his spineless conduct. He's cheated all of us, all of his fanbase by caving to these baseless claims and outright extortion by the commissioner and his enablers.

More than 40 years I have stood by this team. I was there when they were a sorry excuse for a team, and there for all the glory days, and now this despicable little man, this faux fan who bought this great team, sold us all down the river. He played us all for fools, and for what? To fatten his wallet?

What kind of a legacy will this cowardly, spineless, gutless little man leave for his family? For New England? For football? Good lord, for the rest of his business dealings?

So I will watch the games on TV. But I will not buy a damned thing from the Patriots pro shop. Nothing branded from the NFL ever again. I'll not buy tickets to the games, nor support any Patriots charities. Not. One. More. Dime.

I will tell my friends that if they must buy Patriots gear, to buy it second hand through places like ebay, or buy the knockoffs from China or Pakistan or Bangladesh, but to NEVER ever ever buy from an official NFL or Patriots source.

I am writing a personal letter to Robert kraft. I doubt he'll read it. He'll have one of his lackeys read it if it ever gets that close to him. But I'll write it anyway. I will be firm, but polite. I'll tell him how betrayed I feel. I'll question why any of his players could give him their all when he refused to do his job and stand up for his team, and for the Patriots Nation.

Anyway, that's my rant for the time being. Thanks for reading this. I'm tired, and hurt, and disgusted at being played for a sap by some I trusted.

 

[supafly]

I understand all of your frustrations and I feel the same way, but recall that after some time had passed after spygate and we kept winning, only the most ardent haters didn't recognize our accomplishments. While those same haters used not winning a SB as evidence of that we couldn't win without video taping, MOST of the rest of the country respected us and were scared to play us, because we kept winning even after spygate.

Proof: Ticket prices soar for every game that the Patriots are the visiting team.

At the end of the day, yes--winning can be the cure all for the next handful of years down the road. At the moment, I don't believe that there are too many here who can be patient enough to realize that at this current moment though. It's more about the "suffering" (and I use that term very loosely) in the here and now.

In the bigger picture of things, as long as the team continues to win, your prediction will come true, and you'll have a very valid point. Of course, the fact that Brady is in his back nine may prove to be much different from 2007, and let's not forget the fact that 2008, 2009, and even 2010 all saw a total of zero postseason wins, so it wasn't quite as dominant as you're suggesting.

 

[IllegalContact]

well......if nothing else will convince you, Borges said Kraft did the right thing

 

[Tunescribe]

I know we all feel betrayed by Kraft today. I'm not sure about the rest of you all, but to me it was like a punch in the gut. For months now he seemed to be implying he would fight to the death for the Brady, the team, and the fans because he knew and believed all the accusations were untrue. Then all of a sudden, overnight, he just reverses course and capitulates and leaves everyone associated with the Patriots to hang out and dry.

That said, while in the short term we will have to hear from everyone, even some of our own, that we are cheaters and we deserve this punishment there is a light at the end of the tunnel:

Keep Winning.

I now understand the true meaning of Al Davis' motto "Just win, Baby". Its not just winning for winning's sake, but it's to shut up all the haters. Not just because winning feels good (of course it does!), but more because he and his team had become a pariah (which we are now and have been since spygate). To keep on winning even after rules had been changed to prevent you from winning, was the only thing that would shut everyone up.

This is what we need to do and I have faith in TB and BB that we will still keep on winning and pissing off the haters.

It's going to be hard to do that with our quarterback out four games. Seriously, if Brady's full suspension is upheld and the Pats go 1-3 to start the season, it could be difficult just winning the division. The league wanted the Patriots stopped NOW (Brady suspension) and in the FUTURE (lost draft picks). They contrived a way to do it. This will be BB's biggest challenge yet.

 

[PATS16N0]

"The only way out" thread title implies that we are trapped in something. I don't feel trapped. I do feel bad about the injustice done to the team I root for, but damn folks it is only a game. I enjoy the competition and the excitement of all the victories this team has celebrated. I agree it would be nice to have the cherry on top of others respecting what we as fans get to honor every time they win, but I don't think it will ever happen even if this whole mess were somehow to get cleaned up. I am just gonna keep on enjoying the ride without my cherry on top.

This is actually more than a game. Football is a game. This is politics and culture.

The politics of corruption and the culture of witch hunts and condemning good men based on innuendo.

Brady won't give up his phone so he's guilty. I have to laugh when a society starts turning its own rights against people. 21st century America is going to be a really miserable place to live for anyone who possesses the following:

1. Empathy.

2. A functioning brain.

The attacks on Brady are really just a microcosm of the culture at large.

 

[slash83]

Whoever goes to watch Krafts team play is a sellout.

 

[ctpatsfan77]

It's going to be hard to do that with our quarterback out four games. Seriously, if Brady's full suspension is upheld and the Pats go 1-3 to start the season, it could be difficult just winning the division. The league wanted the Patriots stopped NOW (Brady suspension) and in the FUTURE (lost draft picks). They contrived a way to do it. This will be BB's biggest challenge yet.

It's more likely that either Brady isn't suspended, or the Pats go 2–2 or better. I have faith in the Garoppolo.

 

[VectorPrime]

I understand all of your frustrations and I feel the same way, but recall that after some time had passed after spygate and we kept winning, only the most ardent haters didn't recognize our accomplishments. While those same haters used not winning a SB as evidence of that we couldn't win without video taping, MOST of the rest of the country respected us and were scared to play us, because we kept winning even after spygate.

Proof: Ticket prices soar for every game that the Patriots are the visiting team.

Problem is Brady is no longer 30 and doesn't have a decade for people to forgive and forget a second time. Belichick too.

That's an extra kick in the balls to all this. Prior to deflategate other fans were finally warming up to the Pats again. They had begun to recognize that Spygate was overblown. The concept of the Pats winning it all again became palatable to them, and many even wanted it because they wanted to see the greatness of Brady winning a 4th. All that has been thrown out the window and then some. It's worse than 2007 ever was.

 

[supafly]

well......if nothing else will convince you, Borges said Kraft did the right thing

Okay, now I'm scared

I don't think that Kraft "did the right thing," but I do think that his options were a LOT more limited than about 90 percent here figured them to be, and that the big picture situation doesn't change in the slightest.

 

[supafly]

Problem is Brady is no longer 30 and doesn't have a decade for people to forgive and forget a second time. Belichick too.

That's an extra kick in the balls to all this. Prior to deflategate other fans were finally warming up to the Pats again. They had begun to recognize that Spygate was overblown. The concept of the Pats winning it all again became palatable to them, and many even wanted it because they wanted to see the greatness of Brady winning a 4th. All that has been thrown out the window and then some. It's worse than 2007 ever was.

We could be the Jacksonville Jaguars or the NY Jets.

After all, we've been to 4 consecutive AFCCG's and have a reasonable shot at returning to a 5th. It sucks, but it could be much worse.