Revisiting Brady since Deflategate

[ivanvamp]

Starting with the second half of the Colts-Pats AFCCG, here's what Brady has done:

2014: 49-64 (76.6%), 459 yds, 6 td, 2 int, Pats go 2-0, win Super Bowl
2015: 402-624 (64.4%), 4,770 yds, 36 td, 7 int, Pats go 12-4, lose in AFCCG
2016: 291-432 (67.4%), 3,554 yds, 28 td, 2 int, Pats go 14-2 (11-1 with Brady), win Super Bowl

Totals: 742-1,120 (66.3%), 8,783 yds, 70 td, 11 int, 106.7 rating
Patriots go 28-6 (25-5 with Brady, including 6-1 in the playoffs), winning 2 Super Bowls

Oh but those "deflated" footballs must have been the reason for all his success, right?

Sorry to go back here, but another post in another thread got me thinking about this all over again. Basically, since Brady was accused of being a cheater, and since the NFL really began cracking down on football deflation (hahahahaha), Brady has been nothing short of....insanely good.

 

[farn]

Not sorry. Would want to hear running stats everyday.

 

[PP2]

Very convincing stats and an obvious refutation of any cheating accusations.

But pretty much nobody outside of New England is going to listen to reason. I'd say that most football fans would rather cling to the notion that this team has been cheating from day one because of the fantasy that "if those Patriots could stop cheating, or at least get busted, then my team would have a realistic shot."

It's a better scenario for them to entertain than the blunt reality that the Patriots are just a supremely competent franchise, from top to bottom and there are maybe just one or two other teams anywhere close to being as efficient and the rest are nowhere close, and screwed for infinity because almost all owners are too egotistic to delegate and believe that the more money you throw at a problem, the faster it goes away.

 

[borisman]

It should be noted that those stats came during his 38th and 39th years of age. I don't think anyone can match that. If there was a decline in his production you know people would have been all over it. I'm so glad he and the Pats kicked much ass since the "Mort (ahem, Kensil) Tweet". They should have measured how much air pressure every team lost after getting waxed by the Pats. My guess is 11 out of every 12.
So much for comparison to PED use.

 

[Jackson 2]

Very convincing stats and an obvious refutation of any cheating accusations.

But pretty much nobody outside of New England is going to listen to reason. I'd say that most football fans would rather cling to the notion that this team has been cheating from day one because of the fantasy that "if those Patriots could stop cheating, or at least get busted, then my team would have a realistic shot."

It's a better scenario for them to entertain than the blunt reality that the Patriots are just a supremely competent franchise, from top to bottom and there are maybe just one or two other teams anywhere close to being as efficient and the rest are nowhere close, and screwed for infinity because almost all owners are too egotistic to delegate and believe that the more money you throw at a problem, the faster it goes away.

Agreed. The knee-jerk reaction of many fans outside NE is that Brady and the Patriots have undoubtedly found another way to cheat.

 

[oldrover]

 

[signbabybrady]

Seems as though the accusations lit a fire under someone who was already the GOAT without the added motivation.

 

[Mike the Brit]

The narrative I hear these days is "Yes, Deflategate was ********, but Goodell covered up for the Pats over Spygate. So this was a make-up call."

The Wickersham-BSPN stuff is what the haters I meet have retreated to.

 

[BelichickFan]

I still wonder if the Patriots didn't know about the effect the Ideal Gas Law would have on a football. With Bill and Ernie it seems unlikely but the stats are what they are. We know Brady liked the balls inflated to the lower end of the legal range. Playing in NE and other Northeast games, he would have inadvertently played a lot of games with underinflated balls later in the season. Say what you want about BSGate but it made players, teams and the league aware of the physics of the ball. Now that they re-inflate under inflated balls at halftime, Brady is playing with more consistent balls. My guess is that's why the numbers are so good.

Of course this would benefit other QB too but many play in conditions in which the IGL wouldn't have as big an effect (domes, warmer weather) and others start with more inflated balls (Rodgers). Brady, ironically, was in the most vulnerable situation, starting with a ball at the lower end and playing in a lot of cold, rainy weather games.

 

[XLIX]

I enjoy how the moron haters have to keep their traps shut when you KNOW they were dying for the chance to say things like "look how much his play declined since they started checking the air pressure!!"

 

[ivanvamp]

Phil Simms mentioned on the air Aaron Rodgers' preference for over-inflated footballs. His four seasons prior to Deflategate, averaged out to a 16-game season:

357-533 (67.0%), 4,530 yds, 40 td, 7 int, 112.6 rating

Two seasons since Deflategate (when the NFL is now being diligent to make sure that footballs are the correct psi...haha), averaged out to a 16-game season:

374-591 (63.3%), 4,124 yds, 36 td, 8 int, 98.6 rating

If those were Brady's numbers, guess what the national media and critics would be saying?

 

[PATSYLICIOUS]

Maybe we should thank the colts?? Thanks ******s!!

 

[TheFlyingWedge]

Brady's success since deflategate only raises questions about what rules he must be breaking now in order to achieve his success. Some sort of shenanigans must be in play! Surely, one could not attribute his success to being a skilled quarterback.

 

[Oswlek]

Impressive. Just imagine how good those numbers would be if Brady weren't a system quarterback!

 

[Koma]

The narrative I hear these days is "Yes, Deflategate was ********, but Goodell covered up for the Pats over Spygate. So this was a make-up call."

The Wickersham-BSPN stuff is what the haters I meet have retreated to.

The thought process, or lack thereof, of the haters is something to behold. Enough of them have realized that they'll appear foolish if they claim the league was on the level with deflategate, but they still cling to spygate without realizing that stance makes even less sense.

I could understand someone's approach if they believed the NFL 100%, in all cases. They'd be wrong and closeminded, but at least they be consistent. It's more absurd to say "Oh yeah, that deflated footballs thing was BS. But the other time the league made a big deal out of nothing and over-punished the team, that was legit." The possibility that both situations were BS never occurs to them.

Not to mention that they have no issue with the leadership of a sports league holding a grudge and waiting almost a decade for a chance to hobble a team because their last attempt wasn't as effective as they hoped. Is the "make-up call" by the NFL done now? Or do they reserve the right to take away a first round pick because Gronk's arm pad is a nanometer too long?

 

[Mike the Brit]

The thought process, or lack thereof, of the haters is something to behold. Enough of them have realized that they'll appear foolish if they claim the league was on the level with deflategate, but they still cling to spygate without realizing that stance makes even less sense.

I could understand someone's approach if they believed the NFL 100%, in all cases. They'd be wrong and closeminded, but at least they be consistent. It's more absurd to say "Oh yeah, that deflated footballs thing was BS. But the other time the league made a big deal out of nothing and over-punished the team, that was legit." The possibility that both situations were BS never occurs to them.

Not to mention that they have no issue with the leadership of a sports league holding a grudge and waiting almost a decade for a chance to hobble a team because their last attempt wasn't as effective as they hoped. Is the "make-up call" by the NFL done now? Or do they reserve the right to take away a first round pick because Gronk's arm pad is a nanometer too long?

It's the psychology of the witch hunt.

The thing about witches (of course) is that they're cunning and know how to disguise themselves. So the evidence against them is hard to come by.

The Patriots cheated their way to three Super Bowls, but once the scandal was revealed it was too explosive, so Goodell did a deal with his buddy Kraft to hush it up so long as the Patriots would knock it off.

But they didn't, so the other owners decided something had to be done and they put together a sting against the Pats. OK, it didn't quite work, but still ...

You can read it all on BSPN from Seth Wickersham. If the Pats had any guts they'd sue them.

Doesn't that all make perfect sense?

 

[PatsFanInVa]

It's the cameras they still have up in the booth. TECHNICALLY legal cameras. Those Patriots are always right on the edge...

 

[sieglo]

Looking back on this, you could consider Deflategate the first modern example of the power of fake news.

 

[Delicate Genius]

 

[LuRkeR1978]

These threads only give credibility to the haters, and legitimize their cheatriot taunts and flames.

Many sports legends were hated and accused of all sorts of things in their playing days. Some are legit, some are crazy talk. The bottom line is we are lucky to be the fan base of the team that drafted the GOAT, and with that success comes hate. He is hated because he wins, he won't go away, and literally kills other fans hopes and dreams every season.

For those who have seen The Dark Knight, Batman says to Gordon: "You either die a hero or live long enough to become the villain." I personally think that moment happened in 2007 when Ellis Hobbs and co danced on the Chargers logo in San Diego. Everyone was just waiting for whatever they could find, to discredit Brady, and the Pats in general. They have had their wish granted twice, and it hasn't stopped this machine yet.