2015 NFL Off Season Thread

[Berober]

First Round pick loss is way too steep imo, but eh, suspension seems about right

[gunnar hendershow]

I thought the Wells Report indicated moreso that it was Brady doing it and not the whole organization, but these are largely organizational punishments.

[livid]

I think they're both fair. You can't even entertain the thought of cheating the actual game without the NFL taking it seriously so Brady's fairly lucky he only got 4 games.

And the Patriots have been connected to too many instances of cheating or perceived cheating that the NFL had to come down hard on them too.

[HC]

Can they appeal the draft picks? NFL really came down hard

[Maxx]

No they didn't, this is the second time in recent memory that they've been caught cheating. Last time it was a first rounder, this time it was a first rounder plus a fourth, much like a player's suspension time would increase with multiple violations.

Brady made it worse for himself by not just going along with the investigation, and outright lying about it, multiple times. So he went from a suspension reflecting his participation to a suspension reflecting his participation, his obstruction of the investigation and his deceit.

Its all pretty reasonable for something they refused to just admit to. And like I said, Brady's suspension will probably get appealed down to two games.

The problem, as it has been, is that the NFL's punishments were woefully inadequate, and thus this looks ridiculous in comparison. But that's a dumb comparison to make, because we were all in agreement about how lacking those punishments were, and thus you're comparing it to a broken system, They've made revisions to the policy, so now you have to judge these penalties against those revisions, because the NFL already admitted fault and made changes.

In summary: NFL is dumb, Tom Brady is dumb, Patriots are dumb.

[HC]

Fair enough. I'm far from feeling sorry for the Patriots or Brady, for the record. I just think everyone expected the usual slap-on-the-wrist. I'm glad they at least got more than Atlanta and Cleveland did for sillier infractions. It's just the ridiculousness of a deflated ball really not adding an advantage in actuality that makes it seem harsh, but the intent to get an advantage and New England's history of skirting the rules was obviously what was punished.

[Your Mom]

I just don't see how they can go with this kind of punishment without concretely proving anything

[HC]

I just don't see how they can go with this kind of punishment without concretely proving anything

The NFL is its own judge, jury, and executioner when it comes to setting penalties, for better or worse.

Edited May 11, 2015 by HeadChuck McGill

[Maxx]

Its happening inside a private company, they can decide how much proof they need to make a judgment.

[HC]

Yup. These aren't criminal proceedings so all of the traditional legal things are out the window. It's what leads to that lack of consistency that drives everyone mad over Goodell.

[Pizza]

The texts seem to eliminate reasonable doubt anyway.

[Your Mom]

http://www.avclub.com/article/stuff-parity-nfl-punishes-quarterback-winning-too--219251

Kind of a long article but it made sense to me

[TCO]

Yes!

I really didn't think they'd come down hard on Golden Boy but it's really deserved. This is the 2nd time they've been caught cheating, so the pick forfeiting completely justified. They'll never learn their lesson unless they come down hard on them. The extent of the advantage they gained isn't really that relevant, they deliberately broke to rules to gain an advantage.

It'll definitely be reduced, but I'm really happy that something has happened.

[Maxx]

I'm also tired of people saying "lol they ran the ball the whole game!" when a less inflated football makes forcing a fumble much harder, and the Pats have a ridiculously low fumble average.

[gunnar hendershow]

I just heard an argument that the punishment wasn't right because "they would have won the game anyway."

People aren't too bright.

[Meacon Keaton]

Damshow with the understatement of the century.

[Plubby]

Will probably get appealed down to two, which is fine, just happy the diva is getting punished.

Tony Romo's not involved in this?

[munky]

The comment section on this Pats fansite is hilarious. They somehow manage to have a superiority complex and a persecution complex at the same time.

"The league's out to get us 'cuz we're so good!"

[Schlitzbrille]

They're probably blinded by Tom Brady's status as the most photogenic starting quarterback in the league.

[HC]

They're probably blinded by Tom Brady's status as the most photogenic starting quarterback in the league.

Garoppolo is prettier.