Patriots being investigated after Colts game (6 Viewers)

[Carter_Can_Fly]

Pats owner Robert Kraft to address the media from the Spring League meeting around 10 am PT. Tune in @nflnetwork

 

[Bayhawks]

Per Schefter, Pats two equipment guys were suspended at request of the league.

I gotta catch up on this thread --- what's the next thing the trolls have latched on to?

You think these 2 equipment guys would have started tampering with balls just because they felt like it?

All this shows is that the NFL told the Pats to suspend two of the guys who were involved with tampering with balls. The NFL also suspended Brady in this as well.

I wonder how willingly the Pats suspended these 2 guys. They are definitely going down swinging with the suspension of Brady, I wonder if they will do the same with these 2 equipment guys or if they will try to make them the fall guys.

So, why haven't they reinstated these two gentlemen yet? Considering they so vehemently deny any wrong doing. And why were they so willing to suspend them in the first place? Hoping it would lessen Brady's penalty? It doesn't add up to me.

The Pats can't reinstate them. Only the league can.

If we are being totally accurate, I don't think that's the case. The Pats can't reinstate them, until the NFL gives them permission to do so, but the Pats (since they work for NE, not the NFL) will have to reinstate them. Same reason NE had to suspend them, at the NFL's request.

 

[Bayhawks]

So Brady didn't know what the rule was, but he was one of the people mainly responsible for getting the rule changed that allowed home teams to prepare their own balls? And he's the same guy who admonished the Ravens to "read the rule book?".

While its certainly possible for it to be true that he didn't know the rule, even the most die-hard Pats fan has to understand why not everyone is going to blindly accept this as the gospel truth.

The rule change was specifically about how balls are prepared texture-wise, because home teams were supplying visiting teams with ####ty unprepared balls. Now visiting teams are allowed to prepare their own balls. Its entirely plausible Brady and most of the NFL didn't know the specifics of Rule 2.

Hard to convince anyone of anything when they perpetuate half-truths and complete misinformation.

I have noticed a pretty consistent pattern when it comes to trolling this topic ---

1 - spew out a bunch of made up stuff or misinformation

2 - cry about the above

4 - PROFIT!!

Try actually READING my post, not skimming it and deciding "salty hater, I'll disregard."

There are no half truths or made up stuff in my post.

2-but he was one of the people mainly responsible for getting the rule changed that allowed home teams to prepare their own balls?-(Underlined added for explanation purposes) Since I'm now discussing a DIFFERENT RULE, it is necessary to explain that, which is what I did.

dude, home teams always prepped their own balls

(bolded added)

Dude, read the post right before the one you quoted.

 

[Kool-Aid Larry]

Per Schefter, Pats two equipment guys were suspended at request of the league.

I gotta catch up on this thread --- what's the next thing the trolls have latched on to?

You think these 2 equipment guys would have started tampering with balls just because they felt like it?

All this shows is that the NFL told the Pats to suspend two of the guys who were involved with tampering with balls. The NFL also suspended Brady in this as well.

I wonder how willingly the Pats suspended these 2 guys. They are definitely going down swinging with the suspension of Brady, I wonder if they will do the same with these 2 equipment guys or if they will try to make them the fall guys.

fall guys for what?

they denied any wrongdoing

is this schtick or the next stage of grief, or whatever?

So help me out.

The Pats are denying all wrongdoing even with the 2 equipment guys? Why then if they are denying any wrongdoing would they agree to suspend these 2 guys because the NFL told them to and are not making a fuss about it like they have with Brady? Or maybe I have missed Kraft going to bat for these 2 equipment guys and pleading their innocence as he has with Brady?

well, I believe he's said there was no wrongdoing, whatsoever, which pretty much implicitly states they did nothing wrong.

however, he was being cooperative with the league in this matter, as he probably reads this board and knows you guys cry a lot when he's not cooperative.

since they are not in the nflpa, to my knowledge, they most likely won't be availing themselves of that appeals process like brady.

the fixation on this particular crumb is a little odd --- don't you guys have, like, a whole 12 grain loaf in front of you to dig into?

 

[Bayhawks]

Per Schefter, Pats two equipment guys were suspended at request of the league.

I gotta catch up on this thread --- what's the next thing the trolls have latched on to?

You think these 2 equipment guys would have started tampering with balls just because they felt like it?

All this shows is that the NFL told the Pats to suspend two of the guys who were involved with tampering with balls. The NFL also suspended Brady in this as well.

I wonder how willingly the Pats suspended these 2 guys. They are definitely going down swinging with the suspension of Brady, I wonder if they will do the same with these 2 equipment guys or if they will try to make them the fall guys.

fall guys for what?

they denied any wrongdoing

is this schtick or the next stage of grief, or whatever?

So help me out.

The Pats are denying all wrongdoing even with the 2 equipment guys? Why then if they are denying any wrongdoing would they agree to suspend these 2 guys because the NFL told them to and are not making a fuss about it like they have with Brady? Or maybe I have missed Kraft going to bat for these 2 equipment guys and pleading their innocence as he has with Brady?

well, I believe he's said there was no wrongdoing, whatsoever, which pretty much implicitly states they did nothing wrong.

however, he was being cooperative with the league in this matter, as he probably reads this board and knows you guys cry a lot when he's not cooperative.

since they are not in the nflpa, to my knowledge, they most likely won't be availing themselves of that appeals process like brady.

the fixation on this particular crumb is a little odd --- don't you guys have, like, a whole 12 grain loaf in front of you to dig into?

Okay, here's another crumb. If the Pats & NFL are trying to work out a deal, why would NE do that? If they believe they did nothing wrong, and the science proves that, why would they make a deal? Why wouldn't they just go through with the appeal and/or lawsuit?

 

[Ditkaless Wonders]

Per Schefter, Pats two equipment guys were suspended at request of the league.

I gotta catch up on this thread --- what's the next thing the trolls have latched on to?

You think these 2 equipment guys would have started tampering with balls just because they felt like it?

All this shows is that the NFL told the Pats to suspend two of the guys who were involved with tampering with balls. The NFL also suspended Brady in this as well.

I wonder how willingly the Pats suspended these 2 guys. They are definitely going down swinging with the suspension of Brady, I wonder if they will do the same with these 2 equipment guys or if they will try to make them the fall guys.

fall guys for what?

they denied any wrongdoing

is this schtick or the next stage of grief, or whatever?

So help me out.

The Pats are denying all wrongdoing even with the 2 equipment guys? Why then if they are denying any wrongdoing would they agree to suspend these 2 guys because the NFL told them to and are not making a fuss about it like they have with Brady? Or maybe I have missed Kraft going to bat for these 2 equipment guys and pleading their innocence as he has with Brady?

Does anything stop them, other than a sense of propriety, from employing the gentlemen in another capacity? Something with no locker room or field access.

 

[IvanKaramazov]

And a quote:

“Everybody says well if they did nothing wrong, then why are the Patriots suspending them and here is the deal behind that: Essentially, the NFL called the Patriots prior to the discipline being handed down and basically explained to the Patriots that in the best interest of the league the smart thing to do would be to suspend those two employees. New England went along with it,” Schefter said. “New England thought it was acting at that time, prior to the discipline, in the best interest of the league and so they went along with the league’s request to suspend both of those individuals. That essentially came from the NFL, not the Patriots. That is how it came down. That is how those two got suspended and that is the answer to the questions that people have asked as to why McNally and Jastremski have been suspended if they’ve done nothing wrong.”

As others have pointed out, this isn't exculpatory at all. The Patriots were and still are apparently a-okay with suspending two equipment guys. It was only when the same penalty was imposed on their star QB that they started kicking and screaming. It's not too terribly difficult to figure out why.

 

[davearm]

Agent and lawyer talk is cheap. We'll find out who really believes what when the lawsuits are/aren't filed.

This is exactly it. This seems like posturing by Kraft. I am going to guess Kraft has some dirt on Goodell and Goodell has plenty of dirt on Kraft. The fact that Goodell has went to such a hefty punishment leads me to believe his dirt is much better than Krafts.

And it has been speculated that BB has dirt and dirty laundry on 31 other teams.

Based on what we think we know (that the Patriots had been underinflating footballs for a long time and many teams knew about it), it seems bizarre that other teams didn't make this an issue before if they really felt that the Patriots were getting some huge competitive advantage. Maybe they did complain and the league ignored it. But it seems equally clear that the league took inspection of the footballs lightly and suddenly started caring with the AFCCG. At a minimum, the inspection of the footballs and inflation testing would best be considered a lax process for years.

I still think the penalty was as big as it was because it is the Patriots. If the same scenario played out in Jacksonville, would this have been more than a footnote on web sites or sports pages? It would have been used as a punch line for jokes. The Jags are so bad, even cheating doesn't help. Maybe they should work on getting guys that can catch and throw the ball and not the balls themselves. No one would be calling for their Week 16 win against the Titans be vacated.

If the Jags did the same thing . . . even if they denied it, tried to cover it up, and did not cooperate with the league, the penalty would have been minimal. In fact, there would never have been an investigation. They would have been either told to stop or received a minimal fine.

To be clear, I am not suggesting the Pats are above the rules or they didn't do anything. I just think that the penalties were too severe, even if you want to hit them with a repeat offender penalty.

Where has it been reported that other teams thought the Patriots were getting a huge competitive advantage?

As you point out, their inaction suggests other teams must have thought otherwise.

As for the severity of the penalty, it seems obvious that it's a function of a) their failure to cooperate fully, and b) their repeat offender status, much moreso than the severity of this particular offense.

 

[JIslander]

Agent and lawyer talk is cheap. We'll find out who really believes what when the lawsuits are/aren't filed.

This is exactly it. This seems like posturing by Kraft. I am going to guess Kraft has some dirt on Goodell and Goodell has plenty of dirt on Kraft. The fact that Goodell has went to such a hefty punishment leads me to believe his dirt is much better than Krafts.

And it has been speculated that BB has dirt and dirty laundry on 31 other teams.

Based on what we think we know (that the Patriots had been underinflating footballs for a long time and many teams knew about it), it seems bizarre that other teams didn't make this an issue before if they really felt that the Patriots were getting some huge competitive advantage. Maybe they did complain and the league ignored it. But it seems equally clear that the league took inspection of the footballs lightly and suddenly started caring with the AFCCG. At a minimum, the inspection of the footballs and inflation testing would best be considered a lax process for years.

I still think the penalty was as big as it was because it is the Patriots. If the same scenario played out in Jacksonville, would this have been more than a footnote on web sites or sports pages? It would have been used as a punch line for jokes. The Jags are so bad, even cheating doesn't help. Maybe they should work on getting guys that can catch and throw the ball and not the balls themselves. No one would be calling for their Week 16 win against the Titans be vacated.

If the Jags did the same thing . . . even if they denied it, tried to cover it up, and did not cooperate with the league, the penalty would have been minimal. In fact, there would never have been an investigation. They would have been either told to stop or received a minimal fine.

To be clear, I am not suggesting the Pats are above the rules or they didn't do anything. I just think that the penalties were too severe, even if you want to hit them with a repeat offender penalty.

15 years of cheating. What did you expect?

 

[Kool-Aid Larry]

Fall guys for this whole situation.


fall guys for what?

they denied any wrongdoing

is this schtick or the next stage of grief, or whatever?

They denied any wrongdoing on Brady's behalf, as well, yet they are not suspending him, merely because the NFL asked.

wat

 

[Carter_Can_Fly]

Agent and lawyer talk is cheap. We'll find out who really believes what when the lawsuits are/aren't filed.

This is exactly it. This seems like posturing by Kraft. I am going to guess Kraft has some dirt on Goodell and Goodell has plenty of dirt on Kraft. The fact that Goodell has went to such a hefty punishment leads me to believe his dirt is much better than Krafts.

And it has been speculated that BB has dirt and dirty laundry on 31 other teams.

Based on what we think we know (that the Patriots had been underinflating footballs for a long time and many teams knew about it), it seems bizarre that other teams didn't make this an issue before if they really felt that the Patriots were getting some huge competitive advantage. Maybe they did complain and the league ignored it. But it seems equally clear that the league took inspection of the footballs lightly and suddenly started caring with the AFCCG. At a minimum, the inspection of the footballs and inflation testing would best be considered a lax process for years.

I still think the penalty was as big as it was because it is the Patriots. If the same scenario played out in Jacksonville, would this have been more than a footnote on web sites or sports pages? It would have been used as a punch line for jokes. The Jags are so bad, even cheating doesn't help. Maybe they should work on getting guys that can catch and throw the ball and not the balls themselves. No one would be calling for their Week 16 win against the Titans be vacated.

If the Jags did the same thing . . . even if they denied it, tried to cover it up, and did not cooperate with the league, the penalty would have been minimal. In fact, there would never have been an investigation. They would have been either told to stop or received a minimal fine.

To be clear, I am not suggesting the Pats are above the rules or they didn't do anything. I just think that the penalties were too severe, even if you want to hit them with a repeat offender penalty.

I don't know if this is really the case. I don't think it is that simple. How many other teams who have already been punished for a shady action like spygate and then when are again punished for cheating (deflategate) would have reacted with how the Pats are during this whole process?

It is easy to say the league is only doing this because it is the Pats, but when you put yourselves in these situations you really have nobody to blame but yourself. There really is a simple way to stop the punishments. Stop doing things that are illegal. And if you are doing something that is illegal no matter how small it is you should probably find a better way of dealing with it with your bosses.

 

[davearm]

So help me out.

The Pats are denying all wrongdoing even with the 2 equipment guys? Why then if they are denying any wrongdoing would they agree to suspend these 2 guys because the NFL told them to and are not making a fuss about it like they have with Brady? Or maybe I have missed Kraft going to bat for these 2 equipment guys and pleading their innocence as he has with Brady?

IMO the timing of all this is important here.

The NFL apparently requested that the Pats suspend these two guys on the same day the Wells report was released.

The Pats disagree vehemently with the findings in the Wells report, but at this point it's still in their best interests to play nice with the league office, because penalties have yet to be determined, or announced.

So, they go along with the suspensions so as to appear cooperative, hoping the payoff will be more leniency with the punishment.

Then the NFL hammers them anyway.

IMO had the NFL made this request after the penalties were announced, Kraft and co. tell them to go pound sand.

 

[BigSteelThrill]

Per Schefter, Pats two equipment guys were suspended at request of the league.

I gotta catch up on this thread --- what's the next thing the trolls have latched on to?

Actually in the same discussion Schefter said.... he talked to the NFL and they said they did not request such a thing. And his (unnamed) source from the Pats said the NFL did request it.

This is long after it was becoming a very bad blackeye for the Pats.

 

[Kool-Aid Larry]

Per Schefter, Pats two equipment guys were suspended at request of the league.

I gotta catch up on this thread --- what's the next thing the trolls have latched on to?

You think these 2 equipment guys would have started tampering with balls just because they felt like it?

All this shows is that the NFL told the Pats to suspend two of the guys who were involved with tampering with balls. The NFL also suspended Brady in this as well.

I wonder how willingly the Pats suspended these 2 guys. They are definitely going down swinging with the suspension of Brady, I wonder if they will do the same with these 2 equipment guys or if they will try to make them the fall guys.

fall guys for what?

they denied any wrongdoing

is this schtick or the next stage of grief, or whatever?

So help me out.

The Pats are denying all wrongdoing even with the 2 equipment guys? Why then if they are denying any wrongdoing would they agree to suspend these 2 guys because the NFL told them to and are not making a fuss about it like they have with Brady? Or maybe I have missed Kraft going to bat for these 2 equipment guys and pleading their innocence as he has with Brady?

well, I believe he's said there was no wrongdoing, whatsoever, which pretty much implicitly states they did nothing wrong.

however, he was being cooperative with the league in this matter, as he probably reads this board and knows you guys cry a lot when he's not cooperative.

since they are not in the nflpa, to my knowledge, they most likely won't be availing themselves of that appeals process like brady.

the fixation on this particular crumb is a little odd --- don't you guys have, like, a whole 12 grain loaf in front of you to dig into?

Okay, here's another crumb. If the Pats & NFL are trying to work out a deal, why would NE do that? If they believe they did nothing wrong, and the science proves that, why would they make a deal? Why wouldn't they just go through with the appeal and/or lawsuit?

I'll be very interested to see the next crumb if we're already at the point of arguing and complaining about what 'has happened' in the future.

I think maybe one of the 12 grains must've been mushrooms.

 

[davearm]

It is easy to say the league is only doing this because it is the Pats, but when you put yourselves in these situations you really have nobody to blame but yourself. There really is a simple way to stop the punishments. Stop doing things that are illegal. And if you are doing something that is illegal no matter how small it is you should probably find a better way of dealing with it with your bosses.

Right. The league is only doing this because it is the Pats, because only the Pats are doing this.

 

[Kool-Aid Larry]

Agent and lawyer talk is cheap. We'll find out who really believes what when the lawsuits are/aren't filed.

This is exactly it. This seems like posturing by Kraft. I am going to guess Kraft has some dirt on Goodell and Goodell has plenty of dirt on Kraft. The fact that Goodell has went to such a hefty punishment leads me to believe his dirt is much better than Krafts.

And it has been speculated that BB has dirt and dirty laundry on 31 other teams.

Based on what we think we know (that the Patriots had been underinflating footballs for a long time and many teams knew about it), it seems bizarre that other teams didn't make this an issue before if they really felt that the Patriots were getting some huge competitive advantage. Maybe they did complain and the league ignored it. But it seems equally clear that the league took inspection of the footballs lightly and suddenly started caring with the AFCCG. At a minimum, the inspection of the footballs and inflation testing would best be considered a lax process for years.

I still think the penalty was as big as it was because it is the Patriots. If the same scenario played out in Jacksonville, would this have been more than a footnote on web sites or sports pages? It would have been used as a punch line for jokes. The Jags are so bad, even cheating doesn't help. Maybe they should work on getting guys that can catch and throw the ball and not the balls themselves. No one would be calling for their Week 16 win against the Titans be vacated.

If the Jags did the same thing . . . even if they denied it, tried to cover it up, and did not cooperate with the league, the penalty would have been minimal. In fact, there would never have been an investigation. They would have been either told to stop or received a minimal fine.

To be clear, I am not suggesting the Pats are above the rules or they didn't do anything. I just think that the penalties were too severe, even if you want to hit them with a repeat offender penalty.

I don't know if this is really the case. I don't think it is that simple. How many other teams who have already been punished for a shady action like spygate and then when are again punished for cheating (deflategate) would have reacted with how the Pats are during this whole process?

It is easy to say the league is only doing this because it is the Pats, but when you put yourselves in these situations you really have nobody to blame but yourself. There really is a simple way to stop the punishments. Stop doing things that are illegal. And if you are doing something that is illegal no matter how small it is you should probably find a better way of dealing with it with your bosses.

like using the bathroom?

 

[Carter_Can_Fly]

So help me out.

The Pats are denying all wrongdoing even with the 2 equipment guys? Why then if they are denying any wrongdoing would they agree to suspend these 2 guys because the NFL told them to and are not making a fuss about it like they have with Brady? Or maybe I have missed Kraft going to bat for these 2 equipment guys and pleading their innocence as he has with Brady?

IMO the timing of all this is important here.

The NFL apparently requested that the Pats suspend these two guys on the same day the Wells report was released.

The Pats disagree vehemently with the findings in the Wells report, but at this point it's still in their best interests to play nice with the league office, because penalties have yet to be determined, or announced.

So, they go along with the suspensions so as to appear cooperative, hoping the payoff will be more leniency with the punishment.

Then the NFL hammers them anyway.

IMO had the NFL made this request after the penalties were announced, Kraft and co. tell them to go pound sand.

You could be right. Which again raises the question that if the Pats really did feel they were innocent from the start in this whole fiasco they never would have agreed to suspend these 2 equipment guys in the first place. Or at least that would have been a logical reaction from an organization that is pleading innocent.

 

[davearm]

Okay, here's another crumb. If the Pats & NFL are trying to work out a deal, why would NE do that? If they believe they did nothing wrong, and the science proves that, why would they make a deal? Why wouldn't they just go through with the appeal and/or lawsuit?

The Patriots have no avenue to appeal their punishment (though Brady does his, obviously). And their prospects for a successful lawsuit are dubious (IMO).

I'd say the Pats have a lot of motivation to cut a deal, if the league is extending that olive branch.

 

[Kool-Aid Larry]

@cpriceNFL: Looks like Patriots owner Robert Kraft will be speaking at 1 pm at the owners meetings. (via @PATRIOTSdotCOM)

patriots.com will broadcast the conference

http://www.patriots.com/video/live-press-conference

 

[davearm]

So help me out.

The Pats are denying all wrongdoing even with the 2 equipment guys? Why then if they are denying any wrongdoing would they agree to suspend these 2 guys because the NFL told them to and are not making a fuss about it like they have with Brady? Or maybe I have missed Kraft going to bat for these 2 equipment guys and pleading their innocence as he has with Brady?

IMO the timing of all this is important here.

The NFL apparently requested that the Pats suspend these two guys on the same day the Wells report was released.

The Pats disagree vehemently with the findings in the Wells report, but at this point it's still in their best interests to play nice with the league office, because penalties have yet to be determined, or announced.

So, they go along with the suspensions so as to appear cooperative, hoping the payoff will be more leniency with the punishment.

Then the NFL hammers them anyway.

IMO had the NFL made this request after the penalties were announced, Kraft and co. tell them to go pound sand.

You could be right. Which again raises the question that if the Pats really did feel they were innocent from the start in this whole fiasco they never would have agreed to suspend these 2 equipment guys in the first place. Or at least that would have been a logical reaction from an organization that is pleading innocent.

I just offered an explanation to the "why would they suspend these guys" question.

 

[Kool-Aid Larry]

dude just tampered with the mic --- you guys catch that?

 

[Carter_Can_Fly]

So help me out.

The Pats are denying all wrongdoing even with the 2 equipment guys? Why then if they are denying any wrongdoing would they agree to suspend these 2 guys because the NFL told them to and are not making a fuss about it like they have with Brady? Or maybe I have missed Kraft going to bat for these 2 equipment guys and pleading their innocence as he has with Brady?

IMO the timing of all this is important here.

The NFL apparently requested that the Pats suspend these two guys on the same day the Wells report was released.

The Pats disagree vehemently with the findings in the Wells report, but at this point it's still in their best interests to play nice with the league office, because penalties have yet to be determined, or announced.

So, they go along with the suspensions so as to appear cooperative, hoping the payoff will be more leniency with the punishment.

Then the NFL hammers them anyway.

IMO had the NFL made this request after the penalties were announced, Kraft and co. tell them to go pound sand.

You could be right. Which again raises the question that if the Pats really did feel they were innocent from the start in this whole fiasco they never would have agreed to suspend these 2 equipment guys in the first place. Or at least that would have been a logical reaction from an organization that is pleading innocent.

I just offered an explanation to the "why would they suspend these guys" question.

And I said you could be right, but if that was the case and the Pats were thinking that way then you are agreeing that they felt they were not completely innocent in this or else they would have told the NFL to go pound sound from the start.

 

[Kool-Aid Larry]

Jason Cole said his sources say that the League is recognizing that the Wells report is flawed and the punishment is too severe and the although the Pats believe they are innocent there are too many pieces evidence they cannot explain away. It is likely a deal is imminent and it will reduce the penalty. Supporting the Schefter report with more info.

 

[Carter_Can_Fly]

Jason Cole said his sources say that the League is recognizing that the Wells report is flawed and the punishment is too severe and the although the Pats believe they are innocent there are too many pieces evidence they cannot explain away. It is likely a deal is imminent and it will reduce the penalty. Supporting the Schefter report with more info.

Sounds like both parties made a deal. They want to move passed this. Best of both worlds, but if this is the case, there is no way the Pats truly believe they are innocent.

 

[Kool-Aid Larry]

Adam Schefter ✔ @AdamSchefter

Roger Goodell and Patriots owner Robert Kraft already have met, spoke and even hugged, per an industry source who witnessed it.

9:06 AM - 19 May 2015

Adam Schefter ✔ @AdamSchefter

Goodell-Kraft attended Sean McManus’ 60th birthday Sat in NYC; they were spotted “on a couch, talking by themselves for quite a long time."

9:08 AM - 19 May 2015

 

[Old Smiley]

Adam Schefter ‏@AdamSchefter 8m8 minutes ago

Robert Kraft live on ESPN in a matter of moments.

 

[Dr. Octopus]

@cpriceNFL: Looks like Patriots owner Robert Kraft will be speaking at 1 pm at the owners meetings. (via @PATRIOTSdotCOM)

patriots.com will broadcast the conference

http://www.patriots.com/video/live-press-conference

Let me know when Troy Vincent runs up to the podium and hits him over the head with a medal folding chair.

 

[Kool-Aid Larry]

wtf...kraft just announced he's moving them to hartford??!!

 

[espnespn]

Actually, if you believe 100% of what the refs said in the Wells Report, then McNally never had a chance to deflate balls in past games, because the balls are brought from the locker room to the field with the officials. Unless you think McNally was deflating balls on the sidelines and somehow never got caught on camera.

"Anderson understood that McNally was moving the balls to the sitting room area of the locker room, so that it would be more convenient for the officials to pick them up on their way out to the field. Anderson said that it is typical for locker room attendants throughout the League to help move the game balls towards the front of the locker room, but that the footballs do not leave the locker room until the officials give express permission for them to be brought to the field at or near the time the officials also walk to the field. Numerous other game officials described a similar practice."

McNally is the Officials' Locker Room Attendant. He's alone in the locker room with the footballs, post inspection, for roughly 15-20 minutes on gameday, while the officials are on the field for their warmups.

That room is typically empty at that time, but was buzzing with activity during the AFCCG, a) because there were just more league folks in attendance that day, and b) because the NFCCG was airing on the TV, and folks were milling around watching it.

It's pretty obvious (to me anyway) that if all of this is true, then McNally typically does his dirty work in the refs' room while they warm up, but he was forced to improvise during the AFCCG due to all the traffic in the room that day.

Can you cite your source for that? Seems like a pretty important fact and I don't remember reading it in the report.

Footnote 34, page 62:

Whether McNally frequently, infrequently or never leaves the Officials Locker Room before the game officials depart for the field is not determinative of whether there has been an opportunity to tamper with game balls during the regular season. The game officials we interviewed — when considering the potential for tampering with the game balls — almost uniformly expressed greater concern that a locker room attendant generally has up to fifteen or twenty minutes alone with the game balls when the game officials are on the field for the pre-game walk-through approximately fifty minutes before kickoff (and after the balls have been inspected). The physical configuration of the Officials Locker Room at Gillette Stadium, with a back dressing area separated by a door from a sitting room area, would provide complete privacy during this time period. Indeed, even the sitting area is generally quiet at that time during the regular season, unlike the busy scene during a playoff game. Milton Britton, the regular season k-ball coordinator for the Patriots, reported that he regularly watches ESPN in the sitting room area while everyone else is on the field and stated that “nine out of ten times” the sitting room is otherwise empty, apart from McNally. On the night of the AFC Championship Game, however, the Officials Locker Room was crowded and McNally is unlikely to have had an opportunity to tamper with the balls in the locker room without being detected.

This is just one example of conflicting information in the report. On one hand, the refs say the balls leave the locker room at or near the time the refs leave for the field. Then there's a footnote, where the refs say the balls stay inside the locker room, while the refs go on the field. Kinda important to know which is true.

1) Officials receive game balls from team personnel

2) Officials inspect and certify game balls

3) Officials leave balls in locker room during warmups

4) Officials return to locker room after warmups

5) Officials take balls out to field at game time

Under normal conditions, McNally would have unsupervised access to the balls @ stage 3.

On the day of the AFCCG, he did not (other folks were in the room that day), so he broke protocol @ stage 5, and took the balls out himself, unaccompanied by officials.

So the refs leave for the field 2x (1x for warmups and 1x for game time)? Did this happen for the AFCCG?

If so, the refs were out on the field for warmups during the AGCCG, leaving McNally in the locker room with reporters and other non-refs. McNally could have strolled to the bathroom with the bag of balls while the refs were on the field -- why would he worry about reporters and whoever left in the locker room? All the non-refs in the locker room had no clue about ball protocol and would not have noticed.

Instead, McNally waits for the refs to come back to the locker room, then decides to go to the bathroom to deflate in 100 seconds, while the refs are in the locker room?

Yes and yes to your first two questions.

You seem to be suggesting that McNally could have walked with the balls from the OLR to the tunnel bathroom, done his deflating, and then returned with the balls from the tunnel bathroom to the OLR, all while the game officials were on the field for warmups.

If there was surveillance video of this activity, then this tampering case would be a total slam dunk. There would be no reasonable doubt about what was happening in that circumstance.

Perhaps even McNally is smart enough not to follow the most blatantly nefarious course of action.

McNally didn't know about the camera outside the bathroom. And if he didn't know about the camera, the easiest time to deflate the balls (if he wanted to) was to deflate when the refs were on the field for warm-ups, and everyone else in the locker room was watching the NFC game.

He could have deflated, and then brought the balls outside to the refs on the field for warm-ups. Waiting for the refs to come back makes no sense, it only increases the chances of getting caught at the time. Or being stopped by the refs on the way to deflate, and not getting to deflate at all.

 

[Kool-Aid Larry]

omg he's going to cave

 

[Dickie Dunn]

Kraft:

"The one thing we can all agreed upon is that the entire process has taken way too long."

"I have two options ... extend it or end it."

 

[espnespn]

I'm pretty sure it has been reported that there were people (maybe some referees) in the locker room watching the NFCC, when the locker room would normally have been empty. Therefore, if it was his practice to "adjust" the balls after the refs went out for their warmup, he would not have had that opportunity prior to the AFCC.



So the refs leave for the field 2x (1x for warmups and 1x for game time)? Did this happen for the AFCCG?

If so, the refs were out on the field for warmups during the AGCCG, leaving McNally in the locker room with reporters and other non-refs. McNally could have strolled to the bathroom with the bag of balls while the refs were on the field -- why would he worry about reporters and whoever left in the locker room? All the non-refs in the locker room had no clue about ball protocol and would not have noticed.

Instead, McNally waits for the refs to come back to the locker room, then decides to go to the bathroom to deflate in 100 seconds, while the refs are in the locker room?

So the officials who were watching the NFCC ignored their normal duties, and didn't go to the field for the warm-ups like the normally do? Btw, even assuming that some refs were watching the game, and some were on the field, why would McNally wait for them all to come back before going to deflate? That makes no sense: it would be way less risk to deflate before the rest of the refs came back.

"On the day of the AFC Championship Game, the Officials Locker Room was

more crowded than usual. A number of extra NFL personnel, including security and operations
personnel, were present in addition to the three alternate game officials. A number of witnesses
also explained that the layout of the Officials Locker Room at Gillette Stadium—with a large
sitting room separated from the officials‟ more private dressing room—as well as the
refreshments available there, encourage people with credentials to congregate in the locker room
prior to a game. One official said that it “felt like Grand Central Station” in the sitting room
because once the pre-game meetings and the team warm-ups were complete, NFL personnel,
game officials and others gathered there to watch the conclusion of the NFC Championship
Game on television."

Why are you struggling with this so much? Nobody ignored their duties. The 7 officials working the game that day took the field during warmups, jusl like the normally do.

While those 7 game officials were on the field for warmups, "a number of extra NFL personnel, including security and operations personnel, ... in addition to the three alternate game officials" were still in the officials' locker room.

It's abundantly clear that McNally lacked the opportunity to tamper with the balls during the warmup period: he didn't have his usual anonymity inside the OLR, and he couldn't sneak the balls away from the OLR unnoticed.

So McNally waited for the refs to come back, so there were even more people in the locker room (and more people who knew the ball handling protocols) to notice him walking off with a big bag of balls?

 

[BigSteelThrill]

omg he's going to cave

yep

 

[Dr. Octopus]

omg he's going to cave

sounds like it so far.

 

[Carter_Can_Fly]

omg he's going to cave

yep

Or going to finally admit they are/were not so innocent.

 

[BigSteelThrill]

omg he's going to cave

yep

this was a dog and pony show for the Pats fans. manipulated.

 

[Dickie Dunn]

"I don't want to continue the rhetoric that has gone on for the last four months. I am going to accept, relunctantly, what (Goodell) has given to us."

 

[Old Smiley]

Keep me posted guys. No TV

 

[Dr. Octopus]

How noble of him.

 

[Carter_Can_Fly]

The Pats were always guilty. This just solidifies it.

 

[Dr. Octopus]

Keep me posted guys. No TV

Kraft is not going to appeal or fight it any further for the "good of the 32".

 

[BigSteelThrill]

An absolute meltdown of Pats* fans is commencing.

 

[Baloney Sandwich]

So a deal has been struck on Brady?

 

[Carter_Can_Fly]

Can we get an apology in here from the Pats fans who were calling all of us neutral fans trolls and idiots? Or is that to much to ask?

 

[Dickie Dunn]

You have to wonder what the give-back will be for Kraft to do this. He didn't appear convinced that he was doing the right thing, in his mind, as far as the Patriots were concerned.

And Brady will remain a separate measure ... pushed by the NFLPA.

 

[metoo]

So a deal has been struck on Brady?

No, Brady is still fighting the good fight. The Patriots organization is accepting their punishment.

 

[Baloney Sandwich]

So a deal has been struck on Brady?

No, Brady is still fighting the good fight. The Patriots organization is accepting their punishment.

I meant that Kraft and Goodell struck a deal, the Pats accept the team penalties and Goodell is now going to remove the four game suspension of Brady when he hears his appeal.

 

[Carter_Can_Fly]

Adam Schefter ✔ @AdamSchefter

Roger Goodell and Patriots owner Robert Kraft already have met, spoke and even hugged, per an industry source who witnessed it.

9:06 AM - 19 May 2015

Adam Schefter ✔ @AdamSchefter

Goodell-Kraft attended Sean McManus’ 60th birthday Sat in NYC; they were spotted “on a couch, talking by themselves for quite a long time."

9:08 AM - 19 May 2015

Seems as though Goodell said something to him here to really show Kraft that look you have absolutely no shot of winning and we have you by the balls (no pun intended). Kraft was easily going to lose this appeal or there was no way he drops it.

 

[BigSteelThrill]

So no fight from the Pats* certainly doesnt look good for Brady an co.

 

[Mookie]

Jason Cole said his sources say that the League is recognizing that the Wells report is flawed and the punishment is too severe and the although the Pats believe they are innocent there are too many pieces evidence they cannot explain away. It is likely a deal is imminent and it will reduce the penalty. Supporting the Schefter report with more info.

Nice work Jason.