Patriots being investigated after Colts game (5 Viewers)

[VarsityBlues123]

I would like to commend the NFL here. Honestly. Regardless of how solid or not their evidence may have been, they came to a conclusion he did wrong. They did not back down regardless of this player's stature as a premier player and a face of the league. Everyone was saying cause he's a big time player in the league he'd get off with a slap on the wrist. Good for the NFL on standing their ground.

Commend them on being inconsistent?

4 games for their MVP, $1 Mil and next years 1st?

That is overboard.

 

[Maurile Tremblay]

I think Brady gets to appeal his suspension automatically, but is there a process for the Patriots to appeal regarding their penalty? There may not be. That wouldn't be part of the CBA

 

[12punch]

How to create parity.

Wait for the best team to violate a rule, seriousness is arbitrary.

Take draft picks.

Well done commish.

^^

gonna take more than that

wait'll they find out jimmy g's socks are an 1/8th of an inch too long

 

[LBH]

Justice is served to the NFLs biggest cheaters

 

[Anarchy99]

Teams have no recourse to appeal their punishment. Part of the terms of buying a team. They have to eat the fine and lost draft picks.

 

[Hang 10]

Too light imo. Would have banned him for life ala Pete Rose.

 

[Baloney Sandwich]

What will be the grounds for appeal, and who will rule on the appeal?

I'm assuming Brady can appeal based on CBA and they will push for an independent arbitrator.

 

[12punch]

I think Brady gets to appeal his suspension automatically, but is there a process for the Patriots to appeal regarding their penalty? There may not be. That wouldn't be part of the CBA

yeah, i don't think they can appeal that --- sounds like they'd have to actually sue

 

[12punch]

what's hilarious is this is done in the name of 'integrity'

 

[Deamon]

I would like to commend the NFL here. Honestly. Regardless of how solid or not their evidence may have been, they came to a conclusion he did wrong. They did not back down regardless of this player's stature as a premier player and a face of the league. Everyone was saying cause he's a big time player in the league he'd get off with a slap on the wrist. Good for the NFL on standing their ground.

Commend them on being inconsistent?

4 games for their MVP, $1 Mil and next years 1st?

That is overboard.

Definitely overboard. Will the Patriot haters finally rejoice in this and shut up about it though? If Tom comes back and leads them to another SB, are they going to say this one was tainted too?

I think he appeals and it will be dropped to 3 games. Good thing they had a great draft this year though. That 1st rounder is a huge blow, but its not the end of the world for them. Can see them still beating Jax though, but don't think they have a shot vs Pitt and Buff in the first two weeks. Should be 1-2 heading into their bye, and it might be a tight race between them and buff at around 9-7 for the division when it's all said and done.

 

[BroadwayG]

It's more probable than not the suspension will be reduced or removed entirely.

 

[Deamon]

It's more probable than not the suspension will be reduced or removed entirely.

Not more probable then not that it will be removed entirely. I say about a 1% chance of that.

Probably 50/50 if it's reduced.

 

[rjv]

I would like to commend the NFL here. Honestly. Regardless of how solid or not their evidence may have been, they came to a conclusion he did wrong. They did not back down regardless of this player's stature as a premier player and a face of the league. Everyone was saying cause he's a big time player in the league he'd get off with a slap on the wrist. Good for the NFL on standing their ground.

Commend them on being inconsistent?

4 games for their MVP, $1 Mil and next years 1st?

That is overboard.

It would be if it were NE 1st offense but its not! Wouldn't you think NE would of learned from Spygate with the heavy punishment then? Their arrogance has put them in this position and they deserve every piece of this decision.

 

[VarsityBlues123]

It's more probable than not the suspension will be reduced or removed entirely.

No way this hold up with a neutral party hearing each side.

 

[amnesiac]

i suppose a first round pick for the Pats is really more like a second round pick anyway.

 

[VarsityBlues123]

haters will see this as awesome because they know its excessive.

reasonable people can do nothing but laugh when other teams do the same type of stuff and get warned.

 

[Run It Up]

I would like to commend the NFL here. Honestly. Regardless of how solid or not their evidence may have been, they came to a conclusion he did wrong. They did not back down regardless of this player's stature as a premier player and a face of the league. Everyone was saying cause he's a big time player in the league he'd get off with a slap on the wrist. Good for the NFL on standing their ground.

Commend them on being inconsistent?

4 games for their MVP, $1 Mil and next years 1st?

That is overboard.

It would be if it were NE 1st offense but its not!

Like first offense ever? Whens the clock start over? The next time the Saints, Falcons or Browns break a rule are they gonna have magnitudes more serious penalties?

 

[HellToupee]

time for Goodell to go

 

[GregR]

What will be the grounds for appeal, and who will rule on the appeal?

For Brady, guessing it's this from the 2013 copy of the Personal Conduct Policy:

Hearing Rights:

Following the imposition of discipline, the affected person will have the right to appeal the decision. (For players, the disciplinary decision must be appealed within three (3) business days.) Persons filing an appeal shall be entitled to a prompt hearing pursuant to Article 46 of the Collective Bargaining Agreement and the NFL Constitution and Bylaws, to be conducted by the Commissioner or his designee. In cases involving players, the NFLPA will be entitled to participate in the hearing.

No clue on the team punishments.

 

[32 Counter Pass]

My bet is the suspension reduced to 2 games. The fine and loss of picks stay.

 

[12punch]

piping in crowd noise to disrupt the other teams's offense was a 5th......?

yeah, this seems about right.

 

[Maurile Tremblay]

What will be the grounds for appeal, and who will rule on the appeal?

I'm assuming Brady can appeal based on CBA and they will push for an independent arbitrator.

He can appeal, but I'm wondering what his grounds will be. That Wells got the facts wrong? That Goodell abused his discretion by making the suspension so long?

 

[rjv]

I would like to commend the NFL here. Honestly. Regardless of how solid or not their evidence may have been, they came to a conclusion he did wrong. They did not back down regardless of this player's stature as a premier player and a face of the league. Everyone was saying cause he's a big time player in the league he'd get off with a slap on the wrist. Good for the NFL on standing their ground.

Commend them on being inconsistent?

4 games for their MVP, $1 Mil and next years 1st?

That is overboard.

It would be if it were NE 1st offense but its not!

Like first offense ever? Whens the clock start over? The next time the Saints, Falcons or Browns break a rule are they gonna have magnitudes more serious penalties?

Of course!! you can't honestly believe that this decision was based upon a imaginary "the Pats against the world" mentality? You can't seriously believe that. This was simply based on the fact that this is a repetitive issue.

 

[Hang 10]

haters will see this as awesome because they know its excessive.

reasonable people can do nothing but laugh when other teams do the same type of stuff and get warned.

It's the culture of cheating in New England that probably makes the punishment as harsh as it was. This is like getting Al Capone on tax evasion.

 

[Green and Gold]

I think everything but the first round pick is more than fair, and Brady's suspension time a little light (I though 8 games, maybe appealed to 4 at best). To me that seems a little much, very similar to Sean Payton being suspended for bountygate (which I didn't agree with at all). At least in this case there was some instance of Kraft not allowing McNally to be interviewed a 5th or 6th time, but it seems to me this should be mostly on Brady.

 

[Green and Gold]

haters will see this as awesome because they know its excessive.

reasonable people can do nothing but laugh when other teams do the same type of stuff and get warned.

It's the culture of cheating in New England that probably makes the punishment as harsh as it was. This is like getting Al Capone on tax evasion.

That actually makes some sense.

 

[HellToupee]

as a fellow Steelers fan & Pats hater this doesnt feel right

 

[GregR]

Maurile, if the Patriots wanted to appeal the draft pick and/or fine in court, who would the burden of proof fall on?

 

[Run It Up]

I would like to commend the NFL here. Honestly. Regardless of how solid or not their evidence may have been, they came to a conclusion he did wrong. They did not back down regardless of this player's stature as a premier player and a face of the league. Everyone was saying cause he's a big time player in the league he'd get off with a slap on the wrist. Good for the NFL on standing their ground.

Commend them on being inconsistent?

4 games for their MVP, $1 Mil and next years 1st?

That is overboard.

It would be if it were NE 1st offense but its not!

Like first offense ever? Whens the clock start over? The next time the Saints, Falcons or Browns break a rule are they gonna have magnitudes more serious penalties?

Of course!! you can't honestly believe that this decision was based upon a imaginary "the Pats against the world" mentality? You can't seriously believe that.

No it was more along the lines of every team has done something and this "first offense" nonsense is complete garbage.

 

[AhrnCityPahnder]

I would like to commend the NFL here. Honestly. Regardless of how solid or not their evidence may have been, they came to a conclusion he did wrong. They did not back down regardless of this player's stature as a premier player and a face of the league. Everyone was saying cause he's a big time player in the league he'd get off with a slap on the wrist. Good for the NFL on standing their ground.

Commend them on being inconsistent?

4 games for their MVP, $1 Mil and next years 1st?

That is overboard.

Definitely overboard. Will the Patriot haters finally rejoice in this and shut up about it though? If Tom comes back and leads them to another SB, are they going to say this one was tainted too?

Depends. will they be caught cheating again? If so, then yes.

 

[Franknbeans]

2 interesting takes on Boston sports radio...

Felger and Mazz: Felger points out on page 20 of the report where the Patriots did not make available McNally for the last time. Says that's where they f'd up.

Arnold and crew: Goodell will be out as commissioner soon after this decision.

 

[GoBirds]

Wait I thought they didn't do anything wrong, quite the punishment for doing nothing.

 

[Alkahsu]

The picks and fine are a little harsh and amount of games too light.

 

[davearm]

In his statement responding to the Wells report, Kraft said that the Pats would accept whatever punishment the NFL hands down.

Should be interesting to see if he/they abide by that.

 

[Run It Up]

Wait I thought they didn't do anything wrong, quite the punishment for doing nothing.

It is pretty impressive the level of punishment levied on assumptions.

The Jets straight up tampered with Revis and got a 100k fine. People have tampered a thousand times less than that and lost draft picks.

 

[AhrnCityPahnder]

Arnold and crew: Goodell will be out as commissioner soon after this decision.

And I thought today's news couldn't get any better.

 

[Maurile Tremblay]

Maurile, if the Patriots wanted to appeal the draft pick and/or fine in court, who would the burden of proof fall on?

The Patriots would have to prove that the league had no authority to levy the punishment, either because it exceeded the scope of whatever agreement governs team discipline, or because the relevant provision in that agreement is unenforceable for some reason.

Proving anything one way or the other about deflating balls would be very unlikely to enter into it.

 

[rjv]

Its a decision based upon it being a repetitive issue. The Pats have disregarded the integrity of the NFL for the second time. It also shows that there is a huge lack of institutional control within the organization.

 

[bicycle_seat_sniffer]

2 interesting takes on Boston sports radio...

Felger and Mazz: Felger points out on page 20 of the report where the Patriots did not make available McNally for the last time. Says that's where they f'd up.

Arnold and crew: Goodell will be out as commissioner soon after this decision.

No he wont

 

[12punch]

EDEN PRAIRIE, Minn. -- Down to the last few days of the season and maybe Brett Favre's career, the NFL ended a slow-paced investigation of tawdry allegations against the quarterback with a $50,000 fine and a rebuke for not being candid.

The league punished one of its marquee players for failing to cooperate with investigators who were trying to determine if the 41-year-old quarterback sent inappropriate messages and below-the-belt photos to Jenn Sterger in 2008, when both worked for the New York Jets.

times change, I guess........

 

[Bossman]

How does this infraction incur so much more of a penalty than piping in crowd noise?

Can only assume it was the perceived lack of cooperation by Brady and the team?

 

[davearm]

I would like to commend the NFL here. Honestly. Regardless of how solid or not their evidence may have been, they came to a conclusion he did wrong. They did not back down regardless of this player's stature as a premier player and a face of the league. Everyone was saying cause he's a big time player in the league he'd get off with a slap on the wrist. Good for the NFL on standing their ground.

Commend them on being inconsistent?

4 games for their MVP, $1 Mil and next years 1st?

That is overboard.

It would be if it were NE 1st offense but its not!

Like first offense ever? Whens the clock start over? The next time the Saints, Falcons or Browns break a rule are they gonna have magnitudes more serious penalties?

Of course!! you can't honestly believe that this decision was based upon a imaginary "the Pats against the world" mentality? You can't seriously believe that.

No it was more along the lines of every team has done something and this "first offense" nonsense is complete garbage.

Aside from whatever else they've been caught doing, the Pats were busted for using illegal game balls, back in 2004. They were putting practice balls into play during games.

It's not even their first gameball-related offense.

 

[Hang 10]

Arnold and crew: Goodell will be out as commissioner soon after this decision.

And I thought today's news couldn't get any better.

Like Christmas in May.

 

[The General]

2 interesting takes on Boston sports radio...

Felger and Mazz: Felger points out on page 20 of the report where the Patriots did not make available McNally for the last time. Says that's where they f'd up.

Arnold and crew: Goodell will be out as commissioner soon after this decision.

 

[Deamon]

I would like to commend the NFL here. Honestly. Regardless of how solid or not their evidence may have been, they came to a conclusion he did wrong. They did not back down regardless of this player's stature as a premier player and a face of the league. Everyone was saying cause he's a big time player in the league he'd get off with a slap on the wrist. Good for the NFL on standing their ground.

Commend them on being inconsistent?

4 games for their MVP, $1 Mil and next years 1st?

That is overboard.

Definitely overboard. Will the Patriot haters finally rejoice in this and shut up about it though? If Tom comes back and leads them to another SB, are they going to say this one was tainted too?

Depends. will they be caught cheating again? If so, then yes.

Some people will never let it go... and will put teams/players in lose-lose situations and then blast them when they lose. Be a sports fan and put yourself on the line with a chance to lose something. If they lose, you'll say they can't win without cheating. If they win, and do nothing wrong this year, you'll point back to all the other times they were wrong. Otherwise you're just an armchair fan who will blast them even if they do nothing wrong.

I'm not even a pats fan and I'd like to see them win again, completely within the rule book, and see what everyone says. People will still find excuses to devalue their talent and greatness. They beat the colts by 35+... wasn't cause of the balls. They won the superbowl with obvious properly inflated balls. You got your fair, if not excessive punishment, be happy and start rooting for your team now.

 

[Run It Up]

I would like to commend the NFL here. Honestly. Regardless of how solid or not their evidence may have been, they came to a conclusion he did wrong. They did not back down regardless of this player's stature as a premier player and a face of the league. Everyone was saying cause he's a big time player in the league he'd get off with a slap on the wrist. Good for the NFL on standing their ground.

Commend them on being inconsistent?

4 games for their MVP, $1 Mil and next years 1st?

That is overboard.

It would be if it were NE 1st offense but its not!

Like first offense ever? Whens the clock start over? The next time the Saints, Falcons or Browns break a rule are they gonna have magnitudes more serious penalties?

Of course!! you can't honestly believe that this decision was based upon a imaginary "the Pats against the world" mentality? You can't seriously believe that.

No it was more along the lines of every team has done something and this "first offense" nonsense is complete garbage.

Aside from whatever else they've been caught doing, the Pats were busted for using illegal game balls, back in 2004. They were putting practice balls into play during games.

It's not even their first gameball-related offense.

And I'm sure if you added up all the offenses from 2000 to 2015 for every team NE falls somewhere in the average, whats your point?

 

[SacramentoBob]

It's not the crime it's the cover up.

 

[SacramentoBob]

But everyone else was doing it!!!

 

[Maurile Tremblay]

How does this infraction incur so much more of a penalty than piping in crowd noise?

Can only assume it was the perceived lack of cooperation by Brady and the team?

Yes, if Brady had just admitted it, I think there would have been a nominal fine and that's it.

 

[SacramentoBob]

Starting a new delusional Pats fan contest starting with post #8713.