Brady will be playing week one.

So they had the hearing today that concluded to schedule another hearing on Aug 19th. WTF?

 

It certainly would seem that way, right? Open-and-shut case.

But there are also other provisions in the CBA about what punishments can be doled out for equipment violations. Then there is the matter of Brady never being given or told the consequences of not cooperating with the investigation.

 

1. It's pretty clear to me that Brady is guilty of having game balls manipulated to his liking. My guess is that he isn't the only QB to do this, but he got caught. There is evidence linking him to having a definite preference for how the balls feel (sorry for that horrible visual): urging a rules change on this; and then making a public statement about it in reference to Gronk's spikes.

2. The McNally/Jastremski texts further implicate Brady, in terms of balls being inflated/deflated to a preference. (And the whole "Deflator" explanation given by the Pats is so ridiculous it's insulting.)

3. McNally took footballs into a location he should not have, without game officials' knowledge. Whether or not he actually doctored the balls is immaterial; this was a complete and utter violation of protocol and again shows the Pats organization's lack of integrity. But I think we all know he WAS in there to doctor the footballs. If you know you need to take a leak, you would do so before getting the footballs. Logic just dictates this.

 

But this is what worries me that Brady can still get off - the Saints investigation punished the team and Payton, but Vilma got off.

 

From the sounds of it on ESPN the judge lit into the NFL pretty good and their guess is Brady is going to walk scot free. And the NFL bumbles something again.

 

Well I heard the judge ask brady's side a lot of questions too but the NFL TV SHOWS can't stop sniffing bradys jock. So we only get 1 side. If he goes free then the NFL will have lost control. And it will go straight to poop!

Edit. TTF frowns on me cussing on here.

 

If I'm Bell and Brady gets out of this, I got my attorney on speed dial.

 

Two hearings was the plan all along

 

The story being presented by nfl.Com has the judge questioning both sides with some very pointed questions designed to scare both sides into a settlement. By suggesting they could lose he hopes a settlement can be reached. Sounded like the leagues lawyer didn't flinch while the unions lawyer had to admit that some of Brady's actions were not on their instructions but rather his agents. That has got to hurt.

 

This would open a real Pandora's Box!

 

Difference with Bell is he broke the law... Brady violated a policy. Only way he breaks a law going further is to lie under oath. Bell doesn't have a case.

 

People seem to forget this. Terribly irresponsible. We're just lucky he didn't get into an accident.

 

Yeah Bell broke the law and is paying for it through the justice system. Why does the NFL have the right to suspend him and not Brady? They both broke NFL policy no?

 

If the NFL's policy when it comes to discipline are within the parameters of the law and the CBA that both sides agreed to then Brady shouldn't be able to challenge them as an individual.
Now if the Players Union wants to challenge them in court as a whole the different story.
Until then Brady's suspension should stand.

 

I agree... It's a mess. Pisses me off that Bell did what he did and the fan in me says WTF?!?!?!

Unfortunately it is what it is... Policy only stands and is enacted under the org. The law is the law.

Definitely muddy waters where in both exist and have to be adhered to as confusing as it gets.

Both serve a purpose and as a crutch but only get upheld in certain avenues that can be questioned as well.

I think Brady is a dirt bag as well as the whole Pats org and they've merited that thought for a long while now, but it doesn't diminish or undo nor take a way the fact that Bell did what he did even as twisted as it all gets.

My solution is simple and gets me chided and laughed at if not even Ever simply replied too... time and time again.

These pricks get favorited in the world while us pricks in the real world finance them and argue the plus and minuses of it all.

I love my team and football as a whole or atleast whatever is left of it. But I'm a realist and these stupid player decisions along with their players union are ruining any good thing left of the game.

If a guys a turd, it's not his fault. If he can't cut it it's not his fault, if he doesn't get a second chance... It's still not his fault!

Pisses me off, but go steelers

Miss the old days

 

But he's Tom Brady. You know? The guy reeks of arrogance.

Whoever thought Ben Roethlisberger would be the one (and one of the very few) to accept an unjust punishment and use it as means to take personal responsibility?

 

What kills me is the narrative from the fans of the rest of the league.

When other teams were getting hosed with stupid fines and suspensions. No one was stepping forward with "This is unjust! He has too much power!" The talking heads were placing the onus on the players for adjusting and the behavior.

Now it's the Golden Child and you'd think they were all going to die in a hail of brimstone if he doesn't get away with it!

 

Good point. I've never been a fan of Ben as a person, going all the way back. But credit where it's due, he took a BS suspension and accepted it with decency, and hasn't been in trouble or even as annoying ever since. Brady gets a lighter suspension and and pisses and moans and sues until he gets his way. The worst part is, he might get it. He already has way too many people accusing Goodell of a witch hunt.

Don't get me wrong, Goodell's unchecked power is ridiculous, but this is consistent with how it's been since he came around. No one is picking on Tom, and I don't even understand the narrative that Goodell is intentionally sabotaging NE. Like this makes him, the league, or anyone look good? Please, we learned from the last time NE got caught cheating that Goodell is closer to being on their side than justice's side.

 

The judge asked the NFL for direct proof that Brady ordered the balls to be deflated. The judge will rule in behalf of Brady. Brady walks scott free and will play game one. The only question in my mind is: Did Roger handle this situation in a manner so as to get Brady out of this jam?

 

This is what Ive been thinking for a long time now.

 

They don't need direct proof of anything. It's not a court of law, it's a business policy. "Direct proof" is hard to come by for any crime. If you look at guys in jail for murder, I bet very few of them are caught committing the crime on tape. But there's probably some kind of evidence that they were nearby when it happened, that kind of thing.

Brady's defenders point to the part of Wells' report that says he "more probably than not was generally aware" of the cheating, saying that's no kind of proof. But the entire reason Wells wrote it that way is that's the threshold for what the NFL needs to find someone guilty. They don't need video footage or DNA evidence from his spit on the ball valve. In order to suspend someone, Brady had to be more probably than not generally aware of the cheating.

And that doesn't even get into every other reason to suspend him, like the way he handled everything afterwards, how that was both uncooperative and a detriment to the image of the league, the latter of which is what Ben was suspended for.

 

Hopefully the judge is just trying to throw the ball back into their court, and he isn't actually so stupid that he's confused about the level of proof needed, like half of America is.

 

Pretty much agree with your comments about a business policy being violated and the business has the authority as long their policy doesn't break the law. I guess it comes down to a matter of fairness and ensuring the punishment is administered consistently. Have there been other cases of equipment violations that gave a player an unfair advantage where the league came down on a player for that could be referenced from a fairness of punishment standpoint? I guess there are a lot of examples of inconsistent punishment being doled out by the commish and the league. BTW, maybe TTF should be watching your posts more carefully - we don't need to hear about Bradys spit on ball valves ... lol