NFL 2015 Offseason

[Ziggy Stardust]

There is more here, but the evidence is clear cut.

Curious that it leaves out the part where Brady went 37 for 50 and 4 TDs in the Super Bowl with properly inflated balls.

Also, "clear cut" is fairly strong language describing a report that basically says they still don't know what happened but hey look at all this circumstantial evidence in the form of text messages taken out of context.

[Thanas]

Yeah, the only ones defending it are patriot homers.

Curious that it leaves out the part where Brady went 37 for 50 and 4 TDs in the Super Bowl with properly inflated balls.

It is almost like none of that matters. *

[Thanas]

BTW:

As noted, there was a significant exception to the cooperation provided by the Patriots. Although we requested a follow-up interview of Jim McNally after our initial interview, counsel for the Patriots refused our request. We offered to conduct the interview at any time or location that would be convenient for McNally, and explained—both in writing and in-person during other meetings—that our follow-up questions would be limited to subject matter directly relevant to the investigation that was developed following our initial interview with McNally. McNally was one of the earliest Patriots personnel interviewed by our investigative team and a number of important follow-up questions had arisen based on subsequent interviews and information discovered after our initial interview of McNally. Counsel for the Patriots, however, declined to produce McNally, and communicated an unwillingness even to advise McNally of our request for a follow-up interview. We do not know definitively whether McNally was, in fact, informed of our request. The investigative process would have benefited from further questioning of McNally on certain topics, and we believe that the actions of the Patriots and their counsel in this regard are inconsistent both with the club‟s public pronouncements of full cooperation with the investigation and its obligations under Section 2 of the Policy on Integrity of the Game & Enforcement of Competitive Rules

In particular, Section 2 of the Policy provides that: Actual or suspected competitive violations will be thoroughly and promptly investigated. Any club identifying a violation is required promptly to report the violation, and give its full support and cooperation in any investigation. Failure to cooperate in an investigation shall be considered conduct detrimental to the League and will subject the offending club and responsible individual(s) to appropriate discipline. Section 4 of the Policy provides that “[t]he standard of proof required to find that a violation of the competitive rules has occurred shall be a Preponderance of the Evidence.”

So, fuck them.

When interviewed, Brady claimed that, prior to the events surrounding the AFC Championship Game, he did not know McNally's name or anything about McNally's game-day responsibilities, including whether McNally had any responsibilities relating to game balls or the game officials. When asked specifically whether he had spoken with Jastremski about McNally on the night of the Jets game, he stated: “I didn‟t know who Jim McNally was so I find it hard to believe I could bring that up.”
On this point, Brady's statement is inconsistent with Jastremski's statements that Brady knew McNally and made a comment about McNally during the Jets game when complaining about the game balls.
[...]
Brady made a comment about McNally and referred to the testing of the game balls by the game officials prior to the game. Jastremski explained that Brady “knows that Jim is the referees locker room attendant
[...]
Three days later, in the Patriots equipment room and with Jastremski present, Brady autographed two footballs supplied by Jastremski and handed the balls to McNally. McNally understood the balls to be Patriots practice balls. At that time, Brady also signed a Tom Brady game-worn jersey for McNally.
[...]
McNally also stated that he knows that Brady prefers game balls inflateed to 12.5 psi, because Brady personally told McNally of his preference

[Flagg]

Has El Rapist Fantastico Del Heisman from FSU been picked yet?

Again, the evidence in that case is leaning towards her being a lying gold-digger than it is towards him being a rapist. But why let facts get in the way of your narrative?

Sorry, did a person say something? I thought I heard a rapist apologist and a racist, but it must have just been a strong gust of wind from the South... Oh well. Luckily it's not a couple of cases of ad hominems.

There is more here, but the evidence is clear cut.

Curious that it leaves out the part where Brady went 37 for 50 and 4 TDs in the Super Bowl with properly inflated balls.

You're talking about the Super Bowls before the Patriots got caught cheating the first time, right? And are we sure those balls were properly inflated? I may be a non licensed Old Country Lawyer with 17 warrants out for my arrest due to all them dead prostitutes who goes to Emergency Rooms and Walk-In Clinics under an assumed identity in order to, as I like to say, "Get all them barnacles scraped off my dingy", but being a cheater and a mighty miserable one at that, I must say: God damn Brady, you are one dumb sumbitch. That boy's gonna have more asterisks next to his name than that 16 year old Puerto Rican who pitched in the Lil' League World Series!

[Flagg]

"You Ok Johnny Boy?"

This. Is. Definitely. THE quintessential fucking question asked by any guy whose hired another guy or group of guys to commit a crime (Autographs? Really? Guy has tens of millions of dollars, and you took "valuable autographs"? I mean yeah, he's Tom Brady, he's a great QB while being your typical overachieving athlete who for some inexplicable reason cheats I will give him that, but how about gold, travelers checks, or good old fashioned CASH you cheap-ass bitch? I mean really, he has to sign his name on paper daily, of this I have no doubt, so signing a picture of himself is like, no different from signing for a package of coffee grounds sealed in plastic vacuumed tight, and dipped in plaster surrounding a kilo or 2 of coke or his dogs anal cyst removal, of this I guarantee you. Signing some pictures, helmets, jerseys, and footballs is like taking a shit to him. It's not the least he could do as that would be nothing, but it's the next best thing. Why are rich douchebags so fucking cheap?) for them, and is now constantly worried the cops will go to them asking questions and they will talk for immunity or a lighter sentence.

[TheHammer]

Has El Rapist Fantastico Del Heisman from FSU been picked yet?

Again, the evidence in that case is leaning towards her being a lying gold-digger than it is towards him being a rapist. But why let facts get in the way of your narrative?

Sorry, did a person say something? I thought I heard a rapist apologist and a racist, but it must have just been a strong gust of wind from the South... Oh well. Luckily it's not a couple of cases of ad hominems.

Ah Flagg (Facts Lost AGain Guy?), just as worthless as ever.

There is more here, but the evidence is clear cut.

Curious that it leaves out the part where Brady went 37 for 50 and 4 TDs in the Super Bowl with properly inflated balls.

Also, "clear cut" is fairly strong language describing a report that basically says they still don't know what happened but hey look at all this circumstantial evidence in the form of text messages taken out of context.

Curiously, essentially this same argument was made post spy-gate. "Didn't you see the Patriots dominate the entire season and nearly go undefeated in the Super Bowl?"

The thing is, we've got plenty of examples of really good and even great players who still cheated even when they probably didn't need to. That's not an excuse.

538 actually had an interesting analysis, and highlighted another reported that focused not on Brady's passing numbers, but on the ball security the Patriots have shown over the past several years. It's not been proven that an under-inflated ball is less prone to be fumbled, but one could certainly see how that would be the case - many fumbles are a result of "punching" the ball loose, and an under inflated ball would have more give than a fully inflated one.

[Flagg]

I could have sworn I heard a small, stinky fart say my user name in this thread... Weird.

Oh well, farts may say my user name, but at least my user name can't be used as a synonym for a dick.

Anyway, is there any word yet on league action yet?

[Flagg]

"A giant 20 story tall statue of Tom Brady squeezing his balls!" About made me die of asphyxiation I was laughing so fucking hard.

[Thanas]

Well, clearly the NFL though they were cheating:

Tom Brady suspended four games, Pats lose 1st round pick in 2016 and a 4th in 2017, and team fined $1 million

https://twitter.com/AdamSchefter/status ... 0894918658

Hot damn. This is what you get for lying to investigators and refusing to cooperate (which is allowed to be punished under new CBA).

The New England Patriots were notified today of the following discipline that has been imposed for violations of the NFL Policy on Integrity of the Game and Enforcement of Competitive Rules relating to the use of under-inflated footballs in the AFC Championship Game of this past season:

For the violation of the playing rules and the failure to cooperate in the subsequent investigation, the New England Patriots are fined $1 million and will forfeit the club’s first-round selection in the 2016 NFL Draft and the club’s fourth-round selection in the 2017 NFL Draft. If the Patriots have more than one selection in either of these rounds, the earlier selection shall be forfeited. The club may not trade or otherwise encumber these selections.

Patriots owner Robert Kraft advised Commissioner Roger Goodell last week that Patriots employees John Jastremski and James McNally have been indefinitely suspended without pay by the club, effective on May 6th. Neither of these individuals may be reinstated without the prior approval of NFL Executive Vice President of Football Operations Troy Vincent. If they are reinstated by the Patriots, Jastremski is prohibited from having any role in the preparation, supervision, or handling of footballs to be used in NFL games during the 2015 season. McNally is barred from serving as a locker room attendant for the game officials, or having any involvement with the preparation, supervision, or handling of footballs or any other equipment on game day.

Quarterback Tom Brady will be suspended without pay for the first four games of the 2015 regular season for conduct detrimental to the integrity of the NFL. Brady may participate in all off-season, training camp and pre-season activities, including pre-season games.

Commissioner Goodell authorized the discipline that was imposed by NFL Executive President Troy Vincent, pursuant to the commissioner’s disciplinary authority under the NFL Constitution and Bylaws and the Collective Bargaining Agreement with the NFL Players Association.

“We reached these decisions after extensive discussion with Troy Vincent and many others,” Commissioner Goodell said. “We relied on the critical importance of protecting the integrity of the game and the thoroughness and independence of the Wells report.”

Following are excerpts from Troy Vincent’s letters to the Patriots and Tom Brady:

From Troy Vincent’s letter to the Patriots: “On May 6th, independent investigator Ted Wells issued his report regarding the footballs used by the Patriots in this year’s AFC Championship Game. That report established that the footballs used by the Patriots were inflated at a level that did not satisfy the standard set forth in the NFL’s Official Playing Rules and that the condition of the footballs was the result of deliberate actions by employees of the Patriots. The activities of the Patriots’ employees were thoroughly documented in the report, including through a series of text messages and telephone communications, as well as evidence of a breach in pre-game protocol. In addition, the conclusions were supported by extensive scientific analysis, as detailed in the report.

“Based on the extensive record developed in the investigation and detailed in the Wells report, and after full consideration of this matter by the Commissioner and the Football Operations department, we have determined that the Patriots have violated the NFL's Policy on Integrity of the Game and Enforcement of Competitive Rules, as well as the Official Playing Rules and the established guidelines for the preparation of game footballs set forth in the NFL’s Game Operations Policy Manual for Member Clubs. In making this determination, we have accepted the findings contained in the comprehensive report independently prepared by Mr. Wells and his colleagues.

“In determining that a violation occurred, we applied the standard of proof stated in the Integrity of the Game Policy: namely, preponderance of the evidence, meaning that ‘as a whole, the fact sought to be proved is more probable than not.’ This is a well-recognized legal standard, which is applied in courts and workplaces every day throughout the country. The evidence gathered during the investigation and reviewed in the report more than satisfy this standard and demonstrate an ongoing plan by at least certain Patriots’ employees to deflate footballs, to do so in a secretive manner after the game officials have certified the footballs as suitable for play, and to hide these activities even from their own supervisors.

“As you know, we regard violations of competitive rules as significant and deserving of a strong sanction, both to punish the actual violation and to deter misconduct in the future. In this case, the footballs were intentionally deflated in an effort to provide a competitive advantage to Tom Brady after having been certified by the game officials as being in compliance with the playing rules. While we cannot be certain when the activity began, the evidence suggests that January 18th was not the first and only occasion when this occurred, particularly in light of the evidence referring to deflation of footballs going back to before the beginning of the 2014 season.

“It is impossible to determine whether this activity had an effect on the outcome of games or what that effect was. There seems little question that the outcome of the AFC Championship Game was not affected. But this has never been a significant factor in assessing discipline. There are many factors which affect the outcome of a game. It is an inherently speculative exercise to try to assign specific weight to any one factor. The key consideration in any case like this is that the playing rules exist for a reason, and all clubs are entitled to expect that the playing rules will be followed by participating teams. Violations that diminish the league's reputation for integrity and fair play cannot be excused simply because the precise impact on the final score cannot be determined.

“Here, there are several factors that merit strong consideration in assessing discipline. The first is the club’s prior record. In 2007 the club and several individuals were sanctioned for videotaping signals of opposing defensive coaches in violation of the Constitution and Bylaws. Under the Integrity of the Game Policy, this prior violation of competitive rules was properly considered in determining the discipline in this case.

“Another important consideration identified in the Policy is ‘the extent to which the club and relevant individuals cooperated with the investigation.’ The Wells report identifies two significant failures in this respect. The first involves the refusal by the club’s attorneys to make Mr. McNally available for an additional interview, despite numerous requests by Mr. Wells and a cautionary note in writing of the club’s obligation to cooperate in the investigation. The second was the failure of Tom Brady to produce any electronic evidence (emails, texts, etc.), despite being offered extraordinary safeguards by the investigators to protect unrelated personal information. Although we do not hold the club directly responsible for Mr. Brady’s refusal to cooperate, it remains significant that the quarterback of the team failed to cooperate fully with the investigation.

“Finally, it is significant that key witnesses – Mr. Brady, Mr. Jastremski, and Mr. McNally - were not fully candid during the investigation.

“In accepting the findings of the report, we note that the report identified no evidence of wrongdoing or knowledge of wrongdoing on the part of any member of the coaching staff, including Head Coach Bill Belichick, or by any Patriots’ staff member other than Mr. Jastremski and Mr. McNally, including head equipment manager Dave Schoenfeld. Similarly, the Wells report is clear that Patriots ownership and executives did not participate in any way in the misconduct, or have knowledge of the misconduct.

“Nonetheless, it remains a fundamental principle that the club is responsible for the actions of club employees. This principle has been applied to many prior cases. Thus, while no discipline should or will be imposed personally on any owner or executive at the Patriots, discipline is appropriately imposed on the club.”

From Troy Vincent’s letter to Tom Brady:

“With respect to your particular involvement, the report established that there is substantial and credible evidence to conclude you were at least generally aware of the actions of the Patriots’ employees involved in the deflation of the footballs and that it was unlikely that their actions were done without your knowledge. Moreover, the report documents your failure to cooperate fully and candidly with the investigation, including by refusing to produce any relevant electronic evidence (emails, texts, etc.), despite being offered extraordinary safeguards by the investigators to protect unrelated personal information, and by providing testimony that the report concludes was not plausible and contradicted by other evidence.

“Your actions as set forth in the report clearly constitute conduct detrimental to the integrity of and public confidence in the game of professional football. The integrity of the game is of paramount importance to everyone in our league, and requires unshakable commitment to fairness and compliance with the playing rules. Each player, no matter how accomplished and otherwise respected, has an obligation to comply with the rules and must be held accountable for his actions when those rules are violated and the public’s confidence in the game is called into question.”

[Elfdart]

A better punishment would be making Brady play for the Jaguars.

Seriously though, this is a lot of hot air because the cheating still paid off. A Super Bowl ring is worth every draft pick for the next two seasons, and a million dollars is no big deal to the franchise either. If the NFL wanted to inflict a penalty that really meant something, they would declare forfeits for the AFC title game and the Super Bowl. This is a cost of doing business Kraft and his team will gladly pay.

[Flagg]

Wow. 4 games. That'll teach him! Next make him stand in the corner for 10 minutes then write "I will not ask dumbass low paid equipment guys to deflate balls for me anymore in exchange for shit with my signature on it, I promise!" 100 times on the blackboard. Then he can't play with the toy blocks for a week, because obviously this is fucking Kindergarten and not something involving a billions of dollars industry.

He should have at least been suspended a year and have to forfeit his Super Bowl ring to be sold at auction for a charity of sterling repute, where HIS $10 million fine should go.

And I'm not saying they'd have lost the AFC championship game and not gone on to win the Super Bowl with the worst call ever by a head coach (who should be forced to drag a massive wooden 12 up the steepest hill in Seattle (and there are some steep hills!), have his cock pierced (a few months ahead (hee hee) of time so it's not too barbaric, and have the following tattooed on his dick in a swirled, wrapping around style (even if a microscope be required): "GIVE THE FUCKING BALL TO MARSHAWN LYNCH" on the "S" in "Marshawn" drawn like a Seahawks neon green Skittle.) I'm simply saying that this is the second time the New England Patriots (now to be called the "New EnglandCheatriots" for all football time. So basically until Brady and Bellicheat (also for all football time) leave the New England Cheatriots in all capacities, or in Bill Bellicheat's case, death.

SO IT IS BY ROYAL DECREE! ANY OBJECTIONS?
Oh, there appears to be a large group of Bostonians (Southies by the look, smell of cheap vodka, and general male shirtlessness) objecting. I believe I've heard the words and phrase "F***ot", "R***rd", and "Jew York N***er-Lover" screamed at our Royal Grace (me). Luckily, as South Bostonians are not actually people, we're going to take them for dissection, mainly of the small, heavily bone encased (at least 3 inches thick at the thinnest point), and highly pickled brain matter.

Oh, and uh: Fuck Tom Brady and the New England Cheatriots, Bill Bellicheat, and double-fuck the NFL for only giving someone who's cheating had a direct impact on the game (and likely has before and for awhile) a fucking 4 game suspension when Adrian Petersen was out for a year (rightfully so, IMO) for something with nothing to do with the NFL (beyond the morality clause) or the games in which he played.

But then again, all this proves once again is that Tom Brady is a special snowflake in the NFL. But the sun's setting Tommy-Boy! You're getting no younger. And you might not even get into the NFL Hall of Fame for a few years at least after eligible and hopefully, because you're a twice caught cheating cunt, never. Especially if/when they catch you again. But that's almost certainly too much to hope for with Goodell giving Bob Kraft blowjobs on request. The guy who got jacked of a SB ring by Vladimir Putin (he steals everything! Rights, dignity, vodka, Crimea... The list would go on, but I'm afraid he'll steal my good weed. ) get's blowjobs on command from the commissioner of the NFL. God bless America.

[Flagg]

I keep reading the part specifically directed to Brady and I just wish the guy writing it had the moral fortitude and frankly, BALLS, to just say in plain words what he is dancing around doing as best he fucking can not to call the motherfucking cheating piece of shit exactly what he is:
A LIAR. A no good, rotten, lying scumbag. Yes, I know he couldn't call him those last parts despite their 100% accuracy. I just wish they wouldn't fucking hide it behind excessive wordage and other bullshit legalese. It makes it hard for stupid people to understand exactly what he did, because it says "he almost certainly cheated which we cannot outright prove, but he lied his ass off to everyone investigating him for cheating and he would only do that if he were cheating!

And frankly, the NFL can suck my dick dry because there was a very simple solution to resolving this fucking mess. You go to Brady and say "You tell us EVERYTHING about what happened before, during, and after the 2014 AFC Championship regarding the footballs provided by your team and how, who, and why (It's fucking obvious why, Brady threw them better, his teammates caught them better, and they didn't fumble or get force fumbled much if at all, but being thorough is your friend) was involved, how they were involved, and why they were involved. Every single thing that happened. And you will be fined $5 million instead of $10 million, and will be suspended half the year instead of the entire season. But if we find out you told a single lie to us intentionally and it is not clarified and corrected within a reasonable amount of time you will be fined $20 million and sit out 2 seasons instead of just one. So who do you care about more, Tommy? You... Or your team?

That way if he names all the rats they get flushed out and he has to name them all no matter how high up in the Cheatriots organization. And any criticism can be deflected by: "Hey, I'm a good QB ( ) and my team needs me back on the field as soon as possible. Anyone who doesn't understand that doesn't understand teamwork! I need to be there on the field ASAP and what I did was the only way to do it and who cares, they are a bunch of cheaters anyway!" (Classic "I need to be there to help my friends win as soon as I can!" hypocritical bullshit.)

Maybe in Tammy err Tommy's absence they can hire Tebow as a circus act to sell tickets to the Christers and actual Tim Tebow fans, the poor, sad, bastards. Afterwards, when they play the Jags, he can make a stop and appearance near the FL Panhandle: "Hi everyone, I'm Tim Tebow! Anyone want my autograph!? I Specialize in family Bibles!" Would be the sad last words of a man with a few fans, no talent, and half the country wanting to shoot him in the face with a sawed-off-double-barreled-.12-gauge-shotgun. And while making an appearance at a gun convention in Tallahassee, FL where upon asking if anyone was interested in autographs, 23 Florida State University "Seminoles" fans grabbed their sawed-off-double-barreled-.12-gauge-shotgun's, all loaded with slugs, and Timothy Tebow no longer existed from the sternum up, and most of his pelvis was also virtually vaporized, his genitals like dust in the wind...

[Thanas]

Flagg, the report calls him a liar.

[Flagg]

Flagg, the report calls him a liar.

It literally used the word liar? Went over the excerpts you posted for the third time! Durr, of course, it's in the entire report! Because there's an entire report I can read, or just search through online that you posted excerpts from, because that's how it works and my brain no longer functions on a human level, I think I'm down to "above average baboon."


Just in the excerpt you posted they used every word but "liar", though it was said he was using different language that too many morons (70% of Americans are morons, so I imagine 90-95% of NFL Fans are morons, so that's a lot of fucking morons. And morons don't understand that even if the exact word "liar" isn't used "officially" ( ) then you can actually use that word to describe said lying, cheating, (his skin is as soft, smooth, and hairless as a girls), person. I'm being totally serious. I grew up with people who believed exactly that.

[Flagg]

I searched the PDF you posted, which is to my knowledge the entire report, and ran several word searches, and the words "lie", "liar", and "lying" are not even in the report. So while I agree, "it says he's a liar" it doesn't "say" he's a "liar" if that makes any sense. The English language can be a real twat. Like Tom Brady: liar, cheater, and wonderful teeth.

[Thanas]

"claims didn't match the results of our investigation or other evidence" is pretty clear lawyer-speak for "He's lying". Anybody with a law degree can only read it as such.

[Flagg]

"claims didn't match the results of our investigation or other evidence" is pretty clear lawyer-speak for "He's lying". Anybody with a law degree can only read it as such.

How many Patriots fans have Law Degrees? Wait, better question: How many Patriots fans Have legitimate Law Degrees not printed out from an "online school" at the library for $0.10 while buying an 8-ball of coke?

[Thanas]

So.....

55k people are without power, and 30 people have been reported missing due to floods in Houston....

https://twitter.com/AnthonyLy49/status/ ... 16/photo/1

The San Francisco 49ers quarterback has been posting about the coming season with the hashtag #7tormsComing. He decided today was an appropriate time to unleash that with regard to the ugly weather in Houston. I don't think anybody would think this was a good idea.

[Flagg]

So.....

55k people are without power, and 30 people have been reported missing due to floods in Houston....

https://twitter.com/AnthonyLy49/status/ ... 16/photo/1

The San Francisco 49ers quarterback has been posting about the coming season with the hashtag #7tormsComing. He decided today was an appropriate time to unleash that with regard to the ugly weather in Houston. I don't think anybody would think this was a good idea.

He's a stupid athlete, and he probably "has a guy" that types his words for him who is too high to know what is and is not appropriate. Fuck, the stupid asshole probably heard about Texas and the constant rain, but looked outside to make sure it wasn't raining before having high-guy type that.

And I just had the page finally load. Might want to up that from "stupid athlete" to "severely mentally disabled athlete who need to get kicked in the balls a bakers dozen number of times."

[Flagg]

When you manage to override my programming to say "fuck Texas" in virtually every situation to call Prison-Tat-Cap a "severely mentally disabled athlete who needs to get kicked in the balls a bakers dozen number of times", you've gone so far over the line that... Just damn.

I mean, I did kinda laugh. But I felt bad about it.