lexrageorge said:
Scorched earth response could mean a number of things:
a.) Bring down Goodell by rallying the owners.
b.) Bring in the lawyers, basically challenging Goodell's authority to impose penalties when the evidence indicates that no wrongdoing occurred.
c.) Begin massive PR blitz exposing the skeletons in the NFL closet with the direct intention of so damaging the NFL brand that Goodell is forced to resign.
d.) Refuse to pay the fine.
e.) Boost Belichick's salary by whatever fine he is assessed by the league, and let the entire league know this was done.
f.) Refuse to take the field for the first game should Belichick or Brady be suspended.
I don't see any of these ever happening except perhaps (a), which may happen anyway. There's really no precedent for a team being punished for doing nothing wrong, along with there being evidence to back the assertion that the team did nothing wrong.
The concept of scorched earth I had in mind is very much embodied in the above response.
Specifically, I would imagine this as legal action which is a rare/unheard of, but potentially justified in this case.
If the NFL really let a marquee franchise go into an preventable media purgatory for 10 days based on a complaint from a rival GM,
and it has no decisive proof of any wrongdoing after an extensive external investigation , than it is legally exposed in a big F'n way.
Were i Kraft in this scenario, i would not only refuse the legitimacy of any proof-less penalty, but prevent it from ever happening again by
dismantling the infrastructure that came up with it (scorched earth).
In other words, go entirely on the offensive if the NEP are in fact innocent of purposeful tampering (which really appears to be the case)
If punishments are rendered without any proof, clean house by way of owner alliances.
It is not hard to make a case to another owner that the NFL front office had a historically terrible year from a management perspective.
It is hard to screw up the golden goose, but a lot more people think the NFL is a total clown show than they did before this year started.
If the owners decline support, and opt instead to punish the NEP for disproportionate and sustained success, than
that is the way it is, but it should not prevent Kraft from trying to make things right.
In fact, better find out now than later..