#DFG: Canceling the Noise

[bankshot1]

Is Roger going to take his ball and go home?
 
This turned personal when the NFL decided to let the Pats to twist in the wind, and Kraft basically called the NFL incompetent.

 

[Kevin Youkulele]

Is Roger going to take his ball and go home?
 
This turned personal when the NFL decided to let the Pats to twist in the wind, and Kraft basically called the NFL incompetent.

If Kraft can get critical mass behind an anti-Goodell movement, the way for the NFL to save face may be for Goodell to be relieved, whereupon the new commissioner can then dispose of deflategate without getting egg on his own face.

 

[TheoShmeo]

My friend did not specify but it's pretty obvious that Kraft is mad at Goodell for the idiocy of the last few weeks (the leaks, the possibly baseless accusations, etc.).  Kraft's speech, non-appearance at the Goodell state of the union address and behavior at the trophy presentation make that clear.  As to Goodell, I assume he is angry at Kraft's aggression towards him and the NFL.  Make no mistake, I believe that aggression is warranted and then some, and I am just speculating. 
 
As to what Goodell is going to do with that anger, I have no idea. 

 

[MarcSullivaFan]

All the prior caveats I gave up thread apply.  Take this with a grain of salt or ignore it if you think it should be ignored.
 
With that out of the way, I'm hearing from one of my two sources that Goodell is mad as hell and things have gotten very personal.  How that manifests itself I have no idea.  But the two sides are very dug in and it's a very tense situation.

At Kraft I assume? Belichick?

It's not surprising. I don't know why anyone would expect a fair or reasoned approach to this investigation from ole Rog. Not sure how he punishes them if only one of the balls was significantly deflated as reported ON THE NFL's OWN WEBSITE.

 

[johnmd20]

Goodell is a buffoon and even if he's made and wants to take retribution, he will undoubtedly mess it up.

 

[Tyrone Biggums]

48 hours later. Still awesome. Bring back Revis and McCourty and lets go for the repeat!

 

[E5 Yaz]

Goodell is a buffoon and even if he's mad and wants to take retribution, he will undoubtedly mess it up.

 
This is something on which we all can agree

 

[Harry Hooper]

At Kraft I assume? Belichick?

It's not surprising. I don't know why anyone would expect a fair or reasoned approach to this investigation from ole Rog. Not sure how he punishes them if only one of the balls was significantly deflated as reported ON THE NFL's OWN WEBSITE.

 
Roger: BECAUSE YOU WILL BOW TO ME!!!

 

[BigJimEd]

All the prior caveats I gave up thread apply.  Take this with a grain of salt or ignore it if you think it should be ignored.
 
With that out of the way, I'm hearing from one of my two sources that Goodell is mad as hell and things have gotten very personal.  How that manifests itself I have no idea.  But the two sides are very dug in and it's a very tense situation.

Now that I can believe.I think it's been personal for Goodell all along.

 

[theapportioner]

My friend did not specify but it's pretty obvious that Kraft is mad at Goodell for the idiocy of the last few weeks (the leaks, the possibly baseless accusations, etc.).  Kraft's speech, non-appearance at the Goodell state of the union address and behavior at the trophy presentation make that clear.  As to Goodell, I assume he is angry at Kraft's aggression towards him and the NFL.  Make no mistake, I believe that aggression is warranted and then some, and I am just speculating. 
 
As to what Goodell is going to do with that anger, I have no idea. 

 
It would be interesting to find out how many owners attended Goodell's "State of the Union" address this year, vis a vis previous years. That would provide some telling hints about his level of support currently.

 

[ifmanis5]

If Kraft can get critical mass behind an anti-Goodell movement, the way for the NFL to save face may be for Goodell to be relieved, whereupon the new commissioner can then dispose of deflategate without getting egg on his own face.

Except the rest of the world would read that as Roger caught the Pats red-handed and the only way the pats could get out of it was to fire The Commish.

 

[Reverend]

Mad as hell about what and towards whom?

 

[nattysez]

FWIW, I think the Falcons thing is a huge boon to the Pats.  It lets Goodell say "We investigated both incidents.  One turned out to not be an issue.  The other was clear wrongdoing.  I am disappointed that Mr. Kraft felt the need to question our process, which has ultimately exonerated his team."  Then the Falcons lose a third rounder, the Pats get no punishment, and off we go.

 

[pappymojo]

I would have been so much happier if Kraft hadn't publicly defended Goodell after the Ray Rice elevator tape went viral.

 

[Jed Zeppelin]

At Kraft I assume? Belichick?

It's not surprising. I don't know why anyone would expect a fair or reasoned approach to this investigation from ole Rog. Not sure how he punishes them if only one of the balls was significantly deflated as reported ON THE NFL's OWN WEBSITE.

 
I'd be surprised if this isn't part of the reason he's steaming. Roger was publicly undressed by one of his bosses, whose team went on to win the SB coached by a man he dislikes, and he's now finding out that there was very likely not even a violation of the rules for him to punish but by gawd he wants to do it anyway because he's the G.D. Sheriff.
 
It's really cute that he thinks saying "we're getting better" over and over again means he is suddenly worthy of anybody's respect.

 

[theapportioner]

FWIW, I think the Falcons thing is a huge boon to the Pats.  It lets Goodell say "We investigated both incidents.  One turned out to not be an issue.  The other was clear wrongdoing.  I am disappointed that Mr. Kraft felt the need to question our process, which has ultimately exonerated his team."  Then the Falcons lose a third rounder, the Pats get no punishment, and off we go.

 
Although if the Patriots are punished with anything more than a nominal fine (I guess for being tricksey hobbitses as someone said about 100 pages ago), they'd have to really lay the hammer down on Atlanta if the punishments are going to be in any way commensurate. What Atlanta did over the course of two years likely could have had a far greater impact on the game than what the Patriots are alleged to have done.

 

[Stevie1der]

Is that a Ray Finkle Dolphins jersey behind Kraft?

 

[bankshot1]

Except the rest of the world would read that as Roger caught the Pats red-handed and the only way the pats could get out of it was to fire The Commish.

If Goodell does not dot every i, cross every t, in this "impartial" investigation to find out the truth, and if it apears this investigation is more about making Goodell look good rather than finding the truth, the backlash against him by all the owners (who could easily think "I could be the next innocent victim this incompetent and vindictive boob comes after") may be only slightly delayed.
 
He may get a severance package and told to disappear in a year. 

 

[ifmanis5]

If Goodell does not dot every i, cross every t, in this "impartial" investigation to find out the truth, and if it apears this investigation is more about making Goodell look good rather than finding the truth, the backlash against him by all the owners (who could easily think "I could be the next innocent victim this incompetent and vindictive boob comes after") may be only slightly delayed.
 
He may get a severance package and told to disappear in a year. 

That may be true but that's not how the public will feel about it at all. Furthermore, fans of other NFL teams would see it as a burying of a very embarrassing story and the fury-cycle would continue and even accelerate.
 
Roger is in a tough spot here. Public sentiment wants him to hit the Pats HARD on this but if Wells comes up with nothing then he will look bad to his owners. I'm glad I'm not him.

 

[nattysez]

Just realized an easy way for Goodell to mess with the Pats -- he'll concoct an excuse for the Pats to play either Denver or Indy on the road in the season opener rather than playing Pitt at home.  That's a perfect middle finger to Kraft.  The only thing better would be requiring the Pats to play a London game this year in lieu of a home game, but I think it's too late for that kind of radical change.   

 

[bankshot1]

That may be true but that's not how the public will feel about it at all. Furthermore, fans of other NFL teams would see it as a burying of a very embarrassing story and the fury-cycle would continue and even accelerate.
 
Roger is in a tough spot here. Public sentiment wants him to hit the Pats HARD on this but if Wells comes up with nothing then he will look bad to his owners. I'm glad I'm not him.

I don't know how much goodwill Goodell has among fans.
 
If he has a case against the Pats, present it, if not say the Pats did nothing wrong, other than let a ball-boy take a bathroom break at an inopportune time.
 
Its widely believed he botched/covered up the Rice investigation, probably misled and lied to players/public about concussion issues, and even after the "No More" PR campaign his snarky talking down to Rachel Nichols was another PR snafu.
 
A guy who makes $44 million per, selling to ice to Eskimos, is not a sympathetic character, and the NFL can, if necessary, portray him as incompetent and vindictive. If Kraft talks to his buddies; the Maras, Rooneys and Jerry Jones, who knows what happens.  

 

[lexrageorge]

That may be true but that's not how the public will feel about it at all. Furthermore, fans of other NFL teams would see it as a burying of a very embarrassing story and the fury-cycle would continue and even accelerate.
 
Roger is in a tough spot here. Public sentiment wants him to hit the Pats HARD on this but if Wells comes up with nothing then he will look bad to his owners. I'm glad I'm not him.

Screw him.  It's a tough spot of his own making
 
Seriously, that "public sentiment" is just a bunch of mouthbreathing idiots that like to get their 1.2 seconds of fame in the comments field on ESPN blogs.  While many fans may have an opinion if directly asked, most don't care enough for it to matter enough; they'll go to the games, watch the games, root for the home team, cheer against the villian, and ratings improve from year to year.  If Goodell is pandering to that group, he's dumber than I ever imagined.  Am I happy if the Jets get docked a draft pick for tampering?  Sure, I laugh for a couple of seconds and move on.  If they don't get docked?  I don't really care.  I'd rather have the Pats win another Lombardi.  I think most fans think the same way.
 
If Wells comes up with nothing, then Goodell needs to make a statement saying "no wrongdoing, etc.", and move on.  If Goodell cannot do that solely because Kraft went public with how poorly the NFL is running the investigation, then he's not capable of being commissioner. 

 

[GlenMorangie]

.

 

[dcdrew10]

Now that I can believe. I think it's been personal for Goodell all along.

 
I can't help but wonder why. Is this just a way for Goodell to show that he's the big man and doesn't need any help from Kraft to run the NFL? With all the talk of Kraft being the assistant commissioner and Ginger Hammer's biggest supporter during the Rice scandal, does Goodell feel he needs to prove that Kraft is beneath him?

 

[pappymojo]

All the prior caveats I gave up thread apply.  Take this with a grain of salt or ignore it if you think it should be ignored.
 
With that out of the way, I'm hearing from one of my two sources that Goodell is mad as hell and things have gotten very personal.  How that manifests itself I have no idea.  But the two sides are very dug in and it's a very tense situation.

 
I look forward to your post where you write that both of your sources independently and without prompted both told you that Roger Goodell is definitely not getting fired. 
 
(just having fun - I appreciate your posts)

 

[njnesportsfan]

I don't know how much goodwill Goodell has among fans.
 
If he has a case against the Pats, present it, if not say the Pats did nothing wrong, other than let a ball-boy take a bathroom break at an inopportune time.
 
Its widely believed he botched/covered up the Rice investigation, probably misled and lied to players/public about concussion issues, and even after the "No More" PR campaign his snarky talking down to Rachel Nichols was another PR snafu.
 
A guy who makes $44 million per, selling to ice to Eskimos, is not a sympathetic character, and the NFL can, if necessary, portray him as incompetent and vindictive. If Kraft talks to his buddies; the Maras, Rooneys and Jerry Jones, who knows what happens.  

Pete Carroll can "take a punch". What happened to Goodell? All adults here, man up and take a punch. Is he not only incompetent but also cowardly?

 

[BigJimEd]

 
I can't help but wonder why. Is this just a way for Goodell to show that he's the big man and doesn't need any help from Kraft to run the NFL? With all the talk of Kraft being the assistant commissioner and Ginger Hammer's biggest supporter during the Rice scandal, does Goodell feel he needs to prove that Kraft is beneath him?

I think it's been personal against Belichick not Kraft. As I posted earlier it's been reported Goodell feels he was deceived by BB and Belichick's response to spygate.

Here's an article from 2011 where Roger complains about Belichick.

http://content.usatoday.com/communities/thehuddle/post/2011/02/roger-goodell-felt-deceived-by-bill-belichick-after-spygate/1#.VNGGB8ko7qA

 

[shoebooty]

Fun fact. Grigson lives in Rhode Island so the Patriots truly are sleeping with the enemy. His neighbors think the world of him but I'd bet that will all change soon.
Maybe living so close to greatness without achieving it himself was the catalyst.

 

[scotian1]

As far as taking a washroom break it seems to make sense to be that you would use the bathroom prior to going out and standing in a cold rain for almost 2 hours. Does not seem inopportune at all to me.

 

[Harry Hooper]

I think it's been personal against Belichick not Kraft. As I posted earlier it's been reported Goodell feels he was deceived by BB and Belichick's response to spygate.

Here's an article from 2011 where Roger complains about Belichick.

http://content.usatoday.com/communities/thehuddle/post/2011/02/roger-goodell-felt-deceived-by-bill-belichick-after-spygate/1#.VNGGB8ko7qA

 
Of course, it's only fair given that Roger never dodges answering tough questions.

 

[BigJimEd]

 
Of course, it's only fair given that Roger never dodges answering tough questions.

True. He is a real stand up guy.
Seriously, four years after the fact he was still whining publicly about it. No grudges. Just great leadership.

 

[Ed Hillel]

I think it's been personal against Belichick not Kraft. As I posted earlier it's been reported Goodell feels he was deceived by BB and Belichick's response to spygate.

Here's an article from 2011 where Roger complains about Belichick.

http://content.usatoday.com/communities/thehuddle/post/2011/02/roger-goodell-felt-deceived-by-bill-belichick-after-spygate/1#.VNGGB8ko7qA

I don't even understand what he wanted Belichick to say or why he wanted him to say it. Did he want Belichick to come out to the press and tell them that it was a practice that had been happening in the NFL for decades, that there were other teams doing it at the time still, and that he thought the fine was beyond excessive, given the NFL's prior history on dealing with these kinds of issues? Did he want to admit he did it? He had already done that. Did he want Belichick to cry and apologize profusely? My guess is that's closer to the truth, but give me a break. If anything, I think Belichick was pretty tame in dealing with that whole fiasco, at least off the field.

I agree with your overall point, however. I think Goodell really does not like Belichick and I would assume the feeling is mutual. Curran did a real interesting interview with I think WEEI during media week, in which he suggested Belichick thought the league should be more about the players, whereas Goodell thought the league was more about The Shield. Seems reasonable to me.

 

[8slim]

Goodell is such an immature baby. Can you imagine Rozelle or Tagliabue, or Stern or Silver, or even Bud Selig, whining to the media about being "deceived" by a coach?

What a petulant jerk.

 

[E5 Yaz]

Goodell is such an immature baby. Can you imagine Rozelle or Tagliabue, or Stern or Silver, or even Bud Selig, whining to the media about being "deceived" by a coach?

What a petulant jerk.

 
You're talking about a guy making $44M a year who complains that his underlings make too much money

 

[8slim]

 
You're talking about a guy making $44M a year who complains that his underlings make too much money

Oh, I'm aware. Just reiterating.

He's an a-hole.

 

[Tito's Pullover]

There are so many reasons to fire this guy, I don't even know where to begin. Or which would be most convincing in an argument.

Is there anyone in America worse at their job than Roger Goodell? There may be, but I'm fairly confident none of the other contenders make $44 million per year.

 

[canderson]

On Hang Up and Listen they had NBC’s lead SB producer Fred Gaudelli. He dropped the nugget NBC really wanted to film a piece showing his the NFL airs and subsequently tests/measures the footballs.

"The NFL wanted nothing to do with that," Gaudelli said.

Transparency!

 

[DJnVa]

Eh, if the NFL allowed that we'd probably complain that they were making a big deal of it.

 

[dcdrew10]

I think it's been personal against Belichick not Kraft. As I posted earlier it's been reported Goodell feels he was deceived by BB and Belichick's response to spygate.

Here's an article from 2011 where Roger complains about Belichick.

http://content.usatoday.com/communities/thehuddle/post/2011/02/roger-goodell-felt-deceived-by-bill-belichick-after-spygate/1#.VNGGB8ko7qA

I can see that Ginger Hammer is a bit butt hurt over Belichick, but setting your boss's house on fire because his dog pissed on your leg a few years ago goes beyond ego. Though it is Goodell so who knows.

 

[Harry Hooper]

On Hang Up and Listen they had NBC’s lead SB producer Fred Gaudelli. He dropped the nugget NBC really wanted to film a piece showing his the NFL airs and subsequently tests/measures the footballs.

"The NFL wanted nothing to do with that," Gaudelli said.

Transparency!

 
 
That piece would have been misleading given how the procedures used for the Super Bowl are not close to what's done for typical games.

 

[Doctor G]

He's not "now finding out", he's known from jump street. If he didn't he's even more incompetent then we think. And the fact he let it go on so long with no real violations or proof is what pissed Kraft off and will end up being his undoing.

What really pissed off Kraft is that someone in the NFL office leaked the story about the person of interest while the team was en route to AZ. And to add insult to injury the story was based on videotape provided voluntarily by the Patriots to the NFL. This guaranteed the Pats would be facing another shitstorm of innuendo when they landed.

 

[Bone Chips]

Roger needs to remember who he works for. Not a lot of jobs out there that pay you $44 million a year for being an incompetent assswipe. After the year he just had the last thing he needed was to lose Robert Kraft. Political suicide.

 

[ivanvamp]

From Sunday (http://www.si.com/nfl/2015/02/01/deflategate-only-one-patriots-football-underinflated)….
 
1.  Only *one* of the 12 footballs was under inflated by 2 psi.  Several were 1 psi under, and several were at or just a tick under.  In other words, these figures put the footballs *WELL* within what naturally occurs.
 
2.  The NFL has that one ball that was 2 psi under.  What are they doing with it?  Moreover, is THAT the football the Colts had gotten after the interception?  If so, if that one ball is out of whack, why isn't there an investigation into whether the Colts tampered with it just to screw with the Patriots?
 
3.  The NFL planned on testing the footballs at halftime, even before the game started.  Why?  This cannot be normal procedure.  I doubt this is what happens in a typical game.  So why do it here?  Clearly they were tipped off.  And we know that Indy GM Ryan Grigson was, in fact, the one who tipped the NFL off beforehand.  So the NFL denies it was a sting operation.  But if they were tipped off beforehand, and they were worried about the Patriots deflating the footballs, a couple of questions:
 
(1) Why didn't they (the league) have their own cameras recording the Patriots' sidelines to look for any foul play?
 
(2) Assuming that deflated footballs actually help in some way, if the NFL knew in advance that NE might try to play with deflated footballs, why wouldn't they stop it before the game (i.e., talk to the Patriots about it and say that they'll make sure the Pats don't do pull any shenanigans)?  Why would they, instead, allow NE to play with under inflated footballs for a half?  Because if they DID know about it and allow it, and if it DOES confer a competitive advantage, then the NFL would have been allowing the Colts to truly be cheated for a half, just in an attempt to catch the Patriots in wrongdoing.  And, as I've said elsewhere, THAT is a MUCH bigger scandal than the Patriots actually deflating footballs.  Because it would mean that the league itself was not on the up-and-up.

 

[Van Everyman]

Didn't hear it myself but this seems like an important point vis a vis the Mort interview:

Bullet points:

• Before game, each team submits "watch" list; Colts had inflation of Patriots' footballs on their list based on November game

• 
  First off, this would explain why a) Grigson "tipped the league off" – because teams lists a litany of complaints against the opponents before the game to keep their eye on. I'd bet most of them fall into the "Browner holds on every play" category of infractions.
  
  Secondly, it would explain why the league had some idea of what was going on but wasn't in full-on "sting operation" mode.
  
  Thirdly, and related to the second point, this would also explain this whole "how could you let a game of this magnitude be played under such a CLOUD?!?" criticism the league has faced since the "they were tipped off" aspect of this has surfaced.
  
  None of which means the league hasn't massacred their handling of this. Vincent's comments were particularly stupid (not reading the Mueller Report is bad enough – admitting it publicly would be a fireable offense in almost any other job). And I don't doubt that things have gotten personal between Goodell and Kraft.
  
  But there's an element of Occam's Razor here – and my sense is that a number of things will be revealed in the Wells Report to be a lot less nefarious than they seemed in real time.

 

[JimBoSox9]

My favorite of all possible outcomes would be if those 'watch lists' are made public.  I'd love to know which teams are mind-bogglingly pedantic and/or whiny.

 

[Auger34]

Chris Collinsworth rocketed to the top of my personal sh!t list with his pathetic comments during the SB telecast.
 
With 2:55 remaining and the Pats driving he started in about the deflation stuff.  I mean, less than 3 minutes left in a historically exciting game and THAT'S when you decide to discuss the "controversy"?!
F%@$ him.

I re-watched the game on NFLN yesterday and Collinsworth was honestly pathetic. I normally love the guy but he was just awful. All the deflategate crap at inopportune times, not ONCE mentioning that Chancellor should have been flagged for targeting on the Edelman catch, and in my opinion the worst out of all of them was how he called the brawl that the Seahawks started. Basically he said who cares what Seattle does?! New England shouldn't retaliate! Didn't mention how classless it is for a team that has just lost a Super Bowl to start a brawl out of frustration and being sore losers. Just terrible stuff all around

 

[Leather]

So the Falcons extra crowd noise thing is done, they've admitted guilt, and...
 
crickets.
 
This is like the scene in Band of Brothers where Richard Winters (played by Damien Lewis) pisses off his CO (played by the immortal David Schwimmer) for some totally bogus reason, so the CO calls him in and says "If you admit what you did, and sign this, I'll just take away your weekend pass.  But if you don't, you'll get a court martial and miss the Normandy invasion."   So Winters pauses, and the CO says "Come on, just take the punishment, you never go out on leave anyway..." making it clear that A) it was a stupid charge; and B) he expected Winters to just back down.   Winters calls his bluff and says "I'll take the court martial; prove that I did something wrong."
 
tl;dr:  Richard Goodellavid Schwimmer.

 

[loshjott]

My favorite of all possible outcomes would be if those 'watch lists' are made public.  I'd love to know which teams are mind-bogglingly pedantic and/or whiny.

 
And what a stupid idea to have "watch lists" to begin with.  I wonder if Goodell started that.
 
Indicates to me that the NFL rules are way too complicated.

 

[mascho]

https://twitter.com/Starbuck1004/status/562992136367640576

 

[johnmd20]

Integrity!