TB Suspension: Cheater free to play again

[YTF]

How is that a distraction?

My alma mater has a picture of a player on a huge banner. It's what teams do.

Not sure what school you went to, but I'm guessing the reason for placing players on banners there may be slightly different for The Patriots motivation to erect theses banners. As long as the banners are up, questions will be asked which will just perpetuate this whole DFG thing. Why must the Patriots keep this alive? It's just a poor look IMO.

 

[johnmd20]

I agree. It's a pretty pathetic move for the Patriots to support the best player ever to wear the uniform during a difficult period in that player's career.

 

[JimBoSox9]

Let's also not confuse suppressing distractions with seizing every possible opportunity to motivate through us-against-world mentality. Those are both in his playbook without any dissonance.

 

[YTF]

This particular measure of support seems to fly right in the face of everything BB has preached since coming here, team over individual. And speaking of support, Bill directed reporters to Tom when he was initially questioned about it. Some say he threw Tom under the bus and Kraft has flip flopped depending on how he felt it might affect the team, his standing with The Commish and his fellow owners. The whole DFG episode is an embarrassment to the league and the team. Why keep it going?

 

[bradmahn]

"Oh my god, think of the potential overreactions!" said the guy overreacting.

 

[YTF]

"Oh my god, think of the potential overreactions!" said the guy overreacting.

Thanks for adding meaning and thought to the conversation.

 

[Dogman]

YTF:

"This is a distraction to the team"

"Kraft threw Brady under the bus"

"Kraft is standing with the owners and not the team"

"The Patriots are keeping this going"

Sane people:

"The Patriots are supporting their franchise player during a BS 4 game suspension by the NFL"


You just are not using your head.

Oh, and keep your last post out of these threads. You are adding nothing but noise in this instance.

 

[Papelbon's Poutine]

I for one am outraged that Kraft did this unilaterally without consulting BB and flying in the face of all his efforts. It'd be nice if they got on the same page at some point.

 

[Stitch01]

This particular measure of support seems to fly right in the face of everything BB has preached since coming here, team over individual. And speaking of support, Bill directed reporters to Tom when he was initially questioned about it. Some say he threw Tom under the bus and Kraft has flip flopped depending on how he felt it might affect the team, his standing with The Commish and his fellow owners. The whole DFG episode is an embarrassment to the league and the team. Why keep it going?

I mean, Im sure the team would like DFG to not be going on for the first four games of the season, but sort of out of their hands.

 

[RedOctober3829]

This particular measure of support seems to fly right in the face of everything BB has preached since coming here, team over individual. And speaking of support, Bill directed reporters to Tom when he was initially questioned about it. Some say he threw Tom under the bus and Kraft has flip flopped depending on how he felt it might affect the team, his standing with The Commish and his fellow owners. The whole DFG episode is an embarrassment to the league and the team. Why keep it going?

It's never going to be fully over. DFG will continue to be talked about, joked about, and brought up by talking heads for years to come. It's been talked about ad nausiem regarding Kraft's options in fighting the penalties given to the franchise so I won't get into it. I think they put up the mural moreso for the fans than for anybody else. It's no big deal and won't distract the players from Bill's message in the room. Ignore the noise now extends to this.

 

[lexrageorge]

In 10 years, there will likely be a bronze statue of Tom Brady in front of Gillette. If the team cannot block out a mural at the top of the stadium, then they're not that good of a team. As noted, the mural is for the fans, the ones that actually give the team money. So Belichick and the players need to accept the fact that sometimes marketing is going to take a front seat to the "no distractions" message; I'm quite certain they already have, despite the bleatings you hear on talk radio.

Deflategate talk will go on long past the playing careers of everyone currently on the roster. Tom Brady's mural will not change that one iota.

 

[PedroKsBambino]

This particular measure of support seems to fly right in the face of everything BB has preached since coming here, team over individual. And speaking of support, Bill directed reporters to Tom when he was initially questioned about it. Some say he threw Tom under the bus and Kraft has flip flopped depending on how he felt it might affect the team, his standing with The Commish and his fellow owners. The whole DFG episode is an embarrassment to the league and the team. Why keep it going?

Right, because without the poster no one was going to mention Brady these four games!

I think 99.9% of Pats fans and 100% of the locker room not only gets this is supporting Brady during what they know to be an abusive competitive-balance penalty, but likely support it. I'll bet Kraft is hoping for a public fine for it just to amplify the point.

 

[johnmd20]

Thanks for adding meaning and thought to the conversation.

His post was the best of the bunch.

 

[DJnVa]

Not sure what school you went to, but I'm guessing the reason for placing players on banners there may be slightly different for The Patriots motivation to erect theses banners. As long as the banners are up, questions will be asked which will just perpetuate this whole DFG thing. Why must the Patriots keep this alive? It's just a poor look IMO.

Again, how is it a distraction?

 

[Quintanariffic]

Right, because without the poster no one was going to mention Brady these four games!

I think 99.9% of Pats fans and 100% of the locker room not only gets this is supporting Brady during what they know to be an abusive competitive-balance penalty, but likely support it. I'll bet Kraft is hoping for a public fine for it just to amplify the point.

Agreed. And oh - what's that do I see flanking that poster? Why that's signage for some of the Pats' most important sponsors. Surely it the extra exposure and value those sponsors will receive from this will be a happy coincidence if it's even on the minds of the Pats biz ops team at all.

 

[PedroKsBambino]

Agreed. And oh - what's that do I see flanking that poster? Why that's signage for some of the Pats' most important sponsors. Surely it the extra exposure and value those sponsors will receive from this will be a happy coincidence if it's even on the minds of the Pats biz ops team at all.

Nice catch---did not notice that.

 

[kartvelo]

Nice catch---did not notice that.

Ah, but subliminally you did. Mission accomplished!

 

[Van Everyman]

Can you say "Bulletin Board Material"?

Preparing to face the Patriots on Sunday, Palmer was asked how he believes Tom Brady had been treated by the NFL.

“I tried not to follow it just because it was everywhere, for so long, but I go back and you follow what the rule book says and you go about your business and your work and you know, if they tell you not to do it and you get busted and what happens happens, then you suffer the consequences,” Palmer said.

“You know, I’m sure you guys [in New England] look at it a lot differently, but I know a lot of players around the league just looking at it, you know, I don’t know if you can feel too strongly one way or another.”

Does that mean Palmer thinks Brady or the team committed malfeasance?

“I don’t know,” the 12-year NFL veteran said. “To be honest, supposedly the balls went somewhere where they weren’t supposed to go there, there was humidity, or not enough humidity or altitude or whatever it was, I don’t know. I didn’t follow the story. As soon as it came on I just turned it off because I was so sick of hearing about it.

“You know, whatever the league comes down upon and whatever ruling they make is what they make. You don’t have much of a decision after that and you can fight it for a little bit but after a while you’ve just got to abide by what they say.”

http://www.bostonglobe.com/sports/patriots/2016/09/07/carson-palmer-tom-brady-you-get-busted-you-suffer-consequences/HldFDtCiZPbmEpqhC2waPI/story.html

Somehow, Big Ben is managing to sound halfway mature about the whole thing:

Roethlisberger was asked Wednesday about what advice he’d give Brady on dealing with the suspension, but he told ESPN Brady “doesn’t need any advice from anybody.”

“Tom’s the greatest in the world, and I mean that,” Roethlisberger said.

 

[kenneycb]

And I'm sure Carson learned those lessons during his formative years spent at USC with Pete Carroll.

 

[JohnnyTheBone]

Wow. String a coherent sentence together, Carson. Holy shit. That is embarrassing for anybody that attended USC. Actually, that quote is an indictment of our educational institutions in general. I put it to you, Carson. Isn't this an indictment of our entire American society?

 

[Pandemonium67]

Yeah, Carson, it was the altitude.

 

[sodenj5]

I mean Carson Palmer isn't a scientist, nor does he pretend to be one, unlike a lot of current experts on the Ideal Gas Law that currently reside in New England.

They asked him about Tom Brady and the balls, a subject he openly said he was tired of hearing about and didn't follow closely. He gave a candid answer and said the rules are the rules.

But he's dumb, USC is a terrible educational institution, and Tom Brady still rules!

 

[troparra]

But he's dumb, USC is a terrible educational institution, and Tom Brady still rules!

Oh, come on. That quote read like BB talking about Snapface, except Palmer wasn't being deliberately obtuse.

Or was he?

 

[johnmd20]

What a non story. Red meat, tho, for the mediaz.

 

[cornwalls@6]

I mean Carson Palmer isn't a scientist, nor does he pretend to be one, unlike a lot of current experts on the Ideal Gas Law that currently reside in New England.

They asked him about Tom Brady and the balls, a subject he openly said he was tired of hearing about and didn't follow closely. He gave a candid answer and said the rules are the rules.

But he's dumb, USC is a terrible educational institution, and Tom Brady still rules!

Oh, you little scamp.

 

[Bleedred]

I mean Carson Palmer isn't a scientist, nor does he pretend to be one, unlike a lot of current experts on the Ideal Gas Law that currently reside in New England.

They asked him about Tom Brady and the balls, a subject he openly said he was tired of hearing about and didn't follow closely. He gave a candid answer and said the rules are the rules.

But he's dumb, USC is a terrible educational institution, and Tom Brady still rules!

Fine. But if he openly said he didn't follow it closely, then why offer an opinion on it if he acknowledges he doesn't know the facts? It's just a dumb thing to do and say. Total non-story, other than example 3,527 of someone offering an opinion when he has no idea of the facts of what he is speaking.

 

[kenneycb]

I was hoping the bigger thing would be the "play by the rules" mantra so I could make fun of Pete Carroll and USC some more. Alas, the Ideal Gas Law ruins everything again.

 

[( . ) ( . ) and (_!_)]

I mean Carson Palmer isn't a scientist, nor does he pretend to be one, unlike a lot of current experts on the Ideal Gas Law that currently reside in New England.

They asked him about Tom Brady and the balls, a subject he openly said he was tired of hearing about and didn't follow closely. He gave a candid answer and said the rules are the rules.

But he's dumb, USC is a terrible educational institution, and Tom Brady still rules!

I take exception to all people that make a definitive statement about a topic and then follow it up by stating that they don't know the details or the particulars about that topic. Which is exact what Carson did. It's stupid in this scenario and any scenario.

It's really not hard to just say:
I don't have an opinion because I did not pay attention or follow the story. But if he is guilty then he should accept the penalty.

No one would object to that statement and he would not have sounded foolish

 

[Super Nomario]

You guys are blowing the Palmer stuff way out of proportion. He said almost nothing.

 

[teddykgb]

The only person who should be concerned by Palmer's comments is DeMaurice Smith. If players in his league didn't pay enough attention to the fraudulent "justice" system that Goodell decided he has and the court decided to uphold then he's going to have a lot of issues in the future.

 

[Mugsy's Walk-Off Bunt]

Yeah. Also, Tom Brady does still rule.

 

[OCST]

I just filed a case in the Southern District for one of my clients and I drew Richard Berman as my judge.

I'll send him our collective regards.

 

[edmunddantes]

It'll be interesting to see what he would say if he would talk shop...

 

[PedroKsBambino]

You guys are blowing the Palmer stuff way out of proportion. He said almost nothing.

Agreed---I saw the headline (I think on ESPN) and clicked through to the article and thought that it was bordering on inappropriate how they characterized his comments. There's plenty more criticism for me of the media on this quote than Palmer.

 

[Van Everyman]

Palmer didn't commit a federal offense or anything, but let's not pin this all on the media:

"If they tell you not to do it and you get busted and what happens happens, then you suffer the consequences."

Putting aside all Palmer's hemming, hawing and "I didn't really follow it"/"I turned it off"'s, it's pretty hard to read that quote as anything other than "If you cheat, you deserve what's coming to you."

Edit: Which is, of course, true in the abstract.

Except in this case, Palmer's not impugning the reputation of some faceless organization or no-name quarterback breaking the rules -- but arguably the greatest quarterback of all time who has been an incredible ambassador for the game, a model citizen and a champion for players' rights. Which is why Big Ben answered the question the way he did. By contrast, Palmer blew all that off and came off sounding ill-informed at best, jealous and smug at worst.

It was a stupid thing to say, period. And if I were Brady, being questioned by a guy who has spent most of his career in the wilderness, I would probably be pissed. More importantly, if I were Arians, knowing how Brady is respected not just around the league but beloved by his teammates, I'd be livid that my marquee quarterback just said something that could get himself hurt in the first game of a season their team is supposed to compete.

 

[Ed Hillel]

I mean Carson Palmer isn't a scientist, nor does he pretend to be one, unlike a lot of current experts on the Ideal Gas Law that currently reside in New England.

The Ideal Gas law isn't fucking rocket science, it's a simple mathematical formula. It's somewhat understandable if people didn't immediately recognize it was at play, but at some point in the 15-month span anyone, even someone like you, could have read about and conducted the calculations within ten minutes.

 

[FL4WL3SS]

Can this just be fucking locked at this point? There's nothing left to talk about, we lost the draft picks, he took the suspension, time to move on.

 

[Harry Hooper]

The only person who should be concerned by Palmer's comments is DeMaurice Smith. If players in his league didn't pay enough attention to the fraudulent "justice" system that Goodell decided he has and the court decided to uphold then he's going to have a lot of issues in the future.

Well said. How can the NFLPA ever marshall the rank and file without doing a lot more internal info campaigns?

 

[Ralphwiggum]

I wish that this board automatically filtered out any post purporting to talk about "Bulletin Board Material". If we could somehow sweep in every mention of "The Patriot Way" all the better.

 

[johnmd20]

Can this just be fucking locked at this point? There's nothing left to talk about, we lost the draft picks, he took the suspension, time to move on.

Submit to the will of the Ballghazi threads. They cannot be stopped and they cannot be locked and everytime someone says, "Please lock the thread," it starts up all over again.

 

[BigSoxFan]

Submit to the will of the Ballghazi threads. They cannot be stopped and they cannot be locked and everytime someone says, "Please lock the thread," it starts up all over again.

If only it were as simple as avoiding a thread...

 

[johnmd20]

If only it were as simple as avoiding a thread...

You'd think that would be obvious.

 

[dhappy42]

You'd think that would be obvious.

But it's no fun not reading about Deflategate unless you're sure other people aren't reading about it too.

 

[Moonlight Graham]

When I heard Palmer's comments, I inferred that he was annoyed with how Deflategate affected him. I imagine a lot of players are annoyed that their union wasted tons of the players' money getting squished by the NFL on this issue, but it's a big no-no to criticize your union in public. If Palmer is annoyed that his union took on this fight, he probably would be reluctant to actually say this out loud, but he would also probably sound annoyed about the subject.

 

[nighthob]

I mean if he's annoyed at the union for trying to prevent the NFL from gaining the power to do anything it wants at any time regardless of the law, he might not understand what unions are for.

 

[EvilEmpire]

I mean if he's annoyed at the union for trying to prevent the NFL from gaining the power to do anything it wants at any time regardless of the law, he might not understand what unions are for.

Him and the NFLPA both.

 

[Ed Hillel]

When I heard Palmer's comments, I inferred that he was annoyed with how Deflategate affected him. I imagine a lot of players are annoyed that their union wasted tons of the players' money getting squished by the NFL on this issue, but it's a big no-no to criticize your union in public. If Palmer is annoyed that his union took on this fight, he probably would be reluctant to actually say this out loud, but he would also probably sound annoyed about the subject.

You are giving Carson Palmer wayyyyy too much credit.

 

[cornwalls@6]

He's never struck me as the brightest bulb. I took it as a ham-fisted attempt to give a diplomatic answer to a question he probably has no interest in. Nothing more. Don't think it was anything like the Marshall Faulk/Mark Brunell type digs at Brady/The Pats. However, if they can somehow use as more fuel for their fire tomorrow night, I'm all for it.

 

[DJnVa]

Brady says he didn't remove NFL sticker: http://sports.yahoo.com/news/tom-brady-denies-involvement-removal-132022447.html

And it was missing in practice.

Patriots quarterback Tom Brady appeared to be protesting the NFL for suspending him as a decal representing the league's shield was suspiciously missing from his helmet during the preaseason and in practice.

But predictably, during a radio interview with Westwood One, Brady denied involvement.

Yeah. Predictably.

 

[Hoya81]