What, no NFL thread? Well let me start...

Who is that kid?

EDIT: Nevermind. I didn't see any of the commercials.

There was nothing wrong with the 2nd down slant pass call. Statistically, that's very safe, so safe, that Butler's pick was the only interception of a goal line slant pass all season. He made a great play, and not one that Pete Carroll would have had reason to expect.

PLUS Wilson threw it high.

The pass wasn't the problem. The pattern was.

Spread those receivers and even if they're all covered Wilson probably walks in.

One main problem was Wilson was sucking on passing all day. It was only a couple of miracle catches for large gains by his receivers that kept Seattle in the game at all. And you had Lynch who maybe wasn't getting a first down on every run but he was usually getting at least 1 yard. So why rely on what hadn't been working all day?

At least the game was a nail biter down to the end. It could just be my perception, but it seems like we have more boring blow outs than good games during Super Bowls.

The thing with handing the ball to Lynch, is the stats don't back that up as a solid play. He was only 1 in 5 over the season for scoring from the 1 yard line. I'm sure they planned to do that on the third down, but had they tried on the second, too much clock would have been used up. My opinion, people are free to differ on it, but I don't think the call was as damn awful as some have made it out to be. Had it worked, people would be praising Carroll for the choice. The thing with football, when both teams keep it close, is that it almost always ends up with something controversial or lucky in determining the final outcome. Take out that crazy good luck catch by Jermaine Kearse, and we aren't even having this conversation anyway.

YEAH!!

Wells Report: Patriots Likely Deflated Balls On Purpose

It seems like so long ago, we were talking about ethics in deflated balls. Ted Wells released his investigation into the Patriots’ tampering of the footballs today. The 243-page document can be found here.

The report’s conclusions believe it’s “more probable than not” that Patriots personnel tried to break the rules, and that Tom Brady was likely aware of the practice of deflating balls.
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A lot more at the link. In particular, see the updates. Brady almost definitely knew about and encouraged the deflation of balls.

So, three and a half months, 243 pages, and all they can come up with is "we think they did it, but there's no proof."

243 pages to figure out if they did or didn't? WTH took so LONG?

Tom Brady will be suspended by Roger Goodell for role in DeflateGate, announcement expected next week

Tom Brady will be the highest-profile player ever suspended in the 96-year history of the NFL.

Roger Goodell’s decision is expected to be announced next week, and it is no longer a matter of if the NFL commissioner will suspend Brady, but for how long he will suspend him.

In conversations I’ve had with several key sources who always have a good sense of what goes on at 345 Park Ave., there is little doubt that Goodell considers Brady’s role in DeflateGate a serious violation.

. . . .

The feeling is the Wells Report supplied Goodell with enough ammunition to suspend Brady both for breaking the rules by ordering the deflation of footballs and by not cooperating with the investigation when he refused to turn over his cell phone to Wells’ investigators.

The only question now is how many games with which Goodell will hit the league’s star player?

Estimates have been all over the map. My feeling is he will wind up with two games, whether that is the initial discipline handed out or whether he is hit with four and ends up with two after an appeal.

The Miami Herald reported Brady’s suspension could be as much as the entire 2015 season. Sources insist that is way off and not going to happen. There were reports in Boston on Friday on CSNNE that the Patriots fear Goodell could hit Brady with a six- to eight-game suspension. Others have estimated two to four games.
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In the end, the cover-up attempt is just too much for the league to ignore. I'm going to guess 4-6 games. If you're going to suspend him it has to be a long enough suspension to be taken seriously, and two games isn't long enough. On the other hand, the league isn't going to want to take discretionary action to put one of its most marketable players out for too long.

Yeah, I mean, this is so much more serious than the domestic violence problems, conclusions, etc. Anything more than 2 games proves the NFL is even more corrupt than the NBA. And let's not forget, the report didn't actually prove anything, so in reality, any suspension is bogus.

Actually, shit that impacts the game itself is more important to the game than what goes on in these guys houses. You my friend are a major homer - cheating is OK as long as my guys are doing it. But it wasn't really cheating. You know, its not like having different rules for the teams impacts the game or anything... LOL.

As far as the history of suspensions, meh. Its ancient history now but the NFL suspended Paul Hornung indefinitely for gambling in 1963. He was the Golden Boy, Hesiman Trophy Winner, NFL MVP, and highest scoring single season player ever when this happened. His scoring record in 12 games was so high because he kicked, ran, threw, and caught TDs - it was a record that lasted 45 years and was only broken in a 16 game season.

But yeah, it will be a big deal if they suspend Brady, and will continue to tarnish the Pats run. But it won't be the punishment he deserves because Kraft runs the league office.

Does anybody know the history of the rule? I'm actually quite curious why it matters. Every QB should have the ball inflated to an amount that works best for him. Why is there an arbitrary rule about this? What next, mandatory finger length?

As for the homer thing, I have to laugh at that. I have shown consistent support for cheating in sports over multiple teams and leagues. Seriously, it's not about who does it, it's about the rule being stupid and arbitrary.

The mandatory pressure range goes back to at least the 40s. They changed the preparation rules in 1999, because teams were doing wacky things like microwaving balls before games. That is based on giving each side the same boundaries to work within - you know, 'fairness', which you seem to not give a shit about.

Two QBs made a big issue of it in 2006, and allowed each team to provide their own balls instead of sharing the ones provided by the NFL. Those QBs - Payton Manning and, wait for it... Tom Brady. Yes, Brady helped change the rules to the current set. Which is one of the reasons why he should have a massive ban hammer on him - but won't because of his owner's political patronage.

why should anybody care about fairness? This isn't everybody gets a trophy kids league. This is the highest level of competition. What's next, nobody is allowed to pass for more than 200 yards because it's not fair to the teams with lesser quarterbacks? Teams that suck, suck because they aren't very good. It's not because there is some unfair disadvantage.

I am by no means a Pats fan, or a Brady fan for that matter, but I don't see the big deal here. You cannot tell me in all seriousness that the reason the Colts lost is because the balls were deflated on the Patriots side. Deflating the ball MAY help him throw the ball better, BUT the receiver still has to catch it. How many teams do this and get away with it? Both Dan Marino and Terry Bradshaw said it was a COMMON practice in the NFL. Why not let ALL teams do it? Do you really care what pressure the balls are inflated to? NASCAR drivers teams deflate and inflate tires to track conditions and weather, why not in the NFL?

Here is how punish Brady, Make him PLAY for 2 games and donate his check to charity, or give it back to the fans. Just my opinion.

An underinflated football is easier to throw and easier to catch (anybody who's ever played the game should know that).

But I agree that "soft balls" weren't why the Colts lost that game. They were outplayed, big time.

I'm guessing the suspension will be appealed down to two games.

That depends entirely on how pissed off the other owners are.

Frankly, four games is right. This is a similar level offense to being caught for P.E.D.s a first time, and that gets a four game suspension. I am a bit surprised by the size of the fine and the loss of two picks including a first rounder. I didn't expect the league to come down hard on the team beyond suspending Brady.

http://nyti.ms/1PeQ4yS

The fine and lost picks are probably a recognition that the suspension will be reduced.

Just a reminder, but the NFL admits they have no evidence. Anyway, this pretty much says it all in my opinion.

How pathetic.

Yes, cheaters gain an advantage by cheating. That's WHY they cheat. And in their mania to get their 4th ring to be like the other great dynasties, the Pats decided that they'd do whatever it took. Including cheating on rules that they helped create.

Its HARD to win in the NFL. Doing that little thing that the other guy won't do - these days there isn't much. You aren't going to outwork the other guy, you might not always have more talent. But hey, that other guy isn't stealing the signals. That other guy isn't changing the balls to give them more accuracy, make them harder to fumble, make them a little softer so they are easier to catch and don't pop up in the air quite as easily for interceptions.

Biggest blowout in NFL history - Bears 73, Redskins 0. Two great teams, the Redskins with one of the greatest QBs of all time and the first RB to run for a 1000 yards. The Skins beat the Bears 13-7 just a few weeks before.

Why the mammoth blowout? A coaching insight, a weakness discovered, a star player being out? Nope. The Bears had better shoes for the ground conditions that day, and could keep their feet. The Skins didn't pack the right shoes.

Its amazing what little things make a difference when you are talking about professional athletes. Stickum, the head slap, better gloves, better shoes, better pads.

Yes, shit like cheating on the balls matter. And that's why the two biggest fines in NFL history are both your dynastic cheating their ass of Patriots. They are also the only team in modern history to lose two #1 draft picks.

One of these things are not like the other.

Oh, right, the other shit happened (and in some cases clearly didn't happen) OFF THE FIELD.

The only one that cheated at the game itself was the last guy.

Unproven.

Keep saying that to yourself. I'm sure it will help you sleep at night. LOL.

American Enterprise Institute and NY Times review data and methodology in Wells Report. Not surprisingly, they find the report deeply flawed.

http://www.aei.org/publication/on-wells-report/

Yes, gul: if you ignore the utterly damning texts between Jim McNally (the Patriots' employee responsible for delivering balls to the officials) and John Jastremski (the Patriots' employee responsible for preparing the Patriots' game balls; ignore the fact that at the Conference Championship Jim McNally disappeared to a locked room with the balls after delivering them, entirely without any permission or knowledge of the game officials; ignore the fact that McNally repeatedly lied and changed his story about where he went with the balls; and ignore Tom Brady's failure to cooperate with the Wells investigation then it is possible to imagine plausible scenarios that would explain the deflation level of the Patriots's game balls without wrongdoing on the part of anyone associated with the team. That in no way changes or contradicts the entirely proper conclusion that it's more likely than not that McNally deflated balls to below league standard pressures at Tom Brady's direction.

The AEI and Times really and quite obviously screwed the pooch there.