Opinion: Bill Belichick May Want Brady To Accept Ban And Move On
- Although he likely wouldn’t say it publicly, Patriots head coach Bill Belichick might privately want Tom Brady to accept his four-game suspension and move on, opines Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk. If Brady simply missed the first four games of the season, New England would have the entire summer to prepare the club for backup Jimmy Garoppolo to take over. But if Brady is granted a stay and is then re-suspended in the middle of the year, the Pats could be thrown into a frenzy as their quarterback sits on the bench for the next quarter-season. Nevertheless, Brady is expected to take his case to the Supreme Court.
Deflategate Notes: Wednesday
In case you missed it, Tom Brady‘s chances at again avoiding the four-game suspension for his role in the Patriots’ Deflategate controversy dwindled again on Wednesday, with the Second United States Circuit Court of Appeals denying the quarterback’s request for a rehearing. Here’s a look at the latest coming out of this unrelenting scandal.
- Brady and the NFLPA plan to attempt to have this case heard by the Supreme Court under a certiorari petition, but that is being described as a Hail Mary by legal experts, including Jodi Balsam, a former NFL counsel for operations and litigation. “I expect [the Supreme Court] to [have] zero interest in this case,” Balsam told Lorenzo Reyes of USA Today. Although Brady is arguably the NFL’s highest-profile player, the Supreme Court receives between 7,000-10,000 requests each term to hear cases, granting around 80 in that time frame, Reyes writes. Four of the current eight justices must agree to hear the case, one that saw the Second Circuit rule against Brady twice now.
- A slim chance exists for Brady to line up at quarterback for the Pats during their first four games this season, and that is for the Supreme Court to grant a stay should it agree to review the case. Before that can occur, however, the Second Circuit must deny one. Raffi Melkonian, a partner at the Houston firm of Wright & Close, told Reyes that should happen fairly quickly since it won’t expect SCOTUS to hear Deflategate-related arguments. Melkonian views this as another long-shot effort.
- SCOTUS, though, will almost certainly decide whether or not to grant this stay by Week 1, Lester Munson of ESPN.com writes. The 39-year-old quarterback’s notoriety could benefit him in coaxing the Supreme Court to grant the stay. But that would be a calculated risk with the court possibly deciding not to take the case soon after, thereby finalizing Brady’s suspension but potentially postponing it until later in the 2016 season, Munson writes. As of now, Brady would miss games against the Cardinals, Dolphins, Texans and Bills — the latter three scheduled for Foxborough. The Patriots have contests against the Bengals and Steelers in October, the Seahawks in November and Broncos in December. But Munson categorizes these chances as slim as well, with Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg — who oversees the Second Circuit — likely only granting the stay if she knows the court will take the case. So, it looks like Brady’s suspension will begin in September if his side can’t pull off another escape.
- These four games will go a long way toward determining Jimmy Garoppolo‘s status in New England, Doug Kyed of NESN.com tweets. Brady’s backup will enter the third season of a four-year contract, and with Brady likely playing through that deal, there might not be another opportunity for the 24-year-old understudy to prove he can be the long-term answer. A strong September showing could lead to extension talks, Kyed notes, or possible trade discussions if the Patriots believe Brady will be a viable option after he turns 41 in 2018.
Tom Brady Likely To Appeal To Supreme Court
10:14am: The NFL Players Association has issued the following statement regarding Brady:
“The NFL Players Association is a labor Union that protects the rights of all of its members and pursues any violations of those rights by any means necessary. We are disappointed with the decision denying a rehearing, as there were clear violations of our collective bargaining agreement by the NFL and Commissioner Roger Goodell.
Despite today’s result, the track record of this League office when it comes to matters of player discipline is bad for our business and bad for our game. We have a broken system that must be fixed.
We will review all of our options carefully on behalf of Tom Brady and all NFL players.”
9:25am: Though there is no firm decision, the expectation is that Brady will attempt to take his case to the Supreme Court, Ian Rapoport of NFL.com tweets. Brady will have 90 days to file an appeal with the SCOTUS.
8:45am: The Second United States Circuit Court of Appeals has denied Tom Brady‘s request for a rehearing, Daniel Kaplan of SBJ tweets. With that, it appears that his four-game suspension will stick. Brady’s only recourse now would now be to bring his case before the Supreme Court, but it’s very challenging for anyone to have their case heard on that level. 
[RELATED: Impact Rookies – New England Patriots]
Still, it’s conceivable that Brady’s legal team could file an appeal with the Supreme Court if only to effectively defer the suspension until the 2017 season. A filing with the Supreme Court could also light a fire under the NFL and force the league office to engage in settlement talks. To date, Roger Goodell & Co. have been steadfast in their refusal to negotiate with Brady’s camp, but team owners have been putting pressure on the NFL to get the Brady story out of the headlines. If faced with another year of Deflategate talk and a possible airing of dirty laundry before the highest federal court in the U.S., the commissioner might finally acquiesce and offer to cut Brady’s suspension in half or nix it entirely.
Brady, of course, is slated to be suspended for the first four games of the 2016 season after a three-judge panel reinstated the ban that was incurred as a result of the Patriots quarterback’s role in the Deflategate controversy. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit overturned the 2015 decision by Judge Richard Berman, stating that Brady’s suspension should be upheld.
The Wells report commissioned by the NFL more than a year ago determined that Brady was “more likely than not” to have been aware of footballs being deflated below their usual levels during the AFC Championship Game against the Colts in January 2015.
If Brady’s four-game suspension is ultimately upheld, he won’t be eligible to return to regular-season action until Sunday, October 9th in Cleveland. The Patriots would be without their starting quarterback for games against the Cardinals, Dolphins, Texans, and Bills in that scenario. Understudy Jimmy Garoppolo would step into the starting role in New England if Brady is forced to miss the first month of the coming season.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Impact Rookies: New England Patriots
The old adage that defense wins championships may or may not be true, but you’ll be hard-pressed to find a title-winning team that didn’t build heavily through the draft. Rookie classes, naturally, are evaluated on the perceived upside of the NFL newcomers, but which rookies are ready to contribute right out of the gate? And, how do they fit in with their new team schematically?
To help us forecast the immediate future of these NFL neophytes, we enlisted the help of draft guru Dave-Te Thomas who has served as a scouting personnel consultant to NFL teams for multiple decades.
Today, we continue PFR’s Impact Rookie series with his insight on the New England Patriots’ draft class:
In a tradition started by Jimmy Johnson during his days with Dallas, lots of NFL teams use what is called a draft “value board” in their war rooms. Based on the selections made by the coaching genius of Bill Belichick, analysts might be scratching their heads over the Patriots’ decisions during this past draft.
Deflategate left the team with no choice in the opening round, but in what has been Belichick’s pattern over the years, he put on his “Trader Jack” hat before and during the draft proceedings in attempts to improve his roster. In mid-March, the team made a surprising move, trading away one of the defense’s cornerstones in Chandler Jones for oft-injured offensive guard Jonathan Cooper and a second-round draft pick.
The Patriots flipped that No. 61 overall pick to the Saints, netting the Saints’ third (No. 78) and fourth-round (No. 112) selections. Even with Cooper in the fold and starters Shaquille Mason (left side) and Tre’ Jackson (right) stationed as the starters, New England added to their guard cache in the third round by taking North Carolina State’s Joe Thuney. Thuney is likely to caddy for Shaquille Mason on the left side and while he could prove to be a reliable backup, he’s not likely to make waves in 2016. However, we do see these two Pats rookies leaving a mark in their first NFL season:
Continue reading about the Patriots’ rookie class..
Patriots Could Add WR Down The Road
If the Patriots suffer an injury during training camp or the club isn’t satisfied with its current wide receiver depth chart, New England could sign a veteran pass-catcher such as Andre Johnson or Roddy White, writes Ben Volin of the Boston Globe. As Roster Resource shows, the Patriots are pretty well-stocked at receiver, with Julian Edelman, Danny Amendola, Chris Hogan, Keshawn Martin, and Nate Washington among the many options available to New England. But if the team does want to add another receiver, Johnson and White make sense as candidates — Johnson recently said he wants to continue his career, while White has stated he only wants to play for a contender.
Saints Sign Nick Fairley
JULY 9th, 9:35am: More than three months after the deal was signed, Nick Underhill of the New Orleans Advocate has some details on Fairley’s $1.75MM worth of incentives.
There are three ‘playing time thresholds’ that Fairley could reach, with each bonus adding $250K to his salary. There are also three ‘sack thresholds’ worth $250K each. Finally, if the veteran manages to play 35-percent of his team’s snaps and record at least four sacks, he’ll make another $250K.
MARCH 29th, 11:46am: Fairley gets a one-year, $3MM deal from the Saints, including a $2.235MM signing bonus, tweets Tom Pelissero of USA Today. Fairley can earn an additional $1.75MM via incentives, and his contract technically runs through 2018 for cap purposes — the final two years will void.
MONDAY, 10:00am: The Saints have officially signed Fairley, the team announced today in a press release.
8:41am: Defensive tackle Nick Fairley will be signing with the Saints, according to Ian Rapoport of NFL.com, who reports (via Twitter) that Fairley has agreed to terms on a one-year contract with New Orleans. Rapoport had indicated last week that the Saints were the frontrunners to land the ex-Ram.
A free agent a year ago, Fairley signed a one-year pact with the Rams, and was a rotational piece on the team’s talented defensive line in 2015, appearing in less than 40% of the defensive snaps. Although he wasn’t a full-time player and his counting stats were modest (29 tackles and 0.5 sacks), the former first-round pick graded out as a top-25 interior defender, according to Pro Football Focus.
This time around in free agency, Fairley once again signed a one-year pact, but he may get an opportunity to play a little more in New Orleans, since the Saints’ defensive line isn’t as deep and talented as the Rams’ unit. Per Rapoport (via Twitter), the 28-year-old chose the Saints over offers from the Patriots and Texans. Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle adds (via Twitter) that the Eagles offered Fairley a contract as well.
Fairley is the latest addition for a Saints team that has been busy lately adding pieces to its defense — the club also signed linebackers James Laurinaitis and Craig Robertson last week. It’s not clear how New Orleans is squeezing all these deals in under the cap, since the team had less than $1MM in cap room available at last check. It seems likely that the team has restructure at least one big contract – perhaps Cameron Jordan‘s or Jairus Byrd‘s – and it has yet to be reported.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Musa: Hypothetically, Pats Would Shop Von Miller
Mike Klis of 9News obtained a report from a non-Broncos scout who observed linebacker Von Miller nine times last season and concluded that the 27-year-old is a “Hall of Fame-caliber performer.’’ Meanwhile, former Patriots general counsel/player personnel Jack Musa told Klis that the Pats – who are known for preemptively cutting bait on stars – would shop Miller if they were in a similar situation as Denver is now.
Mike Klis of 9News obtained a report from a non-Broncos scout who observed linebacker Von Miller nine times last season and concluded that the 27-year-old is a “Hall of Fame-caliber performer.’’ Meanwhile, former Patriots general counsel/player personnel Jack Musa told Klis that the Pats – who are known for preemptively cutting bait on stars – would shop Miller if they were in a similar situation as Denver is now.
“I’m not saying not signing Von Miller is the wrong thing to do. I’m not saying that at all,” said Musa, who was with the Patriots for a decade. “But if you don’t and you’ve moved on from him, you certainly get something from him. You don’t have him sitting out a year and improving his own negotiating leverage – that’s not something we ever experienced in New England but that’s a very real possibility in Denver.’’
McCann: Brady's Latest Odds Not Good
- It’s been six weeks since the Tom Brady and the NFLPA appealed the federal court ruling that reinstated the Patriots quarterback’s four-game suspension, and despite the second circuit failing to rule in the three- to six-week span expected, Michael McCann of SI.com anticipates Brady’s ban remaining in place. “The most likely verdict is the second circuit will not grant a re-hearing,” McCann said, via WEEI.com. “The second circuit grants re-hearings at less than 1% of the time. The odds are certainly not good for Brady.”
Analysts Expect Brady To Play Well Into His 40s
- Tom Brady has contended he intends to play well into his 40s, and James Walker of ESPN.com envisions that likely based on what the Patriots 17th-year quarterback has shown as he’s moved into his late 30s. Walker sees the now-39-year-old Brady playing three more seasons at a high level but offers he won’t make it much farther if he continues to absorb the kind of punishment he took last season. New England permitted its franchise icon to be sacked 38 times in 2015 after allowing just 21 in ’14.
Malcolm Mitchell Showing Potential In Difficult Patriots Offense
The Patriots‘ vaunted offense is not for everyone, as Mike Reiss of ESPN.com writes. Indeed, accomplished veterans and highly-drafted receivers alike have often struggled to adapt to New England’s unique offensive scheme, and current wideout Danny Amendola–who has not been immune to those struggles himself–explains why. Said Amendola, “In our offense, especially at the wideout position, it’s all about feeling. It’s about trying to find open space, using your eyes…In our offense, it’s kind of like if you take away all the street signs on the road and you kind of just drive — you yield and stop at an intersection just by what you feel and what you see with your eyes.”