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Latest On Patriots, Tom Brady

May 11th, 2015 at 9:46pm CST by Zachary Links

On Monday night, Patriots owner Robert Kraft (via Twitter) issued a statement regarding the penalties levied against his team.

“Despite our conviction that there was no tampering with footballs, it was our intention to accept any discipline levied by the league. Today’s punishment, however, far exceeded any reasonable expectation. It was based completely on circumstantial rather than hard or conclusive evidence. We are humbled by the support the New England Patriots have received from our fans throughout the world. We recognize our fans’ concerns regarding the NFL’s penalties and share in their disappointment in how this one-sided investigation was handled, as well as the dismissal of the scientific evidence supported by the Ideal Gas Law in the final report. Tom Brady has our unconditional support. Our belief in him has not wavered.”

Kraft’s statement made it clear that he is standing shoulder-to-shoulder with Brady, who is also prepared to fight the league. Here’s another round of reactions to the Pats’ scandal..

  • Jason La Canfora of CBSSports.com (on Twitter) wouldn’t expect the Patriots to be in the market right away for a veteran quarterback in the wake of the Brady ruling. He believes that the Pats will wait to see how the appeal goes and evaluate their own situation before making any moves. As it stands, rising sophomore Jimmy Garoppolo would likely be New England’s starter for the first four games of the 2015 season.
  • An NFL owner told Mike Freeman of Bleacher Report (on Twitter) that the relationship between commissioner Roger Goodell and Kraft seems “pretty much dead.” “I can’t say for certain but it sure seems that way to me,” the owner, who knows both men well, said. “Some of us (owners) are waiting a little nervously to see what Robert does next.”
  • Mike Chappell of CBS4 (on Twitter) wouldn’t be surprised if Brady appeals and has his four-game suspension cut in half.
  • The $1MM fine levied against the Patriots is the largest team fine in NFL history, according to Adam Schefter of ESPN (via SportsCenter on Twitter).
  • Brady’s agent, Don Yee, is going to the mat for his client as they prepare to appeal his suspension. Yee also represents Saints coach Sean Payton, and Larry Holder of The Times-Picayune wonders why Yee didn’t fight harder for him when he was suspended for a season as a result of BountyGate.
  • Brady left Roger Goodell no choice but to make an example of him, Mike Lupica of the New York Daily News opines.
  • Rick Gosselin of The Dallas Morning News explained why the punishment for the Patriots and Brady was so severe.

Tom Brady To Appeal Suspension

May 11th, 2015 at 6:09pm CST by Zachary Links

Tom Brady‘s agent issued a statement to reporters stating, in part, that the quarterback will appeal the suspension handed to him earlier today. Here is the statement in its entirety, courtesy of ESPN.com’s Adam Schefter (via Facebook):

“The discipline is ridiculous and has no legitimate basis. In my opinion, this outcome was pre-determined; there was no fairness in the Wells investigation whatsoever. There is no evidence that Tom directed footballs be set at pressures below the allowable limits.

In fact, the evidence shows Tom clearly emphasized that footballs be set at pressures within the rules. Tom also cooperated with the investigation and answered every question presented to him. The Wells Report presents significant evidence, however, that the NFL lacks standards or protocols with respect to its handling of footballs prior to games; this is not the fault of Tom or the Patriots.

The report also presents significant evidence the NFL participated with the Colts in some type of pre-AFC Championship Game planning regarding the footballs. This fact may raise serious questions about the integrity of the games we view on Sundays. We will appeal, and if the hearing officer is completely independent and neutral, I am very confident the Wells Report will be exposed as an incredibly frail exercise in fact-finding and logic.

The NFL has a well-documented history of making poor disciplinary decisions that often are overturned when truly independent and neutral judges or arbitrators preside, and a former federal judge has found the commissioner has abused his discretion in the past, so this outcome does not surprise me. Sadly, today’s decision diminishes the NFL as it tells its fans, players and coaches that the games on the field don’t count as much as the games played on Park Avenue.”

The news, of course, does not come as a great surprise. Brady is well within his rights to appeal the decision and cannot be punished further for presenting his case. With the help of the NFLPA, Brady will likely cite the lack of hard evidence against him as a primary reason why he should have the suspension lowered or rescinded. Brady could also cite precedent as a reason why he is being penalized to harshly.

Prior to the suspension being announced, Albert Breer of NFL.com (on Twitter) noted that Saints defensive lineman Anthony Hargrove was suspended eight games for his obstruction in Bountygate, but he later had that penalty reduced to two games. Because of that, Breer had estimated a two-game suspension for Brady. After an appeal, Brady could very well wind up serving less than a four-game suspension.

Reactions To Punishment For Pats, Brady

May 11th, 2015 at 5:28pm CST by Zachary Links

In the latest sign that this really is a “new” NFL, the Patriots were hit with major penalties for their apparent involvement in deflating footballs during the playoffs. Quarterback Tom Brady, who seemed to be less than cooperative in helping with the NFL’s investigation, was sacked with a four game suspension. In addition to that, the Pats were stripped of their 2016 first-round draft pick as well as their fourth-round selection in the 2017 NFL Draft. Here’s a look at some of the reaction and fallout to the NFL’s surprisingly stern decision..

  • Brady was scheduled to make $8MM this season and, as a result, will lose about $2MM thanks to the suspension, Adam Schefter of ESPN.com tweets.
  • Any action by the NFLPA will be at the direction of Brady, so they’ll wait for instructions from him, Albert Breer of NFL.com (on Twitter) notes.
  • Goodell may have lost Bob Kraft as an ally today, but he isn’t going anywhere, Adam Beasley of the Miami Herald tweets. Beasley posits that he couldn’t have made such a bold move without gauging the support of the league’s 31 other owners.
  • At this point, the Bills are the only AFC East team that will directly benefit from Brady’s suspension, Armando Salguero of the Miami Herald tweets. The Bills now only face Brady once while the Dolphins and Jets have to deal with him twice.
  • Giants quarterback Eli Manning told reporters, including Paul Schwartz of the New York Post (on Twitter) that he is “in no way…glad to see this happen.” However, he added that, “If someone’s breaking the rules I understand you’re gonna get punished for it,” (link).
  • The cynic in Beasley (link) wonders if the NFL waited until after this year’s draft since the Pats will probably be picking higher than No. 32 next year.

Tom Brady Handed Four Game Suspension

May 11th, 2015 at 4:45pm CST by Zachary Links

The NFL announced that Patriots quarterback Tom Brady has been suspended for four games for his involvement in the DeflateGate scandal, as Mike Garafolo of FOX Sports tweets. The Patriots have also been stripped of their first-round pick in 2016 and fined $1MM, Adam Beasley of the Miami Herald (on Twitter) adds. The Pats will also lose the fourth-round selection in the 2017 NFL Draft, Ian Rapoport of NFL.com tweets. Tom Brady (vertical)

Jason Wilde of ESPN.com (on Twitter) passes along the full statement. It reads, in part:

The New England Patriots were notified today of the following discipline that has been imposed for violations of the NFL Policy on Integrity of the Game and Enforcement of Competitive Rules relating to the use of under-inflated footballs in the AFC Championship Game of this past season:

For the violation of the playing rules and the failure to cooperate in the subsequent investigation, the New England Patriots are fined $1 million and will forfeit the club’s first-round selection in the 2016 NFL Draft and the club’s fourth-round selection in the 2017 NFL Draft. If the Patriots have more than one selection in either of these rounds, the earlier selection shall be forfeited. The club may not trade or otherwise encumber these selections.

Patriots owner Robert Kraft advised Commissioner Roger Goodell last week that Patriots employees John Jastremski and James McNally have been indefinitely suspended without pay by the club, effective on May 6th. Neither of these individuals may be reinstated without the prior approval of NFL Executive Vice President of Football Operations Troy Vincent. If they are reinstated by the Patriots, Jastremski is prohibited from having any role in the preparation, supervision, or handling of footballs to be used in NFL games during the 2015 season. McNally is barred from serving as a locker room attendant for the game officials, or having any involvement with the preparation, supervision, or handling of footballs or any other equipment on game day.

Quarterback Tom Brady will be suspended without pay for the first four games of the 2015 regular season for conduct detrimental to the integrity of the NFL. Brady may participate in all off-season, training camp and pre-season activities, including pre-season games.

Commissioner Goodell authorized the discipline that was imposed by NFL Executive President Troy Vincent, pursuant to the commissioner’s disciplinary authority under the NFL Constitution and Bylaws and the Collective Bargaining Agreement with the NFL Players Association.

“We reached these decisions after extensive discussion with Troy Vincent and many others,” Commissioner Goodell said. “We relied on the critical importance of protecting the integrity of the game and the thoroughness and independence of the Wells report.”

The letter also notes that there was no evidence found to prove that head coach Bill Belichick or any Patriots’ staff member besides Jastremski and McNally took part in the deflating of footballs. One has to imagine that the Patriots will be quick to cite that as they dispute the penalties levied against them.

The NFL also made Vincent’s letter to Brady available to reporters (including Shalise Manza Young of the Boston Globe on Twitter) and his words are rather scathing. He reprimands Brady for his failure to cooperate in full with the NFL’s investigation and calls his conduct “detrimental to the integrity” of the game. Vincent adds that “While [the evidence] cannot be certain when the activity began, evidence suggests that 1/18 was not the first and only occasion.” The league’s Executive Vice President of Football Operations also referred back to the SpyGate scandal to illustrate that the organization has a history of misconduct.

The suspension of Brady ostensibly leaves backup Jimmy Garoppolo as the team’s starter for the first month of the season. The 23-year-old (24 in November) completed 19 of 27 passes in his rookie season.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Tom Brady Suspension Coming Next Week?

May 8th, 2015 at 7:05pm CST by Sam Robinson

Roger Goodell is expected to suspend Tom Brady next week, sources informed Gary Myers of the New York Daily News.

Sources close to Goodell have little doubt the commissioner is viewing DeflateGate as a “serious violation,” which will prompt, in Myers’ view, the highest-profile player suspended in the NFL’s 96 years. The Patriots are bracing for a suspension of Brady that could last as long as eight games, according to CSNNE.com’s Mike Girardi.

After the 37-year-old Brady landed as the notable figure in this week’s DeflateGate report, the Pats are preparing for what would be a startling suspension for a player of Brady’s caliber and one that could define defending Super Bowl champions’ season. Pundits and sources around the league have the potential Brady-less portion of the Pats season hovering between two and 16 games.

Myers does think the commissioner will be more lenient that Girardi’s report would lead you to believe, with a two-game suspension expected after possibly an appeal-induced reduction from four. But the Daily News reporter adds that the sources believe there is enough, between Brady’s alleged ordering of footballs to be deflated and lack of cooperation with Wells’ investigation by not turning over his cell phone, to warrant a suspension.

Myers’ sources said previous reports of a 16-game suspension are “way off,” however.

In the time span that appears to be the floor of a potential Brady suspension, the Patriots open the season with a home tilt against the Steelers before traveling to face the Bills. Jimmy Garoppolo enters his second year after having completed 19-of-27 passes as a rookie exclusively during inconsequential sequences. New England finished 11-5 in 2008, its last season that featured games without Brady’s services.

DeflateGate: Brady, Patriots, Wells

May 7th, 2015 at 10:23pm CST by Zachary Links

At an event at Salem State on Thursday evening, Tom Brady sat down with reporter Jim Gray and while the Wells Report was discussed, the Patriots quarterback wasn’t willing to say a whole lot about it. “I don’t have really any reaction, Jim,” Brady said, according to NFL.com’s Chris Wesseling. “Our owner commented on it yesterday. And it’s only been 30 hours, so I haven’t had much time to digest it fully. But when I do, I’ll be sure to let you know how I feel about it.” While we wait to see if Brady gives a more direct response to the findings of the report, here’s a look at other news regarding the Pats’ scandal..

  • Brady’s agent, Don Yee, released a statement on the matter and Mike Garafolo of FOX Sports (via Twitter) passes it along in its entirety. It reads, in part, “The Wells report, with all due respect, is a significant and terrible disappointment. It’s omission of key facts and lines of inquiry suggest the investigators reached a conclusion first, and then determined so-called facts later.”
  • Disciplinary decisions for the Patriots and Brady are “coming soon,” a source tells Mark Maske of The Washington Post (on Twitter). Fines, suspensions, and loss of draft picks are all “under consideration” as forms of punishment.
  • Four unnamed head coaches want to see Brady suspended and the Patriots fined, according to Jason Cole of Bleacher Report (video link). One of the coaches told Cole that the situation is a “mess” that needs to be put to an end once and for all.

Ted Wells Releases DeflateGate Report

May 6th, 2015 at 12:18pm CST by Luke Adams

After a 103-day investigation, Ted Wells has submitted his report on the “DeflateGate” controversy to commissioner Roger Goodell and the Patriots. The report, which spans 243 pages, is available in full right here. Wells and his team conclude that it’s “more probable than not” that Patriots personnel knowingly altered the inflation level of the game balls.

“In particular, we conclude that it is more probable than not that [locker room attendant] Jim McNally and [equipment assistant] John Jastremski participated in a deliberate plan to circumvent the rules by releasing air from Patriots game balls after the examination of the footballs by NFL game officials at the AFC Championship Game,” the report reads. “We believe that McNally and Jastremski were aware that the inflation level of the Patriots game balls following pre-game inspection by the game officials would be approximately 12.5 psi and planned for McNally to deflate the balls below that level following the pre-game inspection using a needle provided by Jastremski.

“Based on the evidence, we also have concluded that it is more probable than not that Tom Brady was at least generally aware of the inappropriate activities of McNally and Jastremski involving the release of air from Patriots game balls.”

While the report implicates Brady, it adds that there’s no indication that Patriots ownership or the front office, including head coach Bill Belichick, was involved or had any knowledge of the affected balls. Team owner Robert Kraft has already released a statement in which he and his club will accept the findings of the report. However, he continues to stick behind members of his organization, and expressed disappointment with the investigation.

“To say we are disappointed in its findings, which do not include any incontrovertible or hard evidence of deliberate deflation of footballs at the AFC Championship game, would be a gross understatement,” Kraft said.

Although there is not hard evidence proving that Brady was aware of the game balls being altered, text messages exchanged by McNally and Jastremski strongly suggest that the quarterback knew what was going on, making him a candidate for discipline from the NFL. Goodell released a statement today saying that a determination on “what steps to take” would be made by the league’s executive VP of football operations Troy Vincent and his team (Facebook link via Adam Schefter of ESPN.com).

AFC Links: Jets, Brady, Browns, Ravens

February 15th, 2015 at 9:52am CST by Ben Levine

The Steelers have a number of impending free agents, including linebacker Jason Worilds and cornerback Ike Taylor. While some Pittsburgh fans may be pessimistic about the team retaining all of their players, general manager Kevin Colbert is actually confident.

“Almost to a man I’d be shocked if [they] didn’t want to stay,” Colbert said (via ESPN.com’s Scott Brown). “I feel they all would like the opportunity to be able to stay. It doesn’t mean they won’t field other offers or see what else is out there. In the end I think the majority of them will want to be here.”

Let’s take a look at some more notes from the AFC…

  • We heard yesterday that Antonio Cromartie would be very open to a reunion with the Jets, but the cornerback cautioned that he may want to play for a contender. However, he also noted that the organization was closer to contention than their 4-12 record indicated. “I don’t think the Jets are rebuilding at all,” Cromartie told Paul Schwartz of the New York Post.
  • Tom Brady is set to make $5MM today as part of the $30MM signing bonus from his 2013 extension with the Patriots, tweets ESPN’s Field Yates.
  • If Tony Grossi of ESPNCleveland.com was the Browns owner, his first move this offseason would be re-signing Brian Hoyer. However, he’d only make that move if the entire organization agreed.
  • ESPN.com’s Jamison Hensley examined whether the Ravens should cut wideout Jacoby Jones, with the writer concluding that the team should hold on to the return specialist. The writer does caution that the receiver’s production may not justify his salary.

AFC East Notes: Brady, Marrone, Polian, Jets

January 22nd, 2015 at 4:06pm CST by Dallas Robinson

Speaking to the media on Thursday afternoon, Patriots quarterback Tom Brady adamantly denied that he had any involvement in the deflating of footballs during New England’s victory over the Colts in Sunday’s AFC Championship game. “I didn’t alter the ball in any way,” said Brady. “…I was surprised as anyone on Monday morning when I heard what was happening…I have no knowledge of anything…I’m very comfortable saying that” (Twitter links via Albert Breer of NFL.com). Furthermore, Brady stated that NFL has not yet contacted him as part of their investigation, but allowed that they might do so, according to Jason La Canfora of CBSSports.com (Twitter link) — per Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (Twitter link), Brady would be the last person the NFL speaks to, based on Rapoport’s knowledge of the how the league conducts its probes. Here’s more from the AFC East, including a little more on DeflateGate:

  • Patriots head coach Bill Belichick also spoke to reporters earlier today, and one league source found it “shocking” that Belichick shifted the focus of the scandal to Brady, tweets Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk. Of course, Belichick didn’t accuse Brady of anything improper, but he did say that “quarterbacks…know a lot more than I do,” which struck many as odd.
  • Some league insiders believe that ex-Bills coach (and current Jaguars OL coach) Doug Marrone and Jacksonville executive Chris Polian could be a head coach/general manager pairing in 2016, according to Adam Schefter of ESPN (Twitter link via Mike Rodak).
  • Packers assistant offensive line coach Steve Marshall is expected to join the Jets, presumably continuing to work with the offensive line, a source tells Adam Caplan of ESPN (via Twitter).
  • Kansas State receiver Tyler Lockett interviewed with the Dolphins on Wednesday, and the former Wildcat says the meeting went well, per James Walker of ESPN.com (Twitter link).

Zach Links contributed to this post.

AFC East Notes: Jets, Lynn, Brady, Bills

December 30th, 2014 at 2:48pm CST by Luke Adams

As the AFC East’s only playoff team takes a week off before preparing to host its first postseason contest, let’s round up the latest notes from out of the division….

  • We can add an internal candidate to the Jets‘ list of potential head coaches, according to Kristian Dyer of Metro New York, who tweets that Anthony Lynn will interview for the position. Lynn, who has served as the team’s running backs coach and assistant head coach for the last three seasons under Rex Ryan, is likely being interviewed to help the Jets satisfy the terms of the Rooney Rule.
  • When it was first reported yesterday that Tom Brady had agreed to restructure his contract with the Patriots, it was presented as simply a matter of converting guaranteed salaries into salaries guaranteed for injury only, but that’s not the only change that was made to Brady’s deal. Mike Reiss of ESPN.com explains that the Pats also added $1MM to each of Brady’s base salaries for the next three seasons.
  • Brady’s willingness to rework his contract has been presented as a magnanimous gesture that will allow the Patriots to be more flexibility when they negotiate with other players, but Bill Barnwell of Grantland.com doesn’t quite see it that way. As Barnwell outlines, the fact that Brady essentially gave up his guaranteed money makes it easier for the Pats to part ways with the quarterback in the next three years. That could benefit Brady as well, since allowing the club to cut him without swallowing a ton of guaranteed money would allow him the freedom to pick his next destination in unrestricted free agency. Of course, presumably both sides would prefer for Brady to maintain his current high level of play for the next few seasons, allowing him to finish this contract without any drama.
  • With Kyle Orton retiring and E.J. Manuel likely not the long-term answer in Buffalo, John Kryk of the Toronto Sun wonders if the Bills could explore the trade market this offseason. In Kryk’s view, Robert Griffin III would make a better target for the Bills than Jay Cutler.
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