I just wanted to win...

Ramblings Post #290
It is what it's gonna be. I've been gone for a minute, if it wasn't one thing it was another. But I'm back and after liking the Cowboys draft I'm back on football for a minute. I got a few other things I'm gonna comment on, a few other ideas rolling around my head but right now I'm on this. So don't let the smooth taste fool ya!

The Jets fans move quick - via Manish Mehta's twitter  

First, let’s get one thing straight.

The NFL is punishing Tom Brady and the Pats for cheating on the field during a game. I’ve seen a number of memes about how the league is treating this “trifle” as a similar infraction to domestic violence or alleged child abuse, and it’s not a fair comparison. Those issues people like to point out are issues from outside of football, societal issues, and we’ve only recently, for other reasons, taken to punishing those individuals extra-judicially in this forum for those infractions. But that shouldn’t minimize or mitigate any discussion about “on the field” infractions and their penalties. 

So there’s that.

Now, after reading an article on Slate, by what must have been a Patriots fan, I seriously think that Brady and the Pats got off easy. Playing in the NFL, as we get reminded often isn’t a right but a privilege. That the golden boy is still playing at all is a miracle after he stood up and blatantly lied to the press that he knew nothing about it, refused to cooperate with the investigation and we found out there was a guy on the Patriots’ staff who called himself “the deflator”. It’s not like he was deflating them for the backup QBs.

Again, the person who intercepted the ball had it for less than 30 seconds and knew something was off with it. For Brady to have handled it 50 times in the same game and not noticed the difference borders on the surreal. Brady has played football man and boy for more than 20 years. He should intuitively know how the ball feels. Imagine your keyboard at work is missing a single key. You might not notice at first, but as the day goes on it would become an issue, wouldn’t it? Unless of course, you were "used" to it being that way. (Note: this is not implying that this happens all the time and this is one time they got caught. I would not do that. )    

The reality is a top tier team getting caught cheating for the second time (see Spygate) is shortly going to start having detrimental effects upon the integrity of the game – if not angering the 31 other owners who are getting cheated. Are they really a top tier team? Were all those wins really wins? Because letting some people cheat begets why this set of rules questions, a performance enhancing drug conversation, a salary cap discussion, then even a bigger money roundtable and before you know it we have the two richest teams playing each in the SuperBowl every year because no one else can afford to compete.* Slipperly slopes are slippery for a reason.

Brady is 37, way past his prime, and if he isn’t already, should be thinking hard about retirement.  Let’s be honest, the only reason he didn’t get a year off is because his name is Brady he puts buts in the seats. But we have to do something now, some sort of punishment, as this will all be forgotten by the time the Hall of Fame question arises. What’s sad is that this means the NFL doesn’t have the integrity of International Bike Racing.  

Barkeep. Another Lime Rickey.

*Yeah, like baseball. Keep in mind this might take twenty years to happen. But since the now DBs are just about having to defend with their hands behind their backs this isn’t as crazy as it sounds.