2014 NFL Season

[AxlsMainMan]

Personally I?m just enjoying watching the greatest coach, and arguably the greatest QB (personally I think Montana is #1 as it stands today) to ever play the game.

All-time greats aren't cheaters. You really think Gretzky, Ali, or Michael Jordan would be nearly as highly regarded if they had been accused of cheating? Highly unlikely. Please see Lance Armstrong, Barry Bonds or Roger Clemens for more information.

It?s not going to last forever, so I?m not going to take it for granted and worry about the amount of air that was/wasn?t in the football in a game the Patriots man handled their opponent by 30+ points.

What a load of utter nonesense. Brady and Bill having little time left makes cheating okay? Manhandling the Colts simply makes the cheating even worse since it was completely unnecessary and indicates serious entitlement issues, if anything. I was raised to believe that cheating was immoral and wrong; sorry if your parents didn't instill those same values in you.

[LongGoneDay]

Personally I?m just enjoying watching the greatest coach, and arguably the greatest QB (personally I think Montana is #1 as it stands today) to ever play the game.

All-time greats aren't cheaters. You really think Gretzky, Ali, or Michael Jordan would be nearly as highly regarded if they had been accused of cheating? Highly unlikely. Please see Lance Armstrong, Barry Bonds or Roger Clemens for more information.

It?s not going to last forever, so I?m not going to take it for granted and worry about the amount of air that was/wasn?t in the football in a game the Patriots man handled their opponent by 30+ points.

What a load of utter nonesense. Brady and Bill having little time left makes cheating okay? Manhandling the Colts simply makes the cheating even worse since it was completely unnecessary and indicates serious entitlement issues, if anything. I was raised to believe that cheating was immoral and wrong; sorry if your parents didn't instill those same values in you.

I?m not naive enough to think that everyone that cheats gets caught.
We could find out tomorrow something about Michael Jordan that could quite possibly change your opinion of him.
Mine most likely wouldn?t change. He?s the greatest player I?ve ever witnessed play, and don?t expect to see a player of his caliber again.

Barry Bonds was the best hitter of his era, with no close second. Probably the best of all time.
I enjoyed watching him do things others couldn?t. Not even the countless other players taking the same banned substances.

I?m not a professional athlete. If I were, my feelings would probably be different.
No one?s taking my job, or money out of my pocket.
I?m viewing this through the eyes of a fan. It?s purely entertainment to me.

Is an even playing field ideal? Of course.
Am I naive enough to think that such a thing ever did, or ever will exist?
Nope, but you are free live in that fantasy world if you choose, and become butt hurt over every instance of cheating that will undoubtedly continue to surface until the end of time.

[AxlsMainMan]

I?m not naive enough to think that everyone that cheats gets caught.

So because other people cheat and might not get caught, that makes cheating okay? I'll have to remember that next time I catch one of my students cheating on a test or plagiarizing an essay

Nope, but you are free live in that fantasy world if you choose

Is that the same fantasy world where according to you Scott Weiland is one of the greatest rock singers ever?

[AxlsMainMan]

The "greatest coach ever" has now thrown his QB under the bus:

?Tom?s personal preferences on his footballs are something that he can talk about in much better detail and information than I could possibly provide,? Belichick said. ?I can tell you that in my entire coaching career, I have never talked to any player, staff member, about football air pressure. That is not a subject that I have ever brought up.?

https://www.bostonglobe.com/sports/2015/01/22/bill-belichick-message-don-blame-for-deflategate/JjltLRRkse07jqkpQK4E9I/story.html

[LongGoneDay]

I?m not naive enough to think that everyone that cheats gets caught.

So because other people cheat and might not get caught, that makes cheating okay? I'll have to remember that next time I catch one of my students cheating on a test or plagiarizing an essay

Nope, but you are free live in that fantasy world if you choose

Is that the same fantasy world where according to you Scott Weiland is one of the greatest rock singers ever?

A life lesson for your students..
"Remember, it?s only cheating if you get caught.?
-Al Bundy

Not sure which of my posts your referring to, but believe what I wrote is that Scott Weiland is one of the last great frontmen in rock n? roll.

The greatest singer of all time is Sam Cooke.
You simply must know this bare essential fact if you are in charge of educating our youth.

[faldor]

I think you're right it wouldn't have affected the outcome of the game. They didn't have to do this to win the game. I had them winning easily playing fair so why even try it? Yes it can help make the ball easier to catch or hold on to but the Colts still played like crap and weren't gonna win regardless.

The Patriots clearly have entitlement issues and probably wanted to do everything possible to ensure they won that game.

I'll just go ahead and throw out the obvious thought that if they're found guilty, this probably isn't the first instance of them doing this.

If so, don't you feel a bit foolish for continuing to support a team of clearly morally bankrupt cheaters?

No. Absolutely not. The majority of people have already tried and convicted the Patriots. They view them as guilty, regardless of the outcome of this seemingly endless investigation. They got caught cheating once, so people assume they always cheat. I can't control that. I can't disprove that or change anyone's mind who thinks that way. But as a fan, I choose to take them at their word. I can't prove that they're lying anymore than you can. You can get all the body language experts, all the former NFL players who were beaten by the Patriots over the years, all the media know it all's. They're all entitled to their opinions. But that's just what they are. Right now, there's no definitive proof. And I have a hard time believing the NFL has any. If they do, what are they waiting for? Give us the goods, and put this thing to rest.

It seems to me like the NFL is waiting for someone to step forward and accept responsibility and explain what happened. Because they can't figure it out themselves. There's been so much misinformation released over the week. One report after another contradicting each other. It's been poorly handled to say the least. I'd expect nothing less from the NFL though. It hasn't been a banner year for them.

Here's what I think happened, and obviously I don't expect non Patriots fans to agree with me. First off, I believe Belichick when he said he has nothing to do with the game balls. He's got enough on his plate. I don't believe he's worrying about how light the balls should be on game day. As for Tom. All QB's like the football a certain way. There's nothing against taking air out or adding air to a football, as long as it falls within the acceptable range. So if he gets balls that are fully inflated and prefers to take a little air out. That's within his right, as long as he doesn't take too much out. Maybe on bad weather days he likes to take out a little more air. Maybe "too much" air. But I doubt he's sitting there with a pressure gauge, waiting for the ball to fall 2 PSI below the lowest allowable rate. I doubt they ever knew they were in the "illegal" range. And I doubt the refs knew either. There have been varying reports as to how thoroughly they inspected the balls before the game. It seems to me that they gave them a look, a feel, and didn't think much of it.

IF that's what happened, it's on the officials. They could've noticed it and pumped air back in before the game and avoided all this mess.

IF they did indeed check the pressure before the game, then that blows my theory out of the water and I'd have to accept that the Patriots "cheated" and someone let some air out of the balls.

The problem is, there's a lot of speculating and opinions being presented as facts right now. I understand the Patriots have brought this on themselves with Spygate, but this is only a big deal because of who is involved. If this was ANY other team, it wouldn't be getting nearly the attention it's getting. I just hope it comes to some sort of conclusion. One way or another, it's time to move on. And I'm fully prepared to be labeled "cheaters" regardless of what happens. And I'm fine with that. Can't change it, so why fight it. The Steelers of the 70's were all jacked up on steroids, much more so than any other team but the media scrutiny back then was nowhere near what it is today in this 24/7 news cycle we live in. The 49'ers of the 80's manipulated the salary cap. The Cowboys of the 90's had a few questionable characters on their teams. I'm fine with being the next great team who people try to tear down. What other choice do I have? It's been that way for at least 7 years now, and it's not about to change anytime soon.

[Sober_times]

Well said faldor. Only thing left to say is, On to Seattle! 

[GeorgeSteele]

I think you're right it wouldn't have affected the outcome of the game. They didn't have to do this to win the game. I had them winning easily playing fair so why even try it? Yes it can help make the ball easier to catch or hold on to but the Colts still played like crap and weren't gonna win regardless.

The Patriots clearly have entitlement issues and probably wanted to do everything possible to ensure they won that game.

I'll just go ahead and throw out the obvious thought that if they're found guilty, this probably isn't the first instance of them doing this.

If so, don't you feel a bit foolish for continuing to support a team of clearly morally bankrupt cheaters?

No. Absolutely not. The majority of people have already tried and convicted the Patriots. They view them as guilty, regardless of the outcome of this seemingly endless investigation. They got caught cheating once, so people assume they always cheat. I can't control that. I can't disprove that or change anyone's mind who thinks that way. But as a fan, I choose to take them at their word. I can't prove that they're lying anymore than you can. You can get all the body language experts, all the former NFL players who were beaten by the Patriots over the years, all the media know it all's. They're all entitled to their opinions. But that's just what they are. Right now, there's no definitive proof. And I have a hard time believing the NFL has any. If they do, what are they waiting for? Give us the goods, and put this thing to rest.

It seems to me like the NFL is waiting for someone to step forward and accept responsibility and explain what happened. Because they can't figure it out themselves. There's been so much misinformation released over the week. One report after another contradicting each other. It's been poorly handled to say the least. I'd expect nothing less from the NFL though. It hasn't been a banner year for them.

Here's what I think happened, and obviously I don't expect non Patriots fans to agree with me. First off, I believe Belichick when he said he has nothing to do with the game balls. He's got enough on his plate. I don't believe he's worrying about how light the balls should be on game day. As for Tom. All QB's like the football a certain way. There's nothing against taking air out or adding air to a football, as long as it falls within the acceptable range. So if he gets balls that are fully inflated and prefers to take a little air out. That's within his right, as long as he doesn't take too much out. Maybe on bad weather days he likes to take out a little more air. Maybe "too much" air. But I doubt he's sitting there with a pressure gauge, waiting for the ball to fall 2 PSI below the lowest allowable rate. I doubt they ever knew they were in the "illegal" range. And I doubt the refs knew either. There have been varying reports as to how thoroughly they inspected the balls before the game. It seems to me that they gave them a look, a feel, and didn't think much of it.

IF that's what happened, it's on the officials. They could've noticed it and pumped air back in before the game and avoided all this mess.

IF they did indeed check the pressure before the game, then that blows my theory out of the water and I'd have to accept that the Patriots "cheated" and someone let some air out of the balls.

The problem is, there's a lot of speculating and opinions being presented as facts right now. I understand the Patriots have brought this on themselves with Spygate, but this is only a big deal because of who is involved. If this was ANY other team, it wouldn't be getting nearly the attention it's getting. I just hope it comes to some sort of conclusion. One way or another, it's time to move on. And I'm fully prepared to be labeled "cheaters" regardless of what happens. And I'm fine with that. Can't change it, so why fight it. The Steelers of the 70's were all jacked up on steroids, much more so than any other team but the media scrutiny back then was nowhere near what it is today in this 24/7 news cycle we live in. The 49'ers of the 80's manipulated the salary cap. The Cowboys of the 90's had a few questionable characters on their teams. I'm fine with being the next great team who people try to tear down. What other choice do I have? It's been that way for at least 7 years now, and it's not about to change anytime soon.

You, as a Patriots fan, having to type all that, should be all the punishment necessary for this bullshit.  I cannot get over the ridiculous hysteria going on over this nonsense, to the point that ESPN commentators are literally crying over this (http://deadspin.com/mark-brunell-almost-cries-over-deflated-balls-1681235859).  In a sport where men do shit to each other than would kill the vast majority of the human beings, we're talking about footballs under-inflated by less than 20% PSI, an offense carrying an insignificant fine of $25,000, reflecting the insignificance of the offense. This whole thing has killed my buzz of the anticipation of watching the Pats lose at the Super Bowl.


 

[tim_m]

It wouldn't be limited to a 25k fine. The rule says including but not limited to a fine of 25k. So the penalty could and likely would be much worse.

[GeorgeSteele]

It wouldn't be limited to a 25k fine. The rule says including but not limited to a fine of 25k. So the penalty could and likely would be much worse.

I'm not sure why the penalty should be worse.  If all the chatter about Brady being the culprit is true, it's his first offense and a minor infraction of the rule in question (a relatively small decrease in PSI).  The rule is clear that the penalty is levied on the "person responsible" not the team, so the team's Spygate history should have no relevance.

[AxlsMainMan]

A life lesson for your students..
"Remember, it?s only cheating if you get caught.?
-Al Bundy

There's no lesson to be taught. Getting caught has absolutely nothing to do with cheating; it's immoral regardless if one gets caught or not. People by and large send their children out into the world hoping they'll rise and fall according to their own merits and won't cheat to get ahead in life. Using your logic, murder isn't murder and is completely acceptable as long as you don't get caught.

[AxlsMainMan]

No. Absolutely not.

Yeah, I guess that'd be a non-option considering the amount of time and money you've sunk into this team. No matter how many times they get accused of or caught cheating, you're in too deep at this point.

The majority of people have already tried and convicted the Patriots. They view them as guilty, regardless of the outcome of this seemingly endless investigation. They got caught cheating once, so people assume they always cheat.

Yeah.. cheating tends to diminish one's credibility as it's a reflection of one's morality and character. Not sure why that's shocking to you.

I can't control that. I can't disprove that or change anyone's mind who thinks that way. But as a fan, I choose to take them at their word.

What's that old saying? Fool me once, shame on you...

I can't prove that they're lying anymore than you can. You can get all the body language experts, all the former NFL players who were beaten by the Patriots over the years, all the media know it all's.

I don?t think it really takes a body language expert to detect that Brady was being disingenuous at best during his news conference. Most people, when their character is drawn into questioning through an accusation of cheating, would be quite defensive and adamant about proving their innocence. They wouldn?t smile and giggle like a jackass.

Also, Brady being asked point blank if he?s a cheater is a categorical yes/no question. ?I don?t think I am? is a non-answer. How can one not know if they?re a cheater or not? You either are or you aren?t.

?It?s a mystery what happened? is also a farcical tidbit from that press conference. No, it really isn?t a mystery what happened. These balls weren?t beamed up to the Enterprise and deflated; someone in the Patriots camp clearly went out of their way to deflate the balls.

It seems to me like the NFL is waiting for someone to step forward and accept responsibility and explain what happened.

I would be shocked if the Patriots don?t end up trotting out a ?rogue? ball boy to take the fall for this one. I would also be shocked if this wasn?t the scenario you?re hoping for.

First off, I believe Belichick when he said he has nothing to do with the game balls. He's got enough on his plate.

Even if Belichick's hands are clean on this one, does the buck at least in some way not stop with him? That was the logic applied to Sean Payton and he was suspended for an entire season.

As for Tom

A QB who?s played the game as long as he has and taken as many snaps as he has should be able to tell simply by touch if the air pressure was off on those balls; something like that would be a third sense to a professional QB. Michael Strahan never played QB and was able to tell on national television this morning which footballs were properly inflated and which were not. Brady claiming to not know doesn?t pass the smell test.

I understand the Patriots have brought this on themselves with Spygate, but this is only a big deal because of who is involved. If this was ANY other team, it wouldn't be getting nearly the attention it's getting.

But it wasn?t any other team; it was a team who got caught cheating only a few years ago. The other 31 teams in the league managed to get through the season without being accused of cheating, why couldn?t yours?

The Cowboys of the 90's had a few questionable characters on their teams.

And the Patriots haven?t? Last I checked, Hernandez was facing a litany of murder charges and Rodney Harrison was considered one of the most hated and dirtiest players in the game.

[faldor]

First of all, I never said I was shocked at the overwhelmingly negative reception the Patriots were receiving. Quite the opposite actually. I said a few times that they brought this on themselves and this perception isn't going to change. So no, I'm not shocked at all.

As for being able to tell the difference in a lighter ball. Good for Strahan for picking one out of a lineup. Just about every talk show has done this since the scandal. Many have said it's barely noticeable. Even if Brady was 100% innocent, I don't think he would have appeared comfortable at that press conference. It's an uncomfortable situation. His reactions seemed understandable to me. He stayed up there and answered questions for 30 minutes. He could've easily ducked out of there sooner, and personally I think he should have.

I do think Belichick may face some punishment, depending on how damning the evidence they find might be. I agree, even if he had no knowledge of any of this, it happened under his watch. And if Brady had direct involvement, he'll probably face the music too.

The league has said that the balls were properly checked prior to the game. I guess we have to take their word on that. So it would certainly appear someone let some air out afterwards. We'll see what conclusions they come up with. It could get ugly for the Pats, or the NFL might be unable to gather concrete evidence. It doesn't sound like the investigation will be wrapped up before the Super Bowl. So maybe the focus can shift to the actual game next week. It will truly be Patriots against the world. I hope they can stay focused on the task at hand.

One final thing on the balls. There's a lot of debate as to how much of an advantage a lighter ball can give a team. Some say it's huge, others say it's minimal. The real answer is it doesn't really matter. If it's against the rules, you're not allowed to do it. BUT, they played the 1st half with the deflated balls and the game was competitive, 17-7 at the half. Then the balls were pumped back up and they outscored the Colts 28-0 after that. That's the ONLY evidence we have to compare the 2 balls. They broke a rule, but I find it hard to say they "cheated", as it didn't help them. It didn't give them a competitive advantage. Not in that game.

And not all 31 other teams got through the season without cheating. That would be factually inaccurate. I hate to spoil your image of every other team being upstanding organizations and the nasty Patriots being the only team that doesn't abide by the rules. But that's not the case. Both the Vikings and Panthers were caught this year heating their footballs on their respective sidelines. That's a no no. But since it wasn't done by the Patriots you probably didn't hear about it since nobody made a big deal over it. Both teams were warned during the game. That's against the rules though. Imagine that. Another team doing something unruly. Say it ain't so.

Oh, and the Pats didn't win a Super Bowl with Aaron Hernandez. Thank god! The most deplorable person to ever play in the NFL. It makes me sick to think that I cheered for him for so many years while he was killing people in his spare time. Nobody saw that one coming though.

Time to shift the focus away from the football and to the game. We'll resume this discussion in a few weeks.

Go Pats!

[Sober_times]

I was reading some posts and thinking about this and decided to put up my thoughts on this as a die hard Pats fan so it may have some admitted bias. Maybe I am naive or stupid but this is what I think about it right now. My opinion is admittedly fluctuating.

I believe Brady. Him and the equipment crew spend loads of time working on the footballs to get them with just the right texture and every thing else. There was an article about the equipment manager for Eli Manning who says it can take months to break in footballs for Eli.

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/11/24/sports/football/eli-mannings-footballs-are-months-in-making.html?_r=0


So these footballs Tom uses are completely worked in. On game day Tom Brady says he picks out whatever number of footballs are needed for the game. He checks which ones he wants based on grip, texture and everything else. The equipment manager sets them aside until the refs check them and then are allowed to be brought to the field. At that point the football situation for Tom is over. He already approved the footballs, he no longer focus' on them as he knows the footballs he picked will be the ones used. He goes through his pregame routine and then plays the game. Never once noticing the difference between a 12.5 PSI ball and 10.5 PSI ball as he is 100% focused on everything else on game day(We still don't know know if all 11 were at 10.5 but for this lets say they were). He's doing last minute gameplan stuff, warming up, on the field hes reading defenses, doing everything he needs to do to excel during the game. The footballs feel right to him because they are the same footballs he always practices with and everything else. He never even imagines there would be any changes to them because he already picked them and they were set aside accordingly.

This is all 100% believable to me. I'm anxious to hear from the NFL, since it can be scientifically proven, what exactly the advantage of a deflated ball is before I change my mind. ESPN Sports Science did a feature on this but I still want to hear what the NFL has to say.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VZ_S8F3mKFE&x-yt-cl=84503534&x-yt-ts=1421914688

There are many different players and media members who can or can't tell the difference between the footballs based on PSI alone. The refs, who on every play handle, place and move the footballs of both teams did not notice a difference. These referees have been around football most of their lives. They have been officials for years. They handle more footballs on any given Sunday then any other player on the field. I believe if there was a noticeable difference they wouldn't need to be notified. Also keep in mind Brady nor the refs are actively looking for a difference in the ball so that may explain it as well. All of these former players and media members are actively looking for a difference. That changes things as you are specifically looking for it. Why would Brady ever actively look for a difference during the game if he already did that before they were tested?

This is a non-issue for me. If someone did it, I don't think Brady knew knowingly. To me it is in the realm of possibility that Belichick or McDaniels without Brady knowing orders the PSI of the footballs lowered because of the advantage they think it makes. Now the question still remains, what advantage does it actually have? According to that feature it doesn't have one but lets say its still undecided until the NFL officially says(if they ever do, i really hope they do). So we have only some player's opinions. This can be scientifically proven so do it and tell us the results.

I also want to know; How old is the rule? Is it outdated? Has it ever truly been studied as to what difference it makes or was this just opinion of football players and coaches? There is a difference between opinion and fact. They obviously think there is an advantage because it appears they did it, but we still need to know 100% what the advantage is. Why did they do it? Because they felt there was an advantage, but what actual advantage is there?

This is different from Spygate because that advantage was subjective. No way to truly prove what advantage it brought. We can scientifically prove how much grip the ball adds, the velocity of the ball and other things. I hope the NFL does this and passes on its findings. And if it ultimately doesn't provide an advantage, fine the Patriots the minimum amount for breaking the rule and change it so this isn't an issue in the future. If its proven it does provide an advantage and they don't know who did it, then punishment needs to be given to Belichick who overseas the Patriots. He is the man in charge. If the advantage is big, drop the hammer, if its small say so and punish accordingly. Punishment should be given depending on the severity of how it ultimately effects the game. This was my main issue with Spygate. Nobody really knows what the advantage was. Everyone has an opinion. And opinions can be skewed based on personal feelings towards team or players or coaches. This can be scientifically proven and should be.

I guess that's about it for me.

[faldor]

I give Belichick an A+ for today's impromptu press conference. Getting out ahead of the story and vehemently denying any wrongdoing. He gave out more information in those 15 minutes than we've gotten all week. Running tests, dropping science, movie references. There was a little bit of everything. Your move NFL. You better have something pretty damning or all this has been a colossal waste of time and complete disrespect to the Patriots.

I know I said I was done talking about this topic, but I couldn't let this go without commenting on it. i don't think I could have scripted that any better. I was nervous when he first started but was quickly put at ease. I've heard pretty much everyone say that he sounded believable and confident that they did absolutely nothing wrong. Which is a much different reaction than the press conferences on Thursday received.

NOW, we move on. I wish this game was tomorrow. Bill is PISSED. I can only imagine how much of a motivator this is going to be leading up to the game. Regardless of that, motivation doesn't win football games. It's much more about execution. I believe these two teams a pretty evenly matched. But I have to give a slight edge to the Pats! We'll see in a week.

[tim_m]

We'll have to see what the NFL comes up with. Something clearly happened though between the initial inspection and half time. The question was what and was it deliberate.

[faldor]

We'll have to see what the NFL comes up with. Something clearly happened though between the initial inspection and half time. The question was what and was it deliberate.

Nature, and no. 

[faldor]

It's a good thing other teams don't cheat. http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=x9YD4pV4BH4
A coach interfering with play on the field is within the rules, right? All kids should be raised to be like Mike since he's a fine upstanding individual.

https://sports.yahoo.com/news/-bill-belichick-doubles-down-on-patriots--innocence-in-deflate-gate--dares-nfl-to-prove-him-wrong-225504102.html

[Sober_times]

I loved Belichicks anger in that press conference. I felt he was up there saying fuck you media. Fuck you NFL. Fuck you Colts, Baltimore and anyone else involved in this ridiculous shit. You guys are all a bunch of fucking idiots. This is what happened. Now shut the fuck up and move on with your lives.

Also loved the spygate question and answer. Could see how pissed he is at the league over that shit. 

[faldor]

I loved Belichicks anger in that press conference. I felt he was up there saying fuck you media. Fuck you NFL. Fuck you Colts, Baltimore and anyone else involved in this ridiculous shit. You guys are all a bunch of fucking idiots. This is what happened. Now shut the fuck up and move on with your lives.

Also loved the spygate question and answer. Could see how pissed he is at the league over that shit. 

LOVED it! My favorite press conference of all time. The way the NFL has handled business this year has been absurd, and the media has covered this with even more absurdity. And if the Patriots are exonerated, or if the NFL is unable to convict them of anything, it makes things even worse. Maybe they have some hardcore evidence up their sleeves that they're not sharing. But right now they look foolish. Letting this drag on to be the lead story for the least exciting week during the NFL schedule. Nobody cares that the Pro a Bowl is today. No one would be giving the NFL much attention until media day next Tuesday. But, no press is bad press. So they let this ridiculous story hang out there. Ex players crying, stating matter of factly that Tom Brady is a liar. Calling for Belichick's head. Believing all these unconfirmed reports. It's embarassing. I heard Mike Francessa bashing the Pats on Friday with Troy Aikman. He claimed that he had talked to ex Patriot players and personnel that told him the ways they cheated. Without giving any names or what they said. He just threw a blanket statement out there. Totally unprofessional if you ask me. If you're going to make a bold statement like that, give me some proof. That's like me calling into his show and saying that I heard from some ex friends of his that he routinely cheats on his wife. Give me a break!

People hate the Patriots. I get it. They win a lot. They have a smug coach who doesn't play nice with the media. They have a pretty boy quarterback who's married to a supermodel. They got caught "cheating" ONCE and were punished accordingly. Business as usual. Patriots, and their fans, must embrace the role as villain. There's no turning back now. They hate us cuz they ain't us!