@tour2ma said:

There's been plenty of years where I wish the Browns would have done this though-we've always been just good enough to miss the elite QB prospect.

@unsympathetic said:

How is anyone actually doubting the conclusion?

"More probable than not" IS THE STANDARD for legal issues. You're welcome to not like reality, but that doesn't change anything.

News flash: The vast majority of everything is a hypothesis, NOT A PROOF.

yeah it might have given brady the slightest of slight advantages (more in his mind) but i don't remember them having a perfect season last year. they still lost games and brady still threw interceptions so........

i guess the refs didn't do their due diligence in not checking the air before during and after each game. hell let's stop the game after each play because a stack of players fell on the ball and god knows you better check to make sure no air escaped it.

"More probable than not" IS THE STANDARD for legal issues. You're welcome to not like reality, but that doesn't change anything.

News flash: The vast majority of everything is a hypothesis, NOT A PROOF.

@gftchris said:

The colts lucked in to Luck, they were picking #1 - whoever sucked most that year would have had him.

The Colts helped their suck "a little"...

Manning was cleared to play with about 3 weeks left in the season IIRC... Colts said no hurry to rush back.

Biggest tank job I can remember in the NFL.. and Orlovski nearly messed it up with two late season wins

@walterwhite said:

Pretty rare that lightning strikes twice in the same place. A lower round draft pick becoming a megastar? Per my research, since Tom Brady was drafted in 2000 there is exactly ONE other QB drafted in round 3 or lower that could or has reached that level....and that is Russell Wilson,

Beyond Brady and Wilson the best round 3 or lower draft picks are probably Nick Foles, Matt Schaub, David Garrard and Marc Bulger.

And yes, I know that Garrapolo was a second round pick. If I include second rounders only 3 other names crop up that represent really quality QBs since 2000: Drew Brees, Andy Dalton??, and Colin Kaepernick.

So, no, if a top notch QB emerges from round 2 or below I see the candidates being Foles, Kaepernick, David Carr...and maybe Mettenberger.

Does Garropolo have a chance? Yes, but no better than a dozen other draftees.....like Brock Osweiler, Mike Glennon, Geno Smith and a few others.

@comeonman said:

The colts lucked in to Luck, they were picking #1 - whoever sucked most that year would have had him.

Pats otoh, Garoppolo was taken in the second round, anyone could have had him.

@walterwhite said:

What if Jimmy Garoppolo is the new Tom Brady like Tom Brady was to Drew Bledsoe?

@walterwhite said:

I'll trade a 6th rounder for Brady.

@gftchris said:

Wahey

@hoorta said:

I'm surprised Giselle puts up with it.

@comeonman said:

& that's why the League hammered him.

I agree with Gip- taking away draft picks hurts the fans- but it seems old Tom has been using deflated balls for years.

@taco918 said:

Yes I believe he did

@cuwoohio said:

Haha didn't Bobby Valentine try something like that with the Mets after he got ejected?

In 2006 Brady lobbied The NFL to change the rules to let teams on the road provide and prepare their own balls.he was quite cognizant of the psi etc.

McNally who,worked for the team for 32 years was known by everyone in the orginization but Brady said he didn't know his name.

The Law firm hired to investigate pleaded with the Patriots to let them interview McNally but were denied access to him. They also hired a company called Exponent to perform dozens of scientific tests on the footballs regarding loss of psi.

After reading this report you can't deny Tom was doing this for years and refused to cooperate with Wells.

Why didn't he just come clean in the beginning and admit he liked the psi under 12.5 the legal minimum. Every other team has to abide by the rules so I'm sick of people dismissing this as piling on.

http://www.arrowheadpride.com/2015/5/11/8586371/pats-fan-changes-allegiances-following-deflategate

@the-gipper said:

I am not so cool with the picks. I don't know what that has to do with the infraction. To my mind, the only people that hurts are the fans. Fine/suspend the players, but don't harm the fans future. Not that the Patriots fans should be considered all that much....but when they were talking about taking picks away from the Browns over Ray Farmer's situation, that possibility is what made my blood boil.

But, again, still I think you punish the player/coach/owner for that....not the fans. Which is what the draft pick forfeiture does in my view.

I agree with that much.

Like fining the Red Sox and the Bruins.

WSS

@londonbrown said:

Yea, I don't see this as Steve Young replacing Joe Montana. It may be more like Quincy Carter replacing Troy Aikman, or Cliff Stoudt replacing Terry Bradshaw.