off topic Buffalo Bills 2015

[That Aud Smell]

I don't understand why anyone has a problem with Lynch at all.  Yeah, there was the incident with the Porsche--seven years ago.  By all accounts, he's a good teammate and he's good to the citizens of Oakland and Seattle.  He's bratty with the media, but, personally, I just find that kind of funny.

 

I'll say it: I love the guy, his prior issues here notwithstanding.

 

Moreover, I think there's real thought, possibly even some philosophical principles, underlying how he deals with the media. I get a lot of scoffs and eye-rolls about that when I raise that point (not here), but I think he's a lot smarter than people give him credit for. I think he sees the media stuff as a game, one in which he has no upside, one that is often going to be gamed against him, and he just opts out as best he can.

 

Anyway, if the guy was a numb skull, no way he'd have pulled off this sort of hilarity with Kenny Mayne.

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h2uN28EJRlA

[Lanny]

I can't link it from work, but the Conan - Clueless Gamer with Marshawn and Gronk was very enjoyable.

[Eleven]

I can't link it from work, but the Conan - Clueless Gamer with Marshawn and Gronk was very enjoyable.

 

I remember watching a little bit of that.  It was pretty funny.

[That Aud Smell]

That Conan bit was the best part of the media ramp-up to the game. And it revealed that Lynch is an intelligent and funny (and sorta lovably weird) guy.

[TrueBlueGED]

If you read the espn article you read multiple accounts of the Pats having an uncanny knack of knowing what plays were coming in big games. Sure every team tries to walk that line to gain whatever advantage possible, to believe otherwise is naive. However, IMO its just as naive to think the Pats don't walk that line more often in ways unique only to them and that they dont cross it more often than every other team in the league.

Yup. Other teams gamesmanship is piping in extra crowd noise. If all other teams are just like the Patriots you'd think one of them would have been caught being Patriots-like by now.

[Cereal]

Marshawn (or, at least his agent?) knows that his anti-media shtick SELLS.  This gets him sponsorship deals.  And, moneys.

[Claude_Verret]

Yup. Other teams gamesmanship is piping in extra crowd noise. If all other teams are just like the Patriots you'd think one of them would have been caught being Patriots-like by now.

 

 

The article also goes into this as well, but I think the absolute location of that line to walk is different for a team like NE.  For example those substitution shenanigans the Pats were pulling last year that were clearly against the spirit of the rules and are now illegal, I don't think many teams even consider going there.  

[WildCard]

Rex say McCoy will be ready to go vs the Colts this weekend, per ESPN. Honestly I'm more worried about Andre Johnson dismantling Darby than anything else

[TrueBlueGED]

Rex say McCoy will be ready to go vs the Colts this weekend, per ESPN. Honestly I'm more worried about Andre Johnson dismantling Darby than anything else

 

Until I see him get through a game without limping, I'm going to be concerned he's rushing back and is at risk to have that hamstring linger all season.

[WildCard]

Until I see him get through a game without limping, I'm going to be concerned he's rushing back and is at risk to have that hamstring linger all season.

That's my big concern as well. The Colts aren't exactly lining up Freeney and Mathis anymore, if McCoy isn't 100% let Brown and Williams do the damage

[The Dominator]

Yup. Other teams gamesmanship is piping in extra crowd noise. If all other teams are just like the Patriots you'd think one of them would have been caught being Patriots-like by now.

 

My friend's dad (who is a cop) told me something that I think resonates with the Patriots and how they seem to always be the team stepping further over the line than others. Basically, he said that in his 20+ years on the job, he has never caught someone driving intoxicated the first time they drove drunk. To bring it back to the NFL, to be caught cheating as many times as they have, in the ways that they have cheated, it shows that they tend to cheat more often and in more ways than any other NFL team. So while it is easy (and true) that many other teams cheat as well, no one is doing it as fervently and consistently as NE.

[musichunch]

I was a little irritated yesterday after reading the reports but I've calmed down a lot after reading a couple posts on TBD that had a good perspective of the situation. They were from one poster in particular and I thought I would post them here:

 

 

Posted 19 August 2015 - 03:56 PM

I wanted to fill you in on an interesting insight I heard from someone whom I consider to be fairly reliable (he also knows some of the dealings with the PR firm the Patriots outsourced for the social media flood that you guys bang your head against in every comment section on PFT and ESPN, and quite frankly, I wouldn't be surprised if they're using dummy accounts here that were activated long ago, but I digress): 

 

Essentially, the league knows that Bill Beliceck is behind this entire process, and was the main party responsible for instructing the ball boys in how to do what they do by way of stealing and deflating balls to a specific PSI. Believe it or not, Brady is actually innocent, to the extent that he did not command his underlings, OR orchestrate this operation. Because of Spygate, the league was faced with the prospect of essentially banning Beliceck for life, which would have invalidated the last decade and a half of NFL football. So, the ball boys were gagged and fired (that's what she said), Kraft paid a fine, and this now public debacle was heaped on Brady, because the public smelled blood in the water, and the Patriots absolutely CAN NOT walk away from this with no penalty after Spygate. HOWEVER, there IS no evidence that pins it on Brady, and he DID destroy his phone because him and Giselle have been on the rocks for months and he gets a new phone every 3 months. Beliceck, Goodell, and Kraft (who are still very much buddy buddy), assumed Brady would gladly be "the fall guy", and cooperate, and take a game or 2 suspension. Apparently Brady balked at this notion (which actually makes me respect him), and the league was painted into a corner. The word is: win lose or draw this is Belicecks last season coaching and Brady is moving on from New England after this season because he is disgusted by how it went down, but because the league writes his paycheck, he cant turn state.

 

Take it for what it's worth, but I believe it.

 

What caught my eye was his mention of dummy accounts. I've noticed on Reddit and ESPN the posters that make you "bang your head against the wall" and the fact they kept getting upvoted. That was what inspired my hopeless frustration that led to my anger. Knowing that it's just a PR firm and not a reflection of the overall mood on the NFL fans, makes me feel a lot better.

 

The recent ESPN and SI reports mesh well with his post too, that as you can see was written several weeks ago.

[Drunkard]

I was a little irritated yesterday after reading the reports but I've calmed down a lot after reading a couple posts on TBD that had a good perspective of the situation. They were from one poster in particular and I thought I would post them here:

 

 

What caught my eye was his mention of dummy accounts. I've noticed on Reddit and ESPN the posters that make you "bang your head against the wall" and the fact they kept getting upvoted. That was what inspired my hopeless frustration that led to my anger. Knowing that it's just a PR firm and not a reflection of the overall mood on the NFL fans, makes me feel a lot better.

 

The recent ESPN and SI reports mesh well with his post too, that as you can see was written several weeks ago.

 

Nice theory but I don't buy it for a minute. I'd love to be proven wrong because that would mean Belichick and Brady are both gone from the land of Massholes but I don't see it happening and if that part isn't true then I highly doubt the rest of it is.

[musichunch]

Nice theory but I don't buy it for a minute. I'd love to be proven wrong because that would mean Belichick and Brady are both gone from the land of Massholes but I don't see it happening and if that part isn't true then I highly doubt the rest of it is.

 

Well we don't know if it's not true yet.

 

The point is this, the rest of the owners are fed up with the Patriots cheating. If the Patriots play average this year and miss the playoffs, that would be pretty damning. 

[Drunkard]

Well we don't know if it's not true yet.

 

The point is this, the rest of the owners are fed up with the Patriots cheating. If the Patriots play average this year and miss the playoffs, that would be pretty damning. 

 

Well, we don't know if Bill Belichick is really an alien from the planet XK-179 either but to believe something just because you can't prove it's false is illogical. Just like with religion, the burden of proof falls on the person making the claim and not the people being told the fish stories to prove them wrong.

 

The owners may very well be getting sick of the Patriots antics as well, but until one of those cowards steps forward and calls b.s. in public they deserve what they get.

Edited September 9, 2015 by Drunkard

[WildCard]

I'd like to see how Brady and Belicheat explain leaving NE. I won't dismiss it until next off-season rolls around, but with Brady saying he expects to play at least 4 more years, how are they, and he, going to justify parting ways? 

[musichunch]

Well, we don't know if Bill Belichick is really an alien from the planet XK-179 either but to believe something just because you can't prove it's false is illogical. Just like with religion, the burden of proof falls on the person making the claim and not the people being told the fish stories to prove them wrong.

 

Are you really going to pretend that the theory is on par with Belichick being an alien from outer space?

 

The OTL story matches up well with it. Kraft helped hire Goodell and is on the committee that pays him. Goodell did him a solid and covered up Spygate. Patriots cheat continuously ever since to the point that no team in the league trusts them. They get caught again and punish them harder by overcompensating for Spygate (I think it was tame considering nobody likes to talk about the effect deflating has on lowering fumble rates). 

 

There had to be really strong forces pushing Goodell to go after Kraft. They knew that if they punished Belichick that they would have to ban him for life since that's what they promised in the Spygate penalties. They need a fall guy. Brady is an easy fall guy.

 

You can argue it's circumstantial, but to say that it's a ridiculous theory is being dishonest. 

 

Also, in case of religion and psychics, you can play the burden of proof card since it's difficult to prove it's true or not true based on the nature of the claims. In this case, we just need to wait one year, then we'll know. 

Edited September 9, 2015 by musichunch

[Johnny DangerFace]

i'm just ready for football to start and for the bills to kick some ass.

[shrader]

I'd like to see how Brady and Belicheat explain leaving NE. I won't dismiss it until next off-season rolls around, but with Brady saying he expects to play at least 4 more years, how are they, and he, going to justify parting ways? 

 

Their legacies are forever tied together.  They will both leave at the same time.  Neither will want to risk what they  might look like without the other.

[Drunkard]

Are you really going to pretend that the theory is on par with Belichick being an alien from outer space?

 

The OTL story matches up well with it. Kraft helped hire Goodell and is on the committee that pays him. Goodell did him a solid and covered up Spygate. Patriots cheat continuously ever since to the point that no team in the league trusts them. They get caught again and punish them harder by overcompensating for Spygate (I think it was tame considering nobody likes to talk about the effect deflating has on lowering fumble rates). 

 

There had to be really strong forces pushing Goodell to go after Kraft. They knew that if they punished Belichick that they would have to ban him for life since that's what they promised in the Spygate penalties. They need a fall guy. Brady is an easy fall guy.

 

You can argue it's circumstantial, but to say that it's a ridiculous theory is being dishonest. 

 

Also, in case of religion and psychics, you can play the burden of proof card since it's difficult to prove it's true or not true based on the nature of the claims. In this case, we just need to wait one year, then we'll know. 

 

Just because the theory seems plausible doesn't necessarily make it true though. I also never called it a ridiculous theory, I said I didn't buy it because I don't see Belichick and Brady leaving New England after the season. The alien theory was just something that popped into my head because your justification for believing in the story was basically "well, we don't know it isn't true either" which is why I went to the other extreme with the alien thing.

 

I don't think the punishment was harsh in any way and I don't think it overcompensated for Spygate at all. Belichick was not punished whatsoever for the deflate scandal thing and was barely punished for spygate when you consider that he was only fined and not even suspended. They very well may have been trying to make Brady the fall guy in an attempt to sweep this story under the rug as quickly as possible but he was likely directly involved. I don't see any way that the team would sanction deflating footballs without the guy who handles the football on every single snap being in on it. Even if Brady didn't orchestrate it, he had to have been complicit in some manner.

 

As for the other owners, I don't doubt that they are sick of the Patriots constant cheating with little to no repercussions but if they aren't willing to do anything more than complain behind closed doors then they deserve what they get. Seems stupid to only complain about it off the record just to protect the shield. Better to take the hit on reputation, fix the problems by eliminating the ones repeatedly breaking the rules, and enjoy the increase popularity that ensure from increased parity within the league once everyone is abiding by the same rules.

[musichunch]

Just because the theory seems plausible doesn't necessarily make it true though. I also never called it a ridiculous theory, I said I didn't buy it because I don't see Belichick and Brady leaving New England after the season. The alien theory was just something that popped into my head because your justification for believing in the story was basically "well, we don't know it isn't true either" which is why I went to the other extreme with the alien thing.

 

I don't think the punishment was harsh in any way and I don't think it overcompensated for Spygate at all. Belichick was not punished whatsoever for the deflate scandal thing and was barely punished for spygate when you consider that he was only fined and not even suspended. They very well may have been trying to make Brady the fall guy in an attempt to sweep this story under the rug as quickly as possible but he was likely directly involved. I don't see any way that the team would sanction deflating footballs without the guy who handles the football on every single snap being in on it. Even if Brady didn't orchestrate it, he had to have been complicit in some manner.

 

As for the other owners, I don't doubt that they are sick of the Patriots constant cheating with little to no repercussions but if they aren't willing to do anything more than complain behind closed doors then they deserve what they get. Seems stupid to only complain about it off the record just to protect the shield. Better to take the hit on reputation, fix the problems by eliminating the ones repeatedly breaking the rules, and enjoy the increase popularity that ensure from increased parity within the league once everyone is abiding by the same rules.

 

I think I laid out pretty clearly, although very simplistically, my justification for believing it in previous posts. I'd hope nobody on this forum would come to a conclusion just because "well, we don't know it isn't true either". 

Edited September 9, 2015 by musichunch

[Drunkard]

I think I laid out pretty clearly, although very simplistically, my justification for believing it in previous posts. I'd hope nobody on this forum would come to a conclusion just because "well, we don't know it isn't true either".

Maybe your quote of the poster got merged in with some of your own words then because from what I read of your post #4537 you basically brought up that the story pissed you off and then you brought up the dummy accounts on reddit and espn from the PR firm and that his quote seems to mesh with other reports that you've read from SI and ESPN. I guess you can call that adequate justification but I didn't read the articles you did so that may be why I don't believe the poster you quoted. Or maybe I just don't want to get my hopes up about Brady and Belichick leaving.

[musichunch]

Maybe your quote of the poster got merged in with some of your own words then because from what I read of your post #4537 you basically brought up that the story pissed you off and then you brought up the dummy accounts on reddit and espn from the PR firm and that his quote seems to mesh with other reports that you've read from SI and ESPN. I guess you can call that adequate justification but I didn't read the articles you did so that may be why I don't believe the poster you quoted. Or maybe I just don't want to get my hopes up about Brady and Belichick leaving.

 

Fair enough.

[calti]

Their legacies are forever tied together.  They will both leave at the same time.  Neither will want to risk what they  might look like without the other.

Belichek looked pretty good when he personally beat Marv & crew in the 90 SB

[tom webster]

Belichek looked pretty good when he personally beat Marv & crew in the 90 SB

That is the most mis-represented piece of Belichek history ever. The Bills shredded that defense. The problem was two fold, Levy wouldn't force Kelly to keep pounding Thomas and the defense couldn't make a tackle to save their lives. If either of those things happened, cheating Bill would have been forced to explain his defensive strategy that had his defensive lineman sucking air as Thurman ran through them like a warm knife through butter.