Keidel: As The Air Comes Out Of The Patriots, The Jets Should Take Flight
By Jason Keidel
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So America's quarterback fumbled -- and no tuck rule can save him this time.
And if you find comfort in the opaque characterizations, like "probably" and "more likely than not" then you must be one of the more mummified in Patriots jerseys and propaganda.
The balls were deflated for Tom Brady, not for the center, not for Rob Gronkowski, and not for the running back.
Brady is busted. It makes all his toothy smiles and charming platitudes after the Colts game look a little silly in retrospect. He cheated, and it's not enough to assert that "everyone cheats" and "if you're not cheating you're not trying." Save those cliches for your little Twitter echo chamber.
And if you need a more certified authority on the matter, listen to Tim Hasselbeck, whose family has spent over three decades in the NFL. Hasselbeck was even a ball boy for the Patriots as a youngster, and he told ESPN, unequivocally, that there's no way the Patriots deflated those balls without direct orders from Brady.
Now, what makes a scandal? Is it the transgression or the person who commits it? We know the latter is what gives the theater more heft. Like it or not, it matters more that Brady did this than if Ryan Fitzpatrick did the same.
You can decide how this deflates Brady's robust legacy. To say this somehow precludes him from the Hall of Fame, or takes an eraser to his Super Bowl victories, is a bit much. His Patriots beat Seattle, with ample pressure on the game and inside the footballs.
So who are the biggest winners in this drama?
The Jets.
Armed with a fertile draft and serious free agent signings, Gang Green already has a leg up entering the season, especially if Brady is suspended for a game or two to start 2015. (Jets fans aren't the only ones rooting for Brady to ride the pine in Week 1, when the Patriots play my beloved black & gold.)
Forget anything you'll hear out of New England this week, especially from the Patriots' patriarch, Robert Kraft, whose job is to deny every vowel of the venomous report by Ted Wells. They are going to refute any finding that casts any shadow on a shiny franchise.
So think about how this helps the Jets, who begin the season, at home, against the woeful Cleveland Browns. Assuming they win that contest, and my Steelers sneak by the Brady-less Pats, then you're already up a game.
The Jets have an ornery road after the Browns, with games agains the Colts, Eagles, and Dolphins to finish the first quarter of the season. But the game in Indianapolis is the only one really on the road. They can beat the vastly-reorganized Eagles at home and perhaps the Dolphins in London.
The Patriots will play a fascinating game against Rex Ryan's new-look Bills, in Buffalo, before a gimme against the Jaguars. Then, after their bye week, they play at the Cowboys, which is hardly a cakewalk.
So it would shock no one to see both teams 2-2. If the Jets can squeeze out 3-1, before their two games against New England, then all the better.
But the Pats have more than the perfunctory slate of games to face. As Super Bowl champions, they will get everyone's most rabid effort. Brady is also a year older, and their defense is exponentially slower without Darrelle Revis, who is, of course, a Jet.
And there's the bad karma that will follow the Pats like a fog, with opposing teams and fans reminding them of their penchant for twisting the rules.
No matter how this plays out, it's obscenely hard to repeat as NFL champions in the free agent era. New England did it once, but don't bank on the Pats doing it again.
And that can only be music to Gang Green's ears.
Follow Jason on Twitter at @JasonKeidel
