Silverman: Goodell Should Suspend Brady, Belichick 4 Games Each
By Steve Silverman
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The verdict is in on "Deflategate," and the Patriots and Tom Brady are guilty.
Ted Wells' report offered no declarative statement about the teams' activity from a criminal perspective, but it did say that it was "more probable than not" that Brady "was at least generally aware" of the deflation that team employees engaged in to give the quarterback the type of footballs that he preferred gripping and throwing in games.
The underinflated footballs were found as the Patriots routed the Indianapolis Colts in the AFC championship game. You may remember that the Pats got the best of the Colts, 45-7, in that game.
Nobody, including the Colts (and No. 1 fan David Letterman), believes the outcome of that game would have been changed no matter how the footballs were inflated on that particular day. The Patriots were the better team, and by a wide margin.
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But that has nothing to do with the sneaky and illegal behavior that all parties engaged in to give Brady a football that he could expertly handle.
More than 40 years ago, a president named Richard Nixon was held liable for a break-in at the Watergate Hotel on the Democratic National Committee. The goal was to help Nixon win the 1972 Presidential Election over George McGovern, which he did in a rout, by discovering Democratic Party strategy. Nobody has ever suggested that Nixon and his cronies with the committee to re-elect the president needed to steal information to win that election.
While the Wells Report does not indicate that Bill Belichick had any culpability in the deflation, it seems more certain than not that he knew something was going on. After the incident came to light last January, Belichick was front and center with his explanations about the "Ideal Gas Law." He was trying to confuse and obfuscate, which was another popular tactic during Watergate.
Additionally, Belichick is perhaps the game's No. 1 control freak, and nothing in his organization goes on that he doesn't know about.
While Nixon resigned and left office as a result of the scandal, nobody is advocating that Brady's career should be over or something similar should happen to Belichick.
However, Roger Goodell has been the commissioner who loves to impose his brand of justice. He is coming off a bad year in which his leadership has been questioned for the foolish and inconsistent way in which he adjudicated the Ray Rice situation. His handling of Adrian Peterson's domestic discipline case was also shoddy.
Goodell can help resuscitate his image by coming down on Brady and the Patriots with a fair form of discipline, which means a suspension that will show this is a serious manner. Here's why he needs to take action.
Deflated footballs worked to Brady's advantage because they are easier to catch and harder to fumble. Brady also seems to find them easier to throw, although Green Bay Packers QB Aaron Rodgers goes in the opposite direction and likes to throw overinflated footballs. To each his own.
But the stats say the Patriots fumble far less than other NFL teams. An article in Slate pointed out that New England fumbled once in every 187 snaps, while other NFL teams fumble once every 105 snaps.
That's significant, and it shows the system has been manipulated.
Prior to the 2012 season, Goodell came down hard on the New Orleans Saints for the "Bountygate" scandal. Four players were suspended, including Jonathan Vilma for the full season and Anthony Hargrove for eight games. Head coach Sean Payton was made to sit out the entire season even though he claimed that he didn't know a thing about the cash inducements that were offered to players for injuring opponents. Defensive coordinator Gregg Williams was the alleged architect of the scheme, and he too was suspended.
We will make a value judgment here, and say that deflating footballs is not as bad as intentionally trying to injure opponents. But we are not going to whitewash it either. Deflating footballs has given the Patriots a competitive advantage.
Goodell needs to take action and suspend Brady and Belichick for four games each. As was the case with Payton, ignorance is no excuse, and Belichick needs to pay for what has been done.
Goodell can also take away money and draft choices from the organization. That will help show that he is not owner Robert Kraft's toady.
It needs to happen sooner, and not later. It's the right thing to do.
Belichick, Brady and the Patriots are not above the rules of the game.
