What should the NFL do about Patriots cheating?

[EDGECRUSHER]

Maybe the NFL will come down hard on them to appease the fans, as they must know the Patriots must be the most hated team in the league.

I am still not convinced that that is not the reason this whole thing is still going on.

Brady had an organized cheating system going on all season and lied about it. Seems like that's the reason this is going on. Their track record doesn't help.

[bsmooth]

Brady had an organized cheating system going on all season and lied about it. Seems like that's the reason this is going on. Their track record doesn't help.

Considering the same report stated that deflating the balls provided no real competitive advantage, it may not be as bad. As the AFC championship game and Super Bowl showed, the Pats could win with properly inflated balls too.
The part of the report will be used to mount a defense against a drastic punishment.

[fyo]

The part of the report will be used to mount a defense against a drastic punishment.

Mount a defense? That's not how things work in Goodell's NFL.

[Spider-Dan]

Considering the same report stated that deflating the balls provided no real competitive advantage, it may not be as bad.

I don't remember any report showing that the Saints' bounties provided a competitive advantage.
Nor do I recall any proof that taping the sidelines provided a competitive advantage for the Patriots before.

[MikeO]

Considering the same report stated that deflating the balls provided no real competitive advantage, it may not be as bad. As the AFC championship game and Super Bowl showed, the Pats could win with properly inflated balls too.
The part of the report will be used to mount a defense against a drastic punishment.

that is weak if that is their defense. That is like steroid users in baseball saying taking roids doesn't help you hit the ball; well if it doesn't help why do you take them? Give me a break.

[dolphins4life]

Reading the wikipedia article on it didn't clear up my confusion one bit

[EDGECRUSHER]

If it didn't help him, why did he go out of his way to do it the whole season? He knowingly cheated, that's the punishment.

[Dave Gray]

Word is that a suspension is coming:
http://www.nydailynews.com/sports/football/myers-roger-goodell-suspend-tom-brady-deflategate-article-1.2215881

[dolphins4life]

I heard a lot of teams do it, however.

This is such a big deal over nothing, in my opinion

[MikeO]

If it didn't help him, why did he go out of his way to do it the whole season? He knowingly cheated, that's the punishment.

Exactly. If it doesn't help, why do it? How much it helped isn't the point which many people forget!  This franchise has a history of cheating and if you don't hit them now with a suspension or with a big penalty you will never hit them and they will keep getting away with it and doing it.  They let them slide on Spygate and now we are here. I guarantee if they hit them hard with spygate instead of just a fine and 1 draft pick this would have never taken place. Everyone would have thought twice about it.

It's not about "outcome" or "how much it really helps" deflating these footballs....the bigger point is their INTENT is to cheat and break the rules. They are trying to cheat, the  intent is to cheat! And that's why you gotta hit Brady and the Pats with a substantial penalty.

[dolphins4life]

^^^^

Well let's look at it from a different angle?

How does coming down on the Pats help the Dolphins?  If he is suspended for a couple games, the Pats could still win both those games.  Then, the Dolphins have to deal with an angry Brady whose cage has been rattled.  Remember what happened during the regular season in 2007?

[Dave Gray]

^^^^

Well let's look at it from a different angle?

How does coming down on the Pats help the Dolphins?  If he is suspended for a couple games, the Pats could still win both those games.  Then, the Dolphins have to deal with an angry Brady whose cage has been rattled.  Remember what happened during the regular season in 2007?

It doesn't matter whether it helps us or not.  The league runs on the integrity of its teams.  If teams are knowingly breaking rules and getting caught, then lying to cover it up, it hurts the brand. 

Let's say you get caught cheating on a test, but it just so happened that the cheat sheet only had notes on the questions that weren't asked.  So, yeah -- you tried to cheat, but it didn't help you, right?  Not only that, but when suspected of cheating, you lied and covered it up to the dean.  Good luck getting off with the "it didn't help me, anyway" excuse.

[Pappy13]

It's not about "outcome" or "how much it really helps" deflating these footballs....the bigger point is their INTENT is to cheat and break the rules.

Actually I think this goes far beyond cheating, this is all about the integrity of the league. This tarnished the integrity of the NFL and that simply cannot be allowed to happen. The NFL needs to take a very strong stance on this. If you do anything that puts a blemish on the league it's going to be dealt with severely to make everyone, coaches, players, ball boys, whomever accountable for their actions and think twice about doing something as silly as removing a few pounds of air from a football. This is not just about cheating to win a football game, this is about the integrity of the NFL. Honestly either Brady is a complete idiot for thinking he wasn't going to get caught or he doesn't give a shit about the league and it's rules and all he cares about is winning at any cost. I've lost of lot of respect for Tom Brady since this happened. This has tarnished his career. It doesn't wipe out his career he'll still be known for everything he's done on the field, but it certainly diminishes his image. He won't be seen as the squeaky clean poster child of the NFL anymore. We've seen the other side of Tom Brady, the part of him that will stop any nothing to win a football game. We admire him for the competitor he his, but there is a line that you don't cross and Brady clearly crossed it.

[Phishfan]

Here's a question.  How did they get their hands on all those text messages?

Wouldn't they have been deleted off the phones? 

There are records kept of all your texts.

[Phishfan]

Considering the same report stated that deflating the balls provided no real competitive advantage, it may not be as bad. As the AFC championship game and Super Bowl showed, the Pats could win with properly inflated balls too.
The part of the report will be used to mount a defense against a drastic punishment.

Like I said before, it isn't the crime. The lying is where the punishment should come down. It speaks to the integrity of the league if they don't address the lying.