Tag: Deflategate

Bruce Arians Needs to Be Fired Solely for Disrespecting Tom Brady

By on • ( Leave a comment )

This has become somewhat of a running joke, what is Bruce Arians going to say to throw Tom Brady under the bus this week? Without fail, Arians always delivers and needlessly dumps all the responsibility in Brady’s lap. Last time it was Tom Brady, the greatest quarterback to ever play the game, a 20 year veteran, suddenly was getting confused by coverages?

This week, after bringing the Bucs back to within 3 points after Arian’s defense gave up 200+ yards to Tyreek Hill in the first QUARTER, Arians blamed the play calling on the player. Not taking responsibility himself or even criticizing the Offensive Coordinator, Byron Leftwich. Nope he instead blames it all on the player.

What a monumental asshole.

Granted you can still see Brady and his Tampa Bay receivers missing on plays that were automatic in New England. But thats what happens with new guys. It’s hard to replicate the familiarity with a teammate like Brady had after nearly 600 completions to Julian Edelman. Brady and Edelman played together for 10 YEARS and they did summer workouts in Cali, and offseason workouts in Montana. All those extra reps add up so when the blitz is coming both Brady and Edelman knew what the other guy was thinking and where they needed to be.

With that being said, this Bucs team would probably be better off if Brady just ripped the green dot off his helmet and ran his own offense at all times.

What Arians is doing week after week personally offends me. I feel like the girlfriend of the guy who doesn’t want to complain to the waiter that he got the wrong order. I ain’t having it, Bruce.

Say what you will about Bray and Belichick’s relationship getting a little frosty towards the end in New England, but BB never publicly criticized Tom. Remember the time the Patriots got absolutely demolished by the Chiefs in 2014? A lot of people were saying Brady looked cooked. Hell, Trent Dilfer went out on a limb to roast the Patriots and probably regrets it to this day.

After that game a lot of people were asking the question would Belichick consider moving on from his 37-year-old quarterback and go with the kid they drafted in the 2nd round that year, Jimmy Garoppolo. Remember Bill’s response?

The Patriots won the Super Bowl that year.

Remember back in 2016 when a reporter asked if Jimmy G played well enough during Tom Brady’s four game Deflategate suspension, could he earn the job full time? Bill nearly spit on the guy.

The Patriots won the Super Bowl that year.

You see my point yet? Look, I’m not saying Brady is this unquestionable, beyond reproach, Christ-like figure (though he might be), but when you have a guy with Brady’s resume who is still playing at an elite level (3,300 yards, 28 touchdowns and on pace for his most TD passes in over a decade) maybe you figure out a way to work with the guy rather than trying to dump all the blame in his lap?

I mean the Bucs are 7-5 and are currently the No. 6 seed in the NFC. So they’re still in a great position to make a playoff run.

What are you doing, Bruce?

Tom Brady is simply too nice of a guy to ever say this, but Arians is the guy in charge and if he’s not going to take some of the blame for his team’s struggles then he needs to go. Ever the positive person (AKA a politician) Brady has refused to get down in the mud, but he did abruptly end his post game presser after about 2 minutes when grilled on his relationship with Arians.

Only one of these guys in Tampa has the GOAT title and it sure as hell ain’t the guy that coached Jameis Winston into 30 interceptions. So if the Bucs flame out this year, don’t be surprised to see Arians get axed and one of “Brady’s guys” comes in to take over.

D’Qwell Jackson Hilariously Asks Tom Brady to Help Him Get His F-ing Football Back

By on • ( Leave a comment )

“Here’s the fucked up part. I never got my ball back. The NFL said it was deflated. Then Bill Belichick and Bill Nye the Science Guy had a pissing contest over PSI levels…Roger Goodell probably has my fucking football on his damn mantle.”

Update: D’Qwell Jackson has responded and is now a friend of The 300s.

Bravo, D’Qwell, bravo. Heres a guy that became an unwilling footnote in the whole Deflategate saga. The NFL initially tried to make him the fall guy, but D’Qwell immediately denied having any part in snitching about allegedly deflated footballs. This video only confirms that in my mind as he comes off as a sneaky funny guy who just wants his fucking football back. As he has done to so many others, Roger Goodell swooped down and took something that wasn’t his. D’Qwell just wants a keepsake from a huge play he made in a huge game that his team otherwise got their doors blown off in. Let the man have that, Roger.

Editorial: How Many Games Should Tom Brady Be Suspended For The Astros “Spy Phone” Scandal

By on • ( Leave a comment )

So in case you have not heard the biggest non-baseball story coming out of the ALCS, the Houston Astros basically planted a spy who had a camera in his phone (??!!!!) in the credentialed media area near the Sox dug out at Fenway and he was snapping pictures of signs or something for Houston’s use. (Editor’s note: Red gave his take on the allegations the other day.)

You can read about it here , courtesy of Sb Nation, if you like. It is truly a despicable, unethical, borderline treasonous case of a baseball team sullying the great game of baseball, our national past time. But that is not why we are here. We are here to ask the obvious question: what should Tom Brady’s penalty for this heinous atrocity be?

First there was Spy Gate. Which was a Belichick story but probably masterminded by Brady. Then there was Deflate-Gate, what we THOUGHT was Brady’s Magnum Opus, where he actually mutilated official game equipment to attain a competitive edge. But now this. Now the Astros have placed a spy next to their opponent’s, the home team no less, dugout in order to steal signs and warn their batter that a 1000mph fastball might be rocketed in their general direction. What a Godless man Tom Brady is.

If I know Roger Goodell? At least a season suspension. Possibly two. If he wants to timidly limp back onto the football field after that, disgraced and old, then fine. But there is no way Tom Brady cannot pay for what the Houston Astros have done. There’s just no way.

If only there were an attorney good enough to get Brady out of this, but alas. Our QB is doomed by his own behavior. Maybe next time he will think before the ”Stros put a man with a spy phone camera thing in the credentialed media area.

I weep for the next generation.

Yours truly,
-Joey B.

 

 

Steelers Use Deflated Football on Thursday Night. NFL Says “No Problem”

By on • ( Leave a comment )

Pittsburgh Steelers' Landry Jones in action during the first half of a preseason NFL football game against the Philadelphia Eagles, Thursday, Aug. 9, 2018, in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Michael Perez)

Photo credit: Michael Perez/Associated Press

Bleacher Report – During Thursday night’s preseason game between the Philadelphia Eaglesand Pittsburgh Steelers, Howard Eskin of 94.1 WIP in Philadelphia reported that one of Pittsburgh’s footballs was “very deflated” and that the NFL was investigating. 

Friday, the NFL released the findings of its investigation, noting that there had been no foul play by the visiting Steelers:

OH! Of course, it’s fucking Wilson’s fault!!! YUP! Has to be it! Case closed!

Unbelievable. The NFL finished their “investigation” into the deflated football that was used in last night’s preseason game between the Steelers and Eagles quicker than Chris Christie destroys a box of Krispy Kremes.

Image result for chris christie krispy kreme

Seriously??!! Who looked into that shit? Did someone leave a message for the Rooneys and call it a night? How in the hell can you conduct an investigation and close the case less than 12 hours after the game even ended?

Look, I get it. Why in the world would the Steelers care enough to deflate a football in Game 1 of the preseason which literally means nothing? Also, there’s no proof that the Steelers are the culprit here, and it very well could have been a fluke ball. Fine.

But can you at least make it seem as though there was a little more concern surrounding the situation considering Brady was almost burned at the stake and put under the microscope for A YEAR AND A HALF?

I know there were text messages and other (subjective) pieces of evidence the NFL had to go off of, and I know that supposedly 11 of the 12 balls the officials looked at from the 2015 AFC Championship were said to be under-inflated. Brady most likely did order the balls to be doctored up a bit. I’m not disputing that.

But, just like with Spygate, you’re a complete sheep if you think the rest of the NFL wasn’t doing the same thing. In fact, Aaron Rodgers openly admitted (h/t Pro Football Talk) that he likes to mess with the footballs he uses – albeit by over-inflating them – just a few days after Brady was dinged for it, and nobody even gave it a second thought.

But if the Pats do it? OH GOD! STOP THE PRESSES! LET’S EVEN GET THE FRIGGIN’ U.S. JUDICIAL SYSTEM INVOLVED!

Unfair prejudice against the Patriots is a real thing, and you’re just ignorant or completely stubborn if you say there isn’t.

Sorry we’ve won five titles in the past 16 years. Sorry Brady and Belichick have made you all look like fools over that time.

It’s obvious you just hate us because we’re beautiful. So actually, sorry not sorry.

kim possible hair flip GIF

Ezekiel Elliott, Suspended AGAIN!

By on • ( Leave a comment )

ESPN – A federal appeals court cleared the way Thursday for the NFL to impose a six-game suspension on Dallas Cowboys star Ezekiel Elliott over domestic violence allegations, siding with the league in the latest high-profile fight over its ability to punish players for off-field behavior. In a 2-1 decision, the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals panel in New Orleans granted the league’s emergency request to set aside an injunction and ordered a district court in Texas to dismiss Elliott’s case. The NFL announced that the suspension was effective immediately, though further appeals were possible and the Cowboys are not playing this weekend.

As a guy that used a First Round pick to keep Ezekiel Elliott in my Fantasy Football league this year, I just need to get something off my chest.

Alright, now we can move on.

The NFL really is the goddamn WWE these days. Just drama week after week, storylines all over the place. The last two years was was Tom Brady and Deflategate with the Patriots trying to fight city hall (and losing). Now we got this.

I’m actually pretty shocked at this turn of events. As we talked about on The 300s Podcast recently, I really did not think that the NFL would be able to get this overturned and Zeke would be able to play all year. Basically just kick the can down the road until next season, similar to Brady.

The NFLPA’s new playbook seems to be lets just challenge everything in court and keep the NFL constantly in the news with shitty headlines until the league comes back to the table to negotiate player punishment.

HA! Silly me for thinking Roger Goodell would give up his dictator level of power so easily.

Now the crown jewel of my fantasy team, Ezekiel Elliott, is suspended once again. Full disclosure, if Zeke did what he’s accused of doing he’s obviously a scumbag. BUT, if he didn’t and Roger Goodell just tanked my fantasy season then I’m gonna flip my goddamn desk.

Yesterday news broke at the ripe old time of 5:01 pm as I was leaving my cube job. So I had to run to the waiver wire and deal with Sophie’s Choice of whether to pick up Darren McFadden (has been a healthy scratch all year) or Alfred Morris (has actually played football this season). I pulled the trigger and went with Morris, but I’m sure the Cowboys will turn to a guy who couldn’t get in uniform to be the bell cow back moving forward because fantasy football is a goddamn crapshoot.

And of course the Cowboys are on a bye this week so I have to wait another 9 days to see who the hell is gonna get the rock for Dallas.

I Am Offended at the Lack of Patriots Fans That Want to Go for 19-0

By on • ( 1 Comment )

It seems like the topic du jour around the local sports media is whether the Patriots can realistically (or should even attempt it) go a perfect 19-0. Except there seems to be less people talking about if they can do it and more people just straight up refusing to talk about it and saying its stupid to do so. USA Today thinks its doable. But basically every other media personality wants no part of it.

As a Patriots fan, the lack of people that want to go for 19-0 personally offends me.

Guys, I know it brings up bad memories. We almost had it in 2007. It was in the palms of our hands, less than 2 minutes to go and the 07 Patriots would be crowned the greatest team of all time.

If Asante Samuel makes that interception. If David Tyree plays like the insurance salesman he really is, if Rodney Harrison somehow jars that ball lose from his fucking helmet, if the refs actually called holding on the Giants offensive line on that play. The list goes on and on.

That shit used to kill me. Used to. But I noticed something recently. The 07 Super Bowl highlights come on….and I watch them. It doesn’t make me physically ill anymore. I can watch those clips and say ah man that sucked, without smashing a pint glass off my wall like I would have done a few years ago. Winning two Super Bowls since then goes a looong way in healing that pain. Brady’s 5-2 in the SB for christ’s sake. That will always be the most painful loss of my life. I was a freshman in college and my direct roommate was a Giants fan, not to mention half my hallway. So losing in that fashion, surrounded by that many Giants fans in neutral territory as a young, inebriated boyish man, that was a tough pill to swallow.

But like I said, one of the greatest Super Bowls EVER against Seattle with the Malcolm Butler pick to seal the W was cathartic; the greatest comeback of all time against the Falcons in 2016 gave us all our swagger back. You can’t say shit to us. You can’t hurt us.

The Patriots have 5 Super Bowl rings, Tom Brady is a 2x MVP, a 4x Super Bowl MVP, he had one of his greatest seasons ever during the Deflategate saga, and then was suspended the following year only to come back, tear it up and win another fucking Super Bowl. Belichick and Brady are the. Greatest. Of. All. Time. So…what do you get the men who have everything? The only thing left. Perfection

Its the ultimate. Its the only thing left that the Patriots don’t have. And there will always be the Felgers of the world saying we as Patriots fans all have a persecution complex (is it paranoid if its true though?) and theres nothing left to prove. But, tell someone they can’t do something or don’t need something and what do they want? Exactly. We’ve conquered the AFC East, we’ve conquered fan bases in St. Louis, Carolina, Philadelphia, Seattle, and Atlanta, we’ve taken on the league and the commissioner himself and come out with one for the thumb. TB12 is 40 years old and playing better than anyone has ever played the position. Minneaposix™ is the goal, but 19-0 will always be the ultimate.

PS – Plus if the Pats do go 19-0 I can get my fucking t-shirts back stateside.

Joe Thomas Nails It On Why Colin Kaepernick is Still a Free Agent

By on • ( Leave a comment )

Joe Thomas is the beacon of truth in the NFL. He is beyond refreshing as a currently active and actually elite player speaking out on all kinds of issues. Obviously him roasting Roger Goodell on the absurdity of Deflategate created a whole new region of fans championing him. All that aside, I encourage every player to speak out, there’s nothing I hate more in sports than the bullshit canned responses from players that answer absolutely nothing. Regardess of how you feel about Colin Kaepernick kneeling for the national anthem doesn’t matter here. Joe Thomas hits the nail on the head as to why the former 49ers QB is unemployed.

Oh right, because he was on TV every single day. Not for highlight reel plays. Not for winning games. For personal reasons. And again whether you’re with Kaep or not isn’t the point here. NFL teams do not want to deal with media scrutiny, questions, protests, backlash etc. ESPECIALLY if you suck. If Tom Brady were drumming up all kinds of shit for, oh I don’t know, say an alleged cheating scandal, the team backs their guy or at the very least deals with it because he’s the GOAT.

Colin Kaepernick wasn’t even the best QB on his team while surrounded by bums like Blaine Gabbert.

So yea, NFL teams don’t want to hear any shit from a borderline starter in the league. But then Joe Thomas brings it home with the one thing that is true of all good teams, none better at it than the New England Patriots.

I think the whole “Patriot Way” thing gets blown out of proportion because of the Patriots level of success and their perceived arrogance. So when they go out and sign a questionable guy, everyone rails against them because apparently the Patriot Way means you only sign choir boys, when in reality it means you Do. Your. Job. The Patriots are a goddamn machine. We had assholes like Corey Dillon. We had bad dudes like Albert Haynesworth. We had media storms like TIM TEBOW. We had an (alleged) MASS MURDERER in Aaron Hernandez. Bill deals with it and moves on. No distractions. Just Do. Your. Job.

Being all over TV for a cause you believe in is admirable, but when you don’t have the leverage (being a good quarterback), then you aren’t going to have the same platform. Thats why Colin Kaepernick doesn’t have a job.

I Love That Jonathan Kraft is Roasting DeflateGate Creator and Recently Fired Colts GM Ryan Grigson

By on • ( Leave a comment )

jkraft

ESPN – “The New England Patriots obviously haven’t forgotten who started Deflategate, as team president Jonathan Kraft expressed little sympathy for former Indianapolis Colts general manager Ryan Grigson, who was relieved of his duties on Saturday. On Kraft’s weekly pregame interview on 98.5 The Sports Hub on Sunday, Kraft initially deflected a question about the Colts’ firing of Grigson, before referring to the AFC Championship Game against Indianapolis that started Deflategate. Said Kraft: “That game might have been Ryan’s pinnacle, I don’t know.” The Patriots beat the Colts 45-7 in the conference title game on Jan. 18, 2015.”

Jonathan Kraft is throwing shade and I love it. Robert won’t do it, at least not outright. Brady won’t do it. You know Belichick won’t do it. So it’s up to Jonathan to throw out these subtle little digs.

Oh you wanna create a gigantic fugazi scandal about something the NFL had never cared about to actually check or measure in the history of the league? It’s entrapment really. Just like that Sean Connery movie, but not as good. Grigson – you want to cause us to lose draft picks, get fined and have the greatest player in Patriot history suspended for 4 games? Cause an absolute shitstorm in the media that lead to investigations, league sanctioned and biased reports on how Tom Brady maybe, possibly knew about something? TB12 getting dragged into court over air pressure in footballs?

Well guess what, when you get fired because you can’t draft for shit, Jonathan Kraft will roast you. Don’t let the door hit you in the ass on the way out.

grigson

PS – Has there even been a more appropriate quote to describe Tom Brady and the entire DeflateGate saga than the one from the end of The Dark Knight?

“Because he’s the hero Foxborough deserves, but not the one it needs right now. So we’ll hunt him. Because he can take it. Because he’s not our hero. He’s a silent guardian, a watchful protector. A dark knight.”

Hero Patriots Fan Tells ESPN to Piss Off When They Ask to Use His Belichick Photo

By on • ( Leave a comment )

LOVE it. Say what you will, but no one, and I mean no one holds a grudge like Boston sports fans. And thats why we’re so passionate. We got dudes telling ESPN to go piss up a rope, we’ve got former Patriots players railing against the league any chance they get, hell even the Barstool guys got arrested for TB12. Can’t teach that loyalty. Can’t beat the guy who never gives up.

 

 

Hey ESPN, it’s called loyalty