Ray Farmer Suspended 4 Games for Text-Gate

[Soda]

If I'm taking a trip to Mexico and my suitcase is 50.10 pounds instead of the required 50.0 to check it at the baggage claim....I'd imagine that the punishment or level of interest would be far less severe.

That's kind of how I expect this to play out.

Completely mitigating the fact that a rule was broken. The implications of using a deflated ball in a cold ass game are so far off from your analogy, it's ridiculous.

 

[Binkster]

If I'm taking a trip to Mexico and my suitcase is 50.10 pounds instead of the required 50.0

Touche.

 

[Bill Walton.]

How about you shut up unless you've read the context of the discussion.

I read the entire conversation. Its just been back and fourth with the occasional "why haven't the patriots gotten in trouble."

Quit whining, we suck. Move along..

I love the browns just as much as the next guy but the fan base is so childish sometimes. Stop carring over such petty things and move on. We messed up. Ray Farmer is the general manager of the team admitting guilt to breaking an NFL rule. Not some 16 year old ball boy making minimum wage working for the Pats

 

[Soda]

I read the entire conversation. Its just been back and fourth with the occasional "why haven't the patriots gotten in trouble."

Quit whining, we suck. Move along..

I love the browns just as much as the next guy but the fan base is so childish sometimes. Stop carring over such petty things and move on. We messed up. Ray Farmer is the general manager of the team admitting guilt to breaking an NFL rule. Not some 16 year old ball boy making minimum wage working for the Pats

If you're saying this about me, then you haven't read a damn thing.

 

[godfather]

My biggest contention is the overwhelming offerings of mitigating circumstances in the Patriots case to absolve them of organizational responsibility, while the Browns are guilty and it's an organizational problem and the Browns should lose a draft pick. Annoying.

The Pats played with deflated balls; how is this not enough of an infraction? Maybe it is and they'll be punished, but Browns fans are running to their defense while laying the law on our own team.

You can go back in this thread and see that I'm not contending that the Browns should get off scott-free. They deserve a punishment and will get one. It's never been part of my opinion that they shouldn't.

I am not running to their defense at all. You should see the outrage I had, when this story broke in the around the NFL thread. I was talking a year's suspension originally for Belichick. I seriously don't think a deflated football is a big deal, when it comes to a competitive advantage.

I think it helps give you a better grip, and I think all QBs around the league do whatever it takes, even willingly bend the rules if needed, to get the grip they like. I think the rule it self is stupid, and QBs should be able to do whatever they like with the football. I mean, within reason at least. But if they want the ball over, under deflated for a better grip, I think the league should change the rules, and allow it.

They've changed so many of the rules as it is for the QBs, so I don't see why this should be a big deal, since it's obvious the game is being catered to the offense anyways.

If they prefer it slightly deflated, overinflated for a better grip, I could care less. There's no competitive advantage. It's about preference.

But if there was malicious content, and Belichick, or someone in the organization was directly responsible, then sure, they should and will get hit hard.

I mean, Lynch get's fined for not talking to the media, or wearing the wrong kind of shoes. Should we start docking picks over things like that?

So we should dock a pick for the Patriots, over a rule they might not have broken at all? That's my stance.

Look, the investigation for the Pats is still going, we have no idea what will happen. For all we know, Goodell found something, and is ready to hand down a really hefty penalty.

I don't think bias, or favoritism, has anything to do with it though. If they don't get penalized, it will be because they found nothing they did to intentionally deflate those footballs.

 

[Chris]

You punish the team. Is ignorance ever an excuse in life?

If you are taking a trip to Mexico and your friend asks you to transport mysterious luggage and you didn't realize that the contents consisted of 10 kilos of Columbian Bam Bam, do you think the authorities are going to let you go because you "didn't know?"

No way man, don't punish the team. It was just one guy doing something and we don't know who it was so we can't punish the team over it.

But we can definitely punish the entire Browns organizations for the actions of one person. Teehee.

 

[Soda]

You don't have to do it intentionally, which is pretty much what Goodell said himself earlier this week. I'm not sure what else to offer.

If you don't think it's a big deal, that's your opinion of it, but that doesn't change the rule. And QBs aren't the only people touching the football. Have you considered that a more deflated ball might be easier to squeeze and, thus, not fumble? Is it fair to have the other RBs holding a rock solid ball while you're holding a squish toy? The rule isn't in place to mess with the preferences of QBs, that's actually the reason the teams still regulate the balls themselves. The rule is in place to make it so teams are using the same medium to score points.... Manipulating that, in my opinion, is the essence of trying to gain a competitive advantage.

 

[Chris]

Are we really arguing that deflating footballs is "not a big deal?" If it was done, it was done with the intention to gain an advantage illegally, no matter how small of an advantage that is. That's a huge issue.

 

[chrisrich91]

b00bz took a crappy stance and by the time he realized it, it was too late to change his tune. So you know this dude is gonna dig his heels into this like there's no tomorrow.

The Browns enduring more severe punishment than the Patriots would be incredibly unfair. However, that is exactly what is going to happen. Guess we just gotta deal with it. Honestly it's the least of our worries.

 

[Bill Walton.]

If you're saying this about me, then you haven't read a damn thing.

Not about you particularly, just fans in general. Im just getting sick of the amount of media time this team gets. We have easily one of the best basketball teams in our city right now with legitamite title contention, and yet the media continues to cover the browns 24/7. The team is a joke, im over it

 

[Jack Brickman]

"It's the fact that you broke the rule. That's a more general comment. We don't want people breaking the rules."

But we don't know they broke a rule. All we know is that the footballs were under the NFL regulations.

If the balls were under inflated, a rule was broken. It doesn't matter if there was intent or not. The Patriots were responsible for ensuring that their balls were inflated within the range specified by the rules established by the NFL. They weren't. That's a broken rule.

If intent apparently doesn't matter in the Browns investigation, why does it matter for the Patriots?

Now, if only one ball was underinflated, I'd give you that it wasn't a big deal. But when all but one were underinflated, it's pretty clear that a rule was broken. Even if the NFL can't prove intent to cheat, the Patriots still deserve to be punished for breaking an established rule.

 

[Deezus]

The team is a joke, im over it

You need to take a shower and cool off.

 

[godfather]

Are we really arguing that deflating footballs is "not a big deal?" If it was done, it was done with the intention to gain an advantage illegally, no matter how small of an advantage that is. That's a huge issue.

No, I wasn't saying that deflating the balls, on purpose, at a moral standpoint isn't a big deal. I was saying when it comes to an actual competitive advantage, then no, it's seriously not a big deal when it comes to whether the Patriots are getting a significant advantage at a competitive standpoint.

And I do think the rule itself is silly, that doesn't mean I think no punishment, even a severe one, should be handed down if they did this on purpose.

I've brought this up before, Aaron Rodgers admitted to trying to over-inflate footballs, and get away with it. Why isn't that as a big of a deal, for example? Is that somehow different, or okay?

If the Patriots are proven guilty of doing this, there's no outrage, nor should there be whatever penalty they're given. I don't even really care what happens to them. Not my concern, not my team.

 

[CLEistheCITY]

If the Browns lose anything more than a 4th (even a 4th is beyond ridiculous), I honestly might just stop watching the NFL. I don't understand how the owners gave Goodell this much power.

 

[AZ_]

b00bz took a crappy stance and by the time he realized it, it was too late to change his tune. So you know this dude is gonna dig his heels into this like there's no tomorrow.

The Browns enduring more severe punishment than the Patriots would be incredibly unfair. However, that is exactly what is going to happen. Guess we just gotta deal with it. Honestly it's the least of our worries.

I think the Pats are the only team in modern history to be stripped of a first round pick.

Pretending they're being protected while the NFL (presumably) targets Cleveland is as bad of a stance as it gets.

In spite of what Goodell said and whatever context people on here want to put it in, the punishment isn't going to be the same because the NFL can't prove shit on the Pats.

If they could, it would be more severe.