Speaking Of

I've been way too much in my own head lately.

Speaking of…

 

Apparently, Bill Belichick owns a condo in Peyton Manning's head. He's sitting in a recliner with a cold beer in the cup-holder and a bowl of freshly popped popcorn in his lap while he watches game film from the 2003 AFC Championship game and reminisces about the good old days when defensive backs could punch a wide receiver in the mouth.

As we've recently learned, Peyton Manning became convinced that Bill Belichick had bugged the visiting locker room at Gillette Stadium as an explanation for his lack of success when playing Belichick and the Patriots. It was also noted in the Pro Football Talk post that the Colts would sweep for bugs – and continue to do so to this very day. No specifics are mentioned regarding whether the Colts have ever discovered a bug but it appears to be more probable than not that none were ever discovered.

Speaking of those cheating Patriots…

ESPN legal expert Herman Munster, who has been a relentless buzzkill for Patriots fans during the already depressing Deflategate saga, reminded us all that Roger Goodell doesn't have to be right or fair about anything; the Collective Bargaining Agreement gives him the authority to trample on the rights of NFLPA union members with impunity.

He also reminded us all why we hate lawyers.

Article 46 isn't the only codicil in the CBA and despite Mr. Munster's characterization of the NFLPA legal team's position as soft, my understanding is that there is language regarding advance notice and that there are some procedural issues in punishing Brady under a policy that applies to the teams and owners but which is not provided to or applies to the players. I also understand there is federal law in play, but I'll admit I'm not going to read the National Labor Relations Act. Hey, I'm not a lawyer and I think of that as a good thing because then I'd have to hate myself.

It's a bitter pill for me to swallow but it's obvious this was never about getting it right. This was always about re-establishing Roger Goodell as the owner's hammer with the players. Tom Brady was a gift. After the AFC Championship game, when Troy Vincent said it would only take a few days to take care of this, I think that was probably what the NFL was thinking. Then someone – Jeff Pash, Mike Kensil or maybe Goodell himself – realized what had fallen into their laps. After the Ray Rice debacle and the ham-fisted handling of the Adrian Peterson case, Goodell's authority and legitimacy as NFL Commissioner was in the proverbial toilet and swirling around the bowl. Who better than Brady to show that no player was bigger than the Commissioner? Not the game; this was never about the integrity of the game. This was always about the Commissioner's power over the players. So, Deflategate was born. The Wells Report absolved Bill Belichick of any guilt and made this all about Brady being "generally aware" of something. Now that we're in federal court, the NFL doesn't want to argue the PSI measurements or the independence of Ted Wells or how "generally aware" became "approved of" or fairness or notice.

All that matters is Article 46.

Speaking of…

"Lawyers occasionally stumble over the truth, but most of them pick themselves up and hurry off as if nothing had happened."

- Winston Churchill