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I like Peter King but his shameless, continual butt-kissing and defending of Brady, Belichick, and the Patriots organization is really annoying. A sportswriter should be neutral and he's definitely not.
These are excerpts from this article. To read the whole thing click the link below.
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http://mmqb.si.com/mmqb/2016/02/21/...land-patriots-nfl-draft-picks-combine-preview
Why NFL Should Give Back Picks to Pats (But Won’t)
Shaky evidence, shady science and total disinterest in learning the truth are grounds for Roger Goodell to admit he erred by docking New England draft picks for Deflategate. Plus Mayock’s combine preview and more
By Peter King
Bill Belichick’s Patriots won't pick in the first round of the 2016 draft due to sanctions handed down by Roger Goodell after Deflategate.
Getty Images (2)
Scouting combine and retirement news coming in this column, plus the Gospel According to Mayock. But first my take on the dormant story that needs to come alive, and soon.
It’s been nine months since commissioner Roger Goodell suspended Tom Brady four games, fined the Patriots $1 million and took away a first-round pick in the 2016 draft and a fourth-round pick in 2017 for the deflated footballs incident at the 2014 AFC Championship Game. The story will be back in the news next week, when the NFL’s appeal of the smackdown of the Brady suspension will be heard in a New York courtroom.
But the effect of the case will be felt in Indianapolis this week, when the New England Patriots’ delegation arrives for the combine missing something invaluable to the care and feeding of NFL franchises. Namely, the 29th pick in this draft, docked from the Patriots by Goodell. This leaves New England with no draft picks in the top 59 of an above-average draft. No one has really focused recently on the enormity of the draft-pick sanction. Last year, with the 32nd and 131st picks (the 2017 fourth-rounder likely will be around No. 130 overall), the Patriots took two players (Malcom Brown and Shaq Mason) who started in the AFC title game—two of 22 starters in their biggest game of the year.
Based on the weight of the evidence from the past 13 months, and that weight being circumstantial and not convincing, there’s one conclusion I’ve reached entering the 2016 draft season: Roger Goodell needs to give back the picks.
Whatever happens in the appeal of the case—which isn’t centered on the Patriots’ guilt or innocence but rather on a point of labor law in the judge’s decision—Goodell needs to realize he acted without nearly enough scientific evidence against the Patriots. The NFL has some significant circumstantial evidence in the case, the kind that should have prompted a strongly worded letter and $250,000 fine. Instead, Goodell killed an ant with a sledgehammer.
The only thing that would have changed my opinion on the evidence in this case is if the NFL measured the footballs before, at halftime and after all 267 regular-season and post-season games—not just selected games, which is what the league did. The NFL needed to find out what weather and precipitation and humidity and hot air and frigid air did to footballs, to see if the league’s questionable science in the Wells Report stood the test of an NFL season.
The NFL doesn’t have that data because it never administered such tests. The Patriots case cried out for the league to do it this season. The fact that the NFL did so only in scattered games (according to Goodell) simply to ensure no team was cheating this year is stupid; it tells the world the league never wanted to find out the effect of weather on footballs.
Was it reasonable for footballs to lose 1.2 pounds per square inch in inclement weather, which is what New England’s footballs did that January day in Foxboro? Or would footballs in a similar environment lose far less pressure? Goodell and the NFL don’t want to know the answers.
There’s a lot of circumstantial evidence against New England. Patriots locker room attendant Jim McNally disappearing with the footballs before the AFC Championship Game for 100 seconds was wrong, and shady. McNally and team equipment assistant John Jastremski being held back from an additional interview with the Wells investigators was wrong.
The six phone calls, once the NFL announced it would investigate whether the balls were deflated, from Brady to Jastremski when they rarely ever spoke on the phone doesn’t quite stink, but it’s got an odor to it. McNally calling himself “the deflator” in a May 2014 text is a bad look.
Photo: Al Bello/Getty Images
Tom Brady’s career numbers reveal no stark contrast between home games and away.
But add those all up. There’s no smoking gun. No witness, video, recording or any direct evidence linking anyone with the Patriots to deflating footballs. And then add these three things:
1. Referee Walt Anderson skates, and never should have. The Wells Report notes that Anderson, in the officials’ locker room before the game, got distracted and angry that the bag of game footballs had been taken from the room. In the 19 years Anderson had worked games, Wells reported, Anderson never lost control of the footballs before a game. This was a particularly egregious gaffe by Anderson, seeing that a league official had warned the officials before the game to be on the lookout for funny business with the footballs. This, in legal terms, is losing the integrity of the evidence.
What would happen in the real world if a police officer didn’t follow proper protocol and lost crucial evidence to a case for eight or 10 minutes, during which time the evidence could be doctored? The case would be thrown out of court. The footballs were out of sight, and the league put the full blame for it on McNally and none of the blame on Anderson. The referee in the AFC Championship Game lost track of the footballs, and the NFL chose not to make it a factor—apparently because of Anderson’s pristine reputation—in its ruling. It should have been a factor, and a big one.
2. The Ideal Gas Law was abused in the Wells Report. On page 113 of the Wells Report, after a description of the scientific Ideal Gas Law, Wells wrote that the Patriots footballs should have measured between 11.32 psi and 11.52 psi. The 11 footballs that were measured at halftime of the championship game were measured on two gauges. The average of all 22 readings was 11.30 psi … 0.02 lower than what the league’s Ideal Gas Law science would have allowed for balls that started the day at the Patriots’ level of 12.5 psi. A couple of points here: The exact measurements of the footballs before the game were never written down.
And there’s no indication that the measurement of footballs before games has been an exact science. I witnessed one such measurement in 2013, before the Baltimore-Chicago game, and official Wayne Mackie at one point stuck a needle in a football that was supposed to be at 12.5 psi. He measured and said, “Twelve and a half, close enough.”
What does that mean? Was it 12.36, or 12.62, or something other than exactly 12.50? Regardless, no judge anywhere would bring the hammer down on a situation like this—inexact measurement before the game, an allowance of the footballs to be 11.32 psi, and the balls found at 11.30, on average. The NFL could have found out the truth this season and chose not to.
3. Did Tom Brady gain an advantage this year, presumably when the footballs every week exited the officials locker room in Foxboro at 12.5 psi? The home locker-room attendants do not travel, leading a suspicious mind to think that since no home-team employee touches a football once it’s been delivered to an officiating crew on the road, it’s only at home that the footballs could be tampered. Brady’s home passer rating this year: 102.0.
Brady’s road passer rating this year: 102.4. At home this season, Brady threw 20 touchdown passes and four interceptions. On the road, it was 16 touchdowns and three interceptions. Nothing new about that, really. In the past 10 years, Brady’s had a home passer rating of 100.4 and a road rating of 100.0. Negligible.
I don’t expect Goodell to set the precedent of revisiting a sanction, especially at a time when the league will push hard to overturn Judge Richard Berman’s verdict setting aside Brady’s suspension when the case is heard in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit beginning next week. But just because the league won’t do it doesn’t mean we should forget it, or stop pointing out the errors that resulted in this discipline run amok, or point out that Goodell should do the right thing.
The Patriots deserved to be slapped for Deflategate, not crushed. In fact, I'd propose giving back the draft picks but keeping in place the $1 million fine. These were reactionary, overblown sanctions. With time to reflect, they look even worse than when they were levied last May.
Owners in the NFL appreciate Goodell’s ability to look at complex issues and come up with solutions that are good for at least a majority of the franchises. You might argue in this case that Goodell had 31 other owners cheering him on, and rooting for him to smite the mighty Patriots. But I wonder how those powerful titans of business and their top club officials—one of whom told me last spring he felt the sanctions were “draconian”—would feel if the type of evidence used to slap down the Patriots and their quarterback was used against them one day.
Goodell admitted his error with Ray Rice in 2014, and was wounded by it. He can admit an error again, and should, because it’s the right thing to do. He should give the draft picks back to New England.
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Photo: Dave Reginek/Getty Images
Calvin Johnson is contemplating retirement after completing his ninth season with the Lions.
Get your tickets now for Canton in 2021
If Peyton Manning retires, and Calvin Johnson does what those inside the Lions are sure he’ll do (also retire), these five men could headline the list of first-year eligible candidates for the Pro Football Hall of Fame in February 2021:
Peyton Manning, quarterback. Manning would retire with a 111-touchdown-pass lead on the all-time list over Tom Brady and Drew Brees (539 for Manning, 428 for Brees and Brady), and 21 more than second-place Brett Favre. Brady or Brees or both could break his records, but Manning’s place in Canton was assured long ago. The Knoxville events, regardless how ugly they get, will not affect that.
Charles Woodson, defensive back. What a career. From Mr. Football in Ohio as a running back in 1994, to winning the Heisman Trophy as a defensive back and sometimes wide receiver at Michigan, to intercepting quarterbacks ranging from Warren Moon to Cam Newton as a cornerback and safety for the Raiders and Packers, finishing fifth all-time with 65 picks. Rodney Harrison, a fellow Pro Bowl safety, believes he’s the best defensive back in NFL history.
Calvin Johnson, wide receiver. If a receiver today had 3,645 yards receiving over three years, you’d say he’d be a Pro Bowler in two or three of those years. Johnson had 3,645 over two years, 2011 and 2012. He averaged 114 yards receiving per game over two seasons. I believe he’s the most physically imposing wide receiver I’ve covered. Voters will point out his relatively low 731 catches, and his nine seasons, which is fair. But I think he was pretty great for nine years. You know what’s interesting? We think of Johnson being so diminished as a player the past two years. Consider this: Receiving yards over the past two seasons—Calvin Johnson 2,291, Larry Fitzgerald 1,999.
Jared Allen, defensive end. Allen will be an interesting call. He’s tied for ninth on the all-time sack list (an official stat only for the past 34 years), but does have 16.5 more than Dwight Freeney, 29.5 more than Terrell Suggs. In his prime he was the Tasmanian devil of pass-rushers, and I think he’s going to have a solid if not no-doubt case.
Marshawn Lynch, running back. He retires 93 yards behind Ahman Green on the all-time list (Lynch is 36th, with 9,112, and he’ll be passed by a bunch of backs before becoming eligible), but his case is complex. This is going to be one of those players for whom the voters will have to use the eye test. More than any single person (including Russell Wilson, though it was close in 2013), Lynch ran the Seahawks to greatness. His bruising physicality as a back, at a time when so many teams were going to two alternating rushers to save the wear and tear, should be the trademark attribute we remember about Lynch.
And don't forget three others who recently retired and deserve your virtual applause one more time:
Jerod Mayo, linebacker. The 2008 Defensive Rookie of the Year averaged 118.5 tackles per season in his first five Patriot years, and was a leader from nearly the time he stepped on campus in Foxboro.
Justin Tuck, defensive end. Only player in NFL history to have multiple sacks in two Super Bowls. He sacked Tom Brady twice in each Giant win over New England. As quick and powerful and versatile as any Giants lineman this century, other than Michael Strahan.
Heath Miller, tight end. The perfect Steeler—strong, silent, missed but eight games to injury in 11 years—finished his career the all-time franchise tight end leader in catches (592), yards (6,569) and touchdowns (45). Those are going to be some size 35s to fill.
Man, that’s a lot of greatness leaving the NFL in one month or so, assuming we’ve seen the last of Manning and Johnson.
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Photo: Ezra Shaw/Getty Images
Chris Long, the No. 2 pick in the 2008 draft, started only 11 games for the Rams over the past two seasons.
Quotes of the Week
I
“The thrill in football, you can’t get any more excited than that, winning a Super Bowl. It’s the same thrill over here. Most people never get to have a dream in life. I’ve had two from an occupational standpoint. I’m probably one of the most blessed guys in the world.”
—Joe Gibbs Racing owner Joe Gibbs, after Denny Hamlin ended the former NFL coach’s 23-year drought at the Daytona 500 in one of NASCAR’s most exciting finishes ever. (Hamlin edged Martin Truex by 0.01 seconds in a photo finish.) Gibbs, who won three Super Bowls with Washington, last won Daytona with Dale Jarrett in 1993.
II
“First, I’m gonna have a beer.”
—Defensive end Chris Long, on Instagram, after being cut by the Rams in a salary-cap move on Friday.
Later Friday, he tweeted: “Ah hell, one beer turned into more than one.”
III
“The chants of HEEEEEEEEETH will be missed at Heinz Field and around the NFL.”
—Steelers president Art Rooney II, on the retirement of the best tight end in Steelers history, Heath Miller, on Friday.
IV
“He is not low maintenance; he has been no maintenance. He has always put the Pittsburgh Steelers first in every aspect of his professional life. I don’t know that I can describe that. I don’t know if there has been a guy that I have been around that is like him from an unselfish standpoint. Largely and in every instance, we are all human, we all fall short. I don’t know if I have ever seen a regrettable moment in him. He is the type of person that I want my boys to be.”
—Steelers coach Mike Tomlin, to Steelers.com, on Heath Miller.
V
“If you watch the Super Bowl, the team that actually got to the quarterback, they won the Super Bowl. The team that protected their quarterback, they won the Super Bowl. So it is about the lines, and protecting the quarterback and keeping him upright so he can get the ball to the guys who run and catch.”
—New Tennessee GM Jon Robinson, at a Titans event for fans in Nashville last week, on the prospect of trading or keeping the No. 1 overall pick in the April draft.
VI
“At that point, I was in the grip of alcoholism … I sat there and said, ‘Hey, I am not a starving peasant in Darfur; I don’t have the last name Steinberg in Nazi Germany; I don’t have cancer; there is nothing wrong with my health, except alcohol. What excuse do I have?’”
—Agent Leigh Steinberg, on admitting in 2010 that he was an alcoholic and what motivated him to do something about it, to Jenny Vrentas of The MMQB in her “Talking Football” column on Friday.
VII
“For us it’s easy. We are looking for character, but what the hell does that mean? We’re looking for people … who have gotten over themselves, and you can tell that pretty quickly. You can talk to somebody for four or five minutes, and you can tell if it’s about them, or if they understand that they’re just a piece of the puzzle. So we look for that. A sense of humor is a huge thing with us. [You have to] feel comfortable in your own skin that you don’t have all the answers …
We need people who can handle information and not take it personally because in most of these organizations, there’s a big divide. All of a sudden the wall goes up between management and coaching, and everybody is ready to blame back and forth … It’s about finding people who have all these kinds of qualities.”
—San Antonio Spurs coach Gregg Popovich, on what he looks for in employees of the Spurs, on and off the court.
Lots of good lessons in there for anyone in sports, anyone in business, and, really, anyone in life.
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Ten Things I Think I Think
1. I think I was like everyone else when I heard Dolphins owner Stephen Ross’s words the other day that seemed to say he’d be getting rid of new coach Adam Gase after three years if the team hadn’t made the playoffs by then. This was how I felt: You don’t need to put a time limit on anything; it’s an unnecessary deadline. It’ll be evident at the end of three years whether Gase is your long-term coach. Tom Landry was 9-28-3 after his first three seasons with the Cowboys. Chuck Noll was 12-30 after three years with the Steelers. So don’t make a judgment until you have to.
So I was critical of Ross when I wrote this item originally over the weekend. But what Ross actually said is something pointed out to me this morning: ”Every year, there's anywhere from six to eight coaches. It’s the most objective thing in the world. Everybody looks at their won-loss records. There's no other excuses. So, every team, after three years, if we haven't made the playoffs, we're looking for a head coach. That's just the way it is. The fans want it.”
So, Ross didn’t say he would do it. He said that’s the environment that exists in the NFL. Now, this isn’t to say he won’t pull the trigger after three years. But he didn’t say it exactly that way in Florida last week. Now it’s up to Ross to have the kind of patience a good owner needs if Gase is showing signs of being a strong long-term head coach after three years—but hasn’t made the playoffs.
2. I think it should be fairly obvious why the Rams whacked three respected veterans—Chris Long, James Laurinaitis and Jared Cook—on Friday. It created $23 million in cap space for the team, and though all three at their best are valuable players, Cook hadn’t produced the way the Rams thought a top-tier tight end should; Long has been hurt for most of the past two years; and there was a slightly more complicated issue with Laurinaitis.
The Rams intend to move Alec Ogletree, the first-round pick from 2013, into the nerve center of their defense—the spot Laurinaitis occupied—because they think Ogletree can be more of a playmaker there than Laurinaitis. Now, the one regret the Rams may have is in the next year or two is Long. Though he turns 31 next month, Long will be pursued aggressively by contenders (it’s already happening), because he can be signed before the start of free agency. Not sure he will sign quickly, though. He and his wife are expecting their first child in the coming weeks.
3. I think, regarding Roger Goodell’s $34.1 million salary and benefits from 2014, which was made public last week, I maintain that if a group of owners is willing to pay Goodell, essentially, $1.07 million per team, that’s their business. And it’s probably not out of line with the owners’ valuation of what he is worth to them. But it’s just tone deaf. I don’t know why a smart man like Goodell can’t see that $34.1 million in salary and benefits just turns haters into detestors. Goodell, $34.1 million. Best player in 2014, Tom Brady, $14.8 million in pro-rated bonus and salary. Head-shaking.
4. I think I see Malik Jackson going to the highest bidder in free agency. And I am beginning to be dubious about whether that will be Denver. The Broncos will keep Derek Wolfe, DeMarcus Ware and Von Miller (with at least the franchise tag) this free-agency season. The fourth pass-rusher, Jackson, might be too much for John Elway’s cap to take. I do believe someone (Giants? Falcons?) will pay Jackson $12 million a year, and that could be too rich for Denver.
5. I think I’d put the odds at 55-45 that Tom Coughlin gets hired, at 70, to coach an NFL team in 2017 … and 80-20 that Coughlin will want a job 11 months from now.
6. I think maybe sports ownership just isn’t the way to go for Randy Lerner. The former Browns owner—he sold to Jimmy Haslam in mid-2012—is trying to unload his English soccer team, Aston Villa, which sits in last place in the Premier League. It’s understandable why Lerner would want to sell. In the past four seasons, Aston Villa has 33 wins, 73 losses and 34 ties, and this year it faces near-certain relegation, the process by which the bottom three teams get demoted and the top three teams in the lower league move up for the following season. Aston Villa has never won more than 10 of 38 games over the past four seasons, which is abysmal. In his last four years owning the Browns, Lerner’s teams were 18-46.
7. I think it’s essential you read this on Scott Norwood from Tim Graham of the Buffalo News if you have any regard for those great Bills’ teams of a quarter-century ago (yes, it’s been that long since Norwood was wide right by 15 inches against the Giants in the Super Bowl). On missing the kick that would have beaten the Giants, an emotional Norwood told Graham: “It’s still very fresh, very real. I get emotional. It’s like when I think about my parents and when they died. People always say time will take care of that. I don’t think it really does.” When Bruce Smith was told of the emotional hold that the kick still has on Norwood, he told Graham it was the work of Satan. Pretty powerful stuff.
8. I think, in the wake of Randy Gregory being suspended for the first four games of the 2016 season (substance abuse), I don’t know how Jerry Jones could strongly consider signing Johnny Manziel this off-season. Jones just has too many players with off-field concerns on his team. Aside from the fact that Manziel appears to need significant counseling and addiction assistance that should wipe out his 2016 season, there’s no guarantee his upside as a player makes him any lock to be a good NFL quarterback. If I were Jones, I’d steer toward Robert Griffin III.
9. I think this is more than just a cool remembrance of the 2003 combine by Rick Gosselin. It’s a good example of how you need a complete picture of a prospect when you’re judging him, and how easy it is to let a good player slip through the cracks—in this case, Tony Romo, because he went to Eastern Illinois.
These are excerpts from this article. To read the whole thing click the link below.
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http://mmqb.si.com/mmqb/2016/02/21/...land-patriots-nfl-draft-picks-combine-preview
Why NFL Should Give Back Picks to Pats (But Won’t)
Shaky evidence, shady science and total disinterest in learning the truth are grounds for Roger Goodell to admit he erred by docking New England draft picks for Deflategate. Plus Mayock’s combine preview and more
By Peter King
Bill Belichick’s Patriots won't pick in the first round of the 2016 draft due to sanctions handed down by Roger Goodell after Deflategate.
Getty Images (2)
Scouting combine and retirement news coming in this column, plus the Gospel According to Mayock. But first my take on the dormant story that needs to come alive, and soon.
It’s been nine months since commissioner Roger Goodell suspended Tom Brady four games, fined the Patriots $1 million and took away a first-round pick in the 2016 draft and a fourth-round pick in 2017 for the deflated footballs incident at the 2014 AFC Championship Game. The story will be back in the news next week, when the NFL’s appeal of the smackdown of the Brady suspension will be heard in a New York courtroom.
But the effect of the case will be felt in Indianapolis this week, when the New England Patriots’ delegation arrives for the combine missing something invaluable to the care and feeding of NFL franchises. Namely, the 29th pick in this draft, docked from the Patriots by Goodell. This leaves New England with no draft picks in the top 59 of an above-average draft. No one has really focused recently on the enormity of the draft-pick sanction. Last year, with the 32nd and 131st picks (the 2017 fourth-rounder likely will be around No. 130 overall), the Patriots took two players (Malcom Brown and Shaq Mason) who started in the AFC title game—two of 22 starters in their biggest game of the year.
Based on the weight of the evidence from the past 13 months, and that weight being circumstantial and not convincing, there’s one conclusion I’ve reached entering the 2016 draft season: Roger Goodell needs to give back the picks.
Whatever happens in the appeal of the case—which isn’t centered on the Patriots’ guilt or innocence but rather on a point of labor law in the judge’s decision—Goodell needs to realize he acted without nearly enough scientific evidence against the Patriots. The NFL has some significant circumstantial evidence in the case, the kind that should have prompted a strongly worded letter and $250,000 fine. Instead, Goodell killed an ant with a sledgehammer.
The only thing that would have changed my opinion on the evidence in this case is if the NFL measured the footballs before, at halftime and after all 267 regular-season and post-season games—not just selected games, which is what the league did. The NFL needed to find out what weather and precipitation and humidity and hot air and frigid air did to footballs, to see if the league’s questionable science in the Wells Report stood the test of an NFL season.
The NFL doesn’t have that data because it never administered such tests. The Patriots case cried out for the league to do it this season. The fact that the NFL did so only in scattered games (according to Goodell) simply to ensure no team was cheating this year is stupid; it tells the world the league never wanted to find out the effect of weather on footballs.
Was it reasonable for footballs to lose 1.2 pounds per square inch in inclement weather, which is what New England’s footballs did that January day in Foxboro? Or would footballs in a similar environment lose far less pressure? Goodell and the NFL don’t want to know the answers.
There’s a lot of circumstantial evidence against New England. Patriots locker room attendant Jim McNally disappearing with the footballs before the AFC Championship Game for 100 seconds was wrong, and shady. McNally and team equipment assistant John Jastremski being held back from an additional interview with the Wells investigators was wrong.
The six phone calls, once the NFL announced it would investigate whether the balls were deflated, from Brady to Jastremski when they rarely ever spoke on the phone doesn’t quite stink, but it’s got an odor to it. McNally calling himself “the deflator” in a May 2014 text is a bad look.
Photo: Al Bello/Getty Images
Tom Brady’s career numbers reveal no stark contrast between home games and away.
But add those all up. There’s no smoking gun. No witness, video, recording or any direct evidence linking anyone with the Patriots to deflating footballs. And then add these three things:
1. Referee Walt Anderson skates, and never should have. The Wells Report notes that Anderson, in the officials’ locker room before the game, got distracted and angry that the bag of game footballs had been taken from the room. In the 19 years Anderson had worked games, Wells reported, Anderson never lost control of the footballs before a game. This was a particularly egregious gaffe by Anderson, seeing that a league official had warned the officials before the game to be on the lookout for funny business with the footballs. This, in legal terms, is losing the integrity of the evidence.
What would happen in the real world if a police officer didn’t follow proper protocol and lost crucial evidence to a case for eight or 10 minutes, during which time the evidence could be doctored? The case would be thrown out of court. The footballs were out of sight, and the league put the full blame for it on McNally and none of the blame on Anderson. The referee in the AFC Championship Game lost track of the footballs, and the NFL chose not to make it a factor—apparently because of Anderson’s pristine reputation—in its ruling. It should have been a factor, and a big one.
2. The Ideal Gas Law was abused in the Wells Report. On page 113 of the Wells Report, after a description of the scientific Ideal Gas Law, Wells wrote that the Patriots footballs should have measured between 11.32 psi and 11.52 psi. The 11 footballs that were measured at halftime of the championship game were measured on two gauges. The average of all 22 readings was 11.30 psi … 0.02 lower than what the league’s Ideal Gas Law science would have allowed for balls that started the day at the Patriots’ level of 12.5 psi. A couple of points here: The exact measurements of the footballs before the game were never written down.
And there’s no indication that the measurement of footballs before games has been an exact science. I witnessed one such measurement in 2013, before the Baltimore-Chicago game, and official Wayne Mackie at one point stuck a needle in a football that was supposed to be at 12.5 psi. He measured and said, “Twelve and a half, close enough.”
What does that mean? Was it 12.36, or 12.62, or something other than exactly 12.50? Regardless, no judge anywhere would bring the hammer down on a situation like this—inexact measurement before the game, an allowance of the footballs to be 11.32 psi, and the balls found at 11.30, on average. The NFL could have found out the truth this season and chose not to.
3. Did Tom Brady gain an advantage this year, presumably when the footballs every week exited the officials locker room in Foxboro at 12.5 psi? The home locker-room attendants do not travel, leading a suspicious mind to think that since no home-team employee touches a football once it’s been delivered to an officiating crew on the road, it’s only at home that the footballs could be tampered. Brady’s home passer rating this year: 102.0.
Brady’s road passer rating this year: 102.4. At home this season, Brady threw 20 touchdown passes and four interceptions. On the road, it was 16 touchdowns and three interceptions. Nothing new about that, really. In the past 10 years, Brady’s had a home passer rating of 100.4 and a road rating of 100.0. Negligible.
I don’t expect Goodell to set the precedent of revisiting a sanction, especially at a time when the league will push hard to overturn Judge Richard Berman’s verdict setting aside Brady’s suspension when the case is heard in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit beginning next week. But just because the league won’t do it doesn’t mean we should forget it, or stop pointing out the errors that resulted in this discipline run amok, or point out that Goodell should do the right thing.
The Patriots deserved to be slapped for Deflategate, not crushed. In fact, I'd propose giving back the draft picks but keeping in place the $1 million fine. These were reactionary, overblown sanctions. With time to reflect, they look even worse than when they were levied last May.
Owners in the NFL appreciate Goodell’s ability to look at complex issues and come up with solutions that are good for at least a majority of the franchises. You might argue in this case that Goodell had 31 other owners cheering him on, and rooting for him to smite the mighty Patriots. But I wonder how those powerful titans of business and their top club officials—one of whom told me last spring he felt the sanctions were “draconian”—would feel if the type of evidence used to slap down the Patriots and their quarterback was used against them one day.
Goodell admitted his error with Ray Rice in 2014, and was wounded by it. He can admit an error again, and should, because it’s the right thing to do. He should give the draft picks back to New England.
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Photo: Dave Reginek/Getty Images
Calvin Johnson is contemplating retirement after completing his ninth season with the Lions.
Get your tickets now for Canton in 2021
If Peyton Manning retires, and Calvin Johnson does what those inside the Lions are sure he’ll do (also retire), these five men could headline the list of first-year eligible candidates for the Pro Football Hall of Fame in February 2021:
Peyton Manning, quarterback. Manning would retire with a 111-touchdown-pass lead on the all-time list over Tom Brady and Drew Brees (539 for Manning, 428 for Brees and Brady), and 21 more than second-place Brett Favre. Brady or Brees or both could break his records, but Manning’s place in Canton was assured long ago. The Knoxville events, regardless how ugly they get, will not affect that.
Charles Woodson, defensive back. What a career. From Mr. Football in Ohio as a running back in 1994, to winning the Heisman Trophy as a defensive back and sometimes wide receiver at Michigan, to intercepting quarterbacks ranging from Warren Moon to Cam Newton as a cornerback and safety for the Raiders and Packers, finishing fifth all-time with 65 picks. Rodney Harrison, a fellow Pro Bowl safety, believes he’s the best defensive back in NFL history.
Calvin Johnson, wide receiver. If a receiver today had 3,645 yards receiving over three years, you’d say he’d be a Pro Bowler in two or three of those years. Johnson had 3,645 over two years, 2011 and 2012. He averaged 114 yards receiving per game over two seasons. I believe he’s the most physically imposing wide receiver I’ve covered. Voters will point out his relatively low 731 catches, and his nine seasons, which is fair. But I think he was pretty great for nine years. You know what’s interesting? We think of Johnson being so diminished as a player the past two years. Consider this: Receiving yards over the past two seasons—Calvin Johnson 2,291, Larry Fitzgerald 1,999.
Jared Allen, defensive end. Allen will be an interesting call. He’s tied for ninth on the all-time sack list (an official stat only for the past 34 years), but does have 16.5 more than Dwight Freeney, 29.5 more than Terrell Suggs. In his prime he was the Tasmanian devil of pass-rushers, and I think he’s going to have a solid if not no-doubt case.
Marshawn Lynch, running back. He retires 93 yards behind Ahman Green on the all-time list (Lynch is 36th, with 9,112, and he’ll be passed by a bunch of backs before becoming eligible), but his case is complex. This is going to be one of those players for whom the voters will have to use the eye test. More than any single person (including Russell Wilson, though it was close in 2013), Lynch ran the Seahawks to greatness. His bruising physicality as a back, at a time when so many teams were going to two alternating rushers to save the wear and tear, should be the trademark attribute we remember about Lynch.
And don't forget three others who recently retired and deserve your virtual applause one more time:
Jerod Mayo, linebacker. The 2008 Defensive Rookie of the Year averaged 118.5 tackles per season in his first five Patriot years, and was a leader from nearly the time he stepped on campus in Foxboro.
Justin Tuck, defensive end. Only player in NFL history to have multiple sacks in two Super Bowls. He sacked Tom Brady twice in each Giant win over New England. As quick and powerful and versatile as any Giants lineman this century, other than Michael Strahan.
Heath Miller, tight end. The perfect Steeler—strong, silent, missed but eight games to injury in 11 years—finished his career the all-time franchise tight end leader in catches (592), yards (6,569) and touchdowns (45). Those are going to be some size 35s to fill.
Man, that’s a lot of greatness leaving the NFL in one month or so, assuming we’ve seen the last of Manning and Johnson.
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Photo: Ezra Shaw/Getty Images
Chris Long, the No. 2 pick in the 2008 draft, started only 11 games for the Rams over the past two seasons.
Quotes of the Week
I
“The thrill in football, you can’t get any more excited than that, winning a Super Bowl. It’s the same thrill over here. Most people never get to have a dream in life. I’ve had two from an occupational standpoint. I’m probably one of the most blessed guys in the world.”
—Joe Gibbs Racing owner Joe Gibbs, after Denny Hamlin ended the former NFL coach’s 23-year drought at the Daytona 500 in one of NASCAR’s most exciting finishes ever. (Hamlin edged Martin Truex by 0.01 seconds in a photo finish.) Gibbs, who won three Super Bowls with Washington, last won Daytona with Dale Jarrett in 1993.
II
“First, I’m gonna have a beer.”
—Defensive end Chris Long, on Instagram, after being cut by the Rams in a salary-cap move on Friday.
Later Friday, he tweeted: “Ah hell, one beer turned into more than one.”
III
“The chants of HEEEEEEEEETH will be missed at Heinz Field and around the NFL.”
—Steelers president Art Rooney II, on the retirement of the best tight end in Steelers history, Heath Miller, on Friday.
IV
“He is not low maintenance; he has been no maintenance. He has always put the Pittsburgh Steelers first in every aspect of his professional life. I don’t know that I can describe that. I don’t know if there has been a guy that I have been around that is like him from an unselfish standpoint. Largely and in every instance, we are all human, we all fall short. I don’t know if I have ever seen a regrettable moment in him. He is the type of person that I want my boys to be.”
—Steelers coach Mike Tomlin, to Steelers.com, on Heath Miller.
V
“If you watch the Super Bowl, the team that actually got to the quarterback, they won the Super Bowl. The team that protected their quarterback, they won the Super Bowl. So it is about the lines, and protecting the quarterback and keeping him upright so he can get the ball to the guys who run and catch.”
—New Tennessee GM Jon Robinson, at a Titans event for fans in Nashville last week, on the prospect of trading or keeping the No. 1 overall pick in the April draft.
VI
“At that point, I was in the grip of alcoholism … I sat there and said, ‘Hey, I am not a starving peasant in Darfur; I don’t have the last name Steinberg in Nazi Germany; I don’t have cancer; there is nothing wrong with my health, except alcohol. What excuse do I have?’”
—Agent Leigh Steinberg, on admitting in 2010 that he was an alcoholic and what motivated him to do something about it, to Jenny Vrentas of The MMQB in her “Talking Football” column on Friday.
VII
“For us it’s easy. We are looking for character, but what the hell does that mean? We’re looking for people … who have gotten over themselves, and you can tell that pretty quickly. You can talk to somebody for four or five minutes, and you can tell if it’s about them, or if they understand that they’re just a piece of the puzzle. So we look for that. A sense of humor is a huge thing with us. [You have to] feel comfortable in your own skin that you don’t have all the answers …
We need people who can handle information and not take it personally because in most of these organizations, there’s a big divide. All of a sudden the wall goes up between management and coaching, and everybody is ready to blame back and forth … It’s about finding people who have all these kinds of qualities.”
—San Antonio Spurs coach Gregg Popovich, on what he looks for in employees of the Spurs, on and off the court.
Lots of good lessons in there for anyone in sports, anyone in business, and, really, anyone in life.
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Ten Things I Think I Think
1. I think I was like everyone else when I heard Dolphins owner Stephen Ross’s words the other day that seemed to say he’d be getting rid of new coach Adam Gase after three years if the team hadn’t made the playoffs by then. This was how I felt: You don’t need to put a time limit on anything; it’s an unnecessary deadline. It’ll be evident at the end of three years whether Gase is your long-term coach. Tom Landry was 9-28-3 after his first three seasons with the Cowboys. Chuck Noll was 12-30 after three years with the Steelers. So don’t make a judgment until you have to.
So I was critical of Ross when I wrote this item originally over the weekend. But what Ross actually said is something pointed out to me this morning: ”Every year, there's anywhere from six to eight coaches. It’s the most objective thing in the world. Everybody looks at their won-loss records. There's no other excuses. So, every team, after three years, if we haven't made the playoffs, we're looking for a head coach. That's just the way it is. The fans want it.”
So, Ross didn’t say he would do it. He said that’s the environment that exists in the NFL. Now, this isn’t to say he won’t pull the trigger after three years. But he didn’t say it exactly that way in Florida last week. Now it’s up to Ross to have the kind of patience a good owner needs if Gase is showing signs of being a strong long-term head coach after three years—but hasn’t made the playoffs.
2. I think it should be fairly obvious why the Rams whacked three respected veterans—Chris Long, James Laurinaitis and Jared Cook—on Friday. It created $23 million in cap space for the team, and though all three at their best are valuable players, Cook hadn’t produced the way the Rams thought a top-tier tight end should; Long has been hurt for most of the past two years; and there was a slightly more complicated issue with Laurinaitis.
The Rams intend to move Alec Ogletree, the first-round pick from 2013, into the nerve center of their defense—the spot Laurinaitis occupied—because they think Ogletree can be more of a playmaker there than Laurinaitis. Now, the one regret the Rams may have is in the next year or two is Long. Though he turns 31 next month, Long will be pursued aggressively by contenders (it’s already happening), because he can be signed before the start of free agency. Not sure he will sign quickly, though. He and his wife are expecting their first child in the coming weeks.
3. I think, regarding Roger Goodell’s $34.1 million salary and benefits from 2014, which was made public last week, I maintain that if a group of owners is willing to pay Goodell, essentially, $1.07 million per team, that’s their business. And it’s probably not out of line with the owners’ valuation of what he is worth to them. But it’s just tone deaf. I don’t know why a smart man like Goodell can’t see that $34.1 million in salary and benefits just turns haters into detestors. Goodell, $34.1 million. Best player in 2014, Tom Brady, $14.8 million in pro-rated bonus and salary. Head-shaking.
4. I think I see Malik Jackson going to the highest bidder in free agency. And I am beginning to be dubious about whether that will be Denver. The Broncos will keep Derek Wolfe, DeMarcus Ware and Von Miller (with at least the franchise tag) this free-agency season. The fourth pass-rusher, Jackson, might be too much for John Elway’s cap to take. I do believe someone (Giants? Falcons?) will pay Jackson $12 million a year, and that could be too rich for Denver.
5. I think I’d put the odds at 55-45 that Tom Coughlin gets hired, at 70, to coach an NFL team in 2017 … and 80-20 that Coughlin will want a job 11 months from now.
6. I think maybe sports ownership just isn’t the way to go for Randy Lerner. The former Browns owner—he sold to Jimmy Haslam in mid-2012—is trying to unload his English soccer team, Aston Villa, which sits in last place in the Premier League. It’s understandable why Lerner would want to sell. In the past four seasons, Aston Villa has 33 wins, 73 losses and 34 ties, and this year it faces near-certain relegation, the process by which the bottom three teams get demoted and the top three teams in the lower league move up for the following season. Aston Villa has never won more than 10 of 38 games over the past four seasons, which is abysmal. In his last four years owning the Browns, Lerner’s teams were 18-46.
7. I think it’s essential you read this on Scott Norwood from Tim Graham of the Buffalo News if you have any regard for those great Bills’ teams of a quarter-century ago (yes, it’s been that long since Norwood was wide right by 15 inches against the Giants in the Super Bowl). On missing the kick that would have beaten the Giants, an emotional Norwood told Graham: “It’s still very fresh, very real. I get emotional. It’s like when I think about my parents and when they died. People always say time will take care of that. I don’t think it really does.” When Bruce Smith was told of the emotional hold that the kick still has on Norwood, he told Graham it was the work of Satan. Pretty powerful stuff.
8. I think, in the wake of Randy Gregory being suspended for the first four games of the 2016 season (substance abuse), I don’t know how Jerry Jones could strongly consider signing Johnny Manziel this off-season. Jones just has too many players with off-field concerns on his team. Aside from the fact that Manziel appears to need significant counseling and addiction assistance that should wipe out his 2016 season, there’s no guarantee his upside as a player makes him any lock to be a good NFL quarterback. If I were Jones, I’d steer toward Robert Griffin III.
9. I think this is more than just a cool remembrance of the 2003 combine by Rick Gosselin. It’s a good example of how you need a complete picture of a prospect when you’re judging him, and how easy it is to let a good player slip through the cracks—in this case, Tony Romo, because he went to Eastern Illinois.
, on Brady's " Telephone Business" during deflate-gate!:deadhorse:
