NFL Must Come Down Hard On Brady, Patriots

On the early morning of January 19th, 2015 WTHR’s Bob Kravitz was the first to break the news of the possibility that the New England Patriots had altered the footballs used in the team’s 45-7 win over the Indianapolis Colts in the AFC Championship game.

The Patriots? Tom Brady? Cheating!? There’s no way that a team found guilty of similar accusations in 2007 (known as “SpyGate”) could be guilty of such a thing.

That appears to be the mindset of every fan of Tom Brady and the New England Patriots, whom have been blinded by their own denial and bias the last few months.

If there was any question as to whether or not Brady and the Patriots were guilty, those questions can be put to rest with the NFL’s official Wells Report of the investigation, which you can read here.

Time to come out of your cocoons, Patriots fans. If you read the report, you’ll find that in the days following the initial investigation over the matter that Brady had communicated with the ball boy (whom even referred to himself as the “deflator”) on multiple occasions after reportedly not having any communications with him for over sixth months. It just doesn’t really add up.

This is where Roger Goodell must get it right, has to get it right. We know that Tom Brady will be suspended but the question is how long will he be suspended?

This has nothing to do with the AFC Championship game at all. The Patriots were simply the better team that day and excelled over the Colts in almost every asset of the game, if not every asset in their 45-7 thumping. Deflated footballs or not.

It’s much bigger than that. The Patriots went against the NFL and their rules to get an advantage over the Colts that Sunday evening, rightfully giving more ammunition to those that despise the Patriots and further maintaining their “cheater” label.

The NFL has to come down hard on Brady with this one, especially considering that Brady more than likely knew about the altering of the balls used mere minutes before the championship game and chose to lie to the team and the league about his knowledge regarding the situation.

If no actual evidence can be found that Brady in fact knew about the wrongdoings, the NFL has to look at the circumstantial evidence in order to determine the punishment that will be handed down on Brady and the Patriots.

More from Horseshoe Heroes

• Colts explored hiring former quarterback and current ESPN analyst Dan Orlovsky
• When is the NFL Combine 2023? NFL Combine schedule, events, how to stream
• Latest NFL mock draft has Colts trading up to No. 1 for star QB
• Eagles offensive free agents that could follow Shane Steichen to Colts
• Here’s why Colts linebacker Shaq Leonard is going to love Shane Steichen

According to sources close to the Patriots, there is a belief that the league could hand down a suspension on Brady ranging in the six to eight game range.

Ouch.

If the league does come down that hard on the Patriots, it would be a move that could cripple the franchise for the 2015 season, but would be completely justified considering how the league has handled past matters.

If the NFL will ban its players for the use of marijuana, e.g. Josh Gordon‘s year-long suspension for the 2014 season, they have to come down hard on Brady for like Gordon, going against the rules of the league and even having the audacity the deny his knowledge or role in the situation.

For a league, that has had a black eye on its image the last couple years, if Goodell is concerned about the league’s image in a better light, he can’t afford to hand down a punishment that is more of a slap on the wrist than it is a punishment.

This is your time to redeem yourself and the image of the shield, Goodell.