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New England Patriots

Pittsburgh Vs New England Opening Day Preview

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The grind of the preseason is coming to an end and the even longer road of the NFL regular season is on the horizon. Football fans from all over the world are gearing up for what promises to be seventeen weeks of gridiron excitement, with many league stories already unfolding. Here are just a few interesting happenings around the NFL as we get ready for the first game on September 10. That game will feature the Pittsburgh Steelers visiting the New England Patriots.

New England Patriots
The game has numerous stories, not the least involving Tom Brady and whether he will play or not. Everyone is aware of the mayhem “DeflateGate” has caused and the most surprising thing about the story is it is still going on! They are endlessly debating Brady’s suspension for his alleged involvement in the controversy and it has not yet been determined if he will lead his team on opening night. There is over a week to figure it out, but I wouldn’t be shocked if this story continues through the beginning of the season.

Pittsburgh SteelersOn the Pittsburgh side, they are dealing with the fallout from their recent acquisition at the back-up quarterback position. Given their history, it would seem unlikely that the Rooneys and Michael Vick would ever come to terms. But come to terms they did and Michael Vick showed up in a Steeler uniform during a recent pre-season game in Buffalo. He did well that day but it is too early to tell if he will be embraced by Steeler Nation. There was quite a reaction from local fans when the announcement was made that he was going to play for the team. There were some demonstrations outside of Heinz Field and the local sports radio talk shows were focusing on it constantly.

There are other things that these two teams need to concern themselves with besides the inevitable distractions. The management, coaches and players should have only one thing in mind; how to get to Super Bowl 50. That should be the goal, because there are thirty other teams striving for the same trophy. This is a landmark year so hopefully the sideline shenanigans will take a back-seat to the more important business of playing the game. If only it was possible to return to the days of Lombardi and Shula, when it was more about the sport and less about the off-field indiscretions.

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DeflateGate Milestone Arrives Tomorrow

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The day after the NFL came down with a ruling that they are upholding the 4 game suspension for Tom Brady, the owner of the Patriots came to the defense of Tom Brady. Robert Kraft surprised reporters who were expecting head coach Bill Belichick to address the Tom Brady penalty. Kraft took the podium and went on a ten minute tirade against the commissioner and the NFL as a whole.

Robert Kraft Addresses Media
Photo Courtesy of Yahoo Sports

The NFL commissioner says the 4 game suspension will stand, even after hearing Tom Brady at length defend himself. It appears the sticking point for the NFL is that they requested certain information from Tom Brady’s phone, one that Brady says he has since destroyed since his attorney told him it was no longer needed. The commissioner appears to have a problem with Brady being uncooperative, after requesting to only see text messages that pertained to this case and not his phone. Brady claims he was not about to give up his phone because of personal information.

Kraft was angry at the podium because he says he took the harshest punishment in NFL history, expecting the league to go easy on Brady. They did no such thing. Now Kraft regrets the deal and wishes he could change his mind and fight alongside Tom Brady. The damage is done, and this appears to be going to a new court of appeals and could drag on several weeks or months more. One thing is for sure, Kraft is not happy with his former friend in the commissioners office.

It might have taken 6 months, but Tom Brady finally spoke out about his 4 game suspension handed down by the commissioner of the NFL. Tom Brady, star quarterback for the New England Patriots, took to his Facebook page to tell the world exactly what he feels about and how he is going to proceed from here. The tone of the message was strong, and appeared as if written by an attorney more than a man fighting to restore his image.

Brady wrote a scathing message to the NFL claiming that not only is he innocent, that the NFL is on a witch hunt and making claims that simply are not true. Brady claims that the NFL announced he destroyed a cell phone to hide evidence, Brady says he simply replaced a broken phone. Brady went on to say that not only did he do nothing wrong, his harsh sentence is unfair considering that the NFL has zero evidence showing he did anything wrong. Brady simply is saying that he is being punished for a crime that there is no rules or regulations for.

The reason many are not impressed with Brady’s message is that he waited too long to finally defend himself. Had Brady been this adamant when he was first accused of wrong doing, maybe he would have gotten more support and this issue would have gone away. Instead, Brady is now in the fight of his life to try and restore a reputation that is getting more tarnished as this drags on.

Tomorrow, the League and the NFLPA have to meet with Judge Richard Berman to discuss any possible settlement that may have been agreed upon leading up to the Wednesday conference. Reports indicate that the League is taking this order from Judge Berman seriously and discussions are ongoing.

Playoff Picture Looks Exciting

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With 4 teams vying for first place in the AFC North in Week 13, things are heating up to meltdown conditions even in the icy north…

The Bengals, who tied a game, are 7-3-1 while the Ravens, Steelers and Browns all have a 7-4-0 record with 2 division wins. These 4 teams will duke it out in their respective divisional games for supremacy over the AFC North.

Meanwhile, the New England Patriots (9-2-0) are running away with the AFC East (and the number 1 seed) unless someone can stop them.

A similar situation is developing in the NFC with the Arizona Cardinals (9-2-0) running away with the NFC West and the number 1 seed.

The NFC South is trying really hard to see how low a team’s record can be and still make the playoffs. The Atlanta Falcons (4-7-0) are leading the division with a 4-0 division record, having beaten each of its division rivals at least once (and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers twice).

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The Philadelphia Eagles (8-3-0) and the Dallas Cowboys (8-3-0) are vying for first place in the NFC East. One of these teams will win the division and the other will likely make the playoffs as a wild card. This week’s Thanksgiving game between the Cowboys and Eagles will decide who takes the division.

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Another game with playoff implications this Thanksgiving Day is the Seattle Seahawks (7-4-0) trip to San Francisco to take on the 49ers (7-4-0) for sole possession of 2nd place in the NFC West, behind the Cardinals. The winner will be hoping that the Detroit Lions (7-4-0) lose to the Chicago Bears (5-6-0), also on Thanksgiving Day!

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Aaron Rodgers and the Green Bay Packers (8-3-0) are looking like the likely winners of the NFC North unless Detroit has something to say about it. But the New England Patriots (9-2-0) will be coming to town this weekend to see if they can knock them down a peg.