DeflateGate

It’s been a long 6 months. Sure, we’ve had the “Summer of Soccer”, baseball and the NBA. Fun, but not enough. I’m ready for some football!

The offseason has been interesting. Everyone knows about “DeflateGate” and how my Niners had The Worst Offseason In Professional Sports History. You’ve heard how Geno Smith‘s jaw was broken by linebacker IK Enemkpali and might have deserved it; and that Rex Ryan snatched up Enemkpali the day after he was released by the Jets.

Then there’s the standard New Head Coach optimism. Jack Del Rio is hopeful for his young, fresh faced Raiders. John Fox believes he can get Jay Cutler to play good football and maybe even care about it. Jim Tomsula is still holding out hope for Aldon Smith.

Now, finally, the offseason is over. It’s officially preseason. The NFL Network is in full swing, broadcasting every preseason game it possibly can. And I am watching. Yes, it’s preseason. Yes, it’s sloppy and boring. But it’s football.
More importantly, the beginning of preseason starts a very short countdown to September 10, when the Patriots take on the Steelers in the first regular season game. So yeah, I am pretty happy.

Here’s my big prediction for the 2015-2016 NFL Season:

The Denver Broncos win the Super Bowl. Yes, you read it here first. Ok, I know. The Seahawks, Patriots and Packers (among others) have great teams. Just hear me out:

This could (maybe should) be Peyton Manning‘s final season and he must go out on top. There is no better field general in the sport. Maybe never has been. Brady is more mobile (my desk is more mobile) and a great quarterback. Aaron Rodgers is at the top of his game and a force to be reckoned with. But Peyton is the man.

He’s arguably the smartest quarterback ever. That goes a long way when your team is in the trenches. He is the consummate problem solver under pressure. Totally unflappable. I have never seen Peyton panic under pressure. I can’t say that about any other QB in the league.

His team goes to war for him. Peyton is liked and respected by his coaches and teammates. That’s not necessarily the case in some of the other top-tier franchises. They trust him to call the right plays at the right time. His histrionics at the line (Omaha!) are less to confuse the defense than to adjust his play to what he sees on the other side of the ball.

The Broncos are solid. Sure, their secondary has been weak but Kubiak is working on it. Every other part of the team is rock steady. This team is ready to go head-to-head with the toughest competition the league can throw at them.

Lastly, and most importantly, there is no way Peyton can retire with only one ring. Eli has two. It’s just not right. This gross inequity can’t stand. I don’t see much danger in Eli adding to his two Super Bowl rings, so Peyton can level that score with a win.

I can’t wait to see him hoist the Lombardi trophy over his head.

I love football!

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.

Is This Peyton Manning’s Year?

DeflateGate Milestone Arrives Tomorrow