NFC Team Executive: 'I Hate The Patriots ... But They Really Should Get Those Picks Back'
By Michael Hurley, CBS Boston
BOSTON (CBS) -- Roger Goodell has done the impossible.
He has made NFL teams feel sympathy for the New England Patriots.
Well, OK, not quite sympathy, per se. But teams around the league have monitored the never-ending DeflateGate saga closely, and many of them have seen their opinions change over the past year-plus.
In fact, Bleacher Report's Mike Freeman talked to 10 executives around the NFL and found that even those who stood steadfastly against the Patriots and in support of Goodell are now finding themselves worried about the commissioner's power.
"I hate the Patriots," one unnamed NFC team executive told Freeman. "I despise them. But they really should get those picks back."
An unnamed general manager told Freeman: "The Patriots aren't victims, but they are a cautionary tale for the rest of the league. They're a reminder the commissioner can do whatever he wants, and there isn't a damn thing any team can do about it."
An unnamed general manager thought the Ideal Gas Law as an explanation for the drop in air pressure was pure poppycock, but now: "I dismissed this when I first heard about it, and then I read up on it and thought, 'There's something to this.'"
Freeman also explained how the false information that was leaked out of the NFL office (aka 11 out of 12 footballs being a full 2 PSI under the limit) angered many members of many teams. Freeman wrote: "Even the most hardened Patriots haters inside team offices despised this manipulation. It cannot be stated enough, team officials say, how angry some teams were that steps were taken to basically frame a franchise."
It's interesting, the Patriots gaining some ground in the land of public opinion after getting decimated in the Second Circuit court. It won't help Tom Brady, Bill Belichick, Robert Kraft or the Patriots much in this case. But it is fasctinating that as soon as a high court handed Goodell the ultimate power, other executives around the league might be seeking to limit the commisioner's disciplinary power soon, before their own teams end up getting similarly railroaded.
