Scott Zolak Weighs In On Tom Brady Decision: 'Pretty Shocked By It'
BOSTON (CBS) -- DeflateGate may be more-or-less over, but Tom Brady still needs to sit out four games. Four games that will sting.
It will especially hurt for 98.5 The Sports Hub host and Patriots color commentator Scott Zolak, who made an impromptu call into the Zolak & Bertrand program on what was supposed to be a day off for him. Zolak got a text from someone in Brady's camp who told him to check the quarterback's Facebook page, where he announced that he would give up his legal battle in DeflateGate. Besides being "pretty shocked by it," Zolak ultimately believed it was the right decision for Brady to make for the sake of the Patriots as a football team.
"I really thought they were going to take this thing to the wall, based on what Tom said last year," said Zolak. "At some point, you've got to be able to play football ... and [consider] how difficult camp was going to be on [head coach Bill] Belichick as far as balancing reps.
"You've got to get one guy ready, and it's hard to do that when there's that uncertainty hanging over your head."
SEE ALSO: Kraft: Patriots 'Will Continue To Unequivocally Support' Tom Brady
Zolak added that while things will have a "piss and vinegar" feel to it during the entirety of Patriots training camp, the team will have to spend a month with Brady completely away from Gillette Stadium. His suspension doesn't just mean he can't play; he can't have any contact with the team whatsoever.
"It's going to be hard on him to get away from [Gillette] for an entire month," he said. "It's not like you go in, hang out, and have the ability to throw to guys and have that timing down."
SEE ALSO: The End Of DeflateGate: Tom Brady's Loss Minor Compared To Commissioner's Ultimate Victory
Finally, and ominously, Zolak commented on NFL commissioner Roger Goodell and the now-definitively unchecked powers granted to him in the Collective Bargaining Agreement between the league and Players Association. Whether or not you believe Brady is innocent or guilty, it's hard to deny that the league railroaded one of their greatest all-time players in the process of their punishment.
"If Goodell could think he can hand this kind of punishment down to Brady, what's going to happen the next really bad thing that happens with the next guy that goes off the rails?" he asked.
Those words should ring loudly in the fans of the 31 other NFL teams. If Goodell can do what he just did to one of his league's very best players, he will not hesitate to come for a pound of flesh from your own team.
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