Tom Brady finally got what he deserved, but it won't hurt the Patriots
For those of you who forgot Deflategate was a thing that actually happened and somehow captivated America for a solid nine months in 2015, all those memories of PSI, Ted Wells and circuit-court judges came rushing back this afternoon when a U.S. Appeals Court overturned the decision of a federal judge who last year overturned the decision by an arbitrator, thus reinstating Tom Brady's four-game suspension. Basically, the court did what Judge Richard Berman should have done last year and got out of the way of the league's decision to suspend Brady. The quarterback deserves it and it's a rare case of sports justice finally coming around. But enough about that conversation. We've had it. You're either on one side or the other. There's no room for nuance.
What isn't up for debate is that this (hopeful) conclusion is yet another bizarre chapter in the case of the allegedly deflated footballs. It was odd last August when Brady's four-game suspension was overturned. It's even odder now that that overturning was overturned. But in the end, the result will be the same: The Patriots will miss their star. And though you'd think a suspension of the league's top player spanning one-quarter of the season would be a huge deal - in baseball, it'd be like keeping Bryce Harper out for 40 games - it won't be in this case. The suspension of Tom Brady won't deflate New England's season at all.
Here are three reasons why:
(Photo by Maddie Meyer/Getty Images)
1. The schedule is soft.
New England opens at Arizona (one of the two games they're likely to play as an underdog this season) and then plays three home games versus Miami, Houston and Buffalo, the middle of which is one of those weird Thursday night games where Houston has to come to Foxborough. The Patriots probably looked at that schedule last week and thought "3-1 will be just fine." Right now, they're looking at that schedule, with the knowledge that Jimmy Garoppolo will almost certainly play instead of Brady, and thinking "3-1 will be just fine."
2. The AFC East is softer
New England dominates their division because they're so good and the rest of the division is so mediocre/bad. Some of the latter has to do with the former, but only slightly. So, in a division such as the NFC East, NFC West, NFC North or AFC West - where you lose a few games, blink and all of a sudden it's the middle of October and you need to put together a 7-2 record to finish the season - New England could go 1-3 and still thrive after getting Brady back. His first games would be: @CLE, CIN, @PIT, @BUF, SEA, @SF, @NYJ @LA. There are five easy wins and three toss-ups. Worst case scenario is, let's say, 5-3. So even with a 1-3 start (which, again, we don't think will happen), that'll put New England at 6-6 with four games left. And if you think that won't put them in position to control their playoff destiny, especially with games against the Jets and Dolphins to close the year, then you're crazier than the fact that we're still talking talking about Deflategate 16 months after it happened.
(Photo by Darren McCollester/Getty Images)
3. It's Bill Belichick
While doing his horrible Boston accent from The Departed, the great Jack Nicholson, playing a sort of Whitey Bulger-esque mob boss/psychopath, quoted John Lennon. "I'm an artist, and if you give me a tuba, I'll bring you something out of it." (It's a real quote. A little weird because who wouldn't think John Lennon could get something out of a tuba? But I digress.) Anyway, Bill Belichick went 11-5 with Matt Cassel as his starter in the year of The Brady Injury (it's always capitalized in New England). If he can do that, Belichick can surely keep the team afloat to the tune of 2-2 without Tom Terrific. I mean, come on. He's an artist. In a hoodie. Who's sort of surly. But an artist nonetheless.
