Wednesday, August 12, 2015

Deflategate & Other Wrongly Enforced Policies

"The Ball shall be made up of an inflated (12 1/2 to 13 1/2 pounds) urethane... The referee shall be the sole judge as to whether all balls offered comply with these specifications. A pump is to be furnished by the home club, and the balls shall remain under the supervision of the referee until they are delivered just prior to the start of the game." "Each team will make 12 primary balls available for testing by the referee 2 hours and 15 minutes prior to the starting time of the game to meet league requirements." - NFL Rule Book

The NFL has upheld Tom Brady's 4 Game Suspension and now we as Americans, as football fans, as people, must ask ourselves three questions about the ruling:

Is it consistent with the penalties Roger Goodell has handed down in the past?
Is it consistent with the protocol used to convict players of violating league rules?
Is it consistent with the Collective Bargaining Agreement with the NFLPA?


Sports Equivalents

       
         NFL: 4 Games
         MLS: 6.25 Games
         NBA: 20.5 Games
         MLB: 40.5 Games


Ted Wells Report 


The Ted Wells Report concluded, "We do not believe there was any wrongdoing or knowledge of wrongdoing by Patriots ownership, Patriots Head Coach Bill Belichick, or any other Patriots coach in the matters investigated." Per Yahoo Sports.
         - Despite this, the Patriots as an organization received a $1 Million fine and lost 2 NFL Draft Picks.

"Patriots provided substantial cooperation throughout the investigation." They did 4 interviews with McNally, the employee accused of deflating the footballs, but he denied requests of a 5th interview. They interviewed Brady, but he did not provide investigators with his cell phone. - Page 23, Wells Report.
         - In the media, Brady and the rest of the organization have been portrayed as unwilling participants in the investigation, but according to the Wells' report this was not the case.

"The Commissioner's Powers under  this section  include imposition of monetary fines and draft choice forfeitures, suspension of persons involved, and, if appropriate, the reversal of a game's result of the rescheduling of a game, either from the beginning or from the point at which the extraordinary act occurred." - NFL Rule Book, Unfair Acts Section.
         - This policy leaves a wide range of punishments for the Commissioner to choose from, and he seems to have chose a different penalty for each tampering situation.


     Other Tampering Situations


 Chargers tampered with balls and were fined $20,000
 Vikings tampered and were told that it is frowned upon in the league.


Selected Suspensions of Significance

       
        Goodell suspended Ray Rice 2 games for domestic violence, and later raised it to indefinite suspension after video as released. Rice was found not guilty in court.
        Greg Hardy was convicted of domestic assault and suspended 10 games, which was later reduced to 4 after an appeal.
        Josh Brent was suspended 10 games for a DUI Manslaughter which resulted in the death of a Cowboy Teammate,


Conclusion 


Goodell has never shown the ability to rule consistently, especially over the past few years. A commissioner who has put a premium on improving the NFL's off-field reputation has seen exponential growth in negative exposure of players in terms of domestic violence cases, DUIs, substance abuse, and PED offenses. There is no real consistency between suspension rulings, with severity reaching levels of arbitrariness that are unprecedented.

Beyond that, Executive Director of the NFL Player's Association, DeMaurice Smith, was quoted saying, "The guidelines Troy Vincent used to impose the discipline rule [On Brady] was under a competition rule that applies to clubs."In essence, the NFL justified Tom Brady's suspension using a rule that is not meant to be applied to individual players.

To top it all off, the Ted Wells Report cited that it is, "More probable than not that the player was generally aware' of someone else's conduct".  This does not seem to meet the standard of proof of preponderance of evidence that is required to suspend a player for a quarter of his season.
          

Friday, January 9, 2015

NFL Divisional Round Playoff Preview

Manning (right) faces his old team once again this Sunday.


Reseeding: Necessary, Proper, or Neither?


    Recently, much talk has been circulating about restructuring the NFL Playoff System, because this year's NFC South winner had a winning percentage under .500. The Carolina Panther's record of 7-8-1 defies logic as they made the playoffs over multiple teams with better records: The 10-6 Eagles and 8-8 49ers in the NFC; The 9-7 Bills, Texans, Chiefs, and Chargers, and the 8-8 Dolphins in the AFC. However, what these doubters fail to realize, is that the NFL is divided into a smaller governing bodies just as is every other professional league in the US, and as is the American Government.

     The NFL, or federal government, is the overarching governing body of the entire league. The leader of the NFL, Roger Goodell, is akin to the President of the United States, as he has the ability to pass or veto rules. The NFL is divided into 2 Conferences, or states, if you will. Each State is afforded the right to send 1 representative to the Super Bowl each year. Within each conference are 4 divisions: North, South, East, and West, which serve as local governments that have the right to send at least 1 representative to the playoffs each year.

     This is determined by playing divisional opponents 6 times per year, in addition to playing each team in a select NFC Division, 1 team each from the remaining 2 NFC Divisions, and each team in a select AFC Division, resulting in a total of 16 games. Additionally, 2 teams from each conference are chosen regardless of division based on their regular season record.

     In order to maintain an equal balance of power, preserve the purpose of conferences and divisions, and foster division rivalry, it is of the utmost importance to keep the current model of NFL Playoff Selection. Classic Rivalries: Packers-Bears, Cowboys-Redskins, Steelers-Raven, are kept alive by battling against each other to secure spots in the playoffs.

And now, on to the games:

Baltimore Ravens at New England Patriots 


     These two teams will face each other in the playoffs for the 4th time in the past 6 years, with the Ravens currently holding the edge 2-1. In the past, the Ravens have dominated the Patriots in the playoffs by dominating up front, running the football up the gut, and playing great on 3rd down. However, the situation is different this year, as there is no more Ray Rice, and although playing well as of late, the Ravens defense lacks the star power of old, and has a secondary that has been devastated by injuries. The Patriots have continued to retool their team as the years wear on, and they are once again atop the league. Tom Brady proved over the past 12 weeks that he is still one of the greatest in the game, and the Ravens have nobody to stop Rob Gronkowski. Patriots will win again.

Carolina Panthers at Seattle Seahawks 


     The Panthers were a source of much controversy coming into their game last week, as many thought the Cardinals were much more deserving of a home game, because they finished 3.5 games ahead of the Panthers. However, that is neither here nor there, as the NFL Playoffs are about the now, and right now the Panthers are on a 5 game winning streak. The Seahawks finished the season remarkably strong after going through a rough stretch in the middle of the year and look to continue their quest for the first Super Bowl Repeat in 10 years. I expect Marshawn Lynch a.k.a"Beast Mode" to make something amazing happen, but although the Seahawks will win, the Panthers will keep it close. Seahawks take this one.

Dallas Cowboys at Green Bay Packers 


     The Cowboys are lucky to still be alive in the playoffs after a boneheaded mistake by the referees lead to a 4th Quarter Comeback for Romo & Company. They head to the "Frozen Tundra" of Lambeau Field to face a Packer team led by MVP Candidate Aaron Rodgers. All is not what it seems however, as the Cowboys come into this game with an 8-0 record on the road, including a win at Seattle, their only home loss of the season. In addition to that, Rodgers has been diagnosed with a tear in his calf muscle suffered in their win versus Detroit in Week 17. That, plus the Packers weak rushing defense, is a recipe for disaster. The Big Three in the Big D will put up huge numbers on Sunday. Cowboys with their 9th road victory of the season.

Indianapolis Colts at Denver Broncos (- 7)


     The match-up we have all been waiting for: Luck vs Manning. 13 seasons in Indianapolis left Peyton with 1 Super Bowl ring and a ton of heartache, and his career in Denver is shaping up to be very similar, minus the ring. Luck, on the other hand, is only 25 and his career is just beginning to blossom into a beautiful masterpiece. A win over Indianapolis' former hero would solidify him as the second coming. The Broncos lost a lot of steam in the last month of the season, but there is the off-chance that a bye week gave them a chance to tighten up. Demaryius Thomas, Emmanuel Sanders, and CJ Anderson will not go down without a fight, but neither will Chuck Pagano and his Cardiac Colts. Indianapolis with the upset victory.