Yesterday, Patriots owner Robert Kraft spoke at the NFL Owners meetings and revealed that he had sent a letter to Commissioner Roger Goodell requesting to have the Patriots draft picks restored.

That’s all well and good. A little passive for the masses, but at least it was something.

Then he had to say Putting personal situations aside, I think he’s done a very good job. He’s worked hard. The health of the league has not been better.

Ugh.

Kraft was highly criticized here in New England yesterday for that statement. Rightly so.

The Kansas City Chiefs are appealing their team punishment for tampering. Robert Kraft never appealed his team’s punishment. It’s a black mark on his otherwise outstanding ownership tenure of the New England Patriots. When his team needed him to take a stand and flex the muscles he’s supposedly earned as an influential owner, he decided to shrink back and not fight his “business partners” – who ironically, are all using this incident as an opportunity to stick it to his franchise for the success its had at their expense.

As a Patriots fan it is enraging.

I do hope the letter eventually finds its way to the Wells Report in Context site, so all can see the argument put forth to Goodell.

I’ve been working on a long-form piece on this whole case, which, along with work has really taken me away from here. I hope to have it done before the Federal Court reinstates the four game suspension on Tom Brady, but no promises.

In media news:

Evan Drellich joins Boston Herald to cover Red Sox – Coming back from Houston, where he had been covering the Astros, Drellich returns to the Red Sox beat. He had been at MassLive.com prior to going to Houston. Drellich replaces Scott Lauber, who moved to ESPN Boston to replace Gordon Edes who took a job with the Red Sox.

Tough day for microphones and recorders at Bill Belichick’s table – Aw, that’s too bad.

Published by Bruce Allen

Automattician.

36 thoughts on “Robert Kraft’s Support For Goodell Continues To Anger”

    1. I posted about this in the last thread. Felger is such a tool. A pure troll, and nothing more. I like how people who can see, clearly, based on the actual facts, that this entire thing was a made up/set up from the get-go, are nothing more than “Patriots apologists.” Interesting that Felger ignores the content of the ONE text that actually discusses PSI after the prime time Jets game, when one of the Dorito Dinks says, “….Tom was right, the balls were at 16 PSI; they should be at 13.” In other words, he was saying “they should be less inflated, but still within the legal limit.” Funny how THAT text message somehow never gets mentioned.

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  2. Felger isn’t an obnoxious tool and little,Tony is like a head nodding marionette repeatedly saying “you’re right Mike ”
    At least, that is how it was before I gave up,on them.

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  3. Hi – first time, long time…. enjoy the site.

    About RK, I’m exceedingly pissed off at this whole thing, but I understand he’s got a tough line to walk and I’m not sure he wasn’t threatened with being voted out of the league if he went too far with stuff. I don’t put it past the other 31 to be able to come up with 24 slavering owners just dying to put an end to the Kraft regime right now. If it was me, and my billion dollar+ baby was on the block, I’d definitely think about swallowing hard and moving on, doing whatever I could to field a team that would STILL kick everyone’s ass.

    And I love how the headline on the Felger piece references ‘seeing the light’. AS IF those tooolbags were somehow the keepers of the light and the truth. Good God.

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  4. Edit to the “poll”. They have many more listeners than the next sports talk radio show. They drive revenue, they play people like you. You talk about them, cut and paste about them, follow them on Twitter. Ever hear of self fulfilling prophecy?

    Sometimes this site is like the “Whiner Line”.

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  5. It’ll never happen because the show is currently way too successful, but I wish 98.5 would dump Masseroti and replace him with a host that occasionally challenged Felger’s points of view. Wouldn’t an old fashioned intelligent back-and-forth be more enjoyable than this crap? The parroting from Masseroti is useless. It never drives conversation. Instead it just rubber stamps the agenda of the program and makes answering Bruce’s poll question obvious. They start each day looking to entertain audiences to drive ratings, and that is usually done by being a burr under the saddle of listeners. It’s impossible for two supposed sports media personalities to be on the air for four hours each day without disagreement unless they went into the show with a canned point of view. It also doesn’t help that Felger’s is such an alpha and Tony knows nothing outside of baseball. On the rare occasion he slips and forgets their narrative of the day and decides to take a brief dissenting point of view, Tony immediately gets put in his place by Felger and is a shrinking violet.

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  6. Bruce:

    You know I love you buddy (like a man loves the state of Connecticut…holy crap are you old if you get that obscure reference)…however your click bait poll is worse than what F&M do. The brilliance of F&M and why they continue to be popular is three fold:

    1) They troll Pats fans. Plain and simple. They figured out years ago that running a pro Pats/ pro Belichick show would not generate ratings as it would be hard to do day in and day out when all you say is…they are great. They also figured out that the callers will act as the counter to any trolling so in order to be successful they would have to agree as a team so it looks like more than one person has reached the same conclusion from whatever evidence and/or be the Devil’s advocate. For years I thought Felger was a moron on football. Only recently after talking to some people in the know did the light go on and did I realize why they do it. Further, for it to work they have to keep Kayfabe always. That means having a public feud with Matt Light over Deflategate where they sound like morons…then so be it. It works for the greater good of ratings and as a counter to WEEI who clearly is not in on the joke.

    2) They are not trolling Sox fans. Instead they are critical of Sox ownership and players when it is appropriate and they are supportive when it is needed. This is markedly different than the coverage the team gets from the Globe but not so different than WEEI’s coverage. It works for them as a foil to the Pats trolling and gives them “credibility” in fans eyes in that they can be thoughtful, honest and correct. If that is the case with the Sox then maybe there is something to it with the Pats.

    3) They cover the Bruins pretty straight up and although Felger hates the Celts they make an effort to cover them. They know that they have to pick and choose their hoops and hockey chat spots carefully and have been pretty insightful as to when to pick those spots over the years. They rode the Bruins crest correctly and seem to be doing the right amount of Celtics coverage lately.

    One final thing to sum up. Both Mazz and Felger were quite good when they covered their respective teams as beat writers. As much as I and others have pointed out dumb things they have said over the years neither is an idiot…certainly not like Andy Gresh, Tim Benz, Mike Salk, Mike Holley, Mark Bertrand, Mike Adams or Scott Zolak. They rule Boston radio because they know exactly how to drive conversation. All that and they do it with the right amount of humor and self deprecation. They are not going anywhere for a long time.

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    1. great post LTD, you are one of the few on here who get it and contribute original and insightful comments/thoughts.

      +1

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      1. I get it. Trust me, I get it. I know their schtick is all about garnering ratings. That doesn’t mean I have to like it or approve of it. With that said, I long ago gave up on the notion that measured, intelligent, well-thought-out and fact-based conversations could ever be a feature of a highly rated sports radio talk show. So, it is what it is. I accept it….just don’t like it, nor do I patronize them. However, when it comes to Deflategate, I think F&M have jumped the shark. Yes, they’re getting ratings, but they’re getting ratings by completely ignoring all the credible evidence that points to the Patriots and Brady being 100% innocent, and the NFL being 100% corrupt and dishonest. That, to me, is unacceptable. But, yes, I do get it. They’re making bank because they’re pulling in the highest ratings, and they’re pulling in the highest ratings because they know how to generate loyal followers — an audience that includes people who like what they do, and hate what they do, with equal weight.

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        1. Tony…you know I love you brother…but you don’t get it. They are generating their ratings because they take the correct positions, depending on the sport, they generate conversation and keep listeners. They do it all with self deprecation and introspection. What is fascinating about F&M is that they change their approach based not the subject. For the Pats they play spoiler, for the Sox they play critic, for the Bruins they alternate between cheerleader and analyst and for the Celts they alternate between fan, observer and at times disinterested lover.

          Their goal was to depose the Big Show and expose it for the “corporate” shill it had become. They accomplished that inside of 18 months…never to look back. Dale and Holley as long as it has to have Mike Holley has no shot. Which is a shame because Dale proves time and again he can generate the thoughtful conversation on any topic at any time.

          On Deflategate…my criticism with F&M is not that they are stuck in an undependable position. It is that they have not figured out how to evolve their position to a point where it is still interesting enough to argue against.

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          1. I understand what you’re saying, and I know you’ve got it right. I just think they’ve really gone too far with this Deflategate trolling. The evidence is clear. It could not be more clear, at this point. The NFL is lying and has lied multiple times about multiple subjects since this entire nonsensical saga began; and, Brady/the Patriots are telling the truth, and have told the truth all along. I think that’s what bothers me the most about F&M’s schtick: they seemingly never can admit when they’re wrong. I think if they did that once in a while, guys who don’t like them and who would never even think about giving them a listen would possibly reconsider. I will say this, though, I appreciate that they talk Bruins. Prior to their arrival on the scene, Dale Arnold — a paid employee of Jeremy Jacobs who pretty much never criticized the team — was the only guy talking hockey on the radio in this town. I know the Big, Bad Bruins days are long over, and that the team has slipped from #1 (in the early 70s) to #4 out of 4 among the local fandom; but, they still have a rabid, devoted following and they deserve at least a little airtime. I’m appreciate that F&M give it to them.

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          2. I’d say with absolute certainty that anyone who listens to Tony Mazz and buys in the the claim he’s an “expert” on baseball/the redsox or any other sport, has to either be an idiot or a die-hard lackey. Over several year that I hung on as a listener it was clear to me the guy was blatantly shallow on both the Red Sox organization and the MLB. He is about as fluent as the average caller – not very. Felger on the other hand started out ok, especially when discussing the Pats and the NFL it was clear he knew enough to be dangerous at least. But the schtick – I guess it’s what you call trolling – just got extremely tiresome, to the point where I won’t even check it out any longer. The show seems totally dumbed down to it’s lowest common denominator (Mazz). It seems Felger has outsmarted himself with the trolling bits – its basically Sports Radio meets the WWF. To me anyway, what’s the point of listening to an opinion that is merely contrived to elicit a response from callers? It’s really sad that afternoon drive time is the worst time of day for sports talk.

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      2. Thank you for the nice compliment Vote for Pedro but I am just one of many here who contribute lots of good content. This is one of the better message sports message boards anywhere. I gladly read BSMfan, DaveR, Tony C and a host of others I am not going to list over many “professional” pundits. In my defense it is why I jumped so hard on CM Parent last week in the CM/NN controversy. I think our community is more evolved than normal message board zingers and one liners. I find it interesting to explore topics fully and as such I want others to defend positions fully so I can learn. So if you are contributing content…be prepared to defend it with facts and reasoned arguments…not feelings. I expect people here to read people’s comments thoroughly and try to understand before they respond. Its what makes this board better than most if not all others.

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    2. I think you are right about Felger’s act, but this explanation kinda reminds me of the “Belichick is a jerk to the media” argument. I don’t care that Belichick didn’t make small talk with Nick Cafardo just as I don’t care that//if Felger is some brilliant radio showman. The end product of the F&M show is, to me, un-listenable. Don’t listen you say? I don’t, but that doesn’t mean that, as a sports fan, i can completely ignore. The F&M drives much of the region’s sports conversation, so I will hear all about their takes from family, friends and colleagues who don’t realize (or care) that they are getting trolled.
      I understand why Felger does what he does, but that doesn’t mean I have to like it.

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  7. All this talk about Adam LaRoche taking his son to work has me befuddled. Why aren’t the talking heads angry at Bill Belichick who takes two of his sons to work regularly…although truth be told he would rather go to work with his daughter…at least in the offseason!

    Sometimes sports talk should be taken to its illogical extreme because it is funny.

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  8. On a semi-related note, Goodell just announced (no surprise) that the Patriots aren’t getting their stolen draft picks back, because Kraft’s letter “did not include any new information.” Right, Roger, it just included the truth, and scientific facts, which, as you and your owner overlords have made perfectly clear, simply do not matter in this case. The only thing that matters is “getting” the Patriots. I’m a homer, but I’m also a realistic homer. I realize 16-0 just doesn’t happen, and the one time it did happen, the pressure to finish the job apparently became too great and the team was unable to focus enough to even practice effectively during the two weeks leading up to SB 42. With that said, nothing would please me more than shoving a big, fat 19-0 in the faces of the entire petty, jealous gaggle of jackasses who make up “the other 31” as well as the lickspittle propagandists in the NFL media complex (ESPN especially), while also forcing the corrupt, lying Ginger Jerkweed to stand up at the podium in Houston next February and hand Kraft/BB another Lombardi, as a chorus of boos rain down on him from the Patriots-fan contingent in the stadium.

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  9. It’s refreshing to see and read actual dialogue and not some Twitter screen capture cut & paste attempting to hijack a thread.

    Kudos LTD & TC

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  10. I wanted to jump in on the Felger & Mazz conversation but you can’t go past 5 comments or some stupid shit. Christ this new comment format SUCKS. I’m out….been coming to the site for years and I’ll still follow Bruce on Twitter but the change to the site frickin blows. It’s not worth the aggravation.

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  11. I assume you folks have heard by now about this Chris Russo “story” regarding some owners saying Deflategate was all about nailing Kraft, and that they didn’t even want Brady suspended. I’m not sure what to think about this, since Russo was one of the original, steadfast Deflategate Flat-Earther’s out there (“he called himself The Deflator!!”). However, if there’s even a kernel of truth to that story, then it’s time for the NFL to be taken to court, by somebody. They’re basically admitting (again, if the story is true) that this entire thing was made up; a Ponzi scheme to screw the Patriots and their owner, who apparently is not nearly as well liked by the other 31 as he thinks he is. I really can’t believe this. I mean, what the hell? These guys may be spoiled billionaires, but they’re also grown men. This isn’t high school. This should make even the biggest Patriot hater out there sick to his (or her) stomach……but, we all know it won’t. People like that are probably still wondering why BB wasn’t permanently banned from the league after the much-ado-about-nothing “Spygate” thing (I refuse to call it a scandal, since that would imply that it was actually a legitimate “scandal”).

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    1. Russo just more-or-less confirmed what others have said. Essentially, it didn’t matter if anyone deflated footballs or not – this was a chance to get back at Kraft for being successful and (I guess) not being as humble about it as others would like. Oh, and until recently, he was the teacher’s pet, so there’s that. The Brady thing was a bonus to them. And I think it was Boomer Esiason who said that the NFL ownership was full of people consumed with envy and petty jealousies and went on to say that no action from them would surprise him. So yeah, I think those guys are perfectly capable of behaving like 3rd graders.

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    2. Listened to the whole podcast and Russo is still a ‘flat-earther’. When they eventually get to deflategate, Russo starts everything by saying that the Patriots are proven cheaters and don’t deserve the benefit of the doubt here, to which Minihane replied that (Spygate) has nothing to do with deflategate. Russo responded that it was Brady who was looking at the walkthrough tapes, so….. I had to pause and catch my breath on that. I guess I shouldn’t be surprised anymore, but the idea that a sports guy wouldn’t know that no walkthroughs were ever taped is still just kind of amazing to me. I guess I should just accept that perception IS reality and there’s no way the Pats will ever be able to shake that whole ‘taping practices’ bullshit.

      John Tomase did his job too well. I hear him every once in a while on Saturday afternoons and inevitably a caller gets through that tries to take him to task for that walkthrough report. First, his co-host (Stearns, Gasper…) will come to his defense and then Tomase will go on about how he deeply regrets the story and he thinks about it every day… Frankly, that’s not enough. I feel like a 500 city whistle-stop tour of the entire United States proclaiming that he Pats are innocent and there was no walkthrough tape would hardly make a dent in people’s perceptions. But it would be a start.

      And Russo…. I don’t know – he says he talked to 9 owners who all told him the same thing; that they wanted to stick it to Kraft, but not necessarily Brady. Um, I kind of don’t believe the guy. I feel like he might have heard most of this 2nd or 3rd hand and he’s now trying to pass it off as something more than it was.

      Just one detail about the walkthrough. The Rams were working on red zone offense in that walkthrough, so there’s no way Brady would have been watching it anyway. Just sayin’.

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      1. What would have helped make the deflategate story die would have been the Herald loudly and emphatically firing him and then blackballing him from any journalism job anywhere ever. Because they didn’t, and because they just reassigned him to the Sox beat…the Herald by their actions gave Tomase credibility…which he did not, does not and never will deserve. Its the part of this story that still goes up my ass sideways. I can’t stand when other sports media people say things like…”Tomase is a good guy”, “He made a mistake but it should not define his career”, ” He does great work on the Sox beat and the Patriots stuff was a long time ago”. To which I always say…how do we know he is not making crap up now (I guess you would have to read his byline to know…something I will never do). People who defend him need to go because their judgement sucks as well.

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      2. I didn’t listen to the podcast, but I’m going to guess that Minihane didn’t correct Russo about the walkthrough story. If that was the case, that’s one of the problems with the on-air arm of the Boston sports media: They have on out of town guests and, when these guest make incorrect statements (like the walkthrough story), they don’t correct them.

        I don’t believe it’s an etiquette thing, either. If Mininane appeared on Russo’s show and said something to the effect that it Bonds’ PED use was common knowledge in the SF Giants clubhouse and management approved of it, Russo wouldn’t let that slide.

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    1. Meanwhile, Kevin Turner died of ALS today. He was 46. It’s like he gave the NFL one last middle finger by dying today, right after the NYT story came out. Heckuva player and a good guy. I’m sure the Pats will do something to honor him next year (they definitely should).

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  14. I have no idea how I missed this but two weeks ago NFL Films released a 3 minute video of the Pats getting their 2015 Rings. The ceremony took place at Kraft’s estate in Newton (at least I think it was there). In any event…at the 1:30 mark or there about Tom Brady is totally feeling up Bob Kraft. It was kind of weird and icky at the same time. Who knew…well fans of other teams have always claimed Brady was a bit too European (Its a Legally Blond – the Musical reference…my daughter was in a production of it last year) for them…now they have proof.

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  15. Like

  16. Why would Robert Kraft praise Goodell’s performance as commissioner aside from the issue of player/team discipline? Because he’s currently trying to sell the rest of the owners on making a deal with the NFLPA to reduce the commissioner’s autonomy on matters of discipline that would entail the NFL dropping their appeals vs Brady and Adrian Peterson. He needs to credibly maintain the position that he’s not just trying to help Brady and get revenge on Goodell, but that it really is worth diminishing the disciplinary power of the commissioner’s office going forward to maintain peace with the Union.

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  17. The theory of self-fulfilling prophecies doesn’t cut it here, I dont listen to F&M any longer and am not ever inclined to tune in – even on breaking news days. Its pure nonsense. I do have a question about something I heard on F&M the last time I tuned in. Maybe 6 months ago Felger announced a “list of the top Boston Sports Radio Personalities”. Does anyone remember this? Was it legit? Whatever kind of BS it was, there was high comedy when Felger announced Tony Mazz as #1. Tony was absolutely giddy; he giggled and guffawed like a 7 year-old who had just gotten his birthday wish! If anyone remembers this, I’m just curious where such a list was generated and what kind of people – if its true – would make this guy #1. Wonderful country….

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