Despite a report from earlier this week that New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady had an 'a-plus performance' during the appeal hearing for his four-game suspension, meted out by the NFL in the wake of the Deflategate scandal and the findings of the Wells Report, it seems according to a more recent report that Brady may not have come off as Tom Terrific as was suggested.
"The appeal by Tom Brady against the NFL and the four-game suspension handed down by the league, is likely to continue unless there is movement from Brady's side on showing a willingness to settle this matter," Jason Cole of Bleacher Report said Thursday. "While the NFL has severe doubts about the science in the Ted Wells Report based on what was said on Tuesday, during the appeal and from other sources that have been critical of the report, the problem that the NFL still has is that they believe, from a common sense standard, if you look at the text messages that Ted Wells was able to get from the two people involved with the footballs, they believe that Brady was still involved somehow in the deflation of footballs."
The two people involved, of course, are team employees John Jastremski and Jim McNally and the text messages in question are the ones revealed in the Wells Report in which McNally referred to himself as "The Deflator" and Jastremski offered to get McNally free shoes for what the Patriots allege was no reason.
Common sense or not, it's certainly an interesting revelation that the league considers the science of the Well Report questionable, though that could be considered as much common sense as the text messages.
Still, per Cole, the league seems bound and determined to make sure that Brady serves some kind of suspension.
That being said, they are reportedly willing to reduce it if, and only if, Brady agrees not to file an injunction - a notion floated by ESPN's Adam Schefter as something Brady and the NFLPA were reportedly considering pursuing if the appeal hearing did not go well.
"And, ultimately, they want to make sure that some kind of suspension sticks," said Cole. "But they're only willing to move if Brady is willing to say that he's not going to pursue any further legal action.
"If Brady is willing to say, 'I won't go to court on this matter if you're willing to reduce the suspension,' the NFL might be moved to make some kind of reduction. Otherwise, look for Roger Goodell to uphold the four-game suspension."
