I suppose as a football fan I should have an opinion.

I guess what makes me laugh at this the most is that there’s no story, and no real punishment, if Tom Brady simply says, “Yeah, I told them to make the footballs how I like them, like every QB does. I messed up and told them the wrong PSI. It’s totally my mistake. I apologize, and it won’t happen again.”

Poof.

It’d be discussed about a day or two, and Tom’s seen as an upright guy who was simply participating in a time-honored tradition of trying to get any advantage on the field.

If there’s a penalty, it’s no more than $25,000.

But no, he has to clam up, hide the relevant texts, and generally act like an arrogant jerk. That’s why he’s getting 4 games and the Patriots are losing picks.

Some people have said they would not give over their cell phone for everyone to prowl through. I agree with that. However,  what Wells asked for was to have them all sit in a room, Wells to ask questions, and for Tom and his representatives to look through the texts for anything relevant. This is not a case of giving over everything on his phone.

I also saw Tom Brady’s response at the Salem St. speaking tour just after the Wells report. I think I speak for every non-Patriots fan in saying that he came across as arrogant. I suspect even a percentage of Patriots fans felt the same way.

On the heels of all sorts of other times the Patriots have skirted the rules, I’m not surprised that the NFL decided to hit them hard.