Quote:Just because a cop doesn't sit in a car with you every time you drive doesn't mean the police aren't enforcing the rules.

 

The team's are accountable to behave in a responsible manner. If they require babysitting, then they don't belong in the game.

 

This isn't a criminal court. The league just needs enough evidence to show opportunity to go along with motivation and the end results of discovering the deflated balls. The league obviously thought the film evidence was damning enough to release that bit of info to the public.

 

It's no longer a matter of if the league will punish them, but rather to what extent.

I'm not absolving the Patriots from any impropriety that might have happened.  But when it comes to procedures, there are different levels of protection depending on how important the issue is.  Just because it's illegal to rob a Brinks truck, doesn't mean they're going to slap a Brinks sticker on the side of a minivan and transport cash in that manner.  This issue wasn't as important as it should have been to the league if they are handing the balls back to the teams unsupervised after the official weigh in.  Questioning the league policy doesn't equate to absolving the Patriots of wrong doing.  I'll wait to see the video before I label it the smoking gun.

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