Quote:No,, rule breaking is rule breaking, but the punishment should have to fit the crime. In this instance,, I don't believe the punishment set forth by NFL rules is near as bad as some would like to see.

As for the trophy,, I'm pretty sure the NFL watched the Pats footballs very closely in the Superbowl, as Deflate-gate was the major story the weeks prior to the game. Brady still went out and threw 4 TD and a bunch of yards against one of the best secondaries the NFL has ever seen.

The AFC CHAMPIONSHIP game in the 2nd half (when supposedly the footballs were correct), the Pats scored most of their points and we're practically unstoppable with regulation balls.

I don't think the outcomes of those games would've been any different.

I've heard the argument of fumbling statistics over the past few years (a very valid argument).

However, I've also heard the valid other side of that: over that span of time, the best franchises have much fewer turnovers than the worst franchises of that time span (Raiders, Browns, Jags, Bucs, etc.)

The Pats should and will likely be punished. I just believe it will be fairly light, whatever the discipline is supposed to be already set by the NFL.