2014 Official NFL Thread
- Thread starter lgna69xxx
- Start date
Geeeeeez Joe, we all know you're welsher but aren't you being a little hard on yourself. Ummmmmmm, considering all you did to Anon I think you're right after all.
I'd ask if you would take that bet taking a week off when you are wrong (I know I wouldn't lose) but look who I'm talking to.
Tanguay: No chance Brady vs. Goodell isn't headed to court
By Gary Tanguay
http://www.csnne.com/new-england-patriots/no-chance-tom-brady-vs-roger-goodell-isnt-headed-to-court
Get ready for one heck of a battle, and I'm not talking about on the field. Brady vs. Goodell in Deflategate is going to court. There's no doubt in my mind.
ABC News reported that the NFLPA is taking the NFL to court if Brady’s suspension isn't lifted completely. The sources even say that if the suspension is completely vacated and Brady is only fined, he still may file suit.
WHAT?
Brady would actually consider going to court over a fine, as opposed to thanking his lucky stars?
This illustrates the mentality of the NFLPA and Brady’s camp. They're all in.
It had been reported that Goodell wanted an assurance that Brady wouldn't sue the league if the four-game suspension was reduced. Obviously, Goodell has received no such guarantee.
As matter of fact, I think the NFLPA knows what Goodell’s decision is going to be, and went on the offensive through ABC News.
There's no chance Brady and the NFLPA are on different pages. The union can say it's driving this bus, but Jeffrey Kessler, Brady’s attorney, is firmly planted behind the wheel with his foot on the floor. The NFLPA doesn't leak this to ABC News without knowing that Brady is going to the wall. Furthermore, they don’t pursue a court case unless the Brady is fully invested in his cause.
So -- unless the unthinkable happens and Goodell completely drops all punishment -- we appear to be headed to court.
Who wins?
No one knows. If some loudmouth claims to, he or she is full of . . . air.
Tom Brady doesn't have as strong a case as Adrian Pederson, Ray Rice and Greg Hardy. Certainly, their crimes of domestic abuse dwarf letting air out of a bunch of footballs, but, legally, Brady has a tougher argument to make.
In the family violence cases, the NFL changed the rules after the crimes were committed; an obvious violation of the Collective Bargaining Agreement.
According to the ABC report, Brady will argue the following:
-- The PSI rules were meant for club personnel, not players.
-- The “general awareness” term in the Wells Report is not convincing.
-- The NFL does not have proper standards and techniques for measuring the PSI in footballs.
-- Goodell should have recused himself from the appeal, seeing as how he'd made the original ruling.
In my humble opinion -- and I'm not a lawyer -- the best leg for the Brady camp to stand on his number three: The NFL doesn't have proper standards and techniques for measuring footballs.
Frankly, it all may come down to the type of judge selected to hear the case. A pro-labor Tom Brady fan will side with Brady. The NFL will win with a pro-business Patriot hater on the bench.
No guarantees who wins. But I do guarantee this mess isn't going away, and is headed straight for court.
As I've been predicting. Patriots fans will be disappointed if Brady takes even a 1 game suspension.
The TRUTH ABOUT DEFLATEGATE
GOBRADYGO
Merlot
PS
Let me make something clear before this phony "arbitration" decision comes down. IF Brady had told anyone to take air out of footballs...IF there was video of Brady doing it himself...the rules say it would still be a $25,000 fine per ball just like for Aaron Rodgers who said he tells his guys to over inflate the ball . Maybe tact on a hefty $250,000 extra just for a lesson.
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There's a bit of a Cinderella Story brewing for Andrew Franks, a rookie out of all places, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. RPI is so small that its name is longer than its roster...LOL
Andy Abramson's story echos the current feeling of the Bleacher Report, and the feeling is that he's going to beat out Miami's currently worthless kicker Caleb Sturgis. Long story short Franks has got a very powerful leg, if a bit untrained. He can consistently kick touchbacks on kickoffs and his power range is well into the 50's on field goals. Franks completion ratio is not far behind Sturgis', but at 78.4% that's not saying much. Here's how the Palm Beach Post put it:
"If you’ve never heard of Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute you’re not alone.
It’s a tech school in Troy, N.Y., with 5,557 undergraduate students.
Andrew Franks was one of those undergrads last year. And after four years as the starting kicker for the Division-III (fittingly named) Engineers, Franks is now competing for the Dolphins job as an undrafted rookie.
And with Caleb Sturgis sidelined by a quad injury that will keep him out until at least training camp in late July, Franks has a real opportunity to state his case.
“He’s one of those guys that could’ve played Division-I but chose to go to RPI because of the engineering program,” Dolphins special teams coach Darren Rizzi said. “It enabled him to be a four-year starter where he was.
“We laugh about it. The goal posts are the same size, the same height. Certainly the pressure’s different. The atmosphere’s different. But he’s a talented player and he could’ve definitely kicked at a higher level.”
Franks missed a couple of field goals in today’s practice, including a 44-yarder and 49-yarder. But he also nailed a 54-yarder that Rizzi said “hit the building.”
“He has to get a little more consistent obviously,” Rizzi said. “This is his first time out. I really like where he is talent wise.”
Even before the injury, Sturgis was on the hot seat. Last year, he made 78.4 percent of his field goal attempts — 28th of 31 in the league. He completed just 9-of-16 attempts from more than 40 yards.
He’s had injuries in the past. Last year, he dealt with a groin injury in the preseason but ultimately made the team.
“At that position in general it’s one of those deals where the spotlight’s always on you. You’re always under the microscope,” Rizzi said of Sturgis’ spot on the team. “We only have one of you on the roster and you have to perform.
“I think he’d be the first guy to tell you he has to be more consistent. Team-wise we have to be more consistent. The numbers have to improve.”
There’s always the chance that neither Sturgis nor Franks make the team and the Dolphins bring in a veteran in training camp or the preseason to compete for the job.
But for the next couple of weeks it’s Franks’ opportunity. Coach Joe Philbin confirmed that Sturgis will miss the remainder of the June practices, which includes mini-camp.
“I like having competition next to me on the field,” Franks said. “It pushes me in that regard. So I kind of miss him here. But I hope he gets better as fast as he can. I really want that push.”
Rizzi pointed to several kickers from small schools who are in the NFL, including Seattle’s Steven Hauschka (Middlebury College) and Indianapolis’ Adam Vinateri (South Dakota State).
“It’s one of those deals if you have the mentality and make-up, you can definitely do it,” Rizzi said. “It’s been done.”
Franks doesn’t feel much different in Davie than he did in Troy.
“It’s the same ball pretty much, it’s the same kick,” he said. “For me, nothing’s really changed.”
Under Rizzi, the Dolphins have consistently had a top-10 special teams unit. But it took a step back last year with injuries, depth issues and consistent change at gunner.
While Rizzi said they did some things good last year — blocking punts and field goals and returning kicks — he said there should be more depth this season.
“I like the fact that we’ve got some guys with experience — Spencer Paysinger with the Giants. Zack Bowman with the Giants. (Brice) McCain had a lot of experience (with the Steelers). Those guys all played special teams.
“And I really like where we went in the draft with special teams guys. Although they don’t have a lot of experience — (Bobby) McCain, (Ced) Thompson, (Tony) Lippett, (Jay) Ajayai — all those guys have been great although you never really know until you get them all out in a game, even if it’s the preseason.”
Rizzi is confident knowing that punter Brandon Fields is back.
After making the Pro Bowl in 2013, Fields finished 11th in the NFL in 2014 in punt average.
The Dolphins were ready to cut Fields and his $3.1 million salary this offseason but he agreed to a $1 million pay cut.
“Even in a down year for him he was still in the top third of the league in his gross numbers,” Rizzi said"
The Bleacher Report is picking Franks to beat out Sturgis. The real "kicker" is that Miami is going to save about $200K on the deal....LOL
Andy Abramson's story echos the current feeling of the Bleacher Report, and the feeling is that he's going to beat out Miami's currently worthless kicker Caleb Sturgis. Long story short Franks has got a very powerful leg, if a bit untrained. He can consistently kick touchbacks on kickoffs and his power range is well into the 50's on field goals. Franks completion ratio is not far behind Sturgis', but at 78.4% that's not saying much. Here's how the Palm Beach Post put it:
"If you’ve never heard of Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute you’re not alone.
It’s a tech school in Troy, N.Y., with 5,557 undergraduate students.
Andrew Franks was one of those undergrads last year. And after four years as the starting kicker for the Division-III (fittingly named) Engineers, Franks is now competing for the Dolphins job as an undrafted rookie.
And with Caleb Sturgis sidelined by a quad injury that will keep him out until at least training camp in late July, Franks has a real opportunity to state his case.
“He’s one of those guys that could’ve played Division-I but chose to go to RPI because of the engineering program,” Dolphins special teams coach Darren Rizzi said. “It enabled him to be a four-year starter where he was.
“We laugh about it. The goal posts are the same size, the same height. Certainly the pressure’s different. The atmosphere’s different. But he’s a talented player and he could’ve definitely kicked at a higher level.”
Franks missed a couple of field goals in today’s practice, including a 44-yarder and 49-yarder. But he also nailed a 54-yarder that Rizzi said “hit the building.”
“He has to get a little more consistent obviously,” Rizzi said. “This is his first time out. I really like where he is talent wise.”
Even before the injury, Sturgis was on the hot seat. Last year, he made 78.4 percent of his field goal attempts — 28th of 31 in the league. He completed just 9-of-16 attempts from more than 40 yards.
He’s had injuries in the past. Last year, he dealt with a groin injury in the preseason but ultimately made the team.
“At that position in general it’s one of those deals where the spotlight’s always on you. You’re always under the microscope,” Rizzi said of Sturgis’ spot on the team. “We only have one of you on the roster and you have to perform.
“I think he’d be the first guy to tell you he has to be more consistent. Team-wise we have to be more consistent. The numbers have to improve.”
There’s always the chance that neither Sturgis nor Franks make the team and the Dolphins bring in a veteran in training camp or the preseason to compete for the job.
But for the next couple of weeks it’s Franks’ opportunity. Coach Joe Philbin confirmed that Sturgis will miss the remainder of the June practices, which includes mini-camp.
“I like having competition next to me on the field,” Franks said. “It pushes me in that regard. So I kind of miss him here. But I hope he gets better as fast as he can. I really want that push.”
Rizzi pointed to several kickers from small schools who are in the NFL, including Seattle’s Steven Hauschka (Middlebury College) and Indianapolis’ Adam Vinateri (South Dakota State).
“It’s one of those deals if you have the mentality and make-up, you can definitely do it,” Rizzi said. “It’s been done.”
Franks doesn’t feel much different in Davie than he did in Troy.
“It’s the same ball pretty much, it’s the same kick,” he said. “For me, nothing’s really changed.”
Under Rizzi, the Dolphins have consistently had a top-10 special teams unit. But it took a step back last year with injuries, depth issues and consistent change at gunner.
While Rizzi said they did some things good last year — blocking punts and field goals and returning kicks — he said there should be more depth this season.
“I like the fact that we’ve got some guys with experience — Spencer Paysinger with the Giants. Zack Bowman with the Giants. (Brice) McCain had a lot of experience (with the Steelers). Those guys all played special teams.
“And I really like where we went in the draft with special teams guys. Although they don’t have a lot of experience — (Bobby) McCain, (Ced) Thompson, (Tony) Lippett, (Jay) Ajayai — all those guys have been great although you never really know until you get them all out in a game, even if it’s the preseason.”
Rizzi is confident knowing that punter Brandon Fields is back.
After making the Pro Bowl in 2013, Fields finished 11th in the NFL in 2014 in punt average.
The Dolphins were ready to cut Fields and his $3.1 million salary this offseason but he agreed to a $1 million pay cut.
“Even in a down year for him he was still in the top third of the league in his gross numbers,” Rizzi said"
The Bleacher Report is picking Franks to beat out Sturgis. The real "kicker" is that Miami is going to save about $200K on the deal....LOL
Geeeeeez Joe, we all know you're welsher but aren't you being a little hard on yourself. Ummmmmmm, considering all you did to Anon I think you're right after all.
Don't know what you are talking about bro, I do believe that this is a classic case of defamation of character, I always pay my gambling debts when I lose, just ask iggy.:nod:
Speaking of anon where is the little fella hiding these days, I just hope that he comes out of hiding when the NFL season begins and starts posting his legendary picks again.:lol:
Fraud warning
Really, then why did the Mod8 suspend you for not only stiffing but boasting about it on this forum?
....he was banned for being an idiot in the post for which he was banned. He has been warned publicly on the board not to bring up a certain situation regarding betting again. He did and he was banned for it. It was idiotic behavior and he knows it. ....
I guess that you are now denying what you proudly admitted on this forum as you are trying to get merb members to bet with you. I am going to the trouble of answering your post to warn them.
As for Iggy, if you do in fact bet with him, then maybe you only pay those you expect to beat. Iggy's own payment record is hardly exemplary:
https://merb.cc/vbulletin/showthread.php?62191-The-Official-MERB-2010-2011-NHL-Hockey-Thread/page13
Really, then why did the Mod8 suspend you for not only stiffing but boasting about it on this forum?
....he was banned for being an idiot in the post for which he was banned. He has been warned publicly on the board not to bring up a certain situation regarding betting again. He did and he was banned for it. It was idiotic behavior and he knows it. ....
I guess that you are now denying what you proudly admitted on this forum as you are trying to get merb members to bet with you. I am going to the trouble of answering your post to warn them.
As for Iggy, if you do in fact bet with him, then maybe you only pay those you expect to beat. Iggy's own payment record is hardly exemplary:
https://merb.cc/vbulletin/showthread.php?62191-The-Official-MERB-2010-2011-NHL-Hockey-Thread/page13
:lol:
The whole board knows your shame.
What character?
I do enjoy your games, seeing you run for cover behind him every time. But at your age most people don't run to dad.
Having met you both you running to your bud is a very good idea.
Good luck son,
Merlot
The whole board knows your shame.
What character?
I do enjoy your games, seeing you run for cover behind him every time. But at your age most people don't run to dad.
Having met you both you running to your bud is a very good idea.
Good luck son,
Merlot
Honest Fans,
No. 1: Tom Brady Finds His Motivation, Again
Throughout his Hall of Fame career, Tom Brady has been driven by perceived slights. A fourth ring might have placated the 37-year-old quarterback, but Deflategate sanctions will add new fuel to his competitive fire
By
Jenny Vrentas
http://mmqb.si.com/2015/07/17/tom-brady-new-england-patriots-nfl-deflategate-the-mmqb-100/
The question lurks in the background for every iconic athlete, growing louder with each passing year. How will it end?
For Tom Brady, the past six months have made that question far more complicated.
Since the NFL publicly deemed the four-time Super Bowl champion as having been “at least generally aware” of deliberate efforts by team employees to illegally deflate footballs used in the AFC Championship Game, a benchmark was driven into the ground of Brady’s career: Before Deflategate, and After Deflategate. Whether you belong in the camp that believes Brady has been egregiously wronged by Roger Goodell (a population that roughly matches up with residents of the six New England states), or the one that thinks the leader of the cheating Patriots got caught red-handed (most of the other 31 NFL cities), you know that this dividing line now exists.
Which is why we’ve ranked Tom Brady No. 1 in The MMQB 100, our countdown of the most influential people for the 2015 season. There isn’t yet a final answer on whether or not Brady will serve the length of the original four-game suspension issued by the NFL (or if he will serve any suspension at all), but we know Brady will be back on the field by mid-October, for the ever-so-conveniently scheduled game against the Colts, the opponents in last year’s AFC title game. History tells us Brady will play the A.D. years of his career with a vengeance. So does his longtime teammate, Rodney Harrison:
“You’ve got way over $100 million in the bank. You’ve got a beautiful wife. You’ve got a beautiful family. The natural tendency would be to say, ‘I can lie in my silk sheets and just enjoy life now. I don’t need football.’ But I’m telling you: This is the best thing that could have happened to Tom Brady. This will rejuvenate him. The rest of the league better look out. This year, he’s going to make everybody pay for what’s happened.”
Ever since he has been playing in the spotlight, from battling for the starter’s job at Michigan in the late ’90s, to being passed over 198 times in the 2000 NFL draft, to the quarterback controversy going into his first postseason, to the post-Spygate, near-perfect 2007 season, Brady has been fueled by the perception that he is being doubted. Now that he is 37 and possesses four championship rings, that fire has been re-lit under the most extreme circumstances. And perhaps not since 1969, when Super Bowl III MVP Joe Namath went toe to toe with commissioner Pete Rozelle and temporarily retired from the NFL over his stake in Manhattan saloon Bachelors III, have we seen a showdown of this magnitude between the league and one of its icons.
It’s not enough for Brady to stand on his B.D. accolades. The reigning Super Bowl MVP, the leader of the closest thing to a modern NFL dynasty, has been challenged. He has so far responded mostly with silence, waiting to make his loudest rebuttal on a field.
“Believe me, he’s not saying anything right now, but this is pissing him off, big-time,” says Harrison, who won two Super Bowls with Brady. “He will be supremely motivated this year. I know him. I know how he thinks. And this is going to be very bad for the rest of the league when they play Brady this year.”
The seeds of that I’ll show you mindset were sown before Brady got to the NFL, back at Michigan. After Wolverines coach Lloyd Carr chose Brian Griese as the starter for the 1997 season, Brady considered transferring. When he met with his coach, Brady told Carr, “I’m gonna prove to you that I’m a great quarterback.” By midseason Brady had won the job outright,...
When Brady got to New England in the spring of 2000, the 22-year-old told owner Robert Kraft a version of his message to Carr: “I’m the best decision this organization has ever made.” Brady’s proving grounds were behind the scenes, as in the offseason program, where he gunned for the prime parking spots Bill Belichick awarded to top performers.
“My most vivid memory from when he first got there is this fourth-string quarterback who just kept climbing up the ladder,” says Damien Woody, the former Patriots center who snapped to Brady in his first Super Bowl. “One minute he was fourth string, then he was second string, then all of a sudden… we know how the whole thing goes down with [Drew] Bledsoe. Even though he’s, in my opinion, the best quarterback in the history of the game, he still views himself as that same underdog. That’s why this whole situation is just going to feed into his DNA.”
As much as there has been that common thread through all stages of his professional NFL career, another reason Brady’s career arc is so fascinating is that it contains a jarring heel turn. He was a sixth-round pick and fourth-string quarterback who became the unlikely hero for an unlikely champion. That he was humble, handsome and showed a flair for the dramatic to lead a team called the Patriots to their first Super Bowl title months after the 9/11 attacks made him one of the greatest underdog stories ever, in football or otherwise.
Over the next few years he revealed himself to be relentless, competitive and fiery, the type of player who would bark at opponents, officials and teammates. Brady was increasingly seen as an extension of Bill Belichick, whose wildly successful run in New England has been offset by a gruff demeanor and a reputation for a win-at-all-costs approach to the game. By 2007, with the Spygate investigation serving as a backdrop, Brady was Goliath. Randy Moss, the supremely talented but sometimes troubled wide receiver who didn’t fit the “Patriot Way” mythos, was his weapon of choice. Motivated by perfection and fueled by frustration over Spygate accusations, the Patriots didn’t just beat opponents, they embarrassed them. Brady was often throwing downfield in the fourth quarter of games that were already well out of reach, compiling record statistics along the way.
Of course, nobody roots for Goliath. At Super Bowl 42, most of the nation celebrated when the underdog Giants—the ones representing the world’s biggest city, piloted by a No. 1 overall draft pick, competing for their third Super Bowl title in a little more than two decades—beat up Brady and upended the previously undefeated Patriots.
Brady’s next six seasons included a torn ACL in the subsequent opener, another Super Bowl loss to the Giants and playoff losses to a rival team (Rex Ryan’s Jets) and a rival quarterback (Peyton Manning’s Broncos). The fact that his decade-long wait to reclaim the Lombardi Trophy ended under the specter of Deflategate had all of Boston whipped up into a frenzy, fueled by local sports talk radio and heavy-handed whiskey pours. Underlying the glee that sent Patriots fans charging down Boylston Street the night of Feb. 1 was indignation.
“Know what the problem is? We’ve been winning so much, the country is sick of it,” one Patriots fan, 28-year-old Joe DeSantis of Revere, Mass., said a few hours before Super Bowl XLIX kickoff, in one of the bars across from North Station and the Celtics’ home arena. “Remember in 2001, when Tom Brady was an underdog? Everyone wanted to see him win. Now the crazy thing is, everyone is so sick of feeling that way, they want to build more up out of Deflategate when really nothing happened.”
DeSantis’s buddy at the bar that afternoon, Bob Williams, also a Massachusetts native, chimed in with an analogy: “Like Hulk Hogan. He was one of the most-loved wrestlers, then he joined NWO and became hated.”
The reality is that the outcome of Brady’s challenge will have as little bearing on public perception as the countless applications of the Ideal Gas Law have. In the court of public opinion, there is little middle ground between the NFL-commissioned Wells Report, laying out a premeditated plan by the Patriots to deflate footballs outside of the legal range so they were easier to throw, and the Patriots-backed wellsreportcontext.com, which pokes holes in the NFL’s logic. Even Brady’s former teammates fall on both sides of the stark divide, as evidenced by Woody and Tedy Bruschi’s emotional debate on ESPN over whether Brady cheated (Woody said yes; Bruschi no).
The only thing truly in Brady’s control now is what happens when he returns to the field—whether that happens opening night against the Steelers, Oct. 18 in Indianapolis, or somewhere in between.
“You could say after this last Super Bowl, Tom could ride off into the sunset, but that’s not going to happen with all of this,” Woody says. “The Patriots do a very good job of building a certain mantra, ‘Us against the world,’ and you know Brady is going to feed into that. You better believe when he does return, there’s going to be hell to pay for the rest of the league.”
Those questions from last September, of how many more good years Brady has left, have now been given an entirely new context. After matching the high-water mark for quarterbacks, four Super Bowls won—same as Terry Bradshaw and boyhood idol Joe Montana—Brady should have left nothing left to prove. Instead, so begins the next phase of his career: Scorned Champion. Tom Brady will come out with a newfound defiance in 2015. He is on a mission unlike any other in his football life.
GOTOMGO, :thumb:
Merlot
No. 1: Tom Brady Finds His Motivation, Again
Throughout his Hall of Fame career, Tom Brady has been driven by perceived slights. A fourth ring might have placated the 37-year-old quarterback, but Deflategate sanctions will add new fuel to his competitive fire
By
Jenny Vrentas
http://mmqb.si.com/2015/07/17/tom-brady-new-england-patriots-nfl-deflategate-the-mmqb-100/
The question lurks in the background for every iconic athlete, growing louder with each passing year. How will it end?
For Tom Brady, the past six months have made that question far more complicated.
Since the NFL publicly deemed the four-time Super Bowl champion as having been “at least generally aware” of deliberate efforts by team employees to illegally deflate footballs used in the AFC Championship Game, a benchmark was driven into the ground of Brady’s career: Before Deflategate, and After Deflategate. Whether you belong in the camp that believes Brady has been egregiously wronged by Roger Goodell (a population that roughly matches up with residents of the six New England states), or the one that thinks the leader of the cheating Patriots got caught red-handed (most of the other 31 NFL cities), you know that this dividing line now exists.
Which is why we’ve ranked Tom Brady No. 1 in The MMQB 100, our countdown of the most influential people for the 2015 season. There isn’t yet a final answer on whether or not Brady will serve the length of the original four-game suspension issued by the NFL (or if he will serve any suspension at all), but we know Brady will be back on the field by mid-October, for the ever-so-conveniently scheduled game against the Colts, the opponents in last year’s AFC title game. History tells us Brady will play the A.D. years of his career with a vengeance. So does his longtime teammate, Rodney Harrison:
“You’ve got way over $100 million in the bank. You’ve got a beautiful wife. You’ve got a beautiful family. The natural tendency would be to say, ‘I can lie in my silk sheets and just enjoy life now. I don’t need football.’ But I’m telling you: This is the best thing that could have happened to Tom Brady. This will rejuvenate him. The rest of the league better look out. This year, he’s going to make everybody pay for what’s happened.”
Ever since he has been playing in the spotlight, from battling for the starter’s job at Michigan in the late ’90s, to being passed over 198 times in the 2000 NFL draft, to the quarterback controversy going into his first postseason, to the post-Spygate, near-perfect 2007 season, Brady has been fueled by the perception that he is being doubted. Now that he is 37 and possesses four championship rings, that fire has been re-lit under the most extreme circumstances. And perhaps not since 1969, when Super Bowl III MVP Joe Namath went toe to toe with commissioner Pete Rozelle and temporarily retired from the NFL over his stake in Manhattan saloon Bachelors III, have we seen a showdown of this magnitude between the league and one of its icons.
It’s not enough for Brady to stand on his B.D. accolades. The reigning Super Bowl MVP, the leader of the closest thing to a modern NFL dynasty, has been challenged. He has so far responded mostly with silence, waiting to make his loudest rebuttal on a field.
“Believe me, he’s not saying anything right now, but this is pissing him off, big-time,” says Harrison, who won two Super Bowls with Brady. “He will be supremely motivated this year. I know him. I know how he thinks. And this is going to be very bad for the rest of the league when they play Brady this year.”
The seeds of that I’ll show you mindset were sown before Brady got to the NFL, back at Michigan. After Wolverines coach Lloyd Carr chose Brian Griese as the starter for the 1997 season, Brady considered transferring. When he met with his coach, Brady told Carr, “I’m gonna prove to you that I’m a great quarterback.” By midseason Brady had won the job outright,...
When Brady got to New England in the spring of 2000, the 22-year-old told owner Robert Kraft a version of his message to Carr: “I’m the best decision this organization has ever made.” Brady’s proving grounds were behind the scenes, as in the offseason program, where he gunned for the prime parking spots Bill Belichick awarded to top performers.
“My most vivid memory from when he first got there is this fourth-string quarterback who just kept climbing up the ladder,” says Damien Woody, the former Patriots center who snapped to Brady in his first Super Bowl. “One minute he was fourth string, then he was second string, then all of a sudden… we know how the whole thing goes down with [Drew] Bledsoe. Even though he’s, in my opinion, the best quarterback in the history of the game, he still views himself as that same underdog. That’s why this whole situation is just going to feed into his DNA.”
As much as there has been that common thread through all stages of his professional NFL career, another reason Brady’s career arc is so fascinating is that it contains a jarring heel turn. He was a sixth-round pick and fourth-string quarterback who became the unlikely hero for an unlikely champion. That he was humble, handsome and showed a flair for the dramatic to lead a team called the Patriots to their first Super Bowl title months after the 9/11 attacks made him one of the greatest underdog stories ever, in football or otherwise.
Over the next few years he revealed himself to be relentless, competitive and fiery, the type of player who would bark at opponents, officials and teammates. Brady was increasingly seen as an extension of Bill Belichick, whose wildly successful run in New England has been offset by a gruff demeanor and a reputation for a win-at-all-costs approach to the game. By 2007, with the Spygate investigation serving as a backdrop, Brady was Goliath. Randy Moss, the supremely talented but sometimes troubled wide receiver who didn’t fit the “Patriot Way” mythos, was his weapon of choice. Motivated by perfection and fueled by frustration over Spygate accusations, the Patriots didn’t just beat opponents, they embarrassed them. Brady was often throwing downfield in the fourth quarter of games that were already well out of reach, compiling record statistics along the way.
Of course, nobody roots for Goliath. At Super Bowl 42, most of the nation celebrated when the underdog Giants—the ones representing the world’s biggest city, piloted by a No. 1 overall draft pick, competing for their third Super Bowl title in a little more than two decades—beat up Brady and upended the previously undefeated Patriots.
Brady’s next six seasons included a torn ACL in the subsequent opener, another Super Bowl loss to the Giants and playoff losses to a rival team (Rex Ryan’s Jets) and a rival quarterback (Peyton Manning’s Broncos). The fact that his decade-long wait to reclaim the Lombardi Trophy ended under the specter of Deflategate had all of Boston whipped up into a frenzy, fueled by local sports talk radio and heavy-handed whiskey pours. Underlying the glee that sent Patriots fans charging down Boylston Street the night of Feb. 1 was indignation.
“Know what the problem is? We’ve been winning so much, the country is sick of it,” one Patriots fan, 28-year-old Joe DeSantis of Revere, Mass., said a few hours before Super Bowl XLIX kickoff, in one of the bars across from North Station and the Celtics’ home arena. “Remember in 2001, when Tom Brady was an underdog? Everyone wanted to see him win. Now the crazy thing is, everyone is so sick of feeling that way, they want to build more up out of Deflategate when really nothing happened.”
DeSantis’s buddy at the bar that afternoon, Bob Williams, also a Massachusetts native, chimed in with an analogy: “Like Hulk Hogan. He was one of the most-loved wrestlers, then he joined NWO and became hated.”
The reality is that the outcome of Brady’s challenge will have as little bearing on public perception as the countless applications of the Ideal Gas Law have. In the court of public opinion, there is little middle ground between the NFL-commissioned Wells Report, laying out a premeditated plan by the Patriots to deflate footballs outside of the legal range so they were easier to throw, and the Patriots-backed wellsreportcontext.com, which pokes holes in the NFL’s logic. Even Brady’s former teammates fall on both sides of the stark divide, as evidenced by Woody and Tedy Bruschi’s emotional debate on ESPN over whether Brady cheated (Woody said yes; Bruschi no).
The only thing truly in Brady’s control now is what happens when he returns to the field—whether that happens opening night against the Steelers, Oct. 18 in Indianapolis, or somewhere in between.
“You could say after this last Super Bowl, Tom could ride off into the sunset, but that’s not going to happen with all of this,” Woody says. “The Patriots do a very good job of building a certain mantra, ‘Us against the world,’ and you know Brady is going to feed into that. You better believe when he does return, there’s going to be hell to pay for the rest of the league.”
Those questions from last September, of how many more good years Brady has left, have now been given an entirely new context. After matching the high-water mark for quarterbacks, four Super Bowls won—same as Terry Bradshaw and boyhood idol Joe Montana—Brady should have left nothing left to prove. Instead, so begins the next phase of his career: Scorned Champion. Tom Brady will come out with a newfound defiance in 2015. He is on a mission unlike any other in his football life.
GOTOMGO, :thumb:
Merlot
Honest fans,
The photo above is a depiction of a conversation that could take place in the minds of some fanatical Patriots fans.
Cheers,
...
I the picture on my personal Facebook with the caption, "So let's see how many Patriots Fans we have here..LOL". Dead silence
Now I have friends as far away as Australia and Israel, not a word. So the popularity of Brady is just another myth that resides in some folks imagination.
In other news, Miami's defensive line was profiled by Football Focus within the last few days. The numbers were absolutely frightening according to the Bleacher Report. I almost can't wait until the season opener against the Redskins to see the play.
Look to see Rishard Matthews get traded for a 3rd to 5th round draft pick at the end of the Preseason.
Honest fans,
Goodell got another one wrong on Brady suspension
Bob Ford, Inquirer Sports Columnist
Posted: Tuesday, July 21, 2015, 1:08 AM
http://www.philly.com/philly/sports...ot_another_one_wrong_on_Brady_suspension.html
The more I look at the four-game suspension of Patriots quarterback Tom Brady for his part in Deflateapalooza, the more ridiculous it becomes. When the NFL's decision on his appeal is announced this week, the suspension should be overturned by commissioner Roger Goodell.
Here's how I know the suspension is wrong: Goodell came up with it in the first place.
Go ahead. Name something Goodell has gotten right in the last year when it comes to disciplinary action against players. He can't tell the difference between what matters and what doesn't, what is serious and what isn't, and to what extent the circumstances surrounding an event should affect the league's reaction.
The suspensions he has dispensed have spun wildly and without apparent direction. Sometimes, he wants the league to look tough. Sometimes, he wants to make a show of mercy. Sometimes, he has to twirl like a ballerina after new information or some bit of videotape renders a previous decision laughable. Sometimes, as was the case with Brady and the issue of footballs that were allegedly deflated before the AFC championship game, he had a free swing to look like a strong commissioner and there's nothing he likes better.
Buy Eagles jerseys and other gear
Now, I know. You like the Eagles. You hate the Patriots. This kind of talk makes you crazy, and right now you are trying to locate the crayons so you can scrawl your comment onto the computer screen. This is not an invitation for you to react rationally, and I understand that.
The Patriots cheat, and Bill Belichick is a dark lord, and Brady has that stupid dimple in his chin, and he has that supermodel wife, and somehow the Patriots poisoned Donovan McNabb's meal before the Super Bowl and that's why he yacked in the huddle. And they probably did something else so Andy Reid's two-minute drill lasted six minutes. Sure, sure. Big, bad Patriots. You don't like 'em. Get over it.
The NFL had this coming, and instead of accepting the blame it deserves, Goodell went all Aunt Bee on the Pats, trying to deflect that blame. There is a reason that Major League Baseball does not allow pitchers to provide their own baseballs for games and can have their equipment men doctor those balls until they are exactly to their liking. The reason is that would be just stupid, but that is what the NFL allows its quarterbacks to do.
In 2006, the rules committee, responding to a petition brought by Brady and Peyton Manning and signed by 20 starting NFL quarterbacks, changed the way footballs were handled. Before that, the home team provided the footballs for both teams (which was also stupid). When the rules changed, teams were allowed to bring their own regulation balls and were allowed to break in those balls in any way they wished, so long as they maintained basic specifications.
Some of the balls that are brought for games now have been bounced around in dryers, or scrubbed with wire brushes, or rubbed with mud, or manipulated in any one of a dozen ways to suit the preferences of the individual quarterbacks. It's a crazy system, and it is a short step from there to making sure the ball is inflated to a preferred firmness. That part isn't legal, but the NFL doesn't do anything to prevent it. In fact, after they are inspected before the games, the balls are returned to the teams. What could go wrong with that system?
This is a multibillion-dollar organization. The referees should show up with the balls for both teams, do some basic rubdown on them to remove the new sheen, and then dole them out during the game. The current system, whether the Patriots gamed it or not, is just dumb. Put the blame where it belongs.
Brady says he will sue the league and seek an injunction if the suspension is not overturned. He might have a case. The best the Wells Report could conclude was that it was "more probable than not" that Brady was "generally aware" the balls had been deflated. That's not the kind of language that tends to stand up in court, particularly when based on text messages between two equipment bootheads who joked about everything.
In the end, everything is about perspective. Fans who like the Patriots think Brady should get off. Fans who don't like the Patriots - looking at you, Eagles Nation - think he should get life.
I don't care about the man or the team, either way. That's a waste of good emotion. Roger Goodell and his self-serving actions are another matter. If this was Goodell's idea, then it couldn't have been much of one.
:thumb:
Merlot
Goodell got another one wrong on Brady suspension
Bob Ford, Inquirer Sports Columnist
Posted: Tuesday, July 21, 2015, 1:08 AM
http://www.philly.com/philly/sports...ot_another_one_wrong_on_Brady_suspension.html
The more I look at the four-game suspension of Patriots quarterback Tom Brady for his part in Deflateapalooza, the more ridiculous it becomes. When the NFL's decision on his appeal is announced this week, the suspension should be overturned by commissioner Roger Goodell.
Here's how I know the suspension is wrong: Goodell came up with it in the first place.
Go ahead. Name something Goodell has gotten right in the last year when it comes to disciplinary action against players. He can't tell the difference between what matters and what doesn't, what is serious and what isn't, and to what extent the circumstances surrounding an event should affect the league's reaction.
The suspensions he has dispensed have spun wildly and without apparent direction. Sometimes, he wants the league to look tough. Sometimes, he wants to make a show of mercy. Sometimes, he has to twirl like a ballerina after new information or some bit of videotape renders a previous decision laughable. Sometimes, as was the case with Brady and the issue of footballs that were allegedly deflated before the AFC championship game, he had a free swing to look like a strong commissioner and there's nothing he likes better.
Buy Eagles jerseys and other gear
Now, I know. You like the Eagles. You hate the Patriots. This kind of talk makes you crazy, and right now you are trying to locate the crayons so you can scrawl your comment onto the computer screen. This is not an invitation for you to react rationally, and I understand that.
The Patriots cheat, and Bill Belichick is a dark lord, and Brady has that stupid dimple in his chin, and he has that supermodel wife, and somehow the Patriots poisoned Donovan McNabb's meal before the Super Bowl and that's why he yacked in the huddle. And they probably did something else so Andy Reid's two-minute drill lasted six minutes. Sure, sure. Big, bad Patriots. You don't like 'em. Get over it.
The NFL had this coming, and instead of accepting the blame it deserves, Goodell went all Aunt Bee on the Pats, trying to deflect that blame. There is a reason that Major League Baseball does not allow pitchers to provide their own baseballs for games and can have their equipment men doctor those balls until they are exactly to their liking. The reason is that would be just stupid, but that is what the NFL allows its quarterbacks to do.
In 2006, the rules committee, responding to a petition brought by Brady and Peyton Manning and signed by 20 starting NFL quarterbacks, changed the way footballs were handled. Before that, the home team provided the footballs for both teams (which was also stupid). When the rules changed, teams were allowed to bring their own regulation balls and were allowed to break in those balls in any way they wished, so long as they maintained basic specifications.
Some of the balls that are brought for games now have been bounced around in dryers, or scrubbed with wire brushes, or rubbed with mud, or manipulated in any one of a dozen ways to suit the preferences of the individual quarterbacks. It's a crazy system, and it is a short step from there to making sure the ball is inflated to a preferred firmness. That part isn't legal, but the NFL doesn't do anything to prevent it. In fact, after they are inspected before the games, the balls are returned to the teams. What could go wrong with that system?
This is a multibillion-dollar organization. The referees should show up with the balls for both teams, do some basic rubdown on them to remove the new sheen, and then dole them out during the game. The current system, whether the Patriots gamed it or not, is just dumb. Put the blame where it belongs.
Brady says he will sue the league and seek an injunction if the suspension is not overturned. He might have a case. The best the Wells Report could conclude was that it was "more probable than not" that Brady was "generally aware" the balls had been deflated. That's not the kind of language that tends to stand up in court, particularly when based on text messages between two equipment bootheads who joked about everything.
In the end, everything is about perspective. Fans who like the Patriots think Brady should get off. Fans who don't like the Patriots - looking at you, Eagles Nation - think he should get life.
I don't care about the man or the team, either way. That's a waste of good emotion. Roger Goodell and his self-serving actions are another matter. If this was Goodell's idea, then it couldn't have been much of one.
:thumb:
Merlot
CBS Sports July 22, 2015 at 7.25pm
Harvard Study: Dolphins will win AFC in 2015, Giants will win NFC East
You've probably heard of Harvard.
The Cambridge, Massachusetts school is known for a lot of things, like producing Nobel winners, presidents and Supreme Court Justices.
One thing the school's not known for though is its NFL picks. However, that could change if the Dolphins somehow manage to win the AFC this year, which Kurt Bullard is predicting will happen.
Bullard designed a prediction model for the 2015 NFL season that was published on the Harvard College Sports Analysis Collective (HSAC) webpage Wednesday and that model is predicting that the Dolphins will be the best team in the AFC, followed by the Chiefs and Patriots.
So how exactly does Bullard's prediction model work?
I'll let him explain.
From the HSAC page.
The method that I came up with uses Pro Football Reference's Approximate Value statistic, the site's best measure of trying to tease out individual talent. Then, using ESPN's NFL depth charts, I aggregated each team's per game approximate value of what I considered to be the 'core' makeup of an NFL team: QB, RB, 2 WR, TE, Top 2 OL, the Top-4 'Front Seven' defensive players, and the Top-2 players from the secondary.
Basically, on offense, it comes down to a team's top seven players vs. another team's top seven players. On defense, it comes down to one team's top-9 vs. another team's top-9.
Bullard's model doesn't take the schedule into account, which I think is going to kill the Chiefs. Kansas City opens up at Houston, before hosting Denver on Thursday night. After that, the Chiefs will spend their next two weeks on the road against the Packers and Bengals.
That could be 0-4 for Kansas City and 0-4 teams don't make the playoffs. Actually, one 0-4 team did, the 1992 Chargers.
UPDATE (July 23, 11 a.m.): Bullard has clarified that his model does take the schedule into account. That being said, I still think the Chiefs are going to fall flat on their face during the season's first four weeks.
As for other weird nuances in Bullard's model: The Ravens are ranked 28th, the Vikings are ranked 25th, and the highest ranked NFC South team (Atlanta) is 18th overall.
It's probably also worth noting that the Giants, at No. 13, are the highest ranked team in the NFC East. Sorry Cowboys and Eagles fans.
You can see each team's ranking below, along with the team's percentage chance of making the playoffs.
In some cases, a team with a higher ranking has a lower playoff percentage than a team below it because of how the postseason is set up.
For instance, although the Falcons are ranked 18th, they have the 12th highest playoff percentage because a team from the NFC South -- no matter how bad it is -- has to make the playoffs.
2015 NFL prediction from the Harvard College Sports Analysis Collective
(Overall ranking, team, percentage chance of making playoffs)
1. Seattle Seahawks: 95 percent chance of making the playoffs (Highest chance)
2. Green Bay Packers 93 percent
3. Miami Dolphins 77 percent
4. Kansas City Chiefs: 66 percent
5. New England Patriots: 62 percent
6. Denver Broncos: 62 percent
7. Detroit Lions: 53 percent
8. New York Jets: 56 percent
9. Indianapolis Colts: 62 percent
10. Buffalo Bills: 43 percent
11. Pittsburgh Steelers: 51 percent
12. Houston Texans: 54 percent
13. NY Giants: 42 percent
14. Cincinnati Bengals: 39 percent
15. Philadelphia Eagles: 35 percent
16. Dallas Cowboys: 23 percent
17. San Diego Chargers: 33 percent
18. Atlanta Falcons: 51 percent
19. New Orleans Saints: 42 percent
20. Arizona Cardinals: 29 percent
21. Chicago Bears: 25 percent
22. Washington Redskins: 18 percent
23. Carolina Panthers: 19 percent
24. Cleveland Browns: 20 percent
25. Minnesota Vikings: 12 percent
26. San Francisco 49ers: 12 percent
27. St. Louis Rams: 10 percent
28. Baltimore Ravens: 9 percent
29. Jacksonville Jaguars: 3 percent
30. Tampa Bay Buccaneers: 3 percent
31. Tennessee Titans: 2 percent
32. Oakland Raiders: 1 percent
Just in case you're wondering what the Harvard College Sports Analysis Collective (HSAC) is, it's "a student-run organization at Harvard College dedicated to the quantitative analysis of sports strategy and management. Founded in 2006, the club meets weekly and is for students interested in sports statistics, sports business, and problem solving. HSAC has become an analysis partner for several sports related publications and companies and we are available to engage in additional projects."
EDITORIAL COMMENT: If CBS Sports really believes this then the Fins are doomed. Frankly I'd tend to believe them if the Fins had a real coach, but hopefully one will come in 2016.
Harvard Study: Dolphins will win AFC in 2015, Giants will win NFC East
You've probably heard of Harvard.
The Cambridge, Massachusetts school is known for a lot of things, like producing Nobel winners, presidents and Supreme Court Justices.
One thing the school's not known for though is its NFL picks. However, that could change if the Dolphins somehow manage to win the AFC this year, which Kurt Bullard is predicting will happen.
Bullard designed a prediction model for the 2015 NFL season that was published on the Harvard College Sports Analysis Collective (HSAC) webpage Wednesday and that model is predicting that the Dolphins will be the best team in the AFC, followed by the Chiefs and Patriots.
So how exactly does Bullard's prediction model work?
I'll let him explain.
From the HSAC page.
The method that I came up with uses Pro Football Reference's Approximate Value statistic, the site's best measure of trying to tease out individual talent. Then, using ESPN's NFL depth charts, I aggregated each team's per game approximate value of what I considered to be the 'core' makeup of an NFL team: QB, RB, 2 WR, TE, Top 2 OL, the Top-4 'Front Seven' defensive players, and the Top-2 players from the secondary.
Basically, on offense, it comes down to a team's top seven players vs. another team's top seven players. On defense, it comes down to one team's top-9 vs. another team's top-9.
Bullard's model doesn't take the schedule into account, which I think is going to kill the Chiefs. Kansas City opens up at Houston, before hosting Denver on Thursday night. After that, the Chiefs will spend their next two weeks on the road against the Packers and Bengals.
That could be 0-4 for Kansas City and 0-4 teams don't make the playoffs. Actually, one 0-4 team did, the 1992 Chargers.
UPDATE (July 23, 11 a.m.): Bullard has clarified that his model does take the schedule into account. That being said, I still think the Chiefs are going to fall flat on their face during the season's first four weeks.
As for other weird nuances in Bullard's model: The Ravens are ranked 28th, the Vikings are ranked 25th, and the highest ranked NFC South team (Atlanta) is 18th overall.
It's probably also worth noting that the Giants, at No. 13, are the highest ranked team in the NFC East. Sorry Cowboys and Eagles fans.
You can see each team's ranking below, along with the team's percentage chance of making the playoffs.
In some cases, a team with a higher ranking has a lower playoff percentage than a team below it because of how the postseason is set up.
For instance, although the Falcons are ranked 18th, they have the 12th highest playoff percentage because a team from the NFC South -- no matter how bad it is -- has to make the playoffs.
2015 NFL prediction from the Harvard College Sports Analysis Collective
(Overall ranking, team, percentage chance of making playoffs)
1. Seattle Seahawks: 95 percent chance of making the playoffs (Highest chance)
2. Green Bay Packers 93 percent
3. Miami Dolphins 77 percent
4. Kansas City Chiefs: 66 percent
5. New England Patriots: 62 percent
6. Denver Broncos: 62 percent
7. Detroit Lions: 53 percent
8. New York Jets: 56 percent
9. Indianapolis Colts: 62 percent
10. Buffalo Bills: 43 percent
11. Pittsburgh Steelers: 51 percent
12. Houston Texans: 54 percent
13. NY Giants: 42 percent
14. Cincinnati Bengals: 39 percent
15. Philadelphia Eagles: 35 percent
16. Dallas Cowboys: 23 percent
17. San Diego Chargers: 33 percent
18. Atlanta Falcons: 51 percent
19. New Orleans Saints: 42 percent
20. Arizona Cardinals: 29 percent
21. Chicago Bears: 25 percent
22. Washington Redskins: 18 percent
23. Carolina Panthers: 19 percent
24. Cleveland Browns: 20 percent
25. Minnesota Vikings: 12 percent
26. San Francisco 49ers: 12 percent
27. St. Louis Rams: 10 percent
28. Baltimore Ravens: 9 percent
29. Jacksonville Jaguars: 3 percent
30. Tampa Bay Buccaneers: 3 percent
31. Tennessee Titans: 2 percent
32. Oakland Raiders: 1 percent
Just in case you're wondering what the Harvard College Sports Analysis Collective (HSAC) is, it's "a student-run organization at Harvard College dedicated to the quantitative analysis of sports strategy and management. Founded in 2006, the club meets weekly and is for students interested in sports statistics, sports business, and problem solving. HSAC has become an analysis partner for several sports related publications and companies and we are available to engage in additional projects."
EDITORIAL COMMENT: If CBS Sports really believes this then the Fins are doomed. Frankly I'd tend to believe them if the Fins had a real coach, but hopefully one will come in 2016.
I'm putting this story out there because the more I see, the more I believe that those who can play, DO. Those that can't play COMPLAIN. Jonathan Martin was a complainer.
ESPN, David Newton, Staff Writer
CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- Carolina Panthers offensive tackle Jonathan Martin, the player who was at the center of the Richie Incognito bullying scandal in Miami, plans to retire from the NFL, according to a source close to the player.
Martin chose to retire instead of undergoing surgery for a back injury that potentially could have sidelined him for the entire 2015 season, according to the NFL Network, which first reported the story.
The Panthers claimed Martin off waivers in March after he was released by the San Francisco 49ers. He spent most of offseason workouts behind Michael Oher at left tackle.
Martin played only one season for San Francisco, appearing in 15 games, starting nine at right tackle. He was set to count roughly $1 million against the 2015 salary cap.
Martin spent his first two NFL seasons with the Dolphins, leaving in October 2013 after the bullying controversy became public.
It was determined through an NFL investigation that three Miami linemen -- Incognito, John Jerry and Mike Pouncey -- engaged in a pattern of harassment directed at Martin and another young offensive lineman identified as Player A in the Ted Wells report.
Martin (6-foot-5, 315 pounds) started 32 of 38 games in three seasons after Miami selected him in the second round of the 2012 draft.
The Panthers could shift Nate Chandler behind Oher to replace Martin. Chandler was the starting right tackle for the first 11 games last season after losing the battle for the left tackle job.
He was placed on injured reserve for the final five regular-season games after suffering a knee injury and was limited throughout offseason workouts. Carolina appears content to let Mike Remmers and rookie Daryl Williams battle for the right tackle spot.
Guard Amini Silatolu also could figure into the mix behind Oher.
ESPN, David Newton, Staff Writer
CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- Carolina Panthers offensive tackle Jonathan Martin, the player who was at the center of the Richie Incognito bullying scandal in Miami, plans to retire from the NFL, according to a source close to the player.
Martin chose to retire instead of undergoing surgery for a back injury that potentially could have sidelined him for the entire 2015 season, according to the NFL Network, which first reported the story.
The Panthers claimed Martin off waivers in March after he was released by the San Francisco 49ers. He spent most of offseason workouts behind Michael Oher at left tackle.
Martin played only one season for San Francisco, appearing in 15 games, starting nine at right tackle. He was set to count roughly $1 million against the 2015 salary cap.
Martin spent his first two NFL seasons with the Dolphins, leaving in October 2013 after the bullying controversy became public.
It was determined through an NFL investigation that three Miami linemen -- Incognito, John Jerry and Mike Pouncey -- engaged in a pattern of harassment directed at Martin and another young offensive lineman identified as Player A in the Ted Wells report.
Martin (6-foot-5, 315 pounds) started 32 of 38 games in three seasons after Miami selected him in the second round of the 2012 draft.
The Panthers could shift Nate Chandler behind Oher to replace Martin. Chandler was the starting right tackle for the first 11 games last season after losing the battle for the left tackle job.
He was placed on injured reserve for the final five regular-season games after suffering a knee injury and was limited throughout offseason workouts. Carolina appears content to let Mike Remmers and rookie Daryl Williams battle for the right tackle spot.
Guard Amini Silatolu also could figure into the mix behind Oher.
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