For about nine months now, New England Patriots quarterback, and future NFL Hall of Famer, Tom Brady , has been facing deep turmoil, and tons of controversy over … well, defeating footballs in the AFC Championship Game vs the Indianapolis Colts in January. The Colts lost to the Patriots 45-7 that game by the way. Anyways, it first all started when the Colts accused Brady, and the Patriots of cheating, and then it became more serious when the ‘Ted Wells report’ came out. In that time, Brady and the Patriots played in the Super Bowl, and defeated the Seattle Seahawks, 28-24, a game where Brady led the Patriots, who came back from a two touchdown deficit, to win the game. Oh, and Brady was also named MVP of the game, with 4 passing touchdowns, and 328 passing yards, but hey, you already knew that right?. After that, NFL Commissioner, Roger Goodell hammered Brady with a very harsh, 4 game suspension, and a fine of 1 million dollars. He also told the Patriots they’ll have to pay up a few draft picks this upcoming season as well. Now, after everything that’s happened since Brady was accused of tampering with the footballs, and like 15 court hearings, give or take, Judge Richard Berman gave his final decision today, which is that Tom Brady’s four game suspension is now completely erased, meaning four games is now zero.
Brady will now be eligeble to play a week from tonight during the NFL season opener against the Pittsburgh Steelers. Which is good for … well almost anyone really! I mean, it’s good for Brady, because it proves he’s an innocent man, and he now gets what he’s wanted all along, to play for his team on their home opener. It’s good for fans of New England, because they get their franchise player back for all 16 games again, and it’s also good for any fans of the game of football who plan on watching the season opener next week. I mean let’s face it, even Jimmy Garoppolo ‘s mother would rather watch Tom Brady play the Steelers than Garoppolo. Yes, I think that she’d probably watch Brady start than her own son … okay, well, actually … maybe not, but my point is that whether you love Tom Brady, or whether you hate him, Pittsburgh vs New England next week should be an exciting game, and it’s must see football. See what I mean, everyone wins! Well, actually, there is one loser in this …
The only real loser here is the NFL’s commissioner, Roger Goodell, who before the whole ‘deflategate’ thing started, was already skating on very thin ice. Goodell has made a lot of poor decisions since he became commish in 2006, but this one might’ve been the worst one. Last year he originally gave running back, Ray Rice a two game suspension for beating his wife in an elevator, which by the way was caught on camera. 2 GAMES! ONLY 2! OKAY. And he gave Tom Brady four games for ‘allegedly’ telling a few guys how much air he likes in his footballs. And even if Brady did do it, there isn’t any evidence to back it up, so it baffles me that deserves four games …
Honestly, I think Goodell’s a joke, and I know I can’t be the only person who thinks that. I think the NFL needs a new commissioner if they want to ‘re-purify’ their reputation in Pro-Sports. Because to me, it seems like the league with the most bad stuff happening to is the N.F.L.
Oh, and by the way, word has it that Goodell will make an attempt to appeal Judge Berman’s decision of erasing Brady’s suspension, but any hope of that would be too late for Brady to miss week one. Why doesn’t Goodell just give it a rest though? I mean, you lost pal. Time to get over it, and let this thing die down, it’s been well over half a year.
How it affects you fantasy wise : Before Brady’s suspension was erased, I had him as a low top 10 quarterback. Now that he doesn’t miss those four games, I have Brady ranked a little bit higher in terms of drafting quarterbacks. Take a look at my top 15 fantasy quarterbacks (as of 9/3/15) below :
- Aaron Rodgers – Green Bay Packers
- Andrew Luck – Indianapolis Colts
- Peyton Manning – Denver Broncos
- Russell Wilson – Seattle Seahawks
- Ben Roethlisberger – Pittsburgh Steelers
- Tom Brady – New England Patriots
- Drew Brees – New Orleans Saints
- Matt Ryan – Atlanta Falcons
- Tony Romo – Dallas Cowboys
- Ryan Tannehill – Miami Dolphins
- Eli Manning – New York Giants
- Sam Bradford – Philadelphia Eagles
- Matthew Stafford – Detroit Lions
- Cam Newton – Carolina Panthers
- Carson Palmer – Arizona Cardinals
If you’ve ever looked at my rankings on my other website : The World of the A.B , then you might’ve noticed that these rankings have changed quite a bit. I originally had Brady at ninth … I think. Now I have him as a top 6 fantasy quarterback, surpassing both Drew Brees, and Matt Ryan, both guys who I still deeply like by the way. It’s just that with Brady being a free man, I like him more than those other two guys, and I like him more than a lot of other guys down the list. So if you have a chance to draft Brady about half way through your draft, do it. Brady now should play 16 games, knocks on wood , and should dominate his opponents the very first moment he sniffs NFL turf, because if I know Tommy Brady like I think I do, then he’ll come out this season and play MAD, and with something to prove, and when he plays MAD and with something to prove, he tends to play really, really good. Along with Brady, I still like GRONK tremendously, and wide receivers like Julian Edelman are looking better too. Bottom Line, I REALLY like Brady now that the suspension is gone, and you should too. Draft him, and feel good doing it.
Ok, well thanks for reading this article, and be sure t… Oh wait! I forgot one last thing. If you read my previous article on Jimmy Garroppolo and how I thought he’d do , I apologize. That article was practically for nothing. So I’ll make it up to you. How about this? Here are my predictions for how well I think Brady and the Patriots will do those first four games :
Week 1 – vs Pittsburgh Steelers : Brady throws for over 250 passing yards, and 2-3 touchdowns. Patriots win, 34-24. No Le’Veon Bell for the Steelers, and it’s at Gillette. Bold Prediction : Brady starts the night with a rushing redone touchdown, universe explodes.
Week 2 – at Buffalo Bills : Brady has a tough game, but Pats defense help him out a little bit. Pats win, 23-20. Bold prediction, game ends off of a Stephen Gostowski game winner.
Week 3 – vs Jacksonville Jaguars : Very easy game for Brady, and Pats recievers. I see the running game having success as well. Patriots win, 41-16. Bold Prediction : At least Two ‘GRONK Spikes’ this game.
Week 4 – at Dallas Cowboys : Tough matchup for New England this week, but Brady should be able to take care of the Dallas defense. Patriots win, 27-23. Bold Prediction : Late 4th quarter, Brady finds Edelman for an amazing touchdown to take the lead, and seal the deal.
Yeah, haha, I have the Pats going 4-0 with Brady back.
Okay, now I’m done. Thanks for reading this article, and be sure to check out other great stuff on The Real Ball Insiders ! Also, please follow us on twitter : @RealBallInsider and please follow my personal account on twitter as well : @AlexWbergeR Thanks again, and be sure to keep following us for more great stuff!
Alex Berger