{"id":77826,"date":"2016-01-19T16:11:49","date_gmt":"2016-01-19T16:11:49","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/sandbox.web.rcn.net\/rcntv\/?p=77826"},"modified":"2023-04-14T18:47:33","modified_gmt":"2023-04-14T18:47:33","slug":"behind-mic-remember-deflategate","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.astound.com\/atvn\/behind-mic-remember-deflategate\/","title":{"rendered":"Behind the Mic: Remember Deflategate?"},"content":{"rendered":"

As I write this on January 18, 2016, I am reminded that exactly one year ago today the New England Patriots<\/a> defeated the Indianapolis Colts<\/a> by a 45-7 score in the AFC Championship.\u00a0 Prior to the start of the game and during the game, the Colts accused the Patriots of underinflating the footballs.\u00a0 Tom Brady<\/a> was at one point suspended for four games to start this season, only to have the punishment upheld twice on appeal and then have it eventually rescinded because a judge found that there was an absence of \u201cfairness and due process\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cDeflategate\u201d became the center of fans\u2019 attention and media controversy for months on end.\u00a0 Nothing similar has caused a stir this year, but that doesn\u2019t mean the NFL has been without its share of on and off-field problems.\u00a0 It\u2019s just that the microscope has not been as focused on team and player conduct.\u00a0 The Cincinnati-Pittsburgh debacle during the Wild Card weekend may have changed that as rule violation after rule violation occurred.\u00a0 Lest you think this has been a very quiet year for the NFL as far as conduct is concerned, let me give you some interesting facts:<\/p>\n

There have been 16 players suspended this year for a total of 49 games.\u00a0 The common infractions were labeled as \u201cviolation of league\u2019s personal conduct policy\u201d, but they also included punching and breaking the jaw of a teammate, domestic violence, vehicular assault, poking an eye, helmet-to-helmet contact, and repeated violations of safety-related playing rules.\u00a0 Vontaze Burfict<\/a> of the Cincinnati Bengals<\/a> was recently accused of the latter and was suspended for three games next season.\u00a0 He was certainly no angel in the Pittsburgh game.<\/p>\n

Violations of the NFL drug policy are considered separate from the previous infractions.\u00a0 That is a separate category.\u00a0 Substance infractions fall under two headings \u2013 1) those that improve performance; 2) those that are for recreational use.<\/p>\n

Fifty-three players were suspended for these infractions this year accounting for 189 games. Not included in that number are the four players who were suspended for the entire season and two who are listed as \u201cindefinite suspensions\u201d.<\/p>\n

And, by the way, two coaches were suspended for 1) punching a teenager and 2) an undisclosed violation.\u00a0 In addition, the league suspended a general manager for texting his personnel during a game, two equipment handlers, and an official for his failure to catch an 18-second mistake on the clock.<\/p>\n

That is a total of 108 individuals associated with the NFL who required severe discipline by the league.\u00a0 It is a shame we do not hear more about the exemplary players who do a great deal for their community and various charities.\u00a0 Those players do not seek out the headlines, nor do their stories garner much attention.\u00a0 But then there are those who proclaim that they \u201care not role models\u201d. I hope young people take those athletes at their word.\u00a0 Because, obviously, too many of them are not.<\/p>\n

ABOVE THE EARS (SOME MUSINGS)<\/strong><\/p>\n

    \n
  1. I\u2019m sure that Eagles <\/a>fans saw \u201cd\u00e9j\u00e0 vu all over again\u201d as Yogi used to say, when they watched the horrible clock management by Andy Reid<\/a> on Saturday night when the Chiefs <\/a>lost to the Patriots. If you watched the end of each half, I\u2019m sure you were appalled at the total ineptness to control the clock in obvious scoring situations.\u00a0 That is, unless you remember how the Eagles used to do it.<\/li>\n
  2. I invite you to read Greg Joyce\u2019s highly entertaining piece in the Express-Times on former Liberty player Greg Noack, whose basketball season at Monmouth was curtailed due to concussions. He and some teammates, known as the Monmouth Bench Mob, have become nationally known for their sideline antics.\u00a0 It\u2019s a great story. \u00a0Click here <\/a>to read it.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n
      \n
    1. The Eagles hired Doug Pederson<\/a> on Monday to be their new head coach. He was a career backup quarterback (3-14 in 17 games).\u00a0 As the offensive coordinator in Kansas City, he did not call the plays.\u00a0 His head coaching experience was in high school with the Calvary Baptist Academy.\u00a0 Keep your fingers crossed!<\/li>\n
    2. All the home teams won in the NFL this past weekend. I hope you got to see the end of the Packers and Cardinals overtime game.\u00a0 Just amazing!!<\/li>\n
    3. It\u2019s the first match-up of the season Saturday when the Lafayette men play Lehigh in Patriot League basketball. If you are snowed in (which might be the case), give the game a look.\u00a0 It\u2019s LIVE on RCN at 2:00pm.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

      \"Gary's<\/a><\/p>\n

      NFL PICKS LAST WEEK \u2013 10-6; OVERALL 160-96 (63%)<\/strong>
      \nNFL PICKS (WILD CARD) \u2013 3-1<\/strong>
      \nNFL DIVISIONAL PLAYOFFS \u2013 3-1; PLAYOFFS (6-2)<\/strong>
      \n\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

      CONFERENCE CHAMPIONSHIP PICKS<\/strong>
      \nNEW ENGLAND<\/strong>
      \nCAROLINA<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

      As I write this on January 18, 2016, I am reminded that exactly one year ago today the New England Patriots defeated the Indianapolis Colts by a 45-7 score in the AFC Championship.\u00a0 Prior to the start of the game and during the game, the Colts accused the Patriots of underinflating the footballs.\u00a0 Tom Brady…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_relevanssi_hide_post":"","_relevanssi_hide_content":"","_relevanssi_pin_for_all":"","_relevanssi_pin_keywords":"","_relevanssi_unpin_keywords":"","_relevanssi_related_keywords":"","_relevanssi_related_include_ids":"","_relevanssi_related_exclude_ids":"","_relevanssi_related_no_append":"","_relevanssi_related_not_related":"","_relevanssi_related_posts":"","_relevanssi_noindex_reason":"Yoast SEO Relevanssi index exclude","inline_featured_image":false,"_exactmetrics_skip_tracking":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_active":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_note":"","_exactmetrics_sitenote_category":0,"episode_type":"","audio_file":"","podmotor_file_id":"","podmotor_episode_id":"","cover_image":"","cover_image_id":"","duration":"","filesize":"","filesize_raw":"","date_recorded":"","explicit":"","block":"","itunes_episode_number":"","itunes_title":"","itunes_season_number":"","itunes_episode_type":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[2,3,4],"tags":[614,176,404,615],"class_list":["post-77826","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-behind-the-mic","category-featured","category-sports","tag-chiefs","tag-eagles","tag-patriots","tag-steelers"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nBehind the Mic: Remember Deflategate? 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