Tom Brady: NFL Savior?

While I'm pondering how I can grow a 'stache like Gardner Minshew...

Look, I'm the last guy who should be wanting to praise Tom Brady for anything. After all, it's because of him (well, maybe it was more Kyle Shanahan) that I will go to my sporting grave with the numbers "28-3" tattooed on my forehead like a scarlet letter. My best friend (who of course is from Massachusetts) is quick to remind me of that number to the point where it haunts me Sunday in and Sunday out. Anyway, Brady has ended many a dynasty for two decades, but it was something he did earlier this evening that might have a greater impact. Hold on, Oakland Raider fans, before you start crying about that "Tuck Rule" again, hear me out.

As the Tennessee Titans-Jacksonville Jaguars game was taking place during Thursday Night Football, Brady sent out a set of tweets blasting the referees for calling a series of heinous penalties. Now, at "It's Sports, It's Life," we tend to look at the more serious issues in the world of sports. However, when the arguably G.O.A.T begins to opine on the state of officiating, that merits a discussion.

This isn't about whether or not the referees are not simply doing their job, it's about a league that refuses to acknowledge a problem that they created. It was in their desire to kowtow to pressure from one blown call in last year's NFC Championship that has led to the yellow flags being thrown more than the footballs through two weeks. The men in stripes, through no fault of their own, are calling any 50-50 play in favor of the offense. It led to an atrocious call in Sunday's Denver-Chicago game which led to the Bears kicking a game-winning FG (if only that had occurred last January). ISIL is predicting that by year's end some team is going to be on the wrong side of a roughing the passer penalty that will make that call a reviewed one by a disgruntled team.

But back to Brady. He's already had the most accomplished career of any football player ever, and even with a simple tweet can get others to listen. After all, his legend began on a controversial call, isn't it time for Tom Terrific to give back by pushing for change? He can even create the next Twitter craze and call it #PutTheFlagsAway.

By doing so, he can get back to doing what so many Americans did, and watch the exciting battle between Marcus Mariotta and Gardner Minshew. Who'd want to miss that?

Check out our latest episode of the Final Five on the Washington Redskins: http://tobtr.com/s/11512855

An NFL Potpourri...

As we near closer to the 2015 NFL training camps, a bevy of stories came out today, so we're going to highlight all of them in brief...

From the world of Deflategate or "the big-story-that-should've-never-been-a-big-story" Commissioner Roger Goodell upheld the 4 game suspension of New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady due to using deflated balls during the 2015 AFC Championship Game this past January. The straw that broke the camel's back was based on a report that Brady destroyed his cell phone which contained the text messages for the two assistants on the team to ensure that the balls were deflated. Brady plans to sue and the Players' Association will file an appeal.

Although the league has no subpoena power to obtain the phone records, the fact that he continues to deny that this occurred through what appears to be a cover-up proves an old adage: Shun the very appearance of evil. It's the equivalent of the kid who ate his mother's cookies when told not to and then tries to throw away the plate when she asks "who did it?" Guilty or not, there is no better freedom of the mind and soul than to just confess our sins. Had he just confessed when the report first came out and apologized, more than likely his preparation would be for the first Thursday night of the season against Pittsburgh, not against the NFL in a court of law.

Last week we discussed the image of women in male-dominated sports and how it is beginning to change. Today we have seen yet another barrier broken as Jen Welter, who played professional football in an indoor league, was hired to work with the Arizona Cardinals inside linebackers corps as a preseason intern coach, the first female coach in league history.

"The heart factor, the intelligent factor, being the person with the motor that will never quit factor," Welter said at a news conference earlier this afternoon, "you can overcome any limitation."

Overcoming limitations is what we should be always strive to do, history is never accomplished by those who decide comfort makes a better home. Congratulations to Welter and hopefully this is an encouragement to the next person who is told "You can't do it!"



From the "what happens in the locker room stays in the locker room" files, we have former New Orleans Saints LB Junior Galette, who was released last week among allegations of a domestic assault in 2013. He decided to air his grievances against his former teammates on Twitter, using his girlfriend's account to levy accusations such as Saints Head Coach Sean Payton is a drug addict, to former teammate Will Smith punching his wife. Multiple team sources revealed a rift between Galette and teammates, alleging that he got into fights in the locker room and was unwilling to train with them after signing his extension last year. (Visit Canal Street Chronicles if you want to see the NSFW tweets that he sent out.)

Whether these accusations are true or not, it shows the display of poor judgment that Galette has displayed. While grace should be extended and he shouldn't be blacklisted in spite of his actions, his next employer should have a serious heart-to-head talk with him and see if he is contrite. If not, buyer beware.