New England Patriots Links 5/15/15 - Hot Air Builds Around #Deflategate: No Longer About Footballs

TEAM TALK

• Rebuttal (Wellsreportcontext.com) The Wells Report in Context.  /Good reference guide.
• Briana Palma gives us 87 reasons why we love Rob Gronkowski.
• Briana Palma posts a video clip of Rob Gronkowski and Odell Beckham Jr. at ESPN playing a round of 'Can You Catch This?'

LOCAL LINKS

• Karen Guregian notes that while initially Robert Kraft didn't want to go down this path, now the gloves are offand the Patriots are officially at war with the NFL.
• Mike Petraglia believes the NFL should end this charade, cut their losses and lift Brad's suspension before it's too late.
• Tom E. Curran notes that the Patriots' rebuttal is effective at pointing out the league's bias.
• Kevin Duffy analyzes eight key points made in the Patriots' rebuttal to the Wells report.
• Mike Reiss digs in on the ramifications of Roger Goodell appointing himself to hear the appeal of Tom Brady's suspension: A possible end game that works for everyone.
• Michael Hurley offers a deeper breakdown of what the Patriots released on Thursday.
• Christopher Price writes that this is the point of no return, with the showdown looming between the commissioner and the Patriots.
• The Herald picks out some unusual out-takes from the Patriots' response to the Wells' report.
• Mike Reiss posts the transcript of this week's online Patriots chat: A lot of deflategate questions, and a few even about football.
• Bill Speros talks about how Tom Brady is trending on social media lately.
• Tim Benz goes full-on snark in his condescending explanation to us slow-witted, knee-jerk reacting Patriots fans, why every other fan base hates us. /Shut up, Benz.

DEFLATEGATE DUMPSTER

• Nate Scott (USA Today) NFL Shop won't allow you to order a Patriots jersey with 'Deflator' on the back.
• Robert Parry (Consortium News) Holes in NFL's 'Deflategate' Report.
• Albert Breer (NFL.com) Brady files appeal of 4-game suspension. (2.53 min. video)
• Lester Munson (ESPN) Not much hope for Tom Brady in appeal. /Takes Wells report as fact.
• Barry Petchesky (Deadspin) Roger Goodell reserves the right to screw over Tom Brady again.
• Jason La Canfora (CBS Sports) Deflategate Wells Report: What to expect now from Tom Brady's camp.
• Michael David Smith (ProFootballTalk) Patriots told Wells that Colts and other teams tampered with footballs.
• John Breech (CBS Sports) Roger Goodell will hear Tom Brady's appeal; no neutral arbitrator.
• Mike Florio (ProFootballTalk) Wells contradicts his own report regarding McNally texts.
• Mike Florio (ProFootballTalk) Did Patriots’ response to Wells report violate league rules? He says, no, Pats criticized Wells report, not league.
• Brad Gagnon (Bleacher Report) Does Tom Brady's all-star legal team stand a chance?
• Jared Dubin (CBS Sports) Patriots attack Wells Report in rebuttal: Three things to know.
• Mike Tanier (Bleacher Report) Did deflated footballs really give the Patriots a fumble advantage?
• Rich Eisen (The Rich Eisen Show) Willie McGinest comments on criticism surrounding Tom Brady. (3.25 min. video)
• Andrew Garda (Sports on Earth) Everybody loses in deflategate.
• Kevin Seifert (Inside Slant) Inside Slant: Robert Kraft's break from NFL authority.
• Jim Buzinski (SB Nation) Why Bill Belichick sees Tom Brady as an opportunity, not a disaster.
• Darin Gantt (ProFootballTalk) Todd Bowles tries to stay out of the #DeflateGate business.
• Mike Florio (ProFootballTalk) Dansby suspects foul play from 2008 game in New England. /Maybe Dansby should re-watch that game.

NON-DEFLATEGATE NEWS

• Kevin Duffy gives us a little insight on Jimmy Garoppolo from the perspectives of his college roommates at Eastern Illinois. Jimmy G. shares some of Brady's perfectionist traits.
• Erik Frenz (Bleacher Report) Assessing every Patriots UDFA's chances of making final roster.
• Sterling Xie (Bleacher Report) Early projections for Patriots' final 53-man roster.
• Report (NFL Trade Rumors) 2015 NFL strength of schedule - based on Vegas Super Bowl odds.
• Tory Barron (ESPN) Ten things to know about Rob Gronkowski and Odell Beckham Jr.
• Jason B. Hirschhorn (Sports on Earth) The NFL's super sophomores.
• Brady Quinn (Football by Football) QB quick hits: '15 class settles into new homes.
• Alex Kaufman (Awful Announcing) ESPN looks to duplicate NFL's success with Combine coverage.