Boston media on DeflateGate: 'Patriots dynasty is no longer credible'

Now that the punishment for DeflateGate has been handed down by the league, there are those who believe the punishment fits the crime, those who think it was too harsh, and those who think it wasn't harsh enough.

In Boston, while Patriots fans have expressed their defiance with "Free Brady" T-shirts and a GoFundMe page to help the franchise (which charges them $9 a beer) pay the $1 million fine.

As for the New England media, they've been rather pragmatic about it all. The Patriots cheated. Got caught. Got punished. But there will always be some fan boys not willing to accept any form of punishment for deflating footballs.

As for the Patriots, is there any question the team would back its franchise QB?

• Boston Globe columnist Dan Shaungnessy says the DeflateGate punishment was more than the Patriots and their fans expected and New England's dynasty "is no longer credible."

"Now the league has determined that the Patriots are serial cheaters. In the eyes of the NFL, and much of Football America, the Patriots are Alex Rodriguez. For the second time in eight years, New England is being punished in the name of "the integrity of the game.'' Blindly loyal fans can continue to bay at the moon, but unless the Patriots secede from the NFL, this doesn't go away for Brady and the team...

"... In the end, New England was not well-served by its time-tested strategy of denying everything and flipping off the authorities.

"This is bad, folks. Your football dynasty is no longer credible. The Patriots are a punch line across America. Try wearing your Tedy Bruschi jersey next time you fly out of town.

"... We believe the Patriots always win because they are good, smarter, and better-coached than the other guys. Swell. And most likely true. But now all those vanquished opponents can say, "The Patriots win because they cheat.'' And the Patriots and their fans have no answers."

• Talking on ESPN's "Mike and Mike in the Morning," former Patriots WR and current CSN New England analyst Troy Brown was asked point blank if Tom Brady is a cheater.

His response?

"Tom Brady is a winner. He'll do whatever it takes to win."

• Ben Volin of the Boston Globe writes Patriots fans shouldn't blame Roger Goodell "for being too vindictive" or Ryan Grigson "for being too petty." No, Volin writes, Patriots fans only have the franchise they love to blame.

"They have been arrogant and defiant from the start — demanding apologies when none were deserved, ignoring Goodell's orders of full cooperation and obstructing Ted Wells's investigation.

"It was the exact wrong tactic for a team that has been called to the principal's office one too many times in recent years, and with a commissioner looking to reestablish his credibility with the public and the other 31 teams. Now, Goodell is making the Patriots pay."

• The Providence Journal's Jim Donaldson writes, "Brady is brilliant at reading defenses, but he clearly misread the situation he was facing with NFL investigators."

"Brady hurt himself – badly – by his refusal.

"On principle, I believe Brady was in the right. His text messages and e-mails are none of the NFL's damn business.

"As a practical matter, however -- to help himself and avoid hurting his team -- he should have cooperated more fully with the investigators."

• The Boston Herald's Ron Borges says the NFL made an example out of Tom Brady, showing that no one player is bigger than the game.

"This was more than a penalty to Tom Brady, arguably the face of the NFL. It was a warning to his peers that while many things will be tolerated — apparently including wife-beating and multiple drug suspensions — if you monkey with the game, you're going down for the count.

"No one is bigger than the game. Not Johnny Unitas or Jim Brown or Joe Montana or Reggie White. Superstars come and go, burning brightly for a moment, but the game always moves on without them.

"Bill Parcells once told me, "The first time you learn you're a pebble on the beach it's a shock. After a couple times, you get used to it."

"Brady is many things, including one of the greatest quarterbacks in NFL history. But he is not above the rules, nor is he exempt from fully cooperating with an NFL investigation. It is clear neither Wells nor Vincent, a former player of note himself, believes Brady cooperated enough, and so he was made to learn Parcells' lesson.

"In the end, even Tom Brady is a pebble on the beach. Because he didn't realize that, he's been given four weeks to lay on the sand and think about it."

• Chris Villani of Boston's WEEI radio station says the league came down too hard on Tom Brady and that the punishment is so harsh because it's the Patriots:

"That the league would come down hard on the Patriots and Brady is barely surprising, not because they committed some grave crime, or because they did not cooperate fully with investigators, but because this league has a nearly unblemished track record of waiting to be told what's important and how it should react...

"And how do you explain the league waiting through the weekend to dispense its latest version of justice, all while gauging the all important public reaction?

"Again, none of this is meant to excuse or exonerate the Patriots, they deserved some punishment. But it strains credulity to imagine any other franchise, when faced with similar circumstances, would have garnered the same kind of national attention and therefore received as severe a penalty."

• Mark Daniels of the Providence Journal writes Tom Brady's suspension isn't the stiffest punch the NFL threw Monday -- the forfeiture of draft picks is.

"Goodell has delivered a hit to the 2015 Patriots, but also has provided some motivation to carry them through the tough times. Brady's legacy also suffered, but he has four Super Bowl wins to his name that no one can ever take away.

"In the end, it's the loss of the unknown player that hurts the most. The one who could have been in Foxboro all the way through 2020. The next Logan Mankins or Jerod Mayo."