Tom Brady knows when to just take a sack.
He announced on his Facebook page Friday that he would “no longer proceed with the legal process” in fighting his four-game suspension as a result of the “Deflategate” controversy.
Brady was originally suspended in May 2015 following the release of the Wells Report, an investigation into the Patriots’ use of under-inflated footballs in the AFC championship game.
Backed by the NFL Players Association and a team of lawyers, Brady appealed the suspension.
In July 2015, NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell denied the appeal. Brady and the NFLPA took the case to federal court where the suspension was overturned by Judge Richard Berman before the start of last season.
The NFL appealed to the 2nd U.S. District Court and in April the court sided 2-1 in favor of the league and reinstated Brady’s four-game suspension.
When the court denied Brady’s request for a rehearing, his last resort would have been to ask the U.S. Supreme Court to hear his case.
He said he would not exercise that option, writing on Facebook, “It has been a challenging 18 months. … I’m going to work hard to be the best player I can be for the New England Patriots and I look forward to having the opportunity to return to the field this fall.”
Some Hampshire County Patriots fans would have preferred Brady keep fighting the NFL.
“I wanted him to fight it because I thought he had a legitimate chance of winning,” said Brian Choiniere of Greenfield at The Deck in Northampton. “I think it’s a bogus charge and an over-penalization for what the charge is.”
For many, “Deflategate” has become less about the pressure level of footballs and more about Roger Goodell’s power as NFL commissioner.
“It goes back to ‘Spygate’,” said Springfield’s Vasilios Hatzis, also a Deck patron, referring to a 2007 incident where the Patriots were disciplined for videotaping New York Jets defensive signals from an unauthorized location.
The Patriots and head coach Bill Belichick were fined by the NFL, and the league docked the Patriots a first-round pick in the 2008 NFL draft.
“They’re punishing (Brady) more for that than the deflated footballs,” Hatzis said. “The science has proved the loss of air due to weather, the ideal gas law. They (the NFL) spun it by saying Brady didn’t cooperate, but him and his lawyers cooperated 100 percent.”
Whether Brady is being punished for “Deflategate” or “Spygate”, he won’t take a snap for New England until the Patriots’ Week 5 game against the Browns in Cleveland on Oct. 2.
New England opens the season at the Arizona Cardinals before hosting the Miami Dolphins, Houston Texans and Buffalo Bills.
“They’re going to start 4-0 anyway, it doesn’t matter,” said Michael Lavalle of Easthampton at the Brass Cat.
An undefeated — or even manageable — start likely hinges on the preparedness and effectiveness of 2014 second-round draft pick Jimmy Garoppolo, who has learned from Brady for two seasons as a backup.
Garoppolo hasn’t started a competitive game since his Eastern Illinois team lost to Towson in the 2013 Championship Subdivision quarterfinals.
“Jimmy’s going to come in as a relief pitcher and rock it,” said Easthampton’s Javier Ortiz at Amy’s Place.
The Patriots last faced an extended Brady absence in 2008 when he tore his ACL in the first game of the season.
Matt Cassel led New England to an 11-5 record in relief.
“They made the playoffs with Matt Cassel,” Ortiz said.
“No, they didn’t,” said South Hadley’s Tommy Tucker, sitting next to Ortiz.
“Yeah they did,” Ortiz responded.
“No, they didn’t,” Tucker insisted.
“Yeah, you’re right they didn’t,” Ortiz conceded. “But they almost did.”
The Pats finished second in the AFC East that season and missed the playoffs for only the second time during the Brady era. New England has won the division every year since 2001 with the exception of 2002 and 2008.
That level of institutional consistency keeps Patriots fans believing that the suspension will be a footnote on the season and Brady’s career.
“They’ll miss him,” Ortiz said. “But I think they’re going to manage past those (suspension) games, then Brady’s going to come back and he’s going to start slinging the ball around.”
Kyle Grabowski can be reached at kgrabowski@gazettenet.com.