Tom Brady has support from more than the NFLPA in his appeal of his #DeflateGate suspension.
The Steelers say they want him to win, or at least they say so in public.
According to Ed Bouchette of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, a number of Steelers said they hoped Brady prevailed in his appeal so he’d be on the field against them in the Sept. 10 opener.
“Yes, of course,’’ defensive end Cam Heyward said. “The competitor in you wants to see the best team out there and why not beat Tom Brady in Gillette Stadium on a Thursday night game?’’
“We might have a better chance, but when you look at playing these teams and seeing them in the playoffs you want your guys to be ready to go into that situation. So if guys can prepare against playing against the best early, it’s going to help us later down the road.”
That’s a mature and noble position to take, and also kind of a crock. You know what players like better than principled triumph? Triumph. And with the margin in the NFL so small, the idea that the Steelers would give away a better chance at a win if they had a choice is the kind of thing you say in public so people hear you say it.
“We talked about it. What he did [in Deflategate] was probably not right but obviously he’s a proven guy, a proven winner, probably one of the greatest to ever play,” tackle Marcus Gilbert said. “To see him in the opening game of the season would mean a lot, especially to both teams. It would be a great opportunity to play against a legendary quarterback like that.”
It would also create be better opportunity for the Steelers to beat the Patriots if he wasn’t there, but that doesn’t sound as cool.
