The latest punishment of the New England Patriots came with no press release or other announcement from the NFL. Although the league confirmed reports regarding the price to be paid by the Patriots for the taping of the Cincinnati sideline a week before the Patriots were scheduled to play the Bengals, the league hasn’t done what it’s done in many other instances of discipline: Review the evidence, disclose the penalty, and explain the connection between the conduct and the consequences.
Throw in the fact that the Patriots deftly leaked their agreement with Cam Newton just before the news of the punishment emerged on the Sunday evening of one of the quietest weeks of the year, and this case has gone largely unexplored.