http://espn.go.com/espn/otl/story/_/...patriots-apart
I'm going to make a bit of a 180 here.
I just read this and maybe I see things differently Bob. I am guessing you feel like the owners who were autonomously quoted here. That New England got an almost free pass on a super serious cheating scandal with Spygate. They cheated for a huge competitive balance and probably won super bowls as a direct result of that cheating. Then they mostly got away with it. Other owners and fans begrudgingly accepted the punishment but always felt it should have been worse.
So this time around Goodell had to go for blood because his bosses wished they had last time. So even though there was no evidence, possibly/probably even no crime, and no real competitive advantage gained if there was one, everyone felt it was time to crush them.
I still think everything that has happened regarding only this case is a joke. The league has run a failed sting, paid millions for a clearly biased report, and leaked reports to create the story in the first place. It is likely the Patriots tried to have their balls right at or slightly less inflated than the 12 lb rule. That is like having pine tar a half an inch too high on the bat. Not to mention the Colts had under-inflated balls in the same game.
But when you cheat in the past, you kind of earn that kind of reaction.