Will the Arizona Cardinals face Tom Brady?

Could the Arizona Cardinals avoid having to face Tom Brady in 2016?

Tom Brady had his suspension upheld today in a Federal Appeals Court after it was overturned by a lower court. This means that Brady, for his part in the deflate-gate scandal, will (for now) need to serve a four game suspension in the coming 2016 NFL season. The court did not find Brady’s innocence or guilt, but merely confirmed that Roger Goodell has the authority to suspend players. 

This is good news, depending on how you look at it, for the Arizona Cardinals who face off against the New England Patriots in Week 1 of the 2016 season on Sunday Night Football. This is good because the Cardinals could avoid having to play against Brady, but it also would lead the game to “have an asterisk” on it as, if the Cardinals did win the game, it would be because one of the best all around quarterbacks in the league was not on the field. To be the best, you have to beat the best, but maybe not in this case.

So what is it, did this high profile game lose some of its luster, in prime time, in the first week of the season because one of the marque players is not going to be playing (at this time). Or will this game still be something to play for.

Many will say that the pressure has transferred to the Arizona Cardinals in this case, with Jimmy Garoppolo leading a Patriots team looking to continue to play with a chip on their shoulder, the onus lies on the Cardinals to take care of business. If the team comes out rusty, and loses to the Brady-less Patriots, it could certainly change the dynamic of the season for the team as they continue on to Week 2 and beyond.

The case could still be appealed to the Supreme Court, or an injunction could be granted to have the entire case retried in the Second Court.

So what is this story to use, now over a year past the initial scandal, that wasn’t that much of a scandal to begin with. Would you rather see the Arizona Cardinals play against a Brady-led Patriots team,play against a backup with barely 30 passes in his career, or is a win a win in this league and when you only play 16 games, who cares who is on the field, these are professional football players and they wouldn’t have made a roster if they didn’t have enough talent to compete.