There are a lot of inevitable moments we get to watch play out during this whole NFL/NFLPA kerfuffle and yesterday we got to see yet another as the NFL filed a motion to dismiss the Tom Brady (& Friends!) case.

Given the recent apparent progress between the two sides, this might seem discouraging.

Take heart! This is not as bad as it seems.

Sure, the news sounds grim. I mean, a hearing in September? YIPES.

Yet just as with the court hearing last Friday, with it's saber rattling post-game rhetoric by both sides, it's really not as bad as it might seem.

I mean, it's bad but not bad.

The decertification of the NFLPA, the court hearing last Friday, this filing—and many more moments— are necessary parts of the process as it now stands.

The NFL had to respond to the case yesterday. Would they have liked to wait a little longer? Probably. However the courts required a response by yesterday and this response was the only one really left to them. Much like the former NFLPA had to decert when they did, even if there was an offer on the table (which was received as late as possibly could be done in order to pressure the NFLPA into a decision and allow the owners to look at the fans and say 'we tried!').

If they were ever going to pull the trigger, it had to be then. Same with the Owners on Monday.

Furthermore - of course they were going to file for a dismissal. So that's far from a shock as well.

So much of this is going through the necessary motions, it's hard to get too upset about it. Friday's hearing and what was said is exactly the same thing.

I mean, I've given the legal counsel in this mess a fair ration of crap in all this but it's important to remember that they're doing a job they've been paid to do. It's like getting angry at Ray Lewis when he puts your quarterback three inches into the turf—it's what he does.

The motion to dismiss had to happen, was always going to happen. It doesn't mean the Owners think they've won nor does it mean they are desperate. It doesn't mean the Players are hosed nor does it mean they're winning.

It's just another part of the already sucktastic process. Yes, that's a word.

Would I like less hyperbole? Yes. Does the idea that there COULD be a hearing in September worry me?

Nope.

At that point it's like worrying about getting a paper cut a month after a nuclear bomb has detonated across the street.

The damage will have long since been done.

*edited to add - So apparently the brief hasn't been filed, just a two page document. Brief is due 42 days before the Sept 12th hearing according to PFT's Mike Florio.

At least it won't be left to the very last minute.