A federal judge put the NFL on the defensive Wednesday over its four-game suspension of Tom Brady, demanding to know what evidence directly links the New England quarterback to deflated footballs and belittling the drama of the controversy.

A court docket for U.S. District Judge Richard M. Berman in New York released Thursday shows ongoing settlement talks are scheduled between the two sides involved in the case of New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady against the NFL.

Berman grilled NFL lawyer Daniel Nash about Goodell’s decision to uphold Brady’s DeflateGate discipline at Wednesday’s hearing.

Tom Brady was in court yesterday in order to take up a legal fight against his four-game suspension for allegedly deflating footballs prior to the AFC Championship game in January. Some people are like sending me snippets though — things, complaints, that I made him look like Lerch or whatever. Jason said of the proceedings that, “it was interesting, Judge Berman wants this case resolved, we’re talking about inflated ego’s and deflated footballs, and Berman gave it to both sides”.

“I don’t know what to make” of the report that concluded Brady was “at least generally aware of the inappropriate activities” of Patriots’ employees involved in letting the air out of the footballs, Berman said.

However, Berman did have some concerns about the way that Brady handled the investigation into his actions-particularly the fact that he destroyed his phone.

“There is no finding in this case that there was anything done by Mr. Brady (in the AFC title game)”. “With pastels, it’s very hard to get accurate when you work small”, she said.

Neither Brady, nor Goodell attended Thursday’s talks.

Kessler did admit (through Brown) that Brady should have responded better to Wells’s requests for information. Kessler claimed that the quarterback got rid of the phone on the advice of his agent to protect his privacy but had otherwise cooperated with the inquiry.

As Goodell arrived at the courthouse, he was greeted by a smattering of boos as he walked inside.

Both parties were instructed to submit further documents by Friday and a second mediation hearing is set for August 19. He increased the pressure on both men by ordering them to appear in court in person to discuss a possible deal.

NFLPA attorney Jeffrey Kessler contended that the NFL had insufficient evidence to punish Brady, and that the league’s collective bargaining agreement does not specify that a player can be suspended for what amounts to an equipment violation.

Brady is arguing against a four-game suspension leveled at him for the role he is alleged to have played in the scandal.