Patriots Accused Of Deflating Footballs

[BradyFan81 404]

Honestly I still am not convinced the refs thoroughly checked the balls PSI pregame. NFL: "Hey, did you check the balls before the game? If not you're fired btw." Refs: "Uhhh, yeah we totally did."

 

It's pretty clear that the refs don't always check them, because Aaron Rodgers said that he will overinflate them, and hope the refs don't check them and remove air. Sometimes it works and he sneaks them in. But why would Rodgers even bother if he knew that the refs ALWAYS without fail check the balls thoroughly? Clearly the refs will sometimes let it go.

 

 

And it does appear there were concerns raised to the league about our footballs before this game, and the league wanted to catch us redhanded at halftime. But wouldn't it have been better for the league to warn us instead and tell us to inflate our footballs more so that the integrity of the game wasn't potentially compromised? If they're all about integrity, that's the route that should have been taken rather than putting on the sting operation. But heck they could have warned the Pats for all we know, we still know very little about the situation. Which is why it's a joke how much the media has been raking us over the coals the past few days. It's fucking pathetic.

 

 

[Attyla the Hawk 197]

But wouldn't it have been better for the league to warn us instead and tell us to inflate our footballs more so that the integrity of the game wasn't potentially compromised?

 

 

 

I'm guessing it would have been better if the Patriots didn't deflate the balls after they were given custody of them by the refs.

 

The balls don't arrive deflated. And it's seems beyond absurd that they gave half the balls to NE and half to the Colts and the only deflated balls are virtually all of the ones in possession of NE.

 

Ultimately, I don't think it's a big issue. But I also expect that there will be greater scrutiny on the state of the balls used by NE in the Super Bowl. I do believe there is a competitive advantage for NE in particular for deflating the balls. Obviously comfort and softness is key to that. It'll be interesting to see how NE performs with standard balls. Because I'm pretty sure the ones they play with in SB49 will be legal. I don't think it's out of the realm of expectation that they've been doing this for years.

 

The bigger issue of course, is that there is always the probability that there are more cases of fudging with the rules that are undetected. Belichick is a brilliant coach. And he's a lot like the pitching great Gaylord Perry. Who was always suspected of cheating with foreign substances with his pitching. The way he would get into batters' heads by his histrionics between pitches was brilliant. Obviously he was caught on multiple occasions of doctoring the ball. But most of the time he didn't. He didn't do anything to avoid that perception and even went the other way by promoting the perception.

 

Belichick gets into opponents' heads. In a sublime variety of ways. This year it's formations and 'quasi cheating'. It's gamesmanship at it's finest. Whether you're a pats fan or just a fan of the game. There is room for gamesmanship in professional sports. It shouldn't be a source of shame for Pats fans in the least.

[BradyFan81 404]

It'll be interesting to see how NE performs with standard balls.

 

You mean like in the 2nd half when we went on a 28-0 run?

[Favre4Ever+ 4,476]

The more interesting thing is going to be how NE reacts to this... I don't expect them too, but any lesser team could easily get down in the dumps about such negative publicity and their play would definitely be negatively effected. I don't think Bill has his guys trained that way, so it probably won't be an issue. I hope they come out pumped up... I hope they feel like they need to prove something to themselves or media types and destroy the Hawks...

Who knows though.

[Attyla the Hawk 197]

And the change has been enacted for the SB:

 

http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2015/01/22/bears-equipment-manager-in-charge-of-super-bowl-footballs/

 

 

league spokesman Michael Signora said. “At the Super Bowl, the equipment manager of another team [bears, Tony Medlin] is in charge of the game balls and arranging for the ball attendant crews, which are hired before the Super Bowl teams are determined. The officials will maintain strict control of the game balls for the Super Bowl.

[Sarge+ 3,436]

As I said, they should have been doing that all along.

[BucD+ 648]

[Vin+ 3,121]

 

http://hosted.stats.com/fb/story.asp?i=20150122104501502920608

 

FOXBOROUGH, Mass. (AP) The two men most responsible for delivering wins for the New England Patriots both said Thursday they have no explanation for how footballs used to reach the Super Bowl were underinflated by 2 pounds per square inch.

 

Patriots quarterback Tom Brady said he has not been contacted by the NFL, even as league officials investigate whether the team cheated against the Indianapolis Colts.

 

"I don't know what happened," Brady said, answering questions from reporters hours after Patriots coach Bill Belichick said he almost never thinks about football pressure and doesn't know what happened, either.

 

Unlike Belichick, who briefly answered questions after a long opening remark by repeatedly saying "I've told you everything I know" and "I don't have an explanation," Brady answered many questions and said he doesn't think about football conditions during games.

 

"I get the snap, I drop back, I throw the ball," Brady said. "I don't sit there and try to squeeze it and determine that."

 

He does, however, have his preferences - he likes the football to be pumped to 12.5 pounds per square inch of air pressure, he said. The NFL requires balls to be inflated between 12.5 and 13.5 pound per square inch.

 

"To me, that's a perfect grip for the football," he said. "I would never do anything outside the rules of play."

 

With different approaches, Belichick and Brady sent a unified message: Both said they have no clue how the footballs were tampered with or switched, and started learning about the issue along with fans and everyone else.

 

"I have no knowledge of anything, any wrongdoing," Brady said when asked who on the Patriots was responsible for the underinflated footballs. "I'm very comfortable saying nobody did it as far as I know."

 

Brady said he picks the game balls he wants to use several hours before kickoff, then doesn't think about them at all. He said he didn't know the protocol for handling game balls after he chooses them.

 

"Once I approve the ball that's the ball that I expect out there on the field," Brady said. "It wasn't even a thought, inkling or concern of mine that they weren't the same ball."

 

Belichick said that before this week, he didn't give air pressure in footballs much thought at all.

 

"I've learned a lot more about this process in the last three days than I knew or have talked about it in the last 40 years that I've coached in this league," Belichick said during an 8 1/2-minute opening statement during an 11 1/2-minute news conference Thursday morning.

 

While neither Belichick nor Brady took responsibility for the underinflated balls, neither absolved anyone besides themselves of potential wrongdoing.

 

Softer balls are generally considered easier to throw and catch, and quarterbacks, specialists and equipment managers are known to have very individualized preferences in how footballs are readied for games. Belichick said he was unaware of the process for game balls until the accusations were raised.

 

Belichick said he sometimes hears quarterbacks, kickers and other specialists talk about their preferences.

 

"I can tell you and they will tell you that there is never any sympathy from me whatsoever on that subject. Zero," Belichick said.

 

Under league rules, each team provides 12 balls for use on offense. Referees approve the balls more than 2 hours before game time, then keep the balls until they're turned over to ball handlers provided by home teams just before kickoff.

 

Belichick said the balls used by the Patriots offense are inflated to the "12 1/2-pound range" and "any deflation would then take us under that."

 

Going forward, he said, the Patriots will inflate footballs to a safe level to prevent them from dropping under allowable air pressure during games.

 

The coach who has won three Super Bowls said he generally forces players to practice under bad-ball conditions.

 

"Anytime players complain about the quality of the footballs, I make it worse and that stops the complaints," he said. "We never use the condition of the footballs as an excuse. We play with whatever or kick with whatever we have to use."

 

The issue has drawn inflated reaction from around the game and its fans as the Patriots prepare to play the Seattle Seahawks on Feb. 1 in Glendale, Arizona, for the NFL title.

 

Several players said it would not distract them in preparing for the game.

 

"We'd rather be celebrating our trip to the Super Bowl," special teams captain Matthew Slater said. "It's important to us that we respect the game and deal with things in a way that's considered professional."

 

But Brady said the topic of the sport's integrity is serious.

 

"Everyone's trying to figure out what happened but at the same time you've got to prepare for the Seahawks," he said.

[oochymp 2,393]

Patriots quarterback Tom Brady said he has not been contacted by the NFL, even as league officials investigate whether the team cheated against the Indianapolis Colts.

 

sounds like a real thorough investigation

[Favre4Ever+ 4,476]

Baltimore Ravens defensive end Chris Canty said the New England Patriots are "habitual line-steppers" and that the use of underinflated footballs should be dealt with on the same level as players taking steroids or other banned substances.

 

http://espn.go.com/nfl/story/_/id/12210318/chris-canty-baltimore-ravens-says-new-england-patriots-habitual-line-steppers

[Sacks98 28]

Even if they did cheat or have knowledge of it doubt they would admit to it.

Edited January 23, 2015 by Sacks98

[DBR96A 87]

http://espn.go.com/nfl/story/_/id/12210318/chris-canty-baltimore-ravens-says-new-england-patriots-habitual-line-steppers

 

Then again, the Ravens are literally never at fault when they lose.

[Vin+ 3,121]

Hey guys, we did an internal investigation and we're totally not cheaters.

 

 

Coach Bill Belichick said the Patriots followed "every rule to the letter" in their process of preparing game balls for the AFC Championship.

The Patriots called a press conference on Saturday to announce the results of an internal investigation into 'DeflateGate.' Belichick believes the Patriots' game-day process for preparing footballs artificially created a 1.5 pound difference in PSI, which led to the balls being inflated less in the second half. The NFL's investigation into DeflateGate remains ongoing, but there's unlikely to be any resolution before the Super Bowl. New England would be subject to lost draft picks if the league determines they illegally deflated footballs.[

Edited January 25, 2015 by Vin

[Thanatos 2,847]

God this Superbowl.

 

Can I really root for the Pats?

 

...

 

Yes. Yes I can.

[Guest Phailadelphia]

This is the lamest, most overblown "scandal" this league has probably ever seen.

[Thanatos 2,847]

Did you see Mark Brunell practically crying about it? Lmao.

Edited January 25, 2015 by Thanatos19

[Guest Phailadelphia]

The hyperbole is reaching comedic levels of idiocy. I saw an article on ESPN about how this could taint Brady's legacy. It's ridiculous.

 

We watch a league with women abusers, drunk drivers killing their teammates, and where every Sunday players deal each other significant brain injuries but god forbid a team deflate the football by a couple of psi. That could really threaten the integrity of the league!!!

 

/s

[Vin+ 3,121]

[BradyFan81 404]

But what has the NFL really found? As one league source has explained it to PFT, the football intercepted by Colts linebacker D’Qwell Jackson was roughly two pounds under the 12.5 PSI minimum. The other 10 balls that reportedly were two pounds under may have been, as the source explained it, closer to one pound below 12.5 PSI.

http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2015/01/25/nfl-bears-plenty-of-blame-for-deflategate/

 

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you've gotta be kidding me.

[DonovanMcnabb for H.O.F 2,241]

Least it's making for some funny memes...

[Sarge+ 3,436]

 

Wonder what's gonna happen to those seats...

[DBR96A 87]

This is the lamest, most overblown "scandal" this league has probably ever seen.

 

[Favre4Ever+ 4,476]

This story is so soft... Just when you thought the league had hit an all time low with the woman beating stuff, this comes along and deflates everyone's egos even further.

[FartWaffles 1,857]

This story is so soft... Just when you thought the league had hit an all time low with the woman beating stuff, this comes along and deflates everyone's egos even further.

Edited January 26, 2015 by FartWaffles

[Sarge+ 3,436]