Pats Cheated... Again. Deflategate

[Bob Sacamano]

Brady played better in the 2nd half after the balls were taken away.

 

[yimyammer]

~BORING~

 

[Doomsday]

On a cold, rainy day with everyone bundled up, I could see a ballboy holding a football in the crook of his elbow with his arms kind of crossed sticking a needle in the ball for a few second with no one ever noticing it. Especially during a conference championship game when all eyes are on the field.

This times 12... And one after the other? Just seems risky.

 

[peplaw06]

On a cold, rainy day with everyone bundled up, I could see a ballboy holding a football in the crook of his elbow with his arms kind of crossed sticking a needle in the ball for a few second with no one ever noticing it. Especially during a conference championship game when all eyes are on the field.

Hell, they could be hiding the balls under their coats with the needle in them.

 

[Doomsday]

Which, this all brings me back to the rule to start with. Why so tight of a window for inflation anyway? They should widen the window, and let the teams decide what pressures they want to use, within the window. Same options for everyone, therefore no cheat. What control freak decided the window for inflation needed to be so tight?

 

[peplaw06]

That's what Aaron Rodgers has been out there saying... He argues that you don't gain an advantage by OVERinflating the ball as a passer. He says they should have a minimum, but no maximum for team balls. He thinks K balls should stay as is, because you can gain an advantage when kicking an overinflated ball.

 

[Doomsday]

That's what Aaron Rodgers has been out there saying... He argues that you don't gain an advantage by OVERinflating the ball as a passer. He says they should have a minimum, but no maximum for team balls. He thinks K balls should stay as is, because you can gain an advantage when kicking an overinflated ball.

I definitely agree with the bolded.

But really, the window should be much wider for the game balls. It's silly to think they're really EVER within the tight window they're requiring, at all times.

 

[Irving Cowboy]

I think the final score is irrelevant.

Exactly. You punish the intent, not the result.

 

[Doomsday]

More to it:

Deflategate: Baltimore Ravens tipped off Indianapolis Colts about New England Patriots' deflating footballs | FOX Sports

The Baltimore Ravens tipped off the Indianapolis Colts going into the AFC title game about the Patriots doctoring the air in footballs, according to FOX Sports NFL Insider Jay Glazer.

According to Glazer, the NFL was already planning to inspect the balls at halftime, despite D'Qwell Jackson's interception originally being reported as the cause.

While the NFL is still investigating and figuring out what direction to go in terms of possible penalties for Bill Belichick and the Patriots in what is being dubbed "Deflategate," many NFL owners, general managers and coaches are tired of the Patriots and are wondering if the league will finally take a hard line.

The NFL says its investigation is ongoing after a report Tuesday night claimed the league found 11 balls were not properly inflated.

Troy Vincent, the NFL's executive vice president for football operations, told The Associated Press that the "investigation is currently underway and we're still awaiting findings."

Vincent was responding to an ESPN report that cited anonymous league sources saying 11 of the Patriots' 12 allotted game footballs were underinflated by 2 pounds per square inch of air. ESPN did not say how that occurred.

Vincent said earlier Tuesday he expected the probe to be concluded by the end of the week. The last thing the NFL wants after a difficult season off the field is a potential cheating scandal that disrupts Super Bowl week. New England faces Seattle on Feb. 1 in Glendale, Arizona.

The Patriots, who beat Indianapolis 45-7 for the AFC title, said they were cooperating with the league, and a Seahawks spokesman said the team would defer to the league on the matter.

The NFL began looking into the issue not only because doctoring the footballs could provide a competitive advantage, but because it would compromise the integrity of the game.

Deflating a football can change the way it's gripped by a player or the way it travels through the air. Some quarterbacks and receivers prefer balls with less air or more air than the standard.

Under NFL rules, each team provides balls each game for use when its offense is on the field. The balls are inspected before the game by the officiating crew, then handled during the game by personnel provided by the home team.

Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers said on ESPN radio in Milwaukee that he didn't like how referees handle the balls. If balls come in over-inflated, the referees take some air out.

"I have a major problem with the way it goes down, to be honest with you," Rodgers said. "The majority of the time, they take air out of the football. I think that, for me, is a disadvantage."

Rodgers said referees have a set range in which they "like to set game balls," and that he always liked the higher end of the range because of his grip.

"I just have a hard time throwing a flat football," Rodgers said. He thought a slight majority of quarterbacks like footballs on the flatter side.

"My belief is that there should be a minimum air-pressure requirement but not a maximum," Rodgers said. "There's no advantage, in my opinion. We're not kicking the football. There's no advantage in having a pumped-up football."

Patriots quarterback Tom Brady said the investigation is the least of his worries. And tight end Rob Gronkowski tweeted a photo of himself spiking the ball with the words: "WARNING GRONKING MAY CAUSE DEFLATION."

Patriots coach Bill Belichick on Tuesday deferred questions about the investigation, saying reporters should ask league officials. Belichick earlier said he wasn't aware there was an issue until Monday morning and promised to "cooperate fully with whatever the league wants us to, whatever questions they ask."

Belichick, of course, was fined $500,000 in 2007 for having an assistant spy on the New York Jets' defensive signals.

Special teams captain Matthew Slater said the Patriots "try to do things the right way. We work hard at our jobs, our professions, to be successful and it's unfortunate that things like this come up, but that's life, that's the world we live in."

Colts coach Chuck Pagano said he did not notice issues with the football and didn't specify when asked whether the Colts had reported the issue to officials.

"We talk just like they talk to officials (before the game)," he said. "We have an opportunity to talk to the officials about a lot of things."

 

[Doomsday]

Special teams captain Matthew Slater said the Patriots "try to do things the right way. We work hard at our jobs, our professions, to be successful and it's unfortunate that things like this come up, but that's life, that's the world we live in."

Yeah, unfortunate you keep getting caught CHEATING.

 

[peplaw06]

Vincent said earlier Tuesday he expected the probe to be concluded by the end of the week. The last thing the NFL wants after a difficult season off the field is a potential cheating scandal that disrupts Super Bowl week. New England faces Seattle on Feb. 1 in Glendale, Arizona.

Good luck avoiding this story ahead of the Super Bowl.

 

[Hoofbite]

The officials handle the balls after every snap, some times multiple officials at a time. How did the same guys who check it not notice a difference at all?

How fucking stupid to have teams supply their own balls anyway. What is this, little league?

The league should supply them and check the psi before the game. Needle a little quickset epoxy into the bung and if it feels flat at any point it comes out of the game. After each game the ball goes back to the manufacturer to replace the bung entirely.

 

[VTA]

Holy shit, what a way to take the fun out of everything, but to micro-manage every little aspect of a fucking game. Such an insecure age, that every minute little touch is perceived as an unfair advantage. Will fitting your pants just right become a problem in the foreseeable future? The proper tightness of the laces measured? After all, a guy might have an unfair advantage if his uniform fits to his taste.

Deflate-gate.

 

[Irving Cowboy]

Next thing you know they are going to go after the cleat lengths.

 

[VTA]

Next thing you know they are going to go after the cleat lengths.

The game will probably become un-watchable in 10 years if this continues.

 

[peplaw06]

Holy shit, what a way to take the fun out of everything, but to micro-manage every little aspect of a fucking game. Such an insecure age, that every minute little touch is perceived as an unfair advantage. Will fitting your pants just right become a problem in the foreseeable future? The proper tightness of the laces measured? After all, a guy might have an unfair advantage if his uniform fits to his taste.

Deflate-gate.

Every pro sport has strict requirements for the ball that they use. Uniforms are totally different.

 

[VTA]

Every pro sport has strict requirements for the ball that they use.

And every pro sport is affected by the societal mind-set of insecurity.

Uniforms are totally different.

Are they? I'm fairly sure I remember some nonsense concerning a players shirt being untucked...but I'm not entirely sure. But I don't doubt it will become part of the problem, in the ever increasing desire to micro-manage everything. If Brady plays better with a softer ball, who gives a crap? Does that prevent the defense from rushing him and doing their job? Or the CB's job of coverage?

 

[peplaw06]

And every pro sport is affected by the societal mind-set of insecurity.

Ugh... everything goes back to politics with you.

I will say though, your statement makes it all the more bizarre that you're a fan of sports.

Uniforms are totally different.

Are they? I'm fairly sure I remember some nonsense concerning a players shirt being untucked...but I'm not entirely sure. But I don't doubt it will become part of the problem, in the ever increasing desire to micro-manage everything. If Brady plays better with a softer ball, who gives a crap? Does that prevent the defense from rushing him and doing their job? Or the CB's job of coverage?

Most uniform rules aren't for the purpose of preventing one team from having a competitive advantage over the other. You're barking up the wrong tree about that. A team with black socks doesn't have an advantage over a team with white socks. The uniforms are tangential to the game. The ball is the center of the game.

And a softer ball does help the offense. There's really no disputing that, otherwise, why would they do this? If they didn't feel like they could perform better with a ball that wasn't properly inflated, then they would play with properly inflated balls.

 

[bbgun]

Uniforms are totally different.

couldn't agree more

 

[bbgun]

And a softer ball does help the offense. There's really no disputing that, otherwise, why would they do this? If they didn't feel like they could perform better with a ball that wasn't properly inflated, then they would play with properly inflated balls.

prediction: the Pats are gonna find a patsie (no pun intended) to fall on his sword and say that he deflated the balls without Brady's or Belichick's knowledge.