ESPN: 11 of 12 footballs under inflated by 2 pounds of air.

[Oswlek]

Someone just made a great point on EEI that, of course, went over the hosts' heads.

Two QBs face off, one with his ball inflated at 10.5 and the other at 12.5. Both are set to QB preference and the acceptable range is 12-13.5. Who has the competitive advantage?

Answer? Neither, because each QB was able to use balls that he was most comfortable with. Only if the latter would have preferred a psi outside of the acceptable range but chose to stay within the rules is there any reason to suggest anyone got a competitive advantage. The same is true for numbers above the range as well.

So, the real question is, why even have a range set in the first place? If seasoned refs couldn't tell a difference despite handling the balls between every down, what is the point of the apparently arbitrary pressure range?

 

[FalconHeavy]

We're being set up.

when it looks like a setup, quacks like a setup, IT IS A SETUP

 

[kennyb]

Someone just made a great point on EEI that, of course, went over the hosts' heads.

Two QBs face off, one with his ball inflated at 10.5 and the other at 12.5. Both are set to QB preference and the acceptable range is 12-13.5. Who has the competitive advantage?

Answer? Neither, because each QB was able to use balls that he was most comfortable with. Only if the latter would have preferred a psi outside of the acceptable range but chose to stay within the rules is there any reason to suggest anyone got a competitive advantage. The same is true for numbers above the range as well.

So, the real question is, why even have a range set in the first place? If seasoned refs couldn't tell a difference despite handling the balls between every down, what is the point of the apparently arbitrary pressure range?

good theoretical point, but it won't fly. Especially as the NFL would say running teams would deflate the balls to make it harder to fumble.

 

[JMC00]

Matt Leinart ‏@MattLeinartQB 3m3 minutes ago
Every team tampers with the footballs. Ask any Qb In the league, this is ridiculous!!

Ya it's been gone over but the best QB in the league gloated about overinflating his footballs

 

[dales804]

Rodgers implied that he gets away with it. He gets it past them somehow.

I thought he just said that they over-inflated them before the game and hoped it would slip by the refs. This is what Phil Simms said during that broadcast when he's quoting Rodgers:

'I like to push the limit to how much air we can put in the football, even go over what they allow you to do and see if the officials take air out of it.'

Source

 

[nabwong]

1. davikes says:Jan 21, 2015 11:40 AM
   I still think McCarthy did it to distract people from The Choke. And it’s working.

Funniest comment.

 

[JMC00]

I thought he just said that they over-inflated them before the game and hoped it would slip by the refs. This is what Phil Simms said during that broadcast when he's quoting Rodgers:

Source

And you don't think there has been countless times he got them by them? I'd bet his best games have come after he got the overinflated balls past the refs.

 

[wizwor]

Be patient...........this is likely a physics explanation which will exonerate the Pats

We will find out that Coach has a guy and the guy has a gas that loses volume at a higher temperature than air. The balls were all at the edge at inspection and got deflated as the temps dropped outside. I do not believe this is against the rules which only prohibit tampering after inspection.

 

[DanishPatFan]

I thought he just said that they over-inflated them before the game and hoped it would slip by the refs. This is what Phil Simms said during that broadcast when he's quoting Rodgers:

Source

That is all fine, but if someone from the Patriots removed air from the Balls after they have been checked by the officials then i Think it Will be cheating

 

[Gronk]

I thought he just said that they over-inflated them before the game and hoped it would slip by the refs. This is what Phil Simms said during that broadcast when he's quoting Rodgers:

What's the difference? Teams are responsible for providing their own game balls, and knowingly inflating the ball outside the designated range is the supposed crime the Pats are accused of, correct? Rodgers is on record to admitting as much. GUILTY. Or is it only a crime if the officials fail to notice? To be fair Rodgers also has said he does think there should be a minimum psi, just no maximum. But that's not the rule.

 

[Bobsyouruncle]

Are any of these reports from the NFL, or still unnamed sources?

 

[SalemPats]

Not true

Get over it, we slaughtered your beloved Colts. Sorry that we're smarter than you guys

 

[heavyde050]

PP2,

Austin says all the balls were measured at start of halftime, Pats balls were all underinflated, Colts balls all fine. As someone else mentioned, this is what he said, but he was not in the room at halftime.

And its like i said earlier...i think Brady is the best QB i have ever seen. But what happens now , if this is proven true...people will go back to all his cold weather/rainy/snowy games and say he had an advantage. Sucks for Brady, sucks for Pats fans.

For the record, I do not want sanctions against Belichek or Brady...if we(Bills) can ever, ever win the division again, i want it beating the Pats at their best..not with an asterisk saying Pats were constrained somehow.

AND BTW, like most Bills fans, we still consider ourselves O for Gilette, that last game just does not count

Honest question, Would you feel they should look at all Rodgers games because he likes them over inflated?

 

[QuantumMechanic]

What's the difference? Teams are responsible for providing their own game balls, and knowingly inflating the ball outside the designated range is the supposed crime the Pats are accused of, correct?

No. They are accused of deflating the balls after they were given to the refs for testing. And IMHO that's a big difference from submitting under-inflated balls and hoping the refs missed them.

 

[KamikazeKnight]

SIMPLE SOLUTION:

All NFL game balls stay in the custody of the NFL. No custody whatsoever of game balls should ever lie with the teams.

Why does this half trillion dollar league invite trouble?

They're like the idiot who keeps forgetting to turn off the stove.

I did it

Except the refs then check the ball and let air out to get them in the allowed range. Just like the refs checked the balls for NE before the game and they were there. Before halftime, however, they were not.

Sure, but when the refs let air out because Rodger's balls are overinflated, there isn't a whole media ****storm and accusations of cheating. Yet the Patriots underinflate their balls and suddenly it's a huge news story. That's not acceptable.

 

[sambam94]

I did t

Sure, but when the refs let air out because Rodger's balls are overinflated, there isn't a whole media ****storm and accusations of cheating. Yet the Patriots underinflate their balls and suddenly it's a huge news story. That's not acceptable.

you really don't see the difference? If someone let the air out after the refs checked them, that is cheating...As a Pats fan, I'm pissed..

 

[dales804]

And you don't think there has been countless times he got them by them? I'd bet his best games have come after he got the overinflated balls past the refs.

Perhaps he has. I'm not debating that. I'm going on the information that we have. Based on everything we've heard and read on how officials treat those game balls, they make damn sure they're at the standard pressure before the game.

 

[SHOWTIME15]

you really don't see the difference? If someone let the air out after the refs checked them, that is cheating...As a Pats fan, I'm pissed..

In rodgers case the air is let out by the officials to comply with league standards. For the patriots the air is let out by the patriots (allegedly) to cirumvent league standards.

 

[KamikazeKnight]

you really don't see the difference? If someone let the air out after the refs checked them, that is cheating...As a Pats fan, I'm pissed..

Where's your evidence that anyone in the Patriots organization let the air out after the refs checked them? All you have are underinflated balls. That proves nothing.

 

[dales804]

That is all fine, but if someone from the Patriots removed air from the Balls after they have been checked by the officials then i Think it Will be cheating

Yes, me too. I find this crap unreal. Can't believe this organization and its fans are going through this again.