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

MassPats38 · Jan 21, 2015

PatsDeb said:
I don't get this. I was sure they were going to say it was nothing. I was at the game and the refs meticulously wiped down the ball after each play because of the rain. They didn't notice the balls were underinflated but a receiver did? All being under by exactly two lbs. sounds like the failure of somebody's machine, although if they didn't check the balls until today, who's to say they didn't deflate between Sunday and now? Oy. I think I am going to take a few days off from all media. Too bad because I was looking forward to some good football talk. Now it's all going to be this garbage like it was today.

The officials handle footballs, thousands of them in a season. They place the ball in play every single down. If there is an issue with the football, as dramatic issue as a 17% pressure differential would appear to suggest, were they suffering from some tactile malfunction the entire game? It makes no sense at all.

Given the fact the effect of temperature on pressure is not novel, I cannot believe these balls would be inspected indoors and brought outdoors (not to mention it was not that cold at game time). Maybe they were. This whole thing just stinks, but I seriously doubt that this was some design scheme because its not like other teams have not intercepted a Brady pass or recovered a fumble. That type of flat ball would have been discovered much earlier than now. The NFL fan bases can now salivate at our disdain in the slow newsweek before the Pro Bowl.

The NFL said a few more days. I am swearing off the media until Thursday, and will wait to hear if my co-workers fire shots at me then to peak at the news again. This is like 2007 all over again with the national media. It sucks.

Patradomous · Jan 21, 2015

I hope there is a good explanation for this. I hope its negligence on the refs part.

However on the extreme, because this no longer a joke. IF IF And only IF they can directly tie this to Belichick. Kraft needs to fire him immediately to save the reputation of him and his franchise. I hate to say it but its true.
I pray this isn't tied to BB directley.

smg93 · Jan 21, 2015

I guess an interview with the ball boy is in order...

BadMoFo · Jan 21, 2015

Gwedd said:
And then there's this:

http://nesn.com/2015/01/ex-ref-jim-daopoulos-deflategate-only-big-deal-because-its-the-patriots/

Read more at: http://nesn.com/2015/01/ex-ref-jim-daopoulos-deflategate-only-big-deal-because-its-the-patriots/

Yeah but that was before the Mort Report. Who knows what he would say now.

Bill Lee · Jan 21, 2015

MassPats38 said:
Not really sure what that is supposed to mean. If the officials did their job, then the balls should have been properly inflated for the game and a non-issue.

One lesson of "spygate" is that NFL rules as printed don't really apply, sigh...

sambam94 said:
so what were the colt's balls weight?

Considerably less this Monday morning!

Belmont Henry said:
I was looking forward to a great week of discussions and analysis, but now this garbage will be all over the place.

What this week is is TOTALLY up to you. If you want to latch on to the mediot nonsense, that's on you. As for me, it's going to be two of the best weeks I've had in a long time, regardless of the mediot nonsense.

moejr said:
If it's on us then we deserve it.

Yet, it's not on us.

Gwedd said:
BTW, it's 2lb per square inch of pressure less than that which was supposed to be in the balls. Not 2lbs weight less. FWIW.

Very Important Detail!

Gwedd said:
But it seems to me that if they were ALL uniformly under inflated, then the fault lies either with the machine used to inflate them, or the referees for not doing their job properly pre-game.

Inflate balls when weather is OK. Rain all over the f-ing place due to a front passing. Pressure changes. Time for Mythbusters episode "Exploring The Patriots Balls"!

Gwedd said:
For heaven's sake, if it WAS tampering, how in the name of all the Gods of Football was it pulled off and so perfectly uniform?

Inflate the balls before the storm, measure them after the storm, no problem? Too late for me to cogitate on it. I'll wait for Mythbusters to take it on. Till then, FOOTBALL BLISS - WE'RE GOING TO THE SUPER BOWL!

Efstratios · Jan 21, 2015

Seahawxx said:
lol you guys are never going to hear the end of it from opposing fans.

After the "Rams walkthrough" ******** (which IMO, was a more damning allegation, albeit one with less basis), I think most of us are used to this type of crap. Ultimately the inflated balls did not mark the difference between us winning or losing to the Colts, and I'd think that BB will use this as bulletin board material.

Best of luck February 1, may the better team win.

clam chowdah · Jan 21, 2015

this would be such a non story if the patriots didn't mop the floor against every team in the nfl.

Tunescribe · Jan 21, 2015

smg93 said:
I guess an interview with the ball boy is in order...

He's in conference with Arlen Specter's widow at this very moment. She thinks he is "a very bright and honest young man."

KoolAid · Jan 21, 2015

This sucks balls. Pun intended.

slash83 · Jan 21, 2015

Seahawks are dead.

Lansdowne · Jan 21, 2015

Gwedd said:
And then there's this:

http://nesn.com/2015/01/ex-ref-jim-daopoulos-deflategate-only-big-deal-because-its-the-patriots/

Read more at: http://nesn.com/2015/01/ex-ref-jim-daopoulos-deflategate-only-big-deal-because-its-the-patriots/

As expected, the media is all over this because it's the Patriots. I don't think anything will come of it though. It will be more fodder for the haters, but screw the haters anyway. That includes the vultures in the media.

slash83 said:
Seahawks are dead.

lol, no kidding... As if there isn't already enough motivation, now the Pats have the people who want to discredit their hard work. Every SB they've been in dating back to 13 years ago has been close, I'd love nothing more than the Pats to dominate this game and shut the haters up.

Patriotic Fervor · Jan 21, 2015

Gwedd said:
BTW, it's 2lb per square inch of pressure less than that which was supposed to be in the balls. Not 2lbs weight less. FWIW.

But it seems to me that if they were ALL uniformly under inflated, then the fault lies either with the machine used to inflate them, or the referees for not doing their job properly pre-game. For heaven's sake, if it WAS tampering, how in the name of all the Gods of Football was it pulled off and so perfectly uniform? That's the key right there because there are cameras everywhere, not just the shots we see on TV and in the game film, but also security cams along the sidelines, end zones, etc. More than some casinos have. So someone took the balls, used a gauge to deflate them ALL by the same amount of 2psi, and did this with no one watching? It's absurd.

AND....... who is to say that the deflation wasn't a result of the game use, Gronk spikes, players falling on them or even weather conditions?

AND..... while we're at it, did anyone from the NFL take a look at all the Colts footballs and their inflation? Besides, if they weren't checked right at the end of the game, then the chain of custody prohibits any meaningful checks, because the Colts, had they wanted to, could have brought their game-used footballs up to a proper amount of psi inflation, or mixed them in with other footballs, etc.

This whole things sucks, and looks much more like a case of mechanical failure and/or inspection error than any intentional tampering. For myself, I just don't see how, with those footballs being brought in and out of play every series (or sooner), and with all the cameras, security personnel, fans, reporters, etc, that the team could have had anyone DO this deflation. It defies common sense.

But that's just me, you know? The media will have another sensational faux scandal on their hands, and lord knows how they love to run with any sort of rumor about New England.

Eff the lot of 'em.

THIS!!!!!

This sums up the the whole non-issue in a nutshell!

Hats off to you, friend!

SEA_Pat · Jan 21, 2015

So, uh Shmessy, you got your wish. Happy now?

smg93 · Jan 21, 2015

One thing I'd like to know is how big a difference a football with 2 psi less actually feels to understand better 1) how much of an advantage it really is (and i'm not trying to justify anything here, I just want to know how big a difference there is in terms of feel) and 2) why none of the refs could tell the difference since they handle it before and after every play.

meatface · Jan 21, 2015

This is why I tell people that this dismissal of what the patriots do will never go away. Even if this is determined to have nothing to do with the Patriots and we win in Arizona then the haters will just say this is because of the balls. Also the Colts writer talking about owner integrity is pretty funny

Seahawxx · Jan 21, 2015

Devils advocate

As someone who isn't an expert on air pressure two questions.
Why didn't the cold temperature deflate all 12 footballs? And should the colts balls also be checked for deflation? Theoretically all these balls are composed of the same internal and external properties and these properties all respond equally to the external temperature. So shouldn't all 12/12 balls be deflated and the colts balls should also have been deflated?

Discuss.

FrodoBagginz · Jan 21, 2015

meatface said:
This is why I tell people that this dismissal of what the patriots do will never go away. Even if this is determined to have nothing to do with the Patriots and we win in Arizona then the haters will just say this is because of the balls. Also the Colts writer talking about owner integrity is pretty funny

Yup. The haters will just dismiss it as an NFL coverup. They already say spygate is a coverup because Belichick and the Pats were not punished enough and the tapes were destroyed.

Seanzayyy · Jan 21, 2015

I'm not going to call this Deflategate but Libelgate and Slandergate. There's no proof whatsoever of any tampering and quite frankly, given the process in which the balls are inspected, it doesn't even make sense. Sports journalists, media members, former players are calling for punishment? On what account? There were some deflated footballs? Slandergate. Libelgate. Eff em. GO PATS

simijet · Jan 21, 2015

smg93 said:
One thing I'd like to know is how big a difference a football with 2 psi less actually feels to understand better 1) how much of an advantage it really is (and i'm not trying to justify anything here, I just want to know how big a difference there is in terms of feel) and 2) why none of the refs could tell the difference since they handle it before and after every play.

In wet weather, an underinflated ball is a little easier to grip and catch. Being that balls are supposed to be inflated anywhere from 12.5 to 13 psi, being under-inflated by 2 psi is somewhat significant. Even more damning, however, is the fact that one ball was not under-inflated. Obviously, this was the ball used for kicking. Thus stated, the Pats would have routed the Colts even if the balls were properly inflated. For this reason, I don't expect the punishment to be anything more than a fine.

PYPER · Jan 21, 2015

air pressure readings may differ if filled/checked indoors/outdoors

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

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