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

I'm retired, and altho I had some errands and a little work to do today, I spent a lot of time watching the tube and reading the net. Folks, this is simply not a big deal. There was no performance advantage to be gained. It is a matter of personal comfort.
It could be compared to NASCAR having a rule about seat position and a driver moving it further back to gain more leg room. Just a comfort adjustment, not a competitive edge. A useless rule is pretty much what it is. It is, and has been, done by most teams...knowingly, without repercussion or penalty.

This whole thing lies on the officials shoulders. They allowed a rules infraction during the game. They are supposed to control the game at all times. That is why they are there. PERIOD! I would venture to say that every coach in the league will tell his offensive linemen to see how much holding they can get away with. This is no different. It is on the official to enforce rules during the game. And that is where the focus of this investigation needs to center.

Look for comprehensive changes in how the teams get balls and how they are stored.
We'll find out if Goodell has any 'nads. The proper response should be very much along the lines of what I just detailed. Fine the Pats? Sure, why not. It was a rules infraction. When they catch someone holding they penalize them. But pull out the sledgehammer? That's what the haters want. Some even want the Pats DQed from the super bowl. Ludicrous. This is just another reason for people to stigmatize the Pats. The reason the Pats are hated is because these fools most likely bet the farm against them and the Pats caused them to miss a yacht payment.

I am pretty sure of one thing: The Seahawks cannot be happy about the Pats getting a motive this big to prove themselves. I feel better about the Pats chances now. They're gonna be mad. And we know what happens when someone pisses in Belichicks oatmeal. They went undefeated the next season, didn't they.

This is how BB should respond

"I want to thank the NFL for discovering the issue with the deflated balls. I and the Patriots don't know how the balls got deflated but am glad the issue was corrected. I was concerned about Tom Brady's less than desirable performance in the first half which resulted in a score closer than it should have been, but once the officials discovered and corrected the problem, Tom and our offense was unstoppable and we won the game easily. I believe we would have been at risk of losing the game had we been forced to continue to play with the underinflated balls. Thanks to the Colts management if they were the ones to bring this to the NFL's attention. Were on to Seattle."

Tom meets Kaepernick said:

Do we even know where the Patriots inflated the balls? People keep saying they put inflated the balls inside instead of outside and because of the temperature drop, it caused the balls to lose pressure. How is this the first time that it's happened? It's been far colder on numerous occasions of Patriots football. Hell, it wasn't even that cold on Sunday. Why would they choose this game specifically to inflate the balls with hot air unless this is standard practice and the only reason anyone cares is because of the subsequent beatdown the Colts took.

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We don't "know" anything. Just a lot of rumor, opinions and tweets from the less successful players in the league and the same "insiders" who are wrong more often than not.
I'll wait for the league to share the results of their investigation, whether it actually is based on facts, it's what will determine the outcome and sanctions imposed on the team.

Like I stated in the other thread:

If someone says a "source" and not where it's from take it with a grain of salt until there's more stable facts behind it. For all we know, these "sources" from the likes of Mortensen, could've been from a pile of dog **** that spoke to him for all we know.

I think 15 out of the 12 were under-inflated.

If this doesn't warrant a separate thread, then please merge with an existing one but I thought it might be useful to keep track of what is known. there is a lot of key information missing that would be needed to make a determination, but despite this, punishments are already being proposed left and right based on various rumors. Below I'll list key points and try to update them as they come available. I'd be happy to let others update via new posts in the thread including adding additional points of information as needed.

1. PSI of balls at various times: to date we only have heard that 11 of the 12 balls were deflated, but we don't know when that measurement took place.
2. PSI of Colts balls and K balls. Important to establish whether weather or environmental conditions impacted all balls on the field. Thus far there is a quote via the New York Post of former official Gerry Austin that the Colts balls were not deflated but this is not definitive.
3. Were the balls tested properly before and after the game and with proper equipment that was functioning correctly? This is important as if the balls came to the referee deflated but they were not checked properly, and no Patriots officials interfered with the balls after that, the culpability lies more with the officials.

4. What have key Patriots officials said about the deflation? In my opinion this important because the stakes are much higher to deny involvement and then be found out later to have lied. I doubt BB or anyone else would make that choice. To date, it seems BB and TB have relatively strongly denied knowledge. We will find out more from today's press conference.

5. Any confirmation on admittances by patriots personnel that they tampered with the balls purposely before or after the 2:15 before game check. To date none.

6. Citation of other instances where players or teams have tampered with balls in order to place the potential violation in context. To date, Brad Johnson, Aaron Rodgers and Terry Bradshaw have all admitted to doctoring balls most likely beyond allowable limits.

@RUSSLANDE: Rumor from @seniorbowl (don't know if true), small group of team exec's saying Patriots will lose 2nd Rd Pick for "deflated ball scandal."

Posting rumors is not the best way to gather key information.

Unless the NFL can explain exactly how the Pats are guilty of anything, they can't penalize them.

At halftime, who controls the balls? Do the ball boys give them back to refs for them to hold on to?

What happens after a game? Does the team keep control of the balls? In that case any testing done to either the pats or colts balls after the game is irrelevant.

Does the team use same balls week to week and practice with them? Or provided new balls every week?

As we all know there is a huge difference in can't and won't. The NFL does have to save face and all that. Based on the **** that was Spygate, did anyone expect to loose a first rounder? I certainly did not.

tigerjohn said:

1. PSI of balls at various times: to date we only have heard that 11 of the 12 balls were deflated, but we don't know when that measurement took place.

a. 2:15 before game time when tested by the officials
b. At halftime when the balls were supposedly rechecked
c. After the game

​

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tigerjohn said:

2. PSI of Colts balls and K balls. Important to establish whether weather or environmental conditions impacted all balls on the field. Thus far there is a quote via the New York Post of former official Gerry Austin that the Colts balls were not deflated but this is not definitive.

a. 2:15 before game time when tested by the officials
b. At halftime when the balls were supposedly rechecked
c. After the game
​

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tigerjohn said:

6. Citation of other instances where players or teams have tampered with balls in order to place the potential violation in context. To date, Brad Johnson, Aaron Rodgers and Terry Bradshaw have all admitted to doctoring balls most likely beyond allowable limits.

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That's a moot point because none of these guys are Patriots players.... the hammer goes down only when it's the Patriots at fault. Everyone else is exempt... (Rodgers says hi)

http://nesn.com/2015/01/report-patriots-used-ref-approved-backup-balls-in-second-half-vs-colts/

As a matter of relativity which should help decide the magnitude of punishment if any...... we are talking something petty and not something grand.........fine the pats $25K, and the pats pay it and everyone moves forward.......except the haters

Controversy still swirls over the footballs the New England Patriots used in the first half of their game against the Indianapolis Colts. According to a report Wednesday afternoon, though, the ones they used over the final 30 minutes met NFL standards. The Patriots swapped out their 12 original game balls for 12 backup balls at halftime of their 45-7 win in Sunday’s AFC Championship Game, an organizational source told WEEI.com on Wednesday, and each of those replacements reportedly was tested and approved by officials before being put into play. That testing finished up just moments before New England was set to begin its first series of the third quarter, per WEEI’s source. The Patriots dominated the Colts in the second half, outscoring them 28-0 to turn a tight contest into a blowout and earn a spot in Super Bowl XLIX. ESPN’s Chris Mortensen reported Tuesday night that 11 of the 12 balls the Patriots used during the first half were under-inflated and did not meet NFL specifications.

Read more at: http://nesn.com/2015/01/report-patriots-used-ref-approved-backup-balls-in-second-half-vs-colts/

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