Deflate-Gate: Here We Go Again

ChesBay said:

From yesterday morning's interview with Steelers President Art Rooney II.

On changing the procedure for how footballs to be used in games are tested and monitored:
“The one thing I would say is this rule where we use two different sets of balls is relatively new, and frankly I’m not sure why we came to this conclusion. I assume this will be something that the Competition Committee looks at. But as far as I’m concerned, I think we all ought to use the same balls and not have each side have their own footballs available to them. That’s just my view of it, but it seems to be simpler to just have one set of balls, which was the case for many years where the officials brought the balls out and everybody used the same balls. It seems like that would be an easy answer to this.”

Maybe the voice of reason, and perspective, representing a possible insight into future League action on this matter?

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Yes, say what you want about the steelers, but besides Kraft, Art Rooney is good owner with a good head on his shoulders.

Kdo5 said:

As I anticipated about Tom. I thought if there was a guilty party, it'd be Tom. So indeed he is on the spot.

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How can Tom be guilty but not BB?

Tom is not the boss of the team and I would bet he did not physically deflate the balls himself. If Tom is the main culpable party, BB is also to blame.

JMC00 said:

Schefter just now:

If this was the Titans or Jaguars this would be nothing and we would be talking about the SB.

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Exactly. Let's see what Tom says and what the nfl says.

I have no idea why so many of you are running around like chickens littles with their heads cut off. At no stage during the 2007 season did the Patriots remotely come close to making a public statement in their defense like this. The Pats accepted they broke whatever rule it was and didn't fight the punishment.

Bill Belichick could not have been more emphatic than what he was. I for one, am pleased he came out the way he did and I am very much looking forward to Tom Brady coming out and offering his commentary.

mgcolby said:

two things well three:

1. Flat out denied any knowledge: Good
2. Said they will over inflate from now on so they don't drop under reg during the game: IMO, clearly alluding to weather, game use etc...probably where the league is going.
3. Tom only has to say is we didn't use a gauge or I had them where I normally have them based on feel and turned them in.

Case closed onto the SB!

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From your mouth to God's ears.

Tom Brady has played in this league what 15 years or thereabouts?

He would have had the exact same preference of ball pressure since college when his hands stopped growing.

Therefore you're trying to tell me that after 15 years and hundreds of games and "inspections", they've only just discovered this issue with the pressure being too low?

Absolute JOKE. The NFL needs to apologise to us.

The point is, they do already! That is what is so stupid about this.

The best thing to happen is moving the Brady presser up from tomorrow to today at 4pm.

Let's get this thing dealt with.

I hope he hits this out of the park. I'm really hoping he puts this to rest.

I have to wonder if the people that keep saying "there's no way Belichick wouldn't know" have ever managed a large group of people. You delegate A LOT of things, and something as stupid, before this week anyway, such as ball pressure would probably never even occur to him.

Posted this in the Press Conference thread. I'm going to post it here again:

My take: Belichick probably didn't know. The NFL has no proof of any wrongdoing and won't be able to find any such proof. Brady will say he likes them at the 12.5 number, and has no idea how they got deflated from there. It will end there. The NFL has no idea how any of this happened and hence are "angry, disappointed, and distraught" because they won't be able to satisfy the media. Bad for the NFL, better (but not the best, because it isn't a full exoneration) for the Patriots.

He didn't "throw Brady under the bus" He simply diverted the questions about TOM'S PERSONAL PREFERENCE.
Brady is going to explain his personal preference but announce no involvement in this mess.
If anyone claims they're lying, produce some evidence.....oh wait.....there isn't any???

On to Seattle

This also means that Kraft has Belichick's back. There's no way he'd let him go out there and issue a full denial only to then have the hammer fall and double the embarrassment.

JMC00 said:

Schefter just now:

If this was the Titans or Jaguars this would be nothing and we would be talking about the SB.

He also said the NFL is having a tough time coming up with the evidence of who did it.

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Tom's presser is going to be fascinating. I wonder if the NFL has evidence on him, he better hope not because he'll look kinda crazy after his radio interview Monday.

PatsSox363804 said:

I have to wonder if the people that keep saying "there's no way Belichick wouldn't know" have ever managed a large group of people. You delegate A LOT of things, and something as stupid, before this week anyway, such as ball pressure would probably never even occur to him.

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Agree. I'm going to toot my own horn and mention I posted early yesterday that it didn't make sense BB would know. You don't go to your veteran HoF QB and say, "those are 12.5 PSI right Tom?". I'll go further and say since refs usually inflate or deflate as needed it's possible Tom doesn't even measure when prepping. Just does it by feel. Nobody even cared before this so he probably didn't either.

What is hilarious is the dopes everywhere saying he threw Brady under the bus. You think they didn't plan out their strategy together ahead of time? Honestly, how could anyone be so naive?

Bill set it up for Tom, Saying if you use 12.5 psi it will be lower when they check at halftime,,,,So all Tom has to say is I like them at 12.5 and that's what we use...if it goes down during game I have no control over that

ChrisR2223 said:

Its highly doubtful.
I saw someone post that the in the seventies the Raiders filled their home balls with Helium to get deeper passes and more hang time on Punts and everyone had a laugh about it.

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You are right about that story ( I believe it was Ray Guy), and the myth busters tested that theory out and found that helium filled balls were less effective than air filled balls because something about the denser air bouncing back against the kick with more force than the helium. Hence an overinflated ball would be best for kicking (as ravens complained about the softness of kicking game balls (which are controlled exclusively by the refs) and chalked it up to.....wait....for....it...... Low temperatures causing the balls to be softer. Is someone checking out the ref controlled kicking balls? If not, they should.

As long as the league uses basic science facts and is prudent in their investigation, we will be fine.... Which of course means we're screwed

Jackson 2 said:

What is hilarious is the dopes everywhere saying he threw Brady under the bus. You think they didn't plan out their strategy together ahead of time? Honestly, how could anyone be so naive?

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Its the same idiots that called for Bill Belichick to be banned from the league without any evidence. Some of our fans boggle my mind.

Sports Hub saying maybe Mort got the number wrong. Could have been 0.2 pounds below the number as opposed to 2 pounds. Why else would Belichick make the 12.5 drop to 12.3 number? Just conjecture.

PatsSox363804 said:

I have to wonder if the people that keep saying "there's no way Belichick wouldn't know" have ever managed a large group of people. You delegate A LOT of things, and something as stupid, before this week anyway, such as ball pressure would probably never even occur to him.

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But BB is a borderline control freak/ brilliant coach.

I agree delegation is key, but most good leaders still know what they are delegating. Intentionally deflating footballs after giving them to the refs to gain an advantage (what the pats are accused of) is not something minor a coach would delegate away.

I am still doubting how this all actually went down.