All of the ex-players bashing Tom are repeating the same MISINFORMATION over and over and over again.
They keep saying that there is "no way" that he would not be able to tell the difference between an under-inflated football and a normal one.
BUT TOM DID NOT SAY THAT he could not tell the difference between two footballs side-by-side for him to grip and analyze 5 hours before a game, or even two footballs in front of him right now for that matter.
What he ACTUALLY said was that DURING THE GAME ON SUNDAY NIGHT he didn't notice the difference between the 2nd half footballs and the ones that he played with 20 minutes or so earlier, before halftime. Why? HE SAID WHY.
Because in a game he is focused on doing his job, thinking about the plays, the defense and where the pass rushing is coming from, the game plan, etc. Squeezing the ball after the snap to test the feel of the football is just not on his radar at that particular place and time.
It is maddening that they could not even LISTEN.
I can tell you that I have a mild headache right now. If I were delivering a speech right now, though, I'd be thinking about WHAT I WAS DOING, my notes, the time left, my next point, etc. and would not be focusing at all on, or even NOTICING, whether I had a mild headache or not.
Is it really THAT hard to understand?