(Post Edit): Breaking: NFL Ref's Press Conference Just Blew Deflategate To Pieces!!!!!!

karguy85 said:

So it will be a case of he said she said. Why trust Walt Anderson over Brady and Belichick. Belichick hasn't lied.

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Or, do a simple physics calculation and call it a day.

supafly said:

Lots of experience, so his word may count for something a little extra.

He has proven to be impartial in my opinion, and that's not even bringing the 'tuck rule' into account back in 2001. I'm being totally serious. In the end, it probably doesn't matter that much, but I'm guessing that a guy like Walt Anderson will have zero problem telling it like it is. Just my opinion, of course.

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Walt COLEMAN officiated the Snow Bowl, not Walt Anderson. Two separate people.

BradyManny said:

Yeah, but how big are those error bars on his recollection of what the PSI was for 12 footballs? Columbia must think this thing is one big joke.

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I dont think its that hard. He ought to remember what they were set at when he mearued them pregame, at least near the low or near the high.
Im sure he knows what the measurements were that led to using the backup balls.
Again, truth helps us, and I am fine with relying on the truthfulness of an NFL referee.

Tunescribe said:

How do we know this? Is there proof? Video, perhaps?

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I'm referring to VP of officiating Dean Blandino, from today's presser:

"Blandino said he couldn't get into many details with the investigation ongoing. Afterwards, in a side session with a handful of reporters, he said referee Walt Anderson tested the footballs with a gauge himself, which he has done throughout his career."

It certainly sounds like they are going to stick with the fact that the balls were measured prior to the game.

As Andy Johnson has stated, there is still some additional information needed, but after last Friday's comments from the official NFL statement + today's comments from Blandino, it would appear as though they are claiming that the balls were measured in regards to the pressure.

karguy85 said:

Walt COLEMAN officiated the Snow Bowl, not Walt Anderson. Two separate people.

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Yes, I'm sorry--I'm mixing my 2 Walts up.

My comments still stand though, since Anderson has 15+ yrs of experience and has done Super Bowls.

PatsWickedPissah said:

Explain to me how the NFL's written report with input from physicists will blame the Patriots for the ~ 1 psi drop in the footballs given that we and their physicists KNOW that such a drop is natural.

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Agreed. But that would be true whether the pressures were logged or not, assuming Anderson can say roughly what they ere. (And if, as BB said, NE asked them to be set to a specific pressure, and Anderson did so, then he has quite a good idea of what the pre-game pressures were, log or no log.)

I would like to also point out that testing a football with a gauge will cause some deflation when removing the needle. #WaltGate

Galeb said:

If you can't understand why it matters whether the pressure results were recorded, perhaps you should reconsider your active role in this discussion.

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If this were a real investigation by a real, impartial investigator, then yes, I certainly would concede that the pressure testimony would be less credible (which is NOT the same as not credible) than if it were logged.

But this isn't a real investigation by an impartial investigator. In addition, the judge is corrupt, too. So it is not going to matter, unless Anderson says "frankly, I have no idea what the pressures were, other than that they were OK before and low at halftime."

supafly said:

Yes, I'm sorry--I'm mixing my 2 Walts up.

My comments still stand though, since Anderson has 15+ yrs of experience and has done Super Bowls.

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I agree with your premise. But on the other hand, there is no reason to distrust Brady or even Belichick. When everything happened back in 2007, Belichick didn't deny or hide anything and was truthful. So why trust one guy over the other? They are all trying to cover their own behinds. What this does mean, however, is that there is really only circumstantial evidence, and there likely won't be any conclusive evidence going against the Patriots. Kraft made it clear that he was not going to stand for a speculative judgment by the NFL that the Patriots circumvented the rulebook.

karguy85 said:

Kraft made it clear that he was not going to stand for a speculative judgment by the NFL that the Patriots circumvented the rulebook.

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And exactly what (besides denouncing it at a press conference) is Kraft going to do -- or be able to do -- about it when Goodell hands down a "speculative judgment"?

I feel this is good news if any, just gives more gray areas. The NFL knows it wont be able to give Kraft a BS fine.

/into deflate gate sub

This is not a serious post, but considering some of the ridiculous things tossed around over the last two weeks, I'll submit it for consideration:

I have heard a lot from other fans and in the media how the Patriots have a track record or a culture of cheating. Even though this is based on one incident 8 years ago, they don't deserve any benefit of a doubt.

I mention this to ask, has Walt Anderson ever missed or screwed up a call? Has the league ever had to issue an apology for a mistake in one of his games? If so, how can we rely on his word that he checked all the balls and they were all at the proper PSI without any documentation? He's made mistakes before, he could have made one here.

Shouldn't the same ridiculous standard be applied to everyone?

supafly said:

Out of all of the possible refs that could have been involved in this, I am actually somewhat thankful that it was Walt Anderson, and that has nothing to do with any past bias.

Perhaps that is why I'm having a hard time placing all of the blame on him.

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The blame shouldn't be on Anderson.

It should be on the league officials who didn't give a crap initially to put in place a standard operating procedure about logging the PSi measures of the footballs, then hypocritically turn around and act as if this issue deserves the modern equivalent of the Warren Commission to penalize the New England Patriots.

The quality of the data does matter.

Granted, completely, the PR battle is lost; that horse has long left the barn. The Pats are "cheaters" and will be for a hundred years (cf. Black Sox references being lately dredged up).

But I want vindication for Belichick, even if it's only in our eyes.

And, it's crucially important that this be understood as a natural phenomenon otherwise we're going to have chaos. For example: team's under pressure? Need a time out? Why fake an injury? Just whinge that the ball feels out of spec and demand a stoppage of play while it's checked.

There's all sorts of uncertainty in this mess. To me, at least, one thing is as certain as can be: both the NFL via its leaks and ESPN via its responses to those leaks have done an enormous amount of lying since this ****show began. Shameful.

rlcarr said:

If this were a real investigation by a real, impartial investigator, then yes, I certainly would concede that the pressure testimony would be less credible (which is NOT the same as not credible) than if it were logged.

But this isn't a real investigation by an impartial investigator. In addition, the judge is corrupt, too. So it is not going to matter, unless Anderson says "frankly, I have no idea what the pressure were, other than that they were OK before and low at halftime."

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I agree that the judge and investigators are biased and possibly incompetent in this case, but for any credible investigation, the lack of records pretty is damning to a prosecution. Even when humans aren't trying to lie, their memories are often inaccurate.

On a side-note, the information released today is likely the result of a compromise between the factions. It looks like I was wrong thinking that they had gone too far for their to be a compromise. I was hoping the Pats would not stop pushing. I wouldn't be surprised to see Goodell quietely "voluntarily resign" this offseason.

Welcome to Goodell's kangaroo court where mediots out weigh science. If they wanted to exonerate the Pats, all they had to do was run the same tests as BB and come up with the same results. however they instead hire a law firm and surveillance experts in an attempt to find something. Funny how they never went into that detail concerning the Ricegate tape. Maybe Kraft should have waited before before supporting the POS then,

To convict the Patriots you have to convict the ball attendant, and to convict him you have to have real proof, otherwise you have defamed an innocent person without evidence of wrongdoing. I wouldn't put that past the NFL but really don't see Wells signing off on it.

The media and the haters must be deflated by now.

shmessy said:

The blame shouldn't be on Anderson.

It should be on the league officials who didn't give a crap initially to put in place a standard operating procedure about logging the PSi measures of the footballs, then hypocritically turn around and act as if this issue deserves the modern equivalent of the Warren Commission to penalize the New England Patriots.

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Shouldn't the blame be on the officials on the field who initially gave credibility to this deflation complaint? I mean how exactly did this complainer know the balls were deflated? What evidence was there of tampering? If the balls passed a squeeze test on the field, this should not have been given a second thought.