NFL's Greg Aiello Doesn't Want the World to Know What Happened to the Footballs Saturday

This is embarrassing to Goodell and the NFL front office because it clearly shows what the officials really think of the whole PSI thing: a non-issue.

Otherwise, IMO, they wouldn't have forgotten.

Maybe this why Kensil was on the sideline last Sunday afternoon, to observe the competence and efficiency of the Refereeing crew.. epic fail for the NFL...

I originally thought it was to check out Darius Fleming leg, as that had to be a lie..

DarrylS said:

Maybe this why Kensil was on the sideline last Sunday afternoon, to observe the competence and efficiency of the Refereeing crew.. epic fail for the NFL...

I originally thought it was to check out Darius Fleming leg, as that had to be a lie..

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I think Kensil went home before the game but this is equally hilarious.

The NFLs Adolph Eichmann flies up to make sure there isn't any funny business and the refs forget pressure gauges and balls at the hotel.

You can't make this up.

NFL Rule 2, Section 2:

...
For all games, eight new footballs, sealed in a special box and shipped by the manufacturer to
the Referee, will be opened in the officials’ locker room two hours and 15 minutes prior to the starting time of the game.
These balls are to be specially marked by the Referee and used exclusively for the kicking game....

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So, chain of custody.....

"A hotel employee retrieved the equipment. State Police Detective Lieutenant Thomas Coffey, who was on duty at Troop F that afternoon, along with the hotel employee, drove the K-balls and gauges to Gillette Stadium, arriving at approximately 3:30 p.m., and turned them over to the NFL."

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Air gauges, 'K-balls' got police escort to Gillette

Atta boy, NFL!

shmessy said:

They were driving the stuff from Logan to Gillette.

A HELLUVA lot longer than 91 seconds...........

Goodell is full of ********.

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Well, let's break this down using Exponent math:

Little Timmy was able to deflate 12 balls 2 PSI in 90 seconds. That's 7.5 seconds per ball or 3.75 seconds per PSI.

The drive from Logan to Gillette takes roughly 45 minutes.

45 minutes is 2700 seconds.

Conclusion: It is more probable than not that the Massachusetts State Police deflated 360 balls before they got to Gillette OR that each ball was deflated to a PSI of -47. Honestly, they're just lucky they didn't rip a hole in the fabric of the universe.

This doesn't seem like a public saftety issue with which the MSP should be involved. Why was a trooper removed from service for this? I don't think my laptop would get a MSP escort from home when I forget it, even if I asked nicely.

h0c2000 said:

This doesn't seem like a public saftety issue with which the MSP should be involved. Why was a trooper removed from service for this? I don't think my laptop would get a MSP escort from home when I forget it, even if I asked nicely.

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Next time, try "Pretty please, with sugar on top?".

h0c2000 said:

This doesn't seem like a public saftety issue with which the MSP should be involved. Why was a trooper removed from service for this? I don't think my laptop would get a MSP escort from home when I forget it, even if I asked nicely.

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The detail money they probably get just for the traffic exiting Gillette after games is probably mind-numbing. If I was getting that kind of work from the NFL, I'd be handling their balls too.

h0c2000 said:

This doesn't seem like a public saftety issue with which the MSP should be involved. Why was a trooper removed from service for this? I don't think my laptop would get a MSP escort from home when I forget it, even if I asked nicely.

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It's tiny compared to the police effort involved in a victory parade.

Sicilian said:

The detail money they probably get just for the traffic exiting Gillette after games is probably mind-numbing. If I was getting that kind of work from the NFL, I'd be handling their balls too.

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I didn't think you went that way, Sicilian

Ross12 said:

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Well done. Short, sweet and to the point.

You da man, Ross!!!!!!

It's not Florio himself, but someone at his website picked it up and ran with it:

NFL officials forgot air gauges, footballs in hotel before Chiefs-Patriots

Just think about it - if you are truly concerned about the integrity of the game, who do you trust more, a MSP trooper or an NFL official to transport the balls?? And just how much did the NFL spend on the deflated football witch hunt? Thus, I think the NFL needs to compensate the MSP for this extraordinary action to protect the integrity. Say $1 mil and a 1st?

shmessy said:

They were driving the stuff from Logan to Gillette.

A HELLUVA lot longer than 91 seconds...........

Goodell is full of ********.

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Well they must have done something.

It's just absolutely hilarious. Wrolstad is absolutely screwed though. He'll be doing Tennessee/Cleveland type games for the next few years.

Hope there is some way Kessler could make mention of this incident in the oral argument.

turkeyneck said:

NFL Rule 2, Section 2:

For all games, eight new footballs, sealed in a special box and shipped by the manufacturer to
the Referee, will be opened in the officials’ locker room two hours and 15 minutes prior to the starting time of the game.
These balls are to be specially marked by the Referee and used exclusively for the kicking game....

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So were the balls still in their boxes? Or did they take a shortcut and remove them from the boxes at the hotel? The integrity of the game hangs in the balance waiting for the answer.

"A Hyatt employee recovered the footballs and gauges, and a worker and State Police Detective Lieutenant Thomas Coffey drove the items to Gillette, where they arrived about an hour before kickoff at 4:35 p.m., Procopio said."

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[balls will be] in the officials’ locker room two hours and 15 minutes prior to the starting time of the game.

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A clear violation of Rule 2 by the NFL's own officials. Anybody investigated? Suspended? Fined?

State of Massachusetts should send those clowns a bill for the use of state resources to support a football game

Here's the GAMESETMATCH argument regarding all this.

The NFL KNOWINGLY INSTRUCTED a 3rd party (State Troopers) to be in possession of the footballs and transport them over 35 miles to the game within 65 minutes of the start of the game.

THIS IS A VIOLATION.

Gameday: Behind the Scenes | NFL Football Operations

"2 hours, 15 minutes: Each club provides at least 12 like-new, properly prepared Wilson official NFL footballs to the referee for inspection; in inclement weather, the home team must provide 24, and the visiting club has the option to provide 24 as well. At the same time, representatives of the home and visiting teams can inspect the kicking balls (K-balls) that the officials received directly from Wilson Sporting Goods."

Folks, this was a PLAYOFF GAME.

The NFL violated it's stated regulations for the handling of football equipment. They did not delay the start of this playoff game to comply with the 2:15 rule.

There is no ".....was more probable than not.....being at least generally aware...."

It is right there in black and white.