Deflate-Gate: Here We Go Again

[upstater1]

At least we won't have to hear "Patriots ZERO Super Bowl wins since DeflateGate" if they win this week, like we have had to hear with the Crygate BS for years. We conveniently get to play in a SB two weeks after this "gate" has occurred.

Trust me, you will hear it, because opposing fans are not good at making distinctions.

I told friends that the Patriots never played the John Fox Panthers, and thus had no film on them to steal signals, but it never gets through to them that the Patriots couldn't have stolen the Panthers' signals.

 

[tombonneau]

Well the report out now says the Pats submitted balls that were properly inflated and were checked out and okayed by the refs.

Somewhere between that moment and halftime, 11 of 12 balls mysteriously had their PSI drop. That's the controversy now and it's understandable if that's the case.

What report are you referencing? Link? I've seen this mentioned a few times, and again, I have seen no report or speculation indicating how the pre-game measurement was conducted.

I'll re-post Reiss's top two points which still hold true before further judgement is passed:

Need more information on the pregame process. One of the key unanswered questions is the process that referee Walt Anderson and his staff underwent when inspecting the footballs before the AFC Championship Game. Did they test the air pressure of each ball? Just feel them? If they went through a thorough air pressure check of each football, and then conducted the same air pressure check during the game/after the game to find the footballs now had less than 2 pounds per square inch than what they initially did, that would be significant.

Difference between supplying underinflated footballs and altering them; officials' role in the process

. The reason that more information on the pregame process is critical is that it would help clarify if the Patriots simply supplied underinflated footballs or if the footballs were manipulated in some form after they were inspected. From this viewpoint, the Patriots would still be held accountable for supplying underinflated footballs, but it would yield a lesser penalty when compared to potentially altering the footballs after they were inspected. The reason is that while teams should be supplying footballs that meet specifications, there is also a responsibility on the part of the officials to regulate that. That's why they have the pregame check in the first place. Officials also touch the football on every play, so they are a big part of this story, too.

 

[TheBostonStraggler]

I'm just hoping this is put to rest tomorrow. Getting really tired of refreshing this thread, tracking Twitter, and monitoring Sirius NFL only to hear nothing but opinions and hearsay

That has about as much chance of happening as the sun rising in the west tomorrow. The media does not simply say "ooops, we made this story out to be waaayyyy far out of proportion". When has the media ever done that?? Further, as long as their are throngs of jealous and envious Patriot haters, there will always be someone there to fill that need to sate their psychosis (payday!). Hoooooowever, the good news that might make you feel better, it will be diminishing and largely into irrelevance sooner rather than later.
Unlike "spygate" (something confined to the tight knit coaching circle), this bologny is something that has plenty of QBs who can weigh in. Surprise! Plenty of them are saying, essentially, 'really? this is a scandal, this is cheating? I call BS'.

Donovan McNabb's 'Get over it' was a short but to the point statement.
http://www.topsportsfans.com/donovan-mcnabb-explains-the-patriots-deflate-gate

I also liked Brady Quinn's statement "If you think this is new (speaking of teams customizing the ball for the QB), you're just a product of what selective public outrage you're fed (or not fed)". (another statement: "This "advantage" is one of the biggest misperceptions out there right now"). ((My own personal note: Many on this board need to read that line about selective outrage over and over and over. Once done you have something you must always remember when listening to media))

As people in the know weigh in (plus the circus for the Super Bowl needs to be the focused on -- the Super Bowl is serious $$$ business to a lot of businesses), it is going to fade into irrelevance (just as I said and posted here from second 1 of this). And when it happens, there are a lot of posters on this board who should, though not will, feel very silly. You are a product of "selective public outrage you're fed".

 

[deters]

http://www.footballbyfootball.com/column/deflategate-a-bunch-of-hot-air

holy ****, someone actually mentions gloves being an unfair advantage exactly like a deflated football because it helps you throw and catch! I've been saying this **** for days!

 

[Julius]

I thought this writer's take was interesting. he says the N.F.L. sees this "story" as a way to draw attention to the N.F.L. and more specifically keep people from focusing on domestic violence, or concussions, or murderous players.

http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2015/01/21/the-nfl-s-perfect-little-scandal.html

 

[Ivan]

I honestly think Belichick i's in,the clear or he wouldn't be doing the presser tomorrow. I just don't see the NFL letting him do it if they are going to hit him with sanctions afterwards. I could obviously be dead wrong but that's my gut feeling on this.

 

[TheBostonStraggler]

And the answer shall remain the same: "Because Herr Commissioner is a startling incompetent moron who has no either to a handle a controversy and can only underpenalize or overpenalize."

If Karma happens here, this phony 'cheating scandal' will do a U turn and point back the NFL offices (the refs don't know an unofficial ball? The refs don't keep an eye on where balls go or what anyone is doing to the,??). They originally created the atmosphere of "cheating" around one of their flagship franchises. They could have released a statement in 07: 'there are a multitude of cameras at a game. Teams video many aspects of the other team to gain information in order to best prepare to play them. To keep this an ordered process we put in regulations to keep filming out of certain areas. However, the Patriots performed filming in the forbidden area and were promptly punished for this violation of the regulation. This was not a matter of cheating, this was a matter of not following the process laid out in the regulations'. (or something to that effect).
Instead the league bowed, as it so often does, to the media/the mass of idiots and made the punishment out to be an appalling cheating scandal that sold to the public as 'teams don't film their opponents, only the cheating Patriots did. They barely said a word in defense of one of their flagship franchises. Now the Patriots are national headline 'cheaters' thanks largely in part to the NFL's handling of 'Spygate' (if this was Tampa Bucs, it would have barely received a line in a paper). No doubt, 100% this is the Spygate aura coming into play on this phony scandal. So I pray for Karmsa, pray that this possibly falls on the refs that leads back to the offices of the NFL. That would be Just Desserts of the sweetest kind!

 

[Ross12]

Trust me, you will hear it, because opposing fans are not good at making distinctions.

I told friends that the Patriots never played the John Fox Panthers, and thus had no film on them to steal signals, but it never gets through to them that the Patriots couldn't have stolen the Panthers' signals.

I hear you. That one just drives me crazy. Including that 2007 season up to this one, only 11 franchises have even MADE IT to the SB and only 6 have won it. Yet people act like "oh, well, you haven't won a SB since so you must have to cheat to do it!" It's not like Lombardi trophies grow on trees; there's only one a year, there's 31 other teams in the way and there have only been 8 Super Bowls now since "Spygate", yet the Pats have been to 3 of them. Making it there 3 out of 8 years when 21 of the other 32 teams haven't made it once, and having a shot to win at least one hopefully when 26 out of 32 teams have not won one, in this short time frame, should show logically that they don't need to "cheat to win".

But who am I kidding, the next thing will be that they were deflating footballs for years and it gave them all their wins. I guess I should just save my breath.

 

[josh24]

ESPN Sports Science's take on DeflateGate:

http://espn.go.com/video/clip?id=12207314

 

[mosi]

I don't know if anybody saw this but Mike Pereira, the old head of officiating for the NFL was on CNN and said this was the Pats 3rd strike, the first was spy gate, the second was the filming of the walk-through and this was the third.

I was under the impression their was not filming - it was just a fictitious story by Tomese. What the hell is going on here. People are making sht up and I have a feeling this is going to end badly for the Pats.

 

[PatsFan98117]

I don't think there were any rules broken and I think that's why there's the radio silence from the league thus far. A look at NFL.com, which loves to traffic in rumors/innuendo/hype, shows a suspicious lack of information about this affair. This says to me that there is a lot of back-channel talk going on and likely a fair bit of brinksmanship.

If all the balls measured the same, as has been reported, then there was a strict method to this. There's no way they had a ball attendant do it. It's just not reasonably possible. Maybe they submitted balls that were underinflated and the refs looked the other way, but that doesn't seem likely. What seems most likely is that there was a method of inflating it with hot gases of some sort, but not necessarily with normal room temperature air and they knew exactly what the results would be come game time based on the weather and conditions. A reading of the section of the rules about the balls does not specify what it has to be inflated with, only that it meets certain weight and PSI requirements at the time of measurement. Everything else is on the refs. Maybe the Pats broke the "spirit" of the rule but that's BS; there's no such thing.

I think the league definitely wants to punish the Pats but hopefully they are pushing back. Maybe they're negotiating a suitable slap on the wrist. Meanwhile Goodell is letting them wave in the wind of the court of public opinion. As is Kraft for that matter.

Screw Goodell. Go Pats!

 

[Jackson 2]

Man, I knew the Patriots inspired a lot of hatred and jealousy with fans and media across the country, but I seriously underestimated the extent that other teams, coaches and players shared those emotions about them. Talk about back-stabbing, insecure bastards. It looks like they got set up by everyone, including The Ultimate All-knowing Authority, Goodell. I wonder how Kraft feels about the vocal loyalty and support he gave Goodell in the Ray Rice matter and all of the other ****storms Roger managed to screw up. That entire league is a cesspool. I now feel the Pats are going to get badly screwed here. I hope I'm wrong.

 

[deters]

I don't know if anybody saw this but Mike Pereira, the old head of officiating for the NFL was on CNN and said this was the Pats 3rd strike, the first was spy gate, the second was the filming of the walk-through and this was the third.

I was under the impression their was not filming - it was just a fictitious story by Tomese. What the hell is going on here. People are making sht up and I have a feeling this is going to end badly for the Pats.

Pereira can shove his hipsters glasses up his ******* sideways.

 

[Ross12]

I don't know if anybody saw this but Mike Pereira, the old head of officiating for the NFL was on CNN and said this was the Pats 3rd strike, the first was spy gate, the second was the filming of the walk-through and this was the third.

I was under the impression their was not filming - it was just a fictitious story by Tomese. What the hell is going on here. People are making sht up and I have a feeling this is going to end badly for the Pats.

It didn't happen and this stuff shouldn't be working on a "strike system". Otherwise Baltimore would have become a defunct franchise years ago.

 

[KDPPatsfan85]

Mike Loyko ‏@NEPD_Loyko 59s59 seconds ago
Source: Two NFL Teams are livid w/ #Colts for bringing this to light because of scrutiny itll bring to their QBs PSI preference on the ball

I wonder what teams they are?

 

[moejr]

Mike Loyko ‏@NEPD_Loyko 59s59 seconds ago
Source: Two NFL Teams are livid w/ #Colts for bringing this to light because of scrutiny itll bring to their QBs PSI preference on the ball

I wonder what teams they are?

One that come to mind may be GB/Rodgers. He has admitted he likes to over inflate.

 

[pwes]

When there is no story to tell the NFL is quick to come out and say so. Right now their silence is deafening. Someone is in a world of **** we just don't know who yet and how bad it will be.

 

[Jackson 2]

I don't know if anybody saw this but Mike Pereira, the old head of officiating for the NFL was on CNN and said this was the Pats 3rd strike, the first was spy gate, the second was the filming of the walk-through and this was the third.

I was under the impression their was not filming - it was just a fictitious story by Tomese. What the hell is going on here. People are making sht up and I have a feeling this is going to end badly for the Pats.

There was never any walk-through filming. Just shows how ill-informed even those who should know better are.

 

[festy1986]

Mike Loyko ‏@NEPD_Loyko 59s59 seconds ago
Source: Two NFL Teams are livid w/ #Colts for bringing this to light because of scrutiny itll bring to their QBs PSI preference on the ball

I wonder what teams they are?

If true, we can eliminate the colts obviously and likely the ravens if it's also true that they tipped off the ravens.

I have to assume based on how much he throws and his comments that the packers and Rodgers are one of those teams.

Maybe the Broncos and manning?

 

[josh24]

Mike Loyko ‏@NEPD_Loyko 59s59 seconds ago
Source: Two NFL Teams are livid w/ #Colts for bringing this to light because of scrutiny itll bring to their QBs PSI preference on the ball

I wonder what teams they are?

Some people in this thread already suggested some sort of whistleblowing occurred for this to happen.

I wouldn't be surprised if that were true.