ESPN: 11 of 12 footballs under inflated by 2 pounds of air.

[resdubwhite]

I'm still finding this all very hard to understand. Why in the name of god after all of this Spygate BS would anyone in the organisation risk this sort of s**tfest...
The Anyone but New England brigade must be having tonnes of fun.

 

[LightSkinSmurf]

No, people are arguing that. It might not be the point, but it should. The NFL, in their handling of the situation, has allowed its idiot followers to give the accusations that much weight.

I have yet to see one person argue this. Where are they? I'm sure there are one or two idiots out there somewhere saying that but no way is the majority of people trying to argue this... And no that shouldn't be the point.. Because then you're basically saying its ok if the patriots cheated because they played well even after they got caught.. And its not ok. IF THEY DID cheat, its not ok. Regardless of how well they played after the fact.

 

[SHOWTIME15]

We don't even know how much of what has been leaked is true.
The NFL has a long history of things being leaked that later are not truthful. It happened in 07, it happened in the Saints case, it happened with Rice.

As far as comparative pressures, we do not know all of the variables. For instances could the Patriots balls lost pressure faster because they had twice as much time of possession, therefore the balls not only got used more but were switched in and out more?

Also, why didn't the refs notice anything unusual during the first half?

 

[tasmlab]

I would think that if the league wanted this to be dispersed, they would only need the head ref from Sunday night to say "We checked the balls before the game and handled them extensively throughout and believed them to be game-worthy."

 

[Bella*chick]

Actually the only guy we've heard say that the Colts footballs were even tested was Gerry Austin, who is retired and wasn't there.

Like someone else mentioned, if the Colts and Pats footballs started at different pressures initially (pretty likely), they won't end up in the same range after being out in the cold for a few hours.

The amount of deflation for each set is also impacted by the temperature of the air used to fill them.

True. That's why I said both sets of balls should deflate at about the same rate. Nothing exact but there shouldn't be a huge discrepancy.

 

[LightSkinSmurf]

What's the issue then?

1. There has been no evidence of wrong doing yet.
2. This may very well be a league wide issue, given Rodgers' statements a while back.

If the league wants everyone to use the same balls, then they should mandate that they utilize the same balls and not give each team control over their own set of balls.

If this provided no advantage, then it is a non issue.

If the allegations are true and IF the patriots did infact purposely deflate their footballs then the issue is the patriots broke the rules. How hard is this to comprehend? This is the issue.

 

[phil112]

Bill's shenanigans are getting old.Teams used to break the rules back then.I dont think it was neccesary to deflate balls against a lousy colts team.

I'd hate for you to be on a jury. You want someone executed and not only have they not been proven guilty, they haven't been charged.
But don't let me interrupt your exercise. You must be healthy with all the jumping to conclusions you do.

 

[dannydyn]

And a person on here checked pressure in a 64.5 degree room before it was put in 37 degree temperature and an hour later it had dropped 2 PSI

Only I was at the game and it wasn't nearly as cold... (49-50 to be exact)

 

[FourierSeries]

If the allegations are true and IF the patriots did infact purposely deflate their footballs then the issue is the patriots broke the rules. How hard is this to comprehend? This is the issue.

Great, then let NE pay a small fine for breaking the rules. Nothing drastic needs to happen as a result.

Some players like playing with an under-inflated ball. Others, like Rodgers, like an over-inflated ball. Some may try to push the boundaries, like Rodgers stated. It's personal preference, NOT some sort of devious plan to gain an unfair advantage. The Colts could have done the exact same thing had they chosen to.

Either way, there is no evidence that this provided any advantage anyways.

 

[FourierSeries]

Hey, what do you know?! Maybe this altering balls thing is more rampant than previously thought.

http://blog.masslive.com/patriots/2015/01/green_bay_minnesota_tampa_bay.html

Not only does Rodgers do it, but the SB winning Tampa Bay Buccaneers did it back in Super Bowl XXXVII. And I'd bet the majority of teams do so as well.

 

[LightSkinSmurf]

Great, then let NE pay a small fine for breaking the rules. Nothing drastic needs to happen as a result.

Some players like playing with an under-inflated ball. Others, like Rodgers, like an over-inflated ball. Some may try to push the boundaries, like Rodgers stated. It's personal preference, NOT some sort of devious plan to gain an unfair advantage. The Colts could have done the exact same thing had they chosen to.

Either way, there is no evidence that this provided any advantage anyways.

I am in agreement with you on that... A fine, maybe loss of draft picks and move on. The damage would already be done tho if this is true. Yet another asterisk will be attached to this SB win if the pats win, and that is what's frustrating. That and the fact this never needed to happen. Pats would have beat the colts either way. This whole situation is just embarrassing, and disappointing.

 

[DanishPatFan]

Great, then let NE pay a small fine for breaking the rules. Nothing drastic needs to happen as a result.

Some players like playing with an under-inflated ball. Others, like Rodgers, like an over-inflated ball. Some may try to push the boundaries, like Rodgers stated. It's personal preference, NOT some sort of devious plan to gain an unfair advantage. The Colts could have done the exact same thing had they chosen to.

Either way, there is no evidence that this provided any advantage anyways.

No but it is against the rules! Its so f.cking stupid we are in this situation again! Our reputation and legacy is hurting and even if we win, the talk about us not winning a championship without cheating Will keep coming for so many years to come!! !!!!!

 

[2000army]

I would laugh if it is the Patriots playing chess again..

Filled the ball to 13 PSI in a controlled environment at a very warm temperature ie. 100 degrees right before PSI gets checked. Ball gets PSI weighed @ 72 degrees around 12.5 PSI and put into bags... Bring them outside and watch PSI drop through the half.

No rules broken.. No altering done. Letter of the law was followed

 

[JMC00]

Only I was at the game and it wasn't nearly as cold... (49-50 to be exact)

Still roughly the same difference in temperature if the balls were checked inside in a 70+ degree room. Then add in they had been outside for at least a few hours. A 1.5-2 drop in PSI isnt't crazy.

 

[FourierSeries]

I am in agreement with you on that... A fine, maybe loss of draft picks and move on. The damage would already be done tho if this is true. Yet another asterisk will be attached to this SB win if the pats win, and that is what's frustrating. That and the fact this never needed to happen. Pats would have beat the colts either way. This whole situation is just embarrassing, and disappointing.

Should we add an asterisk to Tampa Bay's SB as well?

 

[FourierSeries]

No but it is against the rules! Its so f.cking stupid we are in this situation again! Our reputation and legacy is hurting and even if we win, the talk about us not winning a championship without cheating Will keep coming for so many years to come!! !!!!!

Who cares? So is committing a foul during the game. That doesn't mean it provided any advantage. It's not "cheating."

 

[Gronkowski123]

even if we win against seattle, this won't go away.

but if we lose..lol this can never be reversed

 

[Ivan]

Bill's shenanigans are getting old.Teams used to break the rules back then.I dont think it was neccesary to deflate balls against a lousy colts team.

Really, what did he do?

 

[KamikazeKnight]

That is also irrelevant. Nobody is arguing the patriots wouldn't have won if it weren't for the deflated balls. Once again, that is not the point, its has never been the point.

You're right. The point is that you just want something to gripe about and some way of trying to discredit the Patriots' success. That's the point.

 

[RobertWeathers]

Should we add an asterisk to Tampa Bay's SB as well?

If pinhead Michael Wilbon had his way it should be vacated as well as the Steelers' four Super Bowls.