Too Funny: Curran Corners Kensil

[IllegalContact]

Unfortunately this is correct.

The way this entire process has been manifest is a hatchet job of the highest order. But then again, I expect nothing less from the NFL as it is currently run right now.

All the NFL had to do was fire a warning shot before the Colts game that due to complaints from other teams, the balls better be at the correct psi or else...

IIRC this is what they did (if that) with the Vikings-Panthers heating footballs on the sideline during the 2014 regular season...

But because it is the New England Patriots, and the head coach is Bill Belichick, and they have 9 AFCCG appearances, 6 Super Bowl berths, 3 Lombardis, etc. etc. the NFL decided to treat this differently and now it has turned into a clusterfcuk.

Again, the only thing this REALLY matters to is the owners........and more and more of them are sitting there wondering 'what if this happened to my team?' Once these kinds of methods are out of the bag, they are very hard to put back........they don't need or want people running around with knives stabbing whoever in the back.....this does nothing for the 'integrity of the game or the value of their teams' it helps noone

 

[Ivan]

I sincerely doubt Kensil was on the sideline tampering with balls. Crap thread.

Actually it's been verified. The "tampering" part hasn't been proven but he was definitely there. Furthermore the Colts had listed checking footballs for air pressure as one of their points of notice for the referees, so while not a league sponsored sting of was a collusion between Kemsil and Irsay and probably Harbaugh and Pagano. However the bottom line is still the same, the Paytiots gave their gameballs to the refs and they were approved. Nothing happened to them after that other than the game and weather. Nothing in NFL guidelines says teams can't play with balls below 12.5, simply that the refs need to check them to make sure they are at our above that mark to start the game. I'm sure refs can test and inflate them if they feel like they are low during the game but that's on them, I have never seen or heard of anything like that.

 

[Galeb]

Actually it's been verified. The "tampering" part hasn't been proven but he was definitely there. Furthermore the Colts had listed checking footballs for air pressure as one of their points of notice for the referees, so while not a league sponsored sting of was a collusion between Kemsil and Irsay and probably Harbaugh and Pagano. However the bottom line is still the same, the Paytiots gave their gameballs to the refs and they were approved. Nothing happened to them after that other than the game and weather. Nothing in NFL guidelines says teams can't play with balls below 12.5, simply that the refs need to check them to make sure they are at our above that mark to start the game. I'm sure refs can test and inflate them if they feel like they are low during the game but that's on them, I have never seen or heard of anything like that.

I never said that he wasn't the sideline after the Colts intercepted the ball, but the tweet suggesting he was tampering with the balls is absurd.

 

[sevengables_2207]

Again, the only thing this REALLY matters to is the owners........and more and more of them are sitting there wondering 'what if this happened to my team?' Once these kinds of methods are out of the bag, they are very hard to put back........they don't need or want people running around with knives stabbing whoever in the back.....this does nothing for the 'integrity of the game or the value of their teams' it helps noone

I look at how the NFL handled the Vikings-Panthers sideline heating footballs incident.

Then, I contrast that with how the NFL is handling the alleged tampering of footballs by the New England Patriots in the first half of the AFCCG.

In the latter case, there is no conclusive evidence (hitherto), unlike in the former case. Yet, it has been handled much more harshly and much more publicly.

I can not tell you what the owners are thinking about this. But I can tell you that, to me, this seemingly looks like an investigation that is out to prove guilt by any means necessary in order to bring down a team that is an outlier in a "salary-cap parity-friendly" NFL.

 

[Galeb]

He WAS on the sideline, and he DID take possession of the intercepted ball. That's been confirmed from multiple sources.

I never said he wasn't. Considering that he was the NFL's director of game operations for the AFCCG, it's probably standard procedure for him to investigate the Colts claim. I'm not saying he wasn't part of the setup, but the tweet implying that he was on the sideline tampering with balls was absurd.

 

[supafly]

So he hurried through this knowing that the league was going to suddenly crack down on ball pressure?


This has gone from ridiculous to beclowning.

Hell, we have people here who are claiming that just b/c Mike Kensil was on the sidelines that he definitely tampered with the balls....so how can you honestly try and act like being in a locked bathroom with a bag of game balls isn't going to be highly questioned? The majority of NFL fans believe that this is very suspicious, as much as that sucks for us.

The bottom line is that a ball boy went into a locked bathroom for approx. 90 seconds....with the game balls. This is definitely not going to be considered "acceptable" behavior, and I can guarantee that they will change the league rules to prevent this from ever happening in the future.

Do I really believe that he tampered with the balls? No. I don't, but that's highly unlikely to stop the NFL from having something to save face at the end of all of this. They've managed to create a "what if" theory, and as much as that sucks, it's a fact. Of course there are going to be videos that surface where someone spends 10 seconds or so on each ball and they deflate about 9-10 footballs. It sucks, but how can you act like it's not at least a possibility if you're not waving the pom poms?

I think it's very unlikely, but there are going to be a ton of scenarios where people suspect foul play. Someone went behind a hidden curtain, off the grid--so to speak. With the balls. People are going to claim a bunch of things.

 

[Rob0729]

Granted the mysterious Sharks of Vegas retweeted the confirmation tweet. So the plot thickens.....

 

[DarrylS]

Kensil said he expected questions today at media day. "If it gets too much I'll just leave," he smiled.

If he leaves will he be fined???.. Or is he above the Goodell's special rules???... .

 

[memento]

So when's the Kensil presser? Did he get up and leave already?

 

[BobDigital]

This guys logic.

I will report an unsubstantiated story and push it. BB and Brady should be forced to answer questions and take criticism about it.

I should not be forced to do either though of course.

Makes perfect sense.

 

[Baboon]

"When did you first learn that the patriots were suspected of deflating game day footballs below the requisite psi?"

 

[NYCPatsFan]

My conspiracy theory on this NFL sting operation conspiracy theory:

=================================================================


[...Prologue...]

Goodell is obviously close to Kraft (at least of recent times, although I suspect he was close right from the beginning; which was why he had to be so harsh on Cameragate so that none cannot accuse him of being lenient to friends).

So, weird that he wouldn't have tipped him off on Sat night.

Unless....

[....suspense music...]​

Goodell himself was not aware of it until it broke out Mon morning.

[...pin drop silence....]​

Because....

[...very slow but steady drum beat....]​

There is a massive infighting between two camps in the league: one anti-Pats camp headed by Mike Kensil , another camp affiliated with others not-that-anti-Pats, which includes Goodell.


Which is why....

[...beat tempo slowly increases...]​

- Kraft was unable to make any preliminary public statements as both he (and Goodell) tried to figure out what the heck went on and who was behind it that fooled even Goodell.
- There has been and continues to be conflicting leaks from 'league sources' that involved both camps
- Kraft threw a bombshell demanding a public apology from the league (as he probably had by now adequate confirmation about Mike Kensil and is sure that the Goodell will trump Kensil).


I N T E R M I S S I O N

-------------------------------------------

Guess I gotta wait for the third season of House of Cards to get more inspiration.

 

[Froob]

watch the league warn him not to do it again if it ends up being true. At this point nothing would surprise me. This is crazier than lost.

 

[phil112]

Curran wrote a good piece on this angle…Certainly a detail the NFL's investigation should look into. The problem is that this whole thing has never been about revealing the truth. If it was, all they'd have to do is conduct some scientific studies detailing what the balls went through on game day just like Belichick outlined last Saturday. This is the obvious way to clear the Patriots of any wrong doing. The fact that they haven't done this is very telling…The league office doesn't want to clear the Patriots of any wrong doing. They are after Belichick's head.

You don't know they haven't already run those tests. As a matter of fact, I'd be willing to bet money the NFL has already warmed and cooled dozens of footballs. I have a feeling they're trying to figure out how the colts balls didn't obey the same law of nature the Pats balls did. There is a lot more to this story than we have heard for sure. I just hope it all comes out. No doubt in mind the Pats are squeaky clean in this thing.

 

[memento]

I will say this for the NFL/Colts are to blame theories:

3 more weeks leaves a lot of time to interview people that are not with the Patriots.

 

[turkeyneck]

Mostly spot on except I think BB has known Kensil has been behind this and the other -gates from day one. It's just taken some time to convince the Krafts of what they're dealing with.

Btw, I'm sure Bill has been spending the years since camera-gate compiling a Doomsday dosier on Kensil.

 

[Ivan]

Hell, we have people here who are claiming that just b/c Mike Kensil was on the sidelines that he definitely tampered with the balls....so how can you honestly try and act like being in a locked bathroom with a bag of game balls isn't going to be highly questioned? The majority of NFL fans believe that this is very suspicious, as much as that sucks for us.

The bottom line is that a ball boy went into a locked bathroom for approx. 90 seconds....with the game balls. This is definitely not going to be considered "acceptable" behavior, and I can guarantee that they will change the league rules to prevent this from ever happening in the future.

Do I really believe that he tampered with the balls? No. I don't, but that's highly unlikely to stop the NFL from having something to save face at the end of all of this. They've managed to create a "what if" theory, and as much as that sucks, it's a fact. Of course there are going to be videos that surface where someone spends 10 seconds or so on each ball and they deflate about 9-10 footballs. It sucks, but how can you act like it's not at least a possibility if you're not waving the pom poms?

I think it's very unlikely, but there are going to be a ton of scenarios where people suspect foul play. Someone went behind a hidden curtain, off the grid--so to speak. With the balls. People are going to claim a bunch of things.

That's not a locked bathroom sup, it's used by anyone who had access to that part of the stadium, and the idea he deflated the football's in a minute and a half is ******ed. You have really been buying into the leaks big time throughout this fiasco, and you seem far more offended that someone would suggest Kensil was involved in wrongdoing than you do the suggestion that the ball attendant was. The kid took a piss, period, and he and his family should sue everyone who claims he tampered with the balls. The character assassination that has taken place over nothing is outrageous and those who have been damaged by it should go hard after those doing it.

 

[supafly]

That's not a locked bathroom sup, it's used by anyone who had access to that part of the stadium, and the idea he deflated the football's in a minute and a half is ******ed. You have really been buying into the leaks big time throughout this fiasco, and you seem far more offended that someone would suggest Kensil was involved in wrongdoing than you do the suggestion that the ball attendant was. The kid took a piss, period, and he and his family should sue everyone who claims he tampered with the balls. The character assassination that has taken place over nothing is outrageous and those who have been damaged by it should go hard after those doing it.

The bathroom does indeed, lock from the inside. It's a small bathroom that even the players use consisting of one stall and one sink, and it's never been questioned whether it locks or not. I don't know why you'd claim that?

The fact that the ball boy left his designated routine to go to an unauthorized area doesn't look good for the Patriots to be pointing to physics, which was a much more widely accepted possibility prior to the tape coming out.

We all hope that this is what's believed, but with Goodell's new policy (that everyone seems to be ignoring) in 2008 lowering the proof needed, it makes me leery. This has nothing to do with "buying into leaks" from the mediots, by the way. This is stating what the new lower burden of proof is all about.