Deflategate - Confirmed

Felix · Post by **Felix** » Wed Jan 21, 2015 2:24 pm

Sudden Sam wrote:how come the refs never picked up on it when they handle the balls constantly?

sammy, you shouldn't tee it up like that otherwise somebody is going to go yard.....the refs were in possession of the footballs for an hour prior to kickoff....they had the chance to look at them, test them, do whatever.....why wouldn't they have noticed it prior to giving the balls back to the Patriots 15 minutes prior to kickoff.....or did they deflate them from the time the refs gave them back to the time they took the field? in any event, deflated balls had little if anything to do with the drubbing the patsies laid on the colts.....seriously, I'm glad denver didn't make it because it likely would have been worse.....

Mikey · Post by **Mikey** » Wed Jan 21, 2015 4:06 pm

KC Scott wrote:
source told Mortensen the league is "disappointed ... angry ... distraught" at the latest findings

But not surprised...

Joe in PB · Post by **Joe in PB** » Wed Jan 21, 2015 5:56 pm

As Rome often said, if you're not cheating, you're not trying. Brady prefers the balls being deflated. So the outcome was definitely squewed. The NFL should either disqualify NE, or take away all of next year's draft picks. Of course neither will happen. If the NFL basically did nothing after Belicheat filmed the Rams Super Bowl walk thru, you can expect a slap on the wrist fine & perhaps the loss of a low end draft pick.

mvscal · Post by **mvscal** » Wed Jan 21, 2015 6:40 pm

Given the procedures in place, there is no way it could have happened without the collusion of the officiating crew.

poptart · Post by **poptart** » Thu Jan 22, 2015 1:50 am

Scott wrote:I'm sure tart's head will explode

For a variety of reasons, I no longer feel a passion toward the NFL.

It's incredible to me that grown adults take big time college football seriously as a legitimate competition, and while the NFL is not quite yet at that level of absurdity, it's getting close.

It's now just a diversion.
Something to look, mock, and guffaw over.
Each week there is a new target of derision.
There is at least one weekly joke.

War Wagon · Post by **War Wagon** » Thu Jan 22, 2015 2:27 am

first this:

Felix wrote: sammy, you shouldn't tee it up like that otherwise somebody is going to go yard.....

and then:

deflated balls had little if anything to do with the drubbing the patsies laid on the colts.....seriously, I'm glad denver didn't make it because it likely would have been worse.....

5 ellipsis Felix tees up further.

War Wagon · Post by **War Wagon** » Thu Jan 22, 2015 2:31 am

sheesh, hard to even take this thread seriously with all the teed up balls, but answer me this:

do not both teams use the same balls on both offense and defense?

Joe in PB · Post by **Joe in PB** » Thu Jan 22, 2015 2:35 am

The latest from Rotoworld.

FOX Sports' Jay Glazer reports the Ravens tipped off the Colts about the Patriots' alleged practice of deflating footballs. Evidently Tom Brady prefers slightly deflated footballs for better grip with his smallish hands. The NFL reportedly planned to test the Patriots' footballs at halftime, entering the AFC Championship game. It's clear opponents have noticed a difference with lower air pressure on the balls the Patriots have played with. The NFL's investigation is "ongoing."

Joe in PB · Post by **Joe in PB** » Thu Jan 22, 2015 3:57 am

http://www.vigilantsports.com/2015/01/2 ... belichick/

The Colts believed the Patriots’ footballs may have been tampered with after D’Qwell Jackson intercepted Patriots quarterback Tom Brady in the second quarter. He returned to the sidelined and was curious about the pressure of the ball. The word then got passed around to the higher-ups within the Colts organization and then to the league.

At intermission, the officials tested the footballs and 11 of the team’s 12 were under-inflated by two pounds per square inch (PSI), ESPN’s Chris Mortensen reported late Tuesday night. Two pounds.

This wasn’t the first time the Colts were concerned. During their first meeting in Indianapolis back in November, the Colts thought Tom Brady thrown balls were a little light and informed the league, according to the exceptional Adam Schefter of ESPN.

...With the Patriots, we have been here before. In 2007, it was “Spygate.” Now, in 2015, it’s “Deflategate” — and makes you wonder what else Belichick and his team has been doing, any number of small items that could boost their chances.

More video taping, locker room spies, listening to opponents’ headsets or to what is said in the coach’s room in the press box. The possibilities almost seem endless. The NFL has inspectors to evaluate the field conditions, measure the goal posts, check the pressure of the footballs, observe player gear, etc. But the Patriots’ history suggests there is more.

No, Patriots fans, under-inflated balls would not have altered the outcome. The Patriots were far and away the better team than the Colts on Sunday. This is about a team blatantly breaking the rules for a small competitive advantage that would help the Patriots players grip, catch, and hold onto the football. Patriots or not, playoff team or not, it doesn’t matter. This isn’t about setting an example, either. This is about enforcing league rules and making things right.

Goodell now can have his Adam Silver moment. The first-year NBA Commissioner’s first big decision was the handling former Los Angeles Clippers owner Donald Sterling. A strong suspension and fine was expected, but Silver threw everybody off by announcing that he had banned Stering from the NBA for life.

BOOM.

Goodell doesn’t need to go to that steep of measure, but it’s time for him to be the leader of America’s top sports league like he is. Especially after the incidents that have occurred during the season — Ray Rice, Adrian Peterson, official rulings.

Belichick should not be coaching in the Super Bowl, and not be coaching next season. Just like Sean Payton of the New Orleans Saints was banned from the league for a season, Belichick should be, too.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/ear ... uper-bowl/

The incident, besides reviving those old “Belicheat” cliches from SpyGate, ripped the cover off a part of the game that many fans never think about: the journey of a football from approval to sideline. NFL footballs, according to the rule book, must be inflated with 12.5-13.5 pounds per square inch. Each team brings a number of balls to game officials, who approve them and mark them 135 minutes before game time. The footballs eventually are returned to each team, and each side uses its own set of balls when it is on offense.

....An under-inflated football would theoretically be easier to catch and easier to hold onto, especially in a pouring rain, and the Patriots’ footballs were, according to ESPN’s Chris Mortensen, under-inflated by 2 PSI.

....There’s no answer for this one, for why, as Steve Young put it, the Patriots are a team that does the really difficult things well, yet trips up and sets off a national conversation in which everyone, from the Colts, the team the Patriots vanquished 45-7, to Vice President Joe Biden has weighed in. “Having been a receiver, I like a softer ball,” Biden told “CBS This Morning.” “That’s all I can tell ya.”

...11 of 12 balls under-inflated can anyone spell cheating!!! #Just Saying

— Jerry Rice (@JerryRice) January 21, 2015

mvscal · Post by **mvscal** » Thu Jan 22, 2015 2:21 pm

This is the dumbest "scandal" I've ever heard of. Brady likes the ball a little under-inflated. Aaron Rodgers likes his a little over-inflated. You can bet your ass every other QB in the league has his own personal preference. Who gives a fuck?

He still has to make the throw. The receiver still has to make the catch. BFD

mvscal · Post by **mvscal** » Thu Jan 22, 2015 2:22 pm

Papa Willie wrote:They both immediately knew which was which - especially the under-inflated ball.

And the official who spotted the ball didn't? Why is nobody talking about that?

Joe in PB · Post by **Joe in PB** » Thu Jan 22, 2015 2:46 pm

Like the above articles have stated, what else are the Belicheats doing. Cheating is a lot like lying, it starts off small, but often develops into a total lie. The League should do a full Investigation. I don't want to read about how the opponents coaches box or headsets have been bugged or whatnot, and that team/s x, y, or z figured it out.

Kurt Warner mentioned the league should have stripped them of their first Super Bowl win, and he's right.

Diego in Seattle · Post by **Diego in Seattle** » Thu Jan 22, 2015 3:45 pm

mvscal wrote:
Papa Willie wrote:They both immediately knew which was which - especially the under-inflated ball.
And the official who spotted the ball didn't? Why is nobody talking about that?

That's a good question. I think if the game had been much closer the involvement of the refs would be a much bigger topic.

As I've said before the possibility of the NFL influencing the outcome of games to ensure their choice of teams advance has been raised in the past. The fact that the refs failed to notice the deflation of the balls certainly does nothing to discredit those allegations.

The NFL had better lay some serious penalties on Bellicheat & the Deflatriots. Failing to do so will only serve to make it appear that the NFL is telling BB & NE that they did wrong with a wink & a smile.

And the way that I'll be judging the fine will be how it compares to the $100,000 fine they laid on Marshawn Lynch. Lynch not talking to the media has no effect on the outcome of games nor the integrity of the game. Deflating game balls in violation of the rule book can effect the outcome of games, and calls the integrity of the game into question.

mvscal · Post by **mvscal** » Thu Jan 22, 2015 3:52 pm

Joe in PB wrote: The League should do a full Investigation.

Beginning with the officiating crew. If the Gaytriots suborned officials then that would be serious. Lifetime ban for all involved serious.

MgoBlue-LightSpecial · Thu Jan 22, 2015 3:59 pm

mvscal wrote:This is the dumbest "scandal" I've ever heard of. Brady likes the ball a little under-inflated. Aaron Rodgers likes his a little over-inflated. You can bet your ass every other QB in the league has his own personal preference. Who gives a fuck?

He still has to make the throw. The receiver still has to make the catch. BFD

This. I doubt there is a QB in the league who doesn't "doctor" the ball in some way. As long as both QBs are comfortable with the ball they're using, then there is no advantage. Shit, we'd play backyard football with flatter balls in the cold, so if 12 year olds figured it out, you know damn well the pros are doing it.

This is a complete non-issue for me.

Mikey · Post by **Mikey** » Thu Jan 22, 2015 4:29 pm

MgoBlue-LightSpecial wrote:
mvscal wrote:This is the dumbest "scandal" I've ever heard of. Brady likes the ball a little under-inflated. Aaron Rodgers likes his a little over-inflated. You can bet your ass every other QB in the league has his own personal preference. Who gives a fuck?

He still has to make the throw. The receiver still has to make the catch. BFD
This. I doubt there is a QB in the league who doesn't "doctor" the ball in some way. As long as both QBs are comfortable with the ball they're using, then there is no advantage. Shit, we'd play backyard football with flatter balls in the cold, so if 12 year olds figured it out, you know damn well the pros are doing it.

This is a complete non-issue for me.

That's bullshit. The Colts might have been more comfortable with deflated balls, but didn't do it because it's against the rules. Would it be OK with you if the Pats used a smaller ball if Brady was more "comfortable" with it? A differently shaped ball? How about a big red rubber ball?

If there were no rules covering the ball, then it would be OK. Not otherwise.

MgoBlue-LightSpecial · Thu Jan 22, 2015 4:50 pm

Mikey wrote:That's bullshit. The Colts might have been more comfortable with deflated balls, but didn't do it because it's against the rules.

I'm sure Luck does whatever he feels he needs to do to throw a comfortable ball. Current and former QBs who have told the press this is normal. Luck also said that the media was blowing this out of proportion.

Would it be OK with you if the Pats used a smaller ball if Brady was more "comfortable" with it? A differently shaped ball? How about a big red rubber ball?

No, but that's apples to oranges. We're not talking about a different football, we're talking about a normal football with 1 or 2 less PSI. Big deal.

If there were no rules covering the ball, then it would be OK. Not otherwise.

Yeah, and when you drive 1 mile over the posted speed limit, you're breaking the law. Fuck off, Johnny DoGooder.

Screw_Michigan · Post by **Screw_Michigan** » Thu Jan 22, 2015 4:52 pm

MgoBlue-LightSpecial wrote:Fuck off, Johnny DoGooder.

Johnny Fastball, Johnny DoGooder. It's all the same.

Joe in PB · Post by **Joe in PB** » Thu Jan 22, 2015 5:21 pm

In baseball they don't let pitchers use their own balls to pitch & for good reason.

The real question is what else are the Belicheats doing that they shouldn't be? History suggests there are likely more cheating issues.

BSmack · Post by **BSmack** » Thu Jan 22, 2015 5:45 pm

They're not going to suspend Belichick or Brady for the Super Bowl. Stripping a SB team of its HC and QB right before the Super Bowl? That would ruin the integrity of the game and the legitimacy of the Seahawks title should they beat that team more than any deflation scandal.

Mikey · Post by **Mikey** » Thu Jan 22, 2015 6:37 pm

MgoBlue-LightSpecial wrote:
If there were no rules covering the ball, then it would be OK. Not otherwise.
Yeah, and when you drive 1 mile over the posted speed limit, you're breaking the law. Fuck off, Johnny DoGooder.

Didn't you just say something about apples and oranges?

War Wagon · Post by **War Wagon** » Thu Jan 22, 2015 11:26 pm

War Wagon wrote:do not both teams use the same balls on both offense and defense?

still waiting for an answer to this.

I've read/heard that each team has to supply 10-12 game balls.

So are they marked?

Does each team then use only one of "their" balls while on offense?

Does anybody even GARA?

MgoBlue-LightSpecial · Fri Jan 23, 2015 12:30 am

Mikey wrote:Didn't you just say something about apples and oranges?

Mine was an analogy, yours a what-if scenario.

Face it, you're just chapped because the Stanford boy got his ass handed to him.

Joe in PB · Post by **Joe in PB** » Fri Jan 23, 2015 1:00 am

War Wagon wrote:..do not both teams use the same balls on both offense and defense?

still waiting for an answer to this.

Joe in PB wrote: http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/ear ... uper-bowl/

.....NFL footballs, according to the rule book, must be inflated with 12.5-13.5 pounds per square inch. Each team brings a number of balls to game officials, who approve them and mark them 135 minutes before game time. The footballs eventually are returned to each team, and each side uses its own set of balls when it is on offense.

Must be information overload.

Joe in PB · Post by **Joe in PB** » Fri Jan 23, 2015 1:10 am

Belichick should be suspended for all of next season. He's an obvious repeat offender, 11 of 12 balls all 2 lbs under inflated doesn't happen by accident. Sean Payton was suspended for a whole season, that pretty much sets the precedence for the HC being responsible for delinquent activities on his team. First Belicheat is filming opposing team walk throughs, now this.

The suspension would be similar to a felon who failed a drug test on parole, straight to jail, but in this case its a one year suspension, and a tarnishing of NE's achievements.

Very fitting.

Screw_Michigan · Post by **Screw_Michigan** » Fri Jan 23, 2015 1:22 am

Joe in PB wrote:Belichick should be suspended for all of next season. He's an obvious repeat offender, 11 of 12 balls all 2 lbs under inflated doesn't happen by accident. Sean Payton was suspended for a whole season, that pretty much sets the precedence for the HC being responsible for delinquent activities on his team. First Belicheat is filming opposing team walk throughs, now this.

The suspension would be similar to a felon who failed a drug test on parole, straight to jail, but in this case its a one year suspension, and a tarnishing of NE's achievements.

Very fitting.

Rack Joe

War Wagon · Post by **War Wagon** » Fri Jan 23, 2015 1:58 am

Joe in PB wrote:Must be information overload.

True, because I wasn't reading all that. But thanks for sticking it under my nose.

Seems to me a rule change is in order and should've happened long ago. The league provides all the footballs and teams can't touch them except while in play.

How they have allowed even the chance of teams doctoring the game is at the very least incompetent, if not criminal. It's a multi-billion dollar industry, they can't spring for a few footballs?

poptart · Post by **poptart** » Fri Jan 23, 2015 2:34 am

Buttsy wrote:t's breaking the rules, but it isn't enough to make them forfeit the Colts game, or not being able to go to the Super Bowl. They would have beaten the shit out of the Colts using beach towels for fuck's sakes.

Brazenly cheating is acceptable so long as you then sufficiently beat the cr@p out of your opponent?

Hmmmm...

I've yet to hear a good reason why the Cheatriots should not be disqualified.

If it is proven that the officials were in on it, there's your reason.
But that won't be happening.

Wagon wrote:NFL incompetent

Their incompetence is demonstrated on a weekly basis.

War Wagon · Post by **War Wagon** » Fri Jan 23, 2015 3:19 am

Scott was right, your head is about to explode. I claim your record player, just in case.

btw, you'll be up at 6:00 am Korea time on 2/2/15 to watch the SB and don't even try to bullshit me about that.

I know you too well.

BSmack · Post by **BSmack** » Fri Jan 23, 2015 11:51 am

Of course he will. The Raiders are in it for the 49th time.

poptart · Post by **poptart** » Fri Jan 23, 2015 1:27 pm

Wagon wrote:you'll be up at 6:00 am Korea time on 2/2/15 to watch the SB and don't even try to bullshit me about that.

Kickoff for me is Monday (the 2nd of Feb.) at 8:30 AM.

Sorry to deflate your balls, but no, I will not be -----> IN.

mvscal · Post by **mvscal** » Fri Jan 23, 2015 2:25 pm

Sudden Sam wrote:If D'Qwell Jackson noticed the ball feeling different,

He didn't. Nobody who handled the balls at any point in time noticed anything wrong.

MgoBlue-LightSpecial · Fri Jan 23, 2015 4:06 pm

poptart wrote:I've yet to hear a good reason why the Cheatriots should not be disqualified.

Get a grip.

poptart · Post by **poptart** » Fri Jan 23, 2015 10:17 pm

Sam wrote:Can you imagine the Super Bowl with Brady suspended?!

Suspension, fine, lose draft picks...

We've heard such things floated.
They don't make sense.

Look, the team the Patriots intended to damage by their blatant cheating was -----> the Indianapolis Colts, and specifically, they intended to damage them in a huge game, last Sunday.
Indy should be compensated.

The way to properly compensate them, and punish NE for their blatant cheating, is to disqualify NE and send Indy forward to the Super Bowl.

You blatantly cheat and then, "Oh, naughty you -- but you go move on ahead and play the Super Bowl next week"

pffft...

Get the hell out of here.

Disqualify.

Mikey · Post by **Mikey** » Sat Jan 24, 2015 12:01 am

They could cancel the Super Bowl but that would be a financial disaster. My cynical side tells me that this is what they'll do:

Play the Super Bowl and hope that Seattle wins.
If New England wins they'll wait a week or so, come up with a scapegoat in the NE organization and announce that the smoking gun has been found after an exhausting investigation, strip them of the title (or maybe just add an asterisk), and impose a huge fine.

That way the league gets to keep it$ big payday and claim to have acted with the highest integrity. Win - win.

mvscal · Post by **mvscal** » Sat Jan 24, 2015 12:34 am

Papa Willie wrote:And you brought up another important thing - the refs. The refs touch the ball on every play. Why in the fuck didn't they notice?

Probably because it isn't noticeable and is essentially meaningless which was conclusively demonstrated by Brady's performance in the 2nd half with regulation psi footballs. This is a tempest in a teacup and it doesn't seem to have occurred to anybody that just maybe it wasn't deliberate.

Diego in Seattle · Post by **Diego in Seattle** » Sat Jan 24, 2015 2:15 am

mvscal wrote:
Papa Willie wrote:And you brought up another important thing - the refs. The refs touch the ball on every play. Why in the fuck didn't they notice?
and it doesn't seem to have occurred to anybody that just maybe it wasn't deliberate.

11 of 12 balls...an accident?

Are you helping Orenthal find the real killer, imbecile?

Joe in PB · Post by **Joe in PB** » Sat Jan 24, 2015 2:49 am

The referees didn't likely notice anything because the NFL doesn't want to find cheaters. It only came to light when the Colts brought it up. if not, nothing would have been said or done, like all the other games NE played this season. In some of the articles I posted it was stated this has been happening for much of the season.

The NFL isn't in business to find cheaters and would have been happier if this story never saw the light of day, like the Ray Rice knock out. The ugly realization is the league is over their heads in this one, and approach cheating like they're dealing with gentlemen from a bygone era (non existent). The truth is, the NFL is a multi-billion dollar industry where cheating goes undetected 99% of the time.

mvscal · Post by **mvscal** » Sat Jan 24, 2015 2:53 am

Diego in Seattle wrote:
mvscal wrote:
Papa Willie wrote:And you brought up another important thing - the refs. The refs touch the ball on every play. Why in the fuck didn't they notice?
and it doesn't seem to have occurred to anybody that just maybe it wasn't deliberate.
11 of 12 balls...an accident?

If it was deliberate why weren't all 12 underinflated? Go back to sucking kiddy dick, you sperm-addled fucktard.

Joe in PB · Post by **Joe in PB** » Sat Jan 24, 2015 4:51 am

http://espn.go.com/nfl/story/_/id/12216 ... ontroversy

...."This is a bigger issue, and I think most people are missing the issue. It's an issue of if there is a culture of cheating at the organization that most people look at as the gold standard in this league. Is there a culture of cheating and breaking the rules?''

Hall of Famer Troy Aikman joined the fray in addressing Deflategate. In his weekly interview on SportsRadio 1310 AM and 96.7 FM in Dallas, Aikman said "it's obvious that Tom Brady had something to do with this."

"I know going back to when I played, they've loosened up the rules in terms of what each team is able to do with the footballs coming into the game. Used to, the home team provided all the balls. And now, each team brings their footballs the way they like them and break 'em in," Aikman said. "Used to you couldn't break them in. So for the balls to be deflated, that doesn't happen unless the quarterback wants that to happen, I can assure you of that....."