rodeo

At this point from what I've seen, the most likely scenario is that the balls were improperly tested in the pre-game approval.

Adam Schefter has reported that the league is having trouble finding any evidence of tampering, despite over 50 cameras in the area.

Combined with a former Bears ball boy coming out and saying that most often the pregame inspection consisted of the refs holding the footballs and looking at the laces, without actually measuring anything, and that in all his time as a ball boy the refs didn't reject a single ball.

I think what is gonna end up being the case is that the Patriots deflated the balls before the pre-game, in the same manner that the Packers overinflate theirs, and the refs failed to properly test them before approving them for use.

Sports Science today illustrated that 2psi deflation comes out to 1 millimeter of grip and makes the ball travel .003 seconds slower.

Probably provides as much advantage as Marshawn's cheating gold cleats, so thankfully he'll be suspended for the Super Bowl.

If that's true then I misinterpreted what Simms is saying. If it's not true then I'm right. Either way, I win.

You can tell the biased patriot supporters because they are rolling with a different story now. First it was blown out of proportion story and there was no deflation, just whining from other fans. Then once the balls were confirmed deflated it was the weather that deflated the balls. Once that was proven false by the fact none of the colts balls were deflated their argument turned into something else. There's no winning with these clowns.

If somehow they turn up proof, I hope they lose a 1st and 2nd round pick. Nothing more, nothing less.

Apparently every NFL player and coach to have made a comment on the issue is a biased Patriots supporter.

That would be nice except your video doesn't support that claim. Anybody that wants to read back a few pages will see you're making it up as you go along. You have nothing that supports what you say. You were even wrong about the process in place to check balls by the NFL before a game yet.....you posted as if you knew. I posted a link to the actual process that disputes what you said. Where did your info come from? I'll make sure I wait for that link even though I'll be waiting a long, long, time.

Right. A video of Phil Simms talking about how the Packers overinflate footballs beyond the legal limit doesn't support any claim. Maybe I have a stroke every time I hear it and pick up different words than you.

My sources for the process to check balls was an article by Peter King and a screenshot of the NFL rulebook posted in this thread. They inspect each ball for inflation 2 hours before the game, then give the balls to the sidelines at game time.

http://mmqb.si.com/2013/12/06/peter-king-week-with-officiating-crew-part-three/

    

I'm glad you're suddenly against people making poo up.....

I didn't make up a fuging thing. It's right in the video I posted. Rodgers admitted the Packers cheat and overinflate balls.

A good sign that this is agenda driven.

The guy who broke this story confirms a report that the Baltimore kickers were concerned about balls in the NE game.

Except, Harbaugh says it's not true, all the balls were fine against Baltimore, and in fact the team doesn't even have access to the balls used by kickers.

In other words, people are making poo up.

#investiGATE

tbh they need to just shut up until they release a full report. This trickling incomplete bits of info every 3 hours gets ESPN a lot more views but is not at all the proper way to investigate something.

That don't close any case!

It actually does. Everything went how it is meant to. It's the ref's responsibility to keep track of the balls and their pressure, they found the balls didn't meet specs so they replaced them. That's exactly what the rulebook says.

You're statement isn't backed up by your video. The balls are only inspected for weight and psi before the game. That's the only time air would be added or removed by a referee. No one has indicated the balls were altered after "deemed ready for play" before the game as you suggest.

The teams don't get the balls until after they're deemed ready for play by the refs. The refs inspect the balls 2 hours before the game, approve them, then give them to the teams on the sideline. That's when the tampering takes place, then they're put into play by the refs, who again inspect the ball before it's fielded. That's when they've caught the Packers overinflating balls and had to let air out.

The "everybody does it" excuse doesn't really hold water when the NFL threw everything but the kitchen sink at the saints...  when during bountygate,  a TON of defensive players,  past and present were claiming every team does it.

They weren't caught. There are examples of other teams actually being caught altering balls and it seems to be a regular weekly thing.

http://espn.go.com/nfl/playoffs/2014/story/_/id/12201369/aaron-rodgers-green-bay-packers-upset-referees-take-air-footballs

I think common sense would indicate the balls are deflated by the refs during pregame inspection, which is precisely what Rogers is complaining about. I see no indication of the Packers altering the PSI of of balls after they are deemed legal for play. How is that cheating? The Pats are accused of tampering with balls after NFL inspection. Thats a pretty big distinction that you seem to overlook.

http://vid809.photobucket.com/albums/zz11/mascho030916/Football%20Central/ScreenCaptureProject295.mp4

The refs inflate the balls, give them to the Packers who then inflate them more, beyond the legal limit. Cheating. Then when the refs notice they let fix it and let the extra air out.

It's literally the exact same situation except apparently the refs didn't notice (or did and didn't care) and played these underinflated balls from the Patriots.

How about having special footballs for crap.  No special kicking ball.  No balls doctored up by teams.  NFL provides balls.  That's it.  End of story. 

Seems to me the reason they give the teams the balls is so they can be altered to their preference. Hence the Packers over inflating for Rodgers with no issues.

Statute of limitations on Brad Johnson, but there would have been hellfire that rained down on him if this had been more widely known back in the day.

 

McCarthy...what? Are you talking about Aaron Rodgers?

Yes, Rodgers admitted that the Packers overinflate balls beyond the allowed limit. That's cheating.

Reminder that the Packers have been caught overinflating balls.

Well, I can only speak for myself but I don’t want to punish the Patriots because of my personal opinion towards them. I want to punish them because they got CAUGHT CHEATING RED HANDED.

They actually haven't been caught at all.

This isn't like a holding call - it's like a player running off the bench and tackling someone. You do that, you'll get ejected and probably suspended too.

In what way is it at all like that?

I love this idea in this thread that any breaking of the rules = suspended.

"Holding, #67 on the offense. 2 game suspension."

Keep this in mind: Greg Hardy was suspended with pay for 17 games all because of a pending misdemeanor charge that didn't affect the outcome of any game. You can't suspend Belichick for one game for affecting the competitive balance of an AFC Championship Game?

No, because it would be applying the rules to one team/coach and not the others who have come out and openly stated that they regularly break the rules and alter the balls.

Do you suspend Mcarthy? Do you take Brad Johnson's Super Bowl away?

Of course not. People want to punish the Patriots specifically for something numerous people admit that they do, because of their personal opinions on the Patriots.

It would be the most absurd thing in NFL history to suspend anyone for this lmao

I was reading an article about how Rodgers prefers the ball more inflated and it made the comment that the refs inspect the balls before the game.  Does this mean that the refs screwed up in their inspection or that the deflation happened after the inspection?

It means they let them slide because it wasn't a big deal, like how they'll let the Packers overinflate balls.

Wonder if New England was the only team doing this. Taller guys tend to have bigger hands, right?

Here's a video about how the Packers will add extra air to over-inflate footballs for Aaron Rogers, beyond the allowed limit.

http://vid809.photobucket.com/albums/zz11/mascho030916/Football%20Central/ScreenCaptureProject295.mp4

So let's see if we can trace this timeline. The refs tested the balls 2 hours before the game and kept the balls in their possession until the start of the game. The balls then went to the Patriots sideline, where presumably some guy stood there in front of 100+ cameras emptying the air out of them without being spotted. Then the balls were given back to the refs, who used them in the field of play. A Colts equipment staff guy noticed a ball was deflated, even though it was the refs job to test them, and if they didn't meet specifications, to not use them.

Now, 2 days later they've been tested and found to be low by the NFL. Were the Colts balls tested and found to not be low?

This story is full of holes, they need to release more info.

I didn't have as long to resent the Patriots after our Super Bowl as most people, because my cousin got signed as a back-up LT there in 2005 and played with them for a few years. Most of my extended family in the heart of Alabama are Patriots fans over it lol