Cheatriots At It Again....

[pgellis]

Originally Posted by Runscott

Belicheck implied that the Patriots start off with 12.5 balls (extreme low end), and that they deflated for some reason unknown to him, but that in the future he would start them at 13.3 (I believe that was the number) to account for a margin of error. If the Pats start off at the low end (12.5), it's obvious they know that Brady likes them under-inflated. And with Belichek's attention to detail, I find it hard to believe he wasn't aware of a required range and that he didn't approve the 12.5 number. Given that, he had to know how the process for handling the balls, although he denied any knowledge of that process.

If he lied in today's press conference, he's screwed - someone (former player, equipment manager, etc) will remember some detail from the past that will burn him.

He knows about the process for handling the balls......gimme a break. He knows every letter in the operations manual.

How did the balls (all 12) deflate without any reasonable explanation? It was 51 degrees at kickoff. It can't be weather because the Colts balls didn't deflate. Obviously they deflated and the only explanation is human intervention.

[Runscott]

Originally Posted by pgellis

He knows about the process for handling the balls......gimme a break. He knows every letter in the operations manual.

How did the balls (all 12) deflate without any reasonable explanation? It was 51 degrees at kickoff. It can't be weather because the Colts balls didn't deflate. Obviously they deflated and the only explanation is human intervention.

I guarantee you Belicheck talked with Brady about this. He would have asked Brady (if he didn't already know the answer): "Do you have the equipment manager or anyone else deflate the balls?" If no hanky-panky went on, Belicheck would have said as much. He would have simply said: "We do nothing to the balls after the officials checked them." He knows the answer.

[vintagetoppsguy]

Originally Posted by pgellis

How did the balls (all 12) deflate without any reasonable explanation? It was 51 degrees at kickoff. It can't be weather because the Colts balls didn't deflate. Obviously they deflated and the only explanation is human intervention.

Maybe it was colder on the Patriots sideline than it was the Colts

[HRBAKER]

Or maybe the Patriots figured out how to overinflate the Colts balls. It's a lot of fun to watch when the team that is so easy to hate gives the haters even more reason to get agitated.

[Runscott]

Most believable analysis of the two press conferences is that Belichek threw Brady under the bus and Brady then threw his equipment manager under the bus. Shit flows downhill for sure.

Meanwhile, the Pats players are all talking the Belichek mantra, but things will come out as players change teams. Back-up QB Jimmy Garoppolo would be the logical first one to talk, as soon as he leaves the team....guessing he sees a fat raise over the off-season.

[itjclarke]

This is so stupid. I don't care what Mike Pereria, or Billick say. If the league had been at all serious about enforcement, they would simply have supply game balls to both teams during the course of a game, not prior... however they don't and never have. In turn QBs have always had the opportunity to customize balls per their wants, and have.

As said before, on any/all other levels of football, each team plays with their own chosen game balls (which can vary considerably)... and players/coaches are allowed to choose the balls that best suit them. For the NFL to make this a big deal now is a joke. The league and press are latching onto this story because it draws more attention to the SB... and frankly draws attention away from some of the other shortcomings of Goodell and the league.

[Jim65]

It wouldn't surprise me one bit if some low level locker room attendant type comes forward to say he did it and Brady/Belichick knew nothing about it. I hope at least the team compensates him for his selfless sacrifice.

[vintagetoppsguy]

If people want to justify bad behavior, so be it. It kinda reminds me of the Probstein (shilling) thread.

And as far as it being a serious matter, like Todd said, “the inflation rules are there for a reason. Given that the balls are checked by the ref and there is only a limited time for them to be altered, I suspect the league does take it seriously--why have the refs undertake a meaningless act?”

I’m sure the league will make the right decision. Here’s an excerpt from the letter that Goodell sent to Belichick after the Spygate incident, “calculated and deliberate attempt to avoid long-standing rules designed to encourage fair play and promote honest competition on the playing field.”

I truly believe that this incident will be dealt with more harshly than Spygate (given this isn’t their first offense). The Patriots aren’t Probstein and Goodell isn’t eBay. This matter isn’t just going to go away. Something will be done, sit back and watch.

[Runscott]

Originally Posted by itjclarke

In turn QBs have always had the opportunity to customize balls per their wants, and have.

To a point. All they are saying is that the Patriots crossed a clearly-defined line, which is pressure in the balls - heck, they gave them a fairly large range to work within. If anything, this draws attention TO the shortcomings of the NFL and Goodell.

[nolemmings]

The league and press are latching onto this story because it draws more attention to the SB... and frankly draws attention away from some of the other shortcomings of Goodell and the league.

The League wanted no part of this. This has been the worst season from a public relations standpoint that the NFL has endured in years, IMO. Yet the Ray Rice and Adrian Peterson issues had finally died down. There were wild rumors about Rice being signed late by Pittsburgh to help with RB depth during the playoff chase, and coach Zimmer openly stated that he wants and expects AP to be a big part of the Vikings offense next year– in both cases the public outrage in these stories was long gone. The recent controversial endings to the Dallas/Detroit and Green Bay/Dallas games had also been an embarrassment or at least sore spot for the NFL, yet it looked like those were overcome. Now this– no way Goodell and company are happy about it, and if anything, it puts unwanted attention back on them.

Regardless of whether you think it is a major rules violation, it is a straightforward violation nonetheless, and a slap in the face of league authority. And as often happens, I believe the coverup will be worse than the crime. The Pats should have hunkered down with no comment through this week and then ducked the questions next week on the theory that we were preparing for the big game. The proper response, IMO, would be no press conference but just a simple release saying they were aware of these irregularities with the footballs and would cooperate fully with NFL investigators when questioned about it. The wink-wink of that scenario would be that Goodell would not get around to or at least would not complete his “full investigation” until after the Super Bowl, so any penalty would await next year and the overall fervor would die down. They may get that same result anyway–you heard Brady say yesterday that the league has not even questioned him about it yet– but those press conferences, especially Brady’s, bring their own harm and bad publicity and did little or nothing to calm the situation.