Cheatriots At It Again....

[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.

[clydepepper]

GOOD ONE, DAVID !

I’m sure the league will make the right decision

Originally Posted by 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.

[Peter_Spaeth]

Belichick and Brady seemed perfectly credible to me.

[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.

[Runscott]

Some people are saying Brady should come clean, but can you really admit that you told your equipment manager to deflate balls after they had been inspected by the officials? I think the equipment manager takes the fall on this for acting based on what he thought Brady would like, and Brady continues to deny.

[GoldenAge50s]

Much ado about nothing--just another excuse for the jealous Patriot haters to rally around once again because of 15 straight yrs of success.

QB Damond Huard (long time NFL backup QB) said he inflated a fb to 13 lbs, felt it and deflated to 11 lbs, a full 1 1/2 lbs under allowance, and could not feel a noticable difference!

The grip is MUCH more important to a QB anyhow, not the inflation---ANY QB will tell you that, incl Mark Brunell.

Why is no one questioning the refs, who probably do no more than pick up each ball and give it a sqeeze and say "These are fine". You don't think they go in there w/ needles & guages & spend alot of pregame time, do you?

My guess is the Patriots have always inflated the balls to the min 12.5 and by halftime of ANY game they probably have fallen a bit below that.

There is no heinous crime here, Pats haters!

[HRBAKER]

Let me preface this by saying I am not a Patriots fan. I am a Cardinals fan, hard to believe but true. However I do believe that if this was any other NFL team this would been a day to a day and half story at most. Doesn't make it right, or not cheating if deliberate misconduct took place (which is the most logical explanation).

[pgellis]

Originally Posted by GoldenAge50s

Much ado about nothing--just another excuse for the jealous Patriot haters to rally around once again because of 15 straight yrs of success.

QB Damond Huard (long time NFL backup QB) said he inflated a fb to 13 lbs, felt it and deflated to 11 lbs, a full 1 1/2 lbs under allowance, and could not feel a noticable difference!

The grip is MUCH more important to a QB anyhow, not the inflation---ANY QB will tell you that, incl Mark Brunell.

Why is no one questioning the refs, who probably do no more than pick up each ball and give it a sqeeze and say "These are fine". You don't think they go in there w/ needles & guages & spend alot of pregame time, do you?

My guess is the Patriots have always inflated the balls to the min 12.5 and by halftime of ANY game they probably have fallen a bit below that.

There is no heinous crime here, Pats haters!

How come the Colts balls didn't deflate at all and how come the Pats balls didn't deflate in the second half after they were re-inflated at half time and it got much colder in the 2nd half.

A culture of cheating with the Patriots.

[Ladder7]

Nice how you convict before knowing the facts and the investigation concludes. Guilty til proven innocent. The new American way.

[Runscott]

Originally Posted by GoldenAge50s

Much ado about nothing--just another excuse for the jealous Patriot haters to rally around once again because of 15 straight yrs of success.

QB Damond Huard (long time NFL backup QB) said he inflated a fb to 13 lbs, felt it and deflated to 11 lbs, a full 1 1/2 lbs under allowance, and could not feel a noticable difference!

The grip is MUCH more important to a QB anyhow, not the inflation---ANY QB will tell you that, incl Mark Brunell.

Why is no one questioning the refs, who probably do no more than pick up each ball and give it a sqeeze and say "These are fine". You don't think they go in there w/ needles & guages & spend alot of pregame time, do you?

My guess is the Patriots have always inflated the balls to the min 12.5 and by halftime of ANY game they probably have fallen a bit below that.

There is no heinous crime here, Pats haters!

Wow, Fred. There's actually quite a bit in the newspapers and on television regarding this - you should take in some of it.

[itjclarke]

Originally Posted by nolemmings

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.

Originally Posted by Runscott

If anything, this draws attention TO the shortcomings of the NFL and Goodell.

I was a little tipsy when I wrote my post last night, and do think I overstated if I hinted the league actually wanted this as a distraction to take focus off their own issues. I definitely also agree that the response (or cover up) is worse than the crime. That being said, I think seeing the league jump to action, interview 40+ Pats employees so far, and trying to look like the ever vigilant enforcers is laughable. Contrast the rapidity of this response with the months it took Mueller to investigate and eventually tell us nothing new about whether the league had viewed the 2nd Ray Rice video. Goodell and Co are a joke, and when they want to hide and play the waiting game, they're as effective as Michael Corleone in Sicily (they knew AP and Rice stories would go stale if they could just wait)... but when they see a very manageable opportunity to prove their "integrity", like deflate-gate, they're up front and center. I also do think, even if more PR damage is being done, Goodell is probably at least somewhat happy seeing another person play league villain... this of course is just my own hunch.

I'll never be convinced this incident is a big deal. I think the referenced Damon Huard comment seems plausible. Lots of opinions being offered about how big and blatant a 2 psi difference is, etc, but wouldn't it be fun to do a blind psi test of footballs and see if people could actually easily identify a 11 psi ball, compared to a 12 or 13. If the NFL wants to impose a regimented program for controlling, providing, monitoring game balls, and to stop allowing team supplied balls and alterations, so be it... it will then be a big deal if someone breaks these rules. Until then, I don't see how it can be made a big deal if enforcement has been nearly non existent for decades.

I also haven't had much time, nor do I really care to dig deeply into the coverage of this story, but I will say I don't trust the views of many many of the people I've seen cover the NFL. Many may be employed by the NFL network, others are granted great access and don't want to jeopardize that... others just have no clue. Years ago I shared an apartment with an oft times nationally syndicated sports radio host. I watched a Super Bowl with him and could not believe how little he truly knew football (couldn't tell a traditional 5 step drop from a QB in the shotgun, and so on)... yet he'd made a career talking about it, and even scarier, talked politics too. In the end, I realized most of his takes were just borrowed/taken from other talking heads, and there was limited originality in his "opinions". I'll continue to trust my gut on this one, and hope this does not overshadow what is a very compelling on field match up.