Patriots Caught Cheating: Used Underinflated Footballs

Matt Leinart says you're wrong.

That's actually a pretty clever idea. Kind of the opposite of what happens when I leave my basketball in my car in winter and then take it into the gym. Feels flat for a while until it warms up.[/quote]

Another Fritatta who failed HS science. Cold air contracts, warm air expands. Welcome to Obama's America.

I'll admit it. I'm a Colts fan. No way did the balls change the outcome. Pats were better side and won. Not a sore loser, not calling for any forfeit, the result stands.

Now, having said that, it is obvious that there is something shady going on. If it were only 1 of the 12 footballs the Pats used, or if the 11 balls were perhaps .1 of a pound under pressure, it is simple to argue that this was the weath. But with 11 balls in significant violation, there is certainly the appearance of impropriety. With an organization which has been found to have been in significant violation previously, one would think all caution would be used to avoid that speculation.

If found to be true, what is the penalty? My humble suggestion - no fine, no loss of draft picks. Simply permit the Pats to play, but at 12:00 the night before the game, remove Belichick, the offensive and defensive coordinators, as well as the owner. Take them to a secure room with no contact with the outside world of any sort until the game ends. No fine, no ban, nothing is worse than losing your ability to function in your biggest goal of the season.

Of course, this is the NFL, and based upon the league's handling of Ray Rice (let's beat up women, but celebrate Breast Cancer Month) and of course Bountygate, all is lip service. If you truly want to clean up the NFL, force the teams to be clean or have each team repay their municipal debts immediately - and lose the league's non-profit status. The only way to truly reform the NFL is hitting it financially.

SHawking wrote:

That's actually a pretty clever idea. Kind of the opposite of what happens when I leave my basketball in my car in winter and then take it into the gym. Feels flat for a while until it warms up.

Another Fritatta who failed HS science. Cold air contracts, warm air expands. Welcome to Obama's America.[/quote]

I'm pretty sure that was his point.

The balls were discovered underinflated at half time. Then the NFL reinflated the balls at half time. Then Brady had a much better second half statistically. He was 12-14 in the second half with two TDs. He was only 11-21 in the first half.

So, if the Pats were trying to gain an advantage, they did a really bad job at it.

Blahhhh wrote:

Also, could the cold weather be responsible for the decrease in pressure. Could it account for a 2 pound drop if the balls were filled with warm air prior to? I don't know.

No. Room temperature to the temp at kickoff (50 F) would account for a 0.4 psi difference.

The balls would had to have been heated to 173 F to account for a 2 psi drop from 12.5 psi (the minimum NFL allowed pressure).

There is no way the refs could have even held a ball at 173 F to inspect it.

Intentional deflation is the only explanation.

Overinflated accusations. This story is full of hot air.

neanderthal dream wrote:

Blahhhh wrote:

Also, could the cold weather be responsible for the decrease in pressure. Could it account for a 2 pound drop if the balls were filled with warm air prior to? I don't know.

No. Room temperature to the temp at kickoff (50 F) would account for a 0.4 psi difference.

The balls would had to have been heated to 173 F to account for a 2 psi drop from 12.5 psi (the minimum NFL allowed pressure).

There is no way the refs could have even held a ball at 173 F to inspect it.

Intentional deflation is the only explanation.

And conversely, a ball at 12.5 psi at 70 F would have to cool to -15 F to lose 2 psi. Those claiming a little cold rain could do the trick are in denial.

Again, obviously this could not have happened naturally.

The two proven cheating scandals from Belichick, spygate and the 11/12th man, are just the tip of the football. He will do anything to win and probably cheats in every way he can think of. He might even, for all we know, go to the line of scrimmage with a lineman as an eligible receiver, so that the defense does not know that they need to guard him. With regard to doping, I'd like to know what has gone on in NE over the years. Winning is the only thing for this guy.

SHawking wrote:

That's actually a pretty clever idea. Kind of the opposite of what happens when I leave my basketball in my car in winter and then take it into the gym. Feels flat for a while until it warms up.

Another Fritatta who failed HS science. Cold air contracts, warm air expands. Welcome to Obama's America.[/quote]

Um, that's exactly what he just said. Sounds like you failed at reading comprehension.

jjjjj wrote:

The two proven cheating scandals from Belichick, spygate and the 11/12th man, are just the tip of the football. He will do anything to win and probably cheats in every way he can think of. He might even, for all we know, go to the line of scrimmage with a lineman as an eligible receiver, so that the defense does not know that they need to guard him. With regard to doping, I'd like to know what has gone on in NE over the years. Winning is the only thing for this guy.

Your hatred of them is overcoming all logic. You sound like a jealous loser jet fan. Either that or you haven't done your research on how literally every qb changes the balls based on their preferences

Hey 'dial it up', turn on your sarcasm detector.

you all realize this is just pub for the super bowl right? stir the pot for a couple of weeks.

NFL teams are injecting hundreds of thousands of dollars of HGH into their players each year in violation of the leagues own policies (and at the expense of the well being of the players).

The NFL should be concerned about real rule violations and not the relatively inconsequential matter of a couple of under-inflated balls.

Patriots are my favorite team--if this turns out to be truly cheating, I'm done with NFL football. It's just too disappointing.

Absolutely. NFL is pro wrestling. Bellichek is now playing the role of what is known in the trade as a "heel" Usually, a "face" or good guy is matched against a heel, and after the heel wins, the face comes back and wins one for the ages. Heels can and often do transform into Faces and vice versa. It's all about getting those suckers into the tent. It doesn't have to be fixed-but it likely is. The deflated balls are like counting cards. When the ref hands you a deflated ball, play the pass. When it's full, play the run. If the NFL was serious about gambling and integrity-and if the sport was "real", they'd put Indy in the Super Bowl, and ban Bellichek for life. That would end cheating. Right now, there's no downside to this garbage-which makes me think the whole thing is a charade. It's not cheating, anymore than the Iron Sheik busting a chair over Andre the Giant's head was cheating.For the psychologically inclined, people project themselves onto the faces and project all they hate onto the heels. This stuff is everywhere in our society. Listen to Rush Limbaugh-Obama is the heel. Watch MSNBC, Rush Limbaugh is the heel. Truth doesn't matter, as long as we keep tuning in and buying corn flakes and beer from the sponsors.

oldguy1 wrote:

you all realize this is just pub for the super bowl right? stir the pot for a couple of weeks.

chill out...its Boston. Cheating is a way of life there... remember the douche bag on Amazing race?

He and his girl was from Boston and they cheated through out the whole competition.

I likened this to say wearing illegal spikes in indoor track/cross country. Yeah it has some marginal effect but ultimately it's preference and there're pros and cons. Also a lot of people might toy with the rules in a couple ways. As nearly every ex-QB has noted it's not a particularly big offense.

This story is big. Huge. I am hearing that it is working it's way up the NFL and even higher, to the governor and possibly even above that. There will be repercussions for years, maybe even decades. Insiders tell me there is talk of not only banning Belichick for life, but the Patriots could be forced to dissolve. Life will never be the same again.