Patriots Caught Cheating: Used Underinflated Footballs

I don't think anyone is saying that it changed the outcome of the game. The Patriots beat Indy's arse and would have done so regardless of what they used for a football.

But if the Patriots deflated the balls after they were inspected by the refs, which seems to be the only scientific explanation at the moment, what should be the punishment?

yhrebray wrote:

I don't think anyone is saying that it changed the outcome of the game. The Patriots beat Indy's arse and would have done so regardless of what they used for a football.

But if the Patriots deflated the balls after they were inspected by the refs, which seems to be the only scientific explanation at the moment, what should be the punishment?

exactly

the rules often do not make much sense as applied, it is like players can no longer wear stickum, but many spray their hands with hairspray to get traction and tackiness, others use gloves like Odell Beckham on the catch, you should try the gloves they have now, you can almost palm a ball without pressure, but they are legal and stickum is not

the distinction is whether it should be punished like Marshawn Lynch if he were to wear the gold shoes (equipment violation) they were gonna ban suspend him from the SuperBowl for a league appearance issue not a competitive advantage (however minimal). So what would they do for deflation? The NFL is so inconsistent except for its consistent pursuit of $. You can expect that they will come out and say that there was no advantage gained that affected the integrity of the game, that the Patriots have been fined $25,000.00 and that subsequent violations will be punished more severely. It doesn't really matter what anyone else thinks, the league is not going to do anything other than a wink, nod, and $25,000.00 fine.

the NFL wants to move on to the Superbowl

If I'm a baseball player, or a tennis player, or a pole vaulter I use my own junk. Same should be for quarterbacks. Maybe Brady's hand fits the lighter/smaller ball --- shouldn't be an issue. Colts got thrashed.

All teams do things to give themselves an advantage, particularly when playing at home. Lombardi used to tweak the heating coils under Lambeau to mess with the field surface. Shula didn't tarp a field and created the mud bowl. There have been consistent rumors of piped in crowd noise in some facilities. Etc, etc.

If it can be proven this was done, there should be a punishment. But it needs to be after the season and not done in the Super Bowl. If they remove Belichek for the Super Bowl, for example, and Seattle wins, that win will then be tainted by those who would say "...the Patriots would have won if the coach had been there." Not fair to the Seachickens.

07h wrote:

If I'm a baseball player, or a tennis player, or a pole vaulter I use my own junk. Same should be for quarterbacks. Maybe Brady's hand fits the lighter/smaller ball --- shouldn't be an issue. Colts got thrashed.

But do you give your "junk" to the officials to inspect, and have them determine it meets the league regulations, and then afterwards replace it with "junk" that does not meet league regulations?

Anyone ever wonder why the officials touch the ball more than anyone throughout the game yet they didn't notice that the balls were 2 psi below the minimum level?

BECAUSE EVERYBODY DOES IT. Matt Leinert said every single qb does it, except Kurt wariner because he wore gloves apparently.

Press conference at 4pm today with Brady. Belichick just finished his conference, said he doesn't know anything about or concern himself with what happens to footballs prior to games.

yhrebray wrote:

07h wrote:

If I'm a baseball player, or a tennis player, or a pole vaulter I use my own junk. Same should be for quarterbacks. Maybe Brady's hand fits the lighter/smaller ball --- shouldn't be an issue. Colts got thrashed.

But do you give your "junk" to the officials to inspect, and have them determine it meets the league regulations, and then afterwards replace it with "junk" that does not meet league regulations?

Sure. Happens all the time.

Nearly every quarterback in the league wants this to go away because they all doctor their balls (giggity).

The point is that no one wants the league to return to using the same balls for both teams. No one.

Hoodie admitted that they inflate the balls to the minimum legal limit. I am sure the Pats did everything legal to deflate them more.

This isn't a real story. It is just a way for the NFL to keep itself in the news.

07h wrote:

If I'm a baseball player, or a tennis player, or a pole vaulter I use my own junk. Same should be for quarterbacks. Maybe Brady's hand fits the lighter/smaller ball --- shouldn't be an issue. Colts got thrashed.

they check hockey sticks, lacrosse sticks, spikes, everything

should I be able to play basketball with a women's size ball because it helps me palm it better, or should I have to play with a man size basketball which is harder to palm?

cheaters gonna cheat, they should pay the price if the upside is worth it then the downside needs to be paid when they get caught

Mundus Vult wrote:

I am sure the Pats did everything legal to deflate them more.

Such as? I think the issue is that no one has found a way to describe this legally happening.

I have nothing against inflating the balls to a minimum for the inspection. But if the Pats deflated the balls after the refs checked them, I don't know what you do about that.

The Little Kazoo wrote:

they check hockey sticks, lacrosse sticks, spikes, everything

should I be able to play basketball with a women's size ball because it helps me palm it better, or should I have to play with a man size basketball which is harder to palm?

cheaters gonna cheat, they should pay the price if the upside is worth it then the downside needs to be paid when they get caught

There is a difference between something that is a matter of personal preference versus something that could affect the outcome of a game. This is precisely why every quarterback who has made statement has come out in favor of the Pats.

I agree, if you win by a large enough margin it doesn't matter if you cheated.

It's not just the QBs who have come out in favor of the Pats. An ESPN poll shows more than 80% believe Belichick and Brady did no wrong. Only one state - Nebraska - polled a majority who don't believe the Pats.

Mundus Vult wrote:

The only way the Pats could have cheated is to deflate the balls after the balls had been inspected.

DING DING DING!!!

Agree wrote:

I agree, if you win by a large enough margin it doesn't matter if you cheated.

Do you realize how idiotic this statement? So if I take EPO and win the Chicago Marathon by 10 minutes, it doesn't matter that I took EPO because I won the Chicago Marathon by 10 minutes? WTF??

Stats man wrote:

It's not just the QBs who have come out in favor of the Pats. An ESPN poll shows more than 80% believe Belichick and Brady did no wrong. Only one state - Nebraska - polled a majority who don't believe the Pats.

Excuse me?

You guys don't get it. Of course there is no way would the Colts have won this game in any situation. NE is a great football team but now their greatness has a stink to it. You can bet this game was not their first ride in the underinflation rodeo. They've been at it awhile, guaranteed. What's so stupid is that they don't need to stoop this low - they are loaded with talent. It doesn't matter whether they still would have won - they CHEATED. 11 out of 12 balls underinflated by 2 lbs each is pretty damning evidence, since they all were "legal" 2 hours before the game. Someone let the air out so Brady had a better grip. You know how everyone comes down so hard on course-cutters in a marathon? Even a small shortcut? It's still cheating. What's so different about this?

Do we know for sure the officials did a proper inspection of all the balls? (We don't yet)

Brady sure as hell doesn't measure the psi. He tells them based on feel and picks out the balls he wants to use for the game.

Make it out to be some big scandal that ONLY Brady has ever done if you want, but it isn't that way and the NFL isn't going to treat it that way.

Btw I'm curious since you have a pretty hot take on this, what you think would be a fair punishment?

1. You are excused. The poll cited was mentioned on Sportscenter this evening.

2. What's different about this? Seriously? The Pats didn't cut the course. They played the whole game. A better analogy might be a high school kid racing barefoot. It's illegal, but doesn't significantly change the outcome of the race.

I heard Pavanhe and Larry have an illegitimate child who is the Patriots ball boy.