deflate gate

When were the suspicious footballs checked? Were they replaced with legally prepared ones in the game?

bikefixed said:

When were the suspicious footballs checked? Were they replaced with legally prepared ones in the game?

After halftime, just before the Patriots scored 28 unanswered points.

Ahh. They were just helping the Patriots play better. That dang NFL, trying to fix the game like that.

I heard the story on the radio today re: Brad Johnson paid $7,500 to have footballs altered in Super Bowl XXXVII.

Just heard from Boomer Esiason. He says every QB has been doing stuff to the footballs for years to get the grip the way they like. If you notice, most of the NFL's current QB's have been strangely quiet on this topic. I wonder if Eli Manning has done it? That would explain the miracle ball sticking to David Tyree's hand and helmet, and the Mario Manningham catch.

Word is the Ravens told the Colts that the Pats were using deflated footballs. Why didn't the Ravens, who lost a heartbreaker to the Pats the week earlier, make a big deal out of this? Perhaps Joe Flacco doctors the footballs.

The solution is simple then. Have the refs issue standard footballs to both teams roughed up with NJ baseball mud. If some prima donna players have a problem with this, they can play football elsewhere.

Best name was given last night on ESPN, when they called them the "Deflatriots". LOL!

http://www.foxsports.com/nfl/laces-out/deflategate-colts-patriots-dwayne-allen-says-footballs-played-no-part-in-outcome-012115?cmpid=tsmfb%3Afscom%3Anflonfox

DEFCON_Creator said:

Best name was given last night on ESPN, when they called them the "Deflatriots". LOL!

I am now hoping that the Seahawks play the entire Superbowl the way they played the last 5 minutes against Green Bay.

This is why there should not be a week off before the superbowl. This is a non issue, every team does it, and yet since there is nothing else to talk about this issue keeps going. Like them or not, The Pats are in the game because they are good. So are the Seahawks. Just play the game.

If I had to guess, I'd say the officials don't actually check all 12 balls with a pressure gauge before the game. I dunno. I guess I don't have a problem with people finding an edge.

RobB said:

If I had to guess, I'd say the officials don't actually check all 12 balls with a pressure gauge before the game. I dunno. I guess I don't have a problem with people finding an edge.

Da rules are da rules. Some are sort of arbitary, but they are the rules. The NFL is lucky that the game wasn't decided by an amazing pass and reception. If it was, they would have a serious decision to make.

The NE Pats are cheaters always have been , going back to the snowplow game. The snowplow or snowbrush is part of their trophy display area . As part of the settlement after the snowplow game which Miami lost 3-0 the NFL never scheduled a Miami game at NE in December for 10 yrs. In a way I believe the NFL is at fault here . How hard is it to measure the PSI of the balls . The Ref handles the ball after every play . The NFL will never change the outcome of a game ( to much money bet ) . But its time for Goodell to go . Just to save face.

Well, their new name, "d'Flatriots", may just stick.

Each NFL team gets 12 balls one week before a game . Eli Manning is well know for a extensive ball conditioning process in the week leading up to the game , it's been suggested that the Giants swap in older balls during games.

Exactly--the problem is with the NFL stupidly allowing game balls to get out of league control for all these years.

But while this is the root of the problem, and while it is highly likely that many if not all other teams do or have done this, that does not excuse the Patriots from getting caught. And it is irrelevant that the Patriots killed the Colts after half-time.

When you are caught, you have to pay the price.

My guess is that Belicheck gets a two game suspension to start the next season, the Patriots get a $250,000 fine, and the league changes the way it distributes and controls game balls.

exmwr said:

Each NFL team gets 12 balls one week before a game . Eli Manning is well know for a extensive ball conditioning process in the week leading up to the game , it's been suggested that the Giants swap in older balls during games.

Considering how the Giants started so many games so well, then faltered in the second half, perhaps they should stick with the brand new, unconditioned balls.

Simple solution ,the NFL brings the balls , brands them on game day with the date. Level field.

I find it strange that the NFL rules actually allow each team to use completely different sets of footballs.

Look, if it's that big of a deal, why isn't the chain of custody more rigid? The officials examined the balls two and a half hours before the game and then turned them over to the teams ... What QBs do to doctor the balls is well documented, so we're surprised that post-inspection stuff goes on ...

Now who's being naive, Kaye ...

ml1 said:

I find it strange that the NFL rules actually allow each team to use completely different sets of footballs.

Probably because, on a scale of 1 - 10, the ball is a 3.

ml1 said:

I find it strange that the NFL rules actually allow each team to use completely different sets of footballs.

The NFL supplied balls until a few years ago, when every single quarterback in the league got on board with changing the rules.

Two of the biggest stars in the league, New England quarterback Tom Brady and Indianapolis quarterback Peyton Manning, formed an alliance to change a rule that had pestered them for a while. Instead of having the home team supply footballs to the opposing offense, which was the existing method, the quarterbacks proposed visiting teams bring their own sets already worked in to their liking to be used on offense.

Every quarterback Brady and Manning contacted agreed with the idea, which was brought to the NFL's competition committee for approval.

http://articles.sun-sentinel.com/2006-11-28/sports/0611270475_1_new-football-new-england-quarterback-competition-committee

ml1 said:

I find it strange that the NFL rules actually allow each team to use completely different sets of footballs.

Me too.

Soul_29 said:

Look, if it's that big of a deal, why isn't the chain of custody more rigid? The officials examined the balls two and a half hours before the game and then turned them over to the teams ... What QBs do to doctor the balls is well documented, so we're surprised that post-inspection stuff goes on ...

Now who's being naive, Kaye ...

I am not condoning Spygate, the snowplow, nor Deflategate, but there is some through line here (parallel to the Patriots conduct which ranges from gamesmanship to possibly straight up cheating) of vanquished haters hating on the Pats. Pop and the Spurs have managed to sustain their amazing run of greatness without any taints, but anything they've done Brady and Bellichek have matched. It's just that they really keep inventing outside the box approaches to gain an edge that, even when they ARE legal, like the eligible/inelligible receivers thing, piss opponents off because they didn't take the time, or have the brilliance to think of it.

As I Giant fan, I have no dog in this fight. But I think they are making way too much out of it, and the penalties being discussed on talk-radio shows are out of control. First, the Patriots already have a cheating record so the penalties should be progressive. However, any discussion of suspending Bill Belichick for the Super Bowl is ludicrous- nobody is going to mess with the jewel of the NFL and risk the wrath of the owners, networks and sponsors.

Next, on a scale of offenses, deflating game balls registers pretty low if anyone but the Patriots are involved, but given their sketchy past the penalties should be severe in relation to the offense. I think forfeiting their #1 draft pick in 2015 is a good start; suspending the head coach 4 to 8 games should get their attention. Fines are meaningless in NFL dollars, but seven figures donated to a worthy cause, i.e. battered women shelters sets a correct tone and reinforces the NFL's commitment to actively address Domestic Violence.

As far as legacies go for Brady and Belichick, they will be at the mercy of HOF voters in a few years: we'll see the impact of the "Inflation Needle and the Damage Done".

Soul_29 said:

Now who's being naive, Kaye ...

Well played.

munchies. How do Spur fans feel when Pop is sitting starters 15 games into the season ? Sometimes they don't even travel to road games . I'm would also bet that any team trying to push the ball up against them, gets brand new fresh nets out of the box to slow transition down.

Eventually some ball boy will say that he did it on his own and that he told no one. Said ball boy will get a lucrative job at an obscure Kraft owned company.

exmwr said:

munchies. How do Spur fans feel when Pop is sitting starters 15 games into the season ? Sometimes they don't even travel to road games . I'm would also bet that any team trying to push the ball up against them, gets brand new fresh nets out of the box to slow transition down.

Pop coaches to give his team the best chance of winning-- the championship. I'm sure the League isn't thrilled, nor opponents whose gate is hurt by the starters sitting, but it's not in any way illegal. The Spurs system is so well respected that more and more teams are emulating Pop's ways.

Good for them . I grew up a Knicks fan , thats been taken away from me now. And with it my intrest in the NBA.