Deflate-Gate.....

Nice going, Patsies....AGAIN!!!!
Gotta wonder how long this act has been going on......
Well., if you're not cheating, you're not trying.....AYE Hoodie???!!!!
Unbelievable.

 

Heard someone on the radio call them the DeFlateriots.
If these stories turn out to be true, Belichik = Pete Rose IMHO and deserves the same treatment.

 

1. Almost every NFL team tampers with footballs to cater to their QB. (See GB to Rodgers)
2. Did this effect the game? Probably not. It was 45-7. They simply couldn't tackle Blount.
3. "If ya ain't cheating, ya ain't trying." Every team, and especially with the track history the Patriots have, they look for every competitive advantage over their opponent.
4. Belicheck and Brady will get off, there will be a scapegoat, but I expect the NFL to come down hard on the Patriots organization.............. once again.
5. If you cheat and get caught, even if it's something minimal like this, you always question the integrity of the organization from the top to bottom; you were negligent and careless when trying to obey by the rules. However, you must be willing to accept the consequences that will result from something like this.

 

The point isn't whether doctoring the balls was the difference in the game..... it's obviously wasn't. The issue, is that there is a league rule regarding the inflation of the footballs. The fact that the refs actually check and mark the balls before every game proves that the league takes this rule seriously. 11 out of 12 balls being under-inflated is more than a coincidence, so somebody on the Patriots staff instructed the ball handler to tamper with the footballs.

Here's an organization that has been already severely disciplined for cheating in the past, so even if this case appears minor in comparison to video taping opponents, it still shows a pattern of illegal behavior that continues to today. If the league has any credibility left, they will have to come down hard on the Patriots organization. A forfeiture of draft pick(s) seems inevitable. A fine, even a substantial one should be a given.

It will only serve to further tarnish the image of the Patriots. Fans will say "once a cheater, always a cheater", and the Patriots will have nothing to say to disprove that.

 

Hell, the damn air pressure gauge is plum off!!!!

 

Cheatriots!

 

So stupid all this garbage. They beat the crap out of them! I don't care if they were using NERF balls. They still demolished them.

 

I only have one question- why does the NFL depend on the teams to supply the footballs? I mean seriously, if this is at all important you would think the refs would be charged with holding and maintaining the "health and safety" of these precious pigskins.... if the league doesn't care enough to keep control of them then why are we discussing it? If you're "trusting" the teams with them then you only have yourself to blame. What's that old saying, if you ain't cheating you ain't trying. Sounds like sour grapes from the colts. If they had a concern back in November then why didn't they open their mouths and say something... I am no Patriots fan but boo hoo hoo Colt fans- I think the Lions have a bigger beef than you do.

 

Excellent post. There is a rule and they violated it. Period. The "but officer everyone else is doing it" argument is irrelevant to their breaking the rules

John Madden's take on it is pretty interesting and makes loads of sense.

http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2015/01/21/john-madden-blame-tom-brady-for-deflated-footballs/

 

So cheating only matters if you can prove it impacted the outcome of the game? And are we really to believe that the only time the Patriots cheat are the times they get caught?

Bill Belichick was already slapped down for this crap. He had to get up at a meeting of NFL owners and personally apologize for Spygate. And now for him to pull this crap? He should be suspended for a good long while and the Pats should lose several draft picks.

The issue isn't if it effected the outcome of the game. The issue is that the Pats did it with the intention of gaining an unfair advantage that might impact the outcome of the game. And Brady's a freaking liar. A Colts LBer intercepted a pass in the 2nd quarter and immediately reported to his coaches that the ball seemed underinflated. Meanwhile, Brady, who handles the ball on every play, acts like he had no idea the balls were underinflated.

 

The reason, as the league explains it, is that they allow teams a certain amount of latitude in terms of how they scuff the balls and break them in. Every QB likes to prep the ball a little differently. But the thing they care about and monitor is how inflated the ball is. Every team knows this.

 

He didn't actully apologize he made the excuse of ignorance.

 

If this was the Raiders the NFL would do something
Maybe say nice try raiders you trying to win more than 4 games a year
And hand over a huge fine
But the pats do it and nothing happens

 

They did lose a 1st round pick due to spygate. I don't think the NFL will let them off on this given their history.

 

Yeah, like the NFL will probably make them tie their pinky fingers to their fourth digit and they can't take the tape off during a game.

 

Well said, boltssbbound. The outcome of the violation is irrelevant. Just like in real life, if a robber holds up a bank but can't get any loot, it's bank robbery.

 

Brady pushed for rule to let visiting team provide own footballs
Posted by Michael David Smith on January 22, 2015, 11:37 AM EST

Patriots quarterback Tom Brady has long wanted control over the footballs he throws, to the point where he was the driving force behind a rules change that allowed visiting teams to provide their own footballs, rather than having both teams use footballs provided by the home team.

In 2006, Brady and Peyton Manning successfully lobbied the league to let every team provide its own footballs to use on offense. Prior to that, it was always the home team that supplied the footballs, which meant that road team quarterbacks didn’t get to try the footballs out until pregame warmups.

Brady said at the time that he appreciated the opportunity to address the league’s Competition Committee and get a rule change that he felt would be advantageous to himself and other quarterbacks.

“The thing is, every quarterback likes it a little bit different,” Brady told the Sun-Sentinel at the time. “Some like them blown up a little bit more, some like them a little more thin, some like them a little more new, some like them really broken in.”

Brady’s comments come into new focus this week as the NFL investigates whether the Patriots deflated footballs in the AFC Championship Game, in violation of NFL rules. After Patriots coach Bill Belichick said today that he knows nothing about how balls are prepared prior to games, increased attention has turned to whether Brady was behind deflating the footballs.

 

Seems like this issue involves a lot of deflated balls
during what should be the exciting run-up to a fairly evenly matched Super Bowl...

 

Belachick may have tossed Brady under the bus:

He said he was "completely and totally unaware" of the accusations until Monday.

"I have no explanation for what happened," he said during a news conference this morning.

Belichick said he is cooperating with the NFL's investigation.

"I can't comment on what they're doing," he added.

Footballs, which are weighed before the game, must be inflated to no less than 12.5 pounds per square inch.

"Any deflation would then take us under that specification limit. Knowing that now, in the future, we will certainly inflate the footballs above that low level to account for any possible change during the game," Belichik added.

http://abcnews.go.com/Sports/deflat...ichick-explanation-inflated/story?id=28398358

Brady to respond to the allegations this afternoon, having addressed the team in private this morning.

 

The commish Dodger Goodell was reportedly having din-din at Krafts' pad Saturday night....
Loved to have been a fly on THAT wall....

 

Here is how that went

 

<<< Nostradamus (aka Pugsley) says:
The ultimate ruling WILL end up, "An unknown Patriot's sideline employee accidentally over-underinflated the balls. Nothing to see here, folks! Keep moving through those stadium turnstiles and keep buying Budweiser beer and Ford trucks!"

 

And Cheez-Wiz...

 

1. If every team cheated that doesn't make it not cheating.

2. very valid point.

3. One of the most bullshit cliche copouts of all time. Cheating is cheating, there is no admiration involved in it.

4. Very likely they get fined and maybe forfeit a midround pick.

I'm not too upset by this whole thing though. (mainly because of 2)

One thing that I learned from this that struck me as odd, however, is that the NFL allows the teams to supply their own balls. I'd think that'd be something they want provided by officials or someone other than the team that can benefit from tampering with them in any way.

 

Thing is, most refs are aware that Rodgers likes it that way, so they do in fact inspect GB's footballs more frequently.

I know cheating is cheating, I was just looking for more people to point that ****** cliche out lol

But, I do believe Belicheck. Brady on the other hand, not one bit. When your talking about the specifics of the football, like most analysts have said all week, why would the QB want the ball altered to tailor a receiver if he wasn't comfortable with it? The QB has to be comfortable getting it to the receiver, therefore he would have the say and his receivers and backs would have to adapt.

I expect a draft pick or heavy fine or both, unfortunately. I absolutely hate the Patriots, but they've clearly been the best team in the AFC and deserve to represent the AFC in the Super Bowl.

 

So, the best team repping the AFC is a bunch of cheaters...

 

Oh I'm not defending them, but when Colts players come out and say they didn't feel a difference in the ball or they would of beaten us with soap instead of footballs, you have to think this is being blown out of proportion, but again, a rule is a rule for a reason.

It's like speeding.. everybody does it, but does everyone get caught?

 

There is no doubt that Brady likes his ball just at the lowest pressure. This is so he can grip it and rip it. What's the problem with that? Do you honestly think the difference in the ball from QB to QB matters if that QB and his teammates are the only ones touching the ball unless it is intercepted?