Pats Cheating Comfirmed

[PizzaDoughz]

According to the report, the league sources say the NFL determined 11 of the 12 footballs used by the Patriots were under-inflated by two pounds per square inch each. Per NFL rules, footballs are required to be inflated between 12.5 and 13.5 PSI and weigh between 14 and 15 ounces.

http://www.sbnation.com/nfl/2015/1/2...bill-belichick

Discuss.

[Amnorix]

Originally Posted by AndChiefs

This is equivalent to the grade school, "But Johnny did it too!" defense.

No, the point is nobody paid any attention to it until NOW. When others do X, then nothign happens. When the Patriots do X, then HEADS MUST ROLL.

It honestly seems to me that this is probably something people have looked the other way on for years. Quarterbacks are allowed to EXTENSIVELY manipulate balls prior to games. If the NFL wants to have firm rules in place, and enforce them, then they should probably say so rather than backtracking and selectively punishing one team for doing what many teams do (at least three others, so far, apparently).

This all assumes, of course, that the Patriots actually DID anything, which has not yet been established.

[BucEyedPea]

So now we know, the Patriots offensive plan is to deflate footballs. Now everyone's gonna try it!

[petegz28]

Originally Posted by SNR

I don't see how they were cheating. Tom Brady had to throw the same deflated football that Andrew Luck did, right?

No

[Mr. Flopnuts]

Originally Posted by Amnorix

No. What I want to know, honestly, is (1) did the refs check the pressure, (2) if they did, did the Patriots do anything to manipulate the ball pressure AFTER the refs checked, and (3) did the Patriots do anything that isn't done widely around the NFL.

In sports, there are plenty of "wink, nod" rules that aren't really strictly enforced. Nobody knew about ball pressure until now, but everyone is ready to hang the Patriots from the tallest tree. So far, though, I've seen alot of stories by different quarterbacks about manipulating the ball in various ways, including a Super Bowl winning quarterback admitting he paid $7,500 for ball boys to manipulate balls prior to going out and winning the Super Bowl.

To me, one serious possibility is that the Patriots didn't do anythign that ALOT of teams do, in which case the correct result isn't punishment, but rather the NFL announcing they are going to start strictly enforcing the rule, and/or change their procedures to avoid manipulation (check pressure at halftime of each game, or the NFL controls the balls the whole way through, which I understand quarterback would disapprove of).

http://m.espn.go.com/general/blogs/b...book.com%22%7D

Patriots should be held accountable

By Mike Reiss | January 21, 2015 12:20:34 AM PST
ESPN senior NFL analyst Chris Mortensen is reporting new information that adds important context to the New England Patriots' usage of deflated footballs.


Citing sources, Mortensen reports that of the 12 footballs weighed by officials before Sunday’s AFC Championship game, 11 of them came in under-inflated by two pounds of air (PSI) when weighed either after or during the Patriots’ 45-7 victory over the Indianapolis Colts.

This information alters my outlook on the overall story.

Prior to this point, the feeling was that if one or two footballs came in under weight, it was going to be hard for the NFL to make a decisive ruling against the Patriots. But 11 of 12 footballs is pretty strong evidence that something was happening from the time officials inspected the footballs 2 hours, 15 minutes before the game and the actual game itself.

The Patriots, assuming the initial inspection of footballs by referee Walt Anderson and his crew was done correctly and that weather wasn't a factor, should be held accountable.

As I wrote in Tuesday’s Patriots mailbag, “There are specific rules that prohibit altering the ball after they have been checked by the officials 2 hours, 15 minutes before game time. If the Patriots (or any team, for that matter) are knowingly breaking those rules outside of the normal scope of what is accepted (e.g. New York Times story on Eli Manning; Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers acknowledging how he likes his footballs to feel), there is a price to pay.”

To be clear, more information is needed before any final judgment can be made on accountability. At this point, the fact 11 of 12 footballs came in underweight moves the story forward, and raises more questions as to how it happened.

[Rudy tossed tigger's salad]

Originally Posted by Amnorix

No, the point is nobody paid any attention to it until NOW. When others do X, then nothign happens. When the Patriots do X, then HEADS MUST ROLL.

It honestly seems to me that this is probably something people have looked the other way on for years. Quarterbacks are allowed to EXTENSIVELY manipulate balls prior to games. If the NFL wants to have firm rules in place, and enforce them, then they should probably say so rather than backtracking and selectively punishing one team for doing what many teams do (at least three others, so far, apparently).

This all assumes, of course, that the Patriots actually DID anything, which has not yet been established.

Those poor Patriots

[Katipan]

11 is a lot

Whatever happened... Happened a lot.

[BucEyedPea]

11 is a lot. Originally, it was reported as just being a few.

[blaise]

Originally Posted by GoChargers

Doesn't matter. That franchise needs to be hammered to the point where they'll never even think about cheating again. They need the NFL equivalent of the NCAA death penalty. It's the only way they'll ever stop doing it.

Oh geez.

[Donger]

I read that Brady is on record as preferring to play with under-inflated balls. Has that been mentioned here yet?

[stonedstooge]

So if Cheatriot fans would have gotten steamrolled by the Colts and it was found that the Colts sideline had deflated the balls, their fans would say, oh, it's ok, they beat us fair and square. It wasn't even close. Yup, I believe that

[Skyy God]

I'd like to see Bellicheat suspended for the SB.

[MagicHef]

Originally Posted by Amnorix

errr...IF there is any difference.

It sounds like Rodgers overinflates and then sees if the refs check, and deflate. So he is cheating, and then seeing if he gets caught and the situation fixed.

Did the Patriots deflate and then see if the refs check, and inflate? Same thing except in the other direction, so to speak?

And do other teams/QBs do this also, or are the Patriots the only one. So far I have THREE other teams THIS YEAR admitting or being caught manipulating the ball in a way that is not technically legal. And yet the Patriots alone are the ones who must pay? How does that make sense?

We don't even know if the PSI was tested in an 80 degree room, and then the balls deflated on their own when they went out into the 50 degree gametime temperature.

Yes, it is true that we don't know every detail of what happened yet, which is why my post contained the word "theory". If it comes out that the Patriots manipulated the balls after they were checked by the refs (which would make it different than every story you've tried to compare this to), how will you respond?

[BucEyedPea]

What I don't get is if a player who intercepted a ball could notice the ball feeling weird, pass it onto their equipment person, who passes it onto their coach who notifies the NFL in the booth, then how come no refs noticed it when they have their hands on the ball so often during a game?

If a team knows other players can tell, that the league has referees that hold the ball so often, then why bother? Seems too risky to be any advantage.

[Donger]

Originally Posted by BucEyedPea

What I don't get is if a player who intercepted a ball could notice the ball feeling weird, pass it onto their equipment person, who passes it onto their coach who notifies the NFL in the booth, then how come no refs noticed it when they have their hands on the ball so often during a game?

If a team knows other players can tell, that the league has referees that hold the ball so often, then why bother? Seems too risky to be any advantage.

The difference would be that the player who intercepted it handled it with much more force during the interception than a ref just picking it up and carrying it.

[Mr. Flopnuts]

Originally Posted by Cave Johnson

I'd like to see Bellicheat suspended for the SB.

IF he's found culpable, anything less than a 1 year suspension effective immediately is a complete travesty.

Signed,

Sean Peyton and the New Orleans Saints