NFL probing Patriots' possible use of deflated balls during AFC Championship

I've heard Aaron Rodgers has admitted to using over inflated balls. What's up with that?

 

He probably means he prefers them to be on high side. The tolerance is 12.5-13.5. 2 pounds under would mean 10.5 or under.

 

I'm not trying to say the Patriots are entirely free of blame, but I do hope they checked the Colts' balls, as well....

Spoiler

...if they could find them

 

they were deflated, yes, doesn't mean the Pats were the ones responsible.

 

I have not seen an article that says different balls were used in the 2nd half. If true then it's clear that New England was the better team based on how they performed vs the colts in that half.BUT cheating is still cheating even if it didn't help you. What a disappointing story.


EDIT: Nevermind. Found more details in a boston globe article.
http://www.bostonglobe.com/sports/2...d-footballs/7UlPZI3eotRTBadM89saeO/story.html


The million dollar question is if the head official properly certified the balls before the game. Either he did and the Patriots took the balls into the lockers and let air out of them or the pats did a bad (intentional or not) job inflating them to begin with and got a pass by the official before the game. You wonder how much the officials really measure before every game. That seems possible given that the officials did not notice anything out of the ordinary when handling the balls in the first half but they had other stuff to think about I suppose.

The Pats still violated the rules by giving the official a ball that didn't meet specs but "cheating" might be a bit much if the head official signed off on the balls as they were before the game.

Even in that base case scenario it's a really disappointing story.

 

Wow Bellicheck at it again...

 

If they were negligent in this, the NFL should seriously take away their entire draft. How many times can you get caught doing this kind of crap and still not suffer for it.


I hope Arizona boos the crap out of them. It'd be awesome to see a 100% Seattle crowd in the Super Bowl, where it's supposed to be neutral, but they are a division rival so it won't happen.

 

Hey man, good to see you back on here.

I read that same thing you mentioned about Rodgers. He basically said he likes the balls inflated over regulation, and dislikes the fact that officials deflate their balls before the games in order to fall within regulation. He feels their should be a minimum weight, but not a max.

I personally don't think this thing with the Pats is that big of a deal, considering the officials didn't notice it, and then apparently were notified at halftime, at which time I assume they checked and made sure the balls used for the 2nd half were at the proper weight. If that's the case it's a non-issue in my opinion, since the 2nd half is when they really started putting points on the board.

 

Here's some more about Rodgers from that Boston Globe article.

 

TOP SECRET:

For New England Eyes Only

Patriots Super Bowl weapon revealed... Keep in mind this is all off the record, on the QT, and very hush-hush.

Spoiler

 

If Aaron Hernandez never got caught, he could have eliminated the Colts' witnesses.

 

their first 3 rounds in the draft should be taken away and dispersed to the teams that were left on the outside looking in for the playoffs. texans get their first, Kc their 2nd and chargers the 3rd round. it's the only fair thing to do.

 

Now the Baltimore Ravens have something to point to.

 

bunch of damn cheaters. I hope they get their asses kicked in the Super Bowl.

 

Uh.....yes.

That's kind of the whole point of the investigation.....

 

It seems the easy defense would be to say you pumped them up to the minimum standard, and then the pressure dropped due to being used in cold temperatures.

I think what would hurt that case is the one ball that met the standard. Keeping one ball fully inflated in case the officials asked for a replacement ball.

 

They team doesn't get access to the balls back until they are on the field. They would have to have deflated them on the sidelines.

 

The should DQ the pats and let the colts go to the SB. What if the game was closer? You can't let the final score justify the cheating and pats just seem to do it over and over. You have to make the penalty severe.

 

Kicking balls are entirely different set of balls.

 

Now Brad Johnson claims he bribed stadium workers $7500 to "scuff up" the Super Bowl balls before the Raiders-Bucs Super Bowl.

Vacate the game immediately, Goodell. kthx.