The Patriots have become Richard Nixon. Doesn't matter if they need to or not, they will find a way to skirt the rules just in case.
Yeah, it's not looking good for them. It will dominate pre-game chatter and air space and I have a feeling almost an entire nation will be rooting against them.
This whole thing is stupid. The refs touched every ball every play and didn't notice until halftime? Even so I assume they fixed the problem then with the score 17-7 which means the Pats outscored them 25-0 with "equal" conditions. This had zero bearing on the game. People love controversy way too much.
A good question was raised though. They've been rumored to have done this for some time and it turns out it gives a decided advantage per actual quarterbacks and people who would know. So if they did use this throughout the season, maybe they would not be in this game to begin with. We just don't know. So if it turns out that they did knowingly cheat during this season, hmmm. Would they have beaten the Rams in the Superbowl when they got caught taping against the rules? We don't know but obviously they felt they needed an advantage even if it meant breaking the rules. Other teams may do this to some extent but reports are that they are known for this and the league was tipped off prior to this game. They've been told that clearly this is not allowed. Accidents happen but when all your balls other than two are deflated and your QB has gone on record stating he likes and prefers a deflated ball, and the league specifically has precise psi allowances for all teams to be on a level playing field? I beg to differ it is a little thing. The intent itself is not little given who the culprits may be. They have lost their right to have the benefit of the doubt from the public due to their past. Then again, the NFL is horrible at discipline. Look no further to the bumbling of things like TapeGate and recently the botched Ray Rice debacle.
I agree l00p, so many people argue that it didn't help win the game, everyone does it, blah blah blah. The bottom line is 11 balls were deflated against the rules with the INTENT to gain an advantage to win the game. The results during the game after the deflation mean nothing. It's the act of doing so and intentionally breaking the rules that is in question and punishable. Nothing else matters beyond that.
Hall of fame coach Don Shula was asked about Bill Bellicek a few weeks ago and Coach Shula said, "You mean Bill Belicheat?" Apparently Coach Shula and others have thought Bellicek has been stretching the rules in his favor for quite a while.
Those saying it didn't matter due to the game score, try pushing it back a week. One of the Ravens defenders that intercepted Brady mentioned the same thing (ball being slightly deflated). Quite probably made a difference in THAT game. If the Pats lose against the Ravens, the game last weekend is in Indy and is a much different game. Ultimately, the Pats have done this for some time. And they have a culture of cheating. Why? Because it is profitable. No matter how much the NFL fines them, they will make more money by cheating and winning the last two games and going to the SB than if they had not cheated and lost two weeks ago. They have become the Sooners of the NFL.
Pats are now going to deny, deny, deny and probably try to blame a rogue ball boy that was simply trying to please his idol Tom Brady so that the NFL will give them another slap on the hand. And the real problem is how to truly determine an adequate penalty. A monetary penalty would have to be staggeringly large to offset the money made by the franchise even for winning the last two games and going to the SB. As much as it might seem fitting, taking them out of the SB just isn't feasible due to the amount of money already spent by the fans to go. However, you have to hit them hard enough to send a real message that the rules really are there for a reason and the league is tired of the pats flaunting of the rules. Tough position for Goddell.
They should impose a penalty that hits the Patriots on the field. Something like a salary-cap reduction, or lost draft picks.
Orangeblood +1 Everyone but some inconsequential manager will claim innocence. Problem is Belichick is such a control freak that he knows what everyone in the organization is doing 24/7/365. $5 million organizational fine; Belichick suspended for a year; and forfeiture of top 4 draft picks (own and traded for) for the next 3 years. All but the fine forgiven if Belichick does the honorable thing by resigning and accepting a year's suspension.
If Belichick resigns, he'll probably end up with a HC job at Alabama, Auburn or some other SEC school. He'll fit right in...
Why is everything a "gate?" It was the name of the freaking hotel, the Watergate Hotel. It drives me crazy everything has "gate" added to it when there is some kind of conspiracy.
I'm in for loop's penalty assessment!!! Sorry honey But really the coverage overload is starting to bug me.
This seems like the issue in baseball when pitchers are looking for a little extra grip...not scuffing but some kind of resin, snot..it's recognized as a common practice in baseball just don't be blatant about it. No team says anything because they know good and well their pitcher(a) are doing the same. I don't know where the line is when it comes to cheating, but I don't think a deflated ball crosses it. Maybe the Pats shouldn't have been so blatant about it, but I don't see it being much different than the advantage these gloves players are wearing. Steroids in baseball, to me is the worst. Greenies (speed) in baseball circa 70-80's, don't care one bit. Guys are playing 162 in the flipping heat, do what you got to do.
Other QBs and players disagree with you. They have stated that 2psi makes a big difference in gripping the ball and in the cold/rain it is definitely a competitive advantage. While it made little difference in the outcome of this game, it almost certainly made a difference in the Ravens game and in other games in the past.
To add to OB's post, it is a very precise rule for a very precise reason, because it DOES matter. But what do the experts and actual players know compared to the internet people?
Something everyone is overlooking - it doesn't just help one pass the ball better, it helps with ball security. Especially in adverse conditions, 2 or 3 psi can make a humongous difference in holding on the ball - avoiding fumbles or dropped passes. If one team is intentionally playing with a different set than the other, that's cheating. Doesn't make it right just because it didn't provably swing the result of any one particular game or because they won the Indy game by a whole lot or because they are really really good anyway.
www.accuweather.com/en/weather-news/deflategate-patriots-football/40975001 www.boston.com/sports/football/patriots/2015/01/21/how-the-patriots-could-have-cheated-without-letting-air-out-the-ball/Eocm5m29nIlh0HRBjFWsYO/story.html Every 10 degree drop in temperature leads to a .2 psi decrease in pressure (other physicists say .5psi). Would it be cheating by the letter of law (by the spirit of the law is a different matter) to inflate the footballs before inspection with hot air, say at 120 degrees, and then by game time/halftime when the temperature has dropped to the 40s the football PSI would have dropped by 1.6 psi? If they didn't test the Colts' footballs, it will be a hard to say definitely something went down without a confession from someone.
