Report: NFL found 11 Patriots footballs were under-inflated by 2 pounds

[MohRokTah]

I think some fines may be coming:

Report: NFL found 11 Patriots footballs were under-inflated by 2 pounds

The NFL sent an investigative team to New England to continue checking into the allegations of deflated footballs from the AFC Championship Game.

The NFL found 11 of the Patriots' 12 footballs were under-inflated by 2 pounds of air (PSI), according to ESPN. An NFL spokesman told the Herald the league is still not commenting on the matter.

Here is the section of the rulebook that details the size and weight regulations of the footballs:

"The Ball must be a “Wilson,” hand selected, bearing the signature of the Commissioner of the League, Roger Goodell. The ball shall be made up of an inflated (12½ to 13½ pounds) urethane bladder enclosed in a pebble grained, leather case (natural tan color) without corrugations of any kind. It shall have the form of a prolate spheroid and the size and weight shall be: long axis, 11 to 11¼ inches; long circumference, 28 to 28½ inches; short circumference, 21 to 21¼ inches; weight, 14 to 15 ounces.

...

Boston Herald Link

[Tree-Hugger]

1. Patriots

The Patriots have been accused of cheating before, haven't they?

P.S. Go Hawks!!

[MannyGoldstein]

4. They were caught red-handed before

And penalized.

[Tree-Hugger]

59. Eagles Superbowl

They beat the Eagles in the Superbowl years ago and I remember hearing a lot about cheating back then, though I never followed up to see if they were penalized.

[mythology]

11. And under their current coach, Seattle leads the league in player suspensions for performance drugs

Both teams are cheaters who can't win on their own.

[liberalhistorian]

45. Good point. Is it just me, or does

cheating seem to be rampant in the NFL?

[Tree-Hugger]

58. I didn't know that.

Gross.

I will watch the Puppy Bowl instead.

[AwakeAtLast]

92. Well now I know I'm not watching

[Angleae]

94. Not any more. Washington seems to hold that crown.

And to top it off, Seattle didn't have a single suspension this year (for anything).

http://www.spotrac.com/nfl/fines-suspensions/suspensions/

[dsc]

2. the win should be taken away from them

yes I know they would have won anyway but that is beside the point. As a teacher I don't say well the kid would have gotten an A without copying so just let him go. I give his but a zero.

[gopiscrap]

6. Totally agree

[liberalhistorian]

47. My mother's a retired teacher and a huge

football fan, and she says the very same thing. Of course, being from Cleveland (where she still lives, I'm in a western state with no NFL team), we hate Belicheat for what he did to the Browns and how gleeful he was about leaving with them for Baltimore. He made no secret of his disdain for Cleveland from the moment of his arrival, despite the fact that Clevelanders were the ones paying his fat salary and perks.

[pnwmom]

109. They beat the Ravens by only a few points -- and reports say

the Ravens told the officials about the balls at the time.

The balls could have made a difference in that close game, so maybe the Patriots shouldn't have been playing the Colts at all.

[dsc]

118. in point of fact

New England is a bad road team especially in the playoffs. If this cheating has been systematic then it is possible they shouldn't be having these home playoff games that they had.

[pnwmom]

119. And with their history of cheating you have to wonder

why they're such a bad road team -- maybe it's harder to cheat outside of their home turf.

[Jacoby365]

3. Rematch!

11 balls under-inflated by 2 lbs? That is some serious cheating right there.

[liberalhistorian]

46. That's BeliCHEAT for ya.

He wasn't stopped before, so why should he care if he cheats now? And apparently, he won't suffer too many consequences here, either. Still being permitted to play in the Superbowl is not a deterring consequence.

[tabasco]

85. Forfeit

if I was the judge.

[Pisces]

5. Fines??? They need to lose their place in the Superbowl. They are known cheaters.

The ABC's of Patriot's football " Always Be Cheating". Bellicheck needs to be banned from the game.

[gopiscrap]

7. Absolutely

[Initech]

15. I agree they got caught once.

They don't deserve it, and I definitely agree that Bilicheck should be dismissed without pay.

[BillZBubb]

20. Baloney. And it's Belichick.

The Patriots have never cheated any more than most other teams. They certainly have fewer players banned for illegal substance use than a lot of others--like for instance, the Seahawks.

[mythology]

50. At the very least, they get caught cheating more than other teams

And while yes the Seahawks have had more players suspended under Pete Carroll than any other team, it's still scummy that the best defense you have is that other teams cheat.

If we have to hear all the time how great a coach Bill Belichick is for paying attention to all the details, you don't get to then say it doesn't matter when he cheats. After all, he was a below average coach in Cleveland.

[City Lights]

21. Absolutely.

to Patriots.

[former9thward]

43. Should Pete Carroll be banned for providing drugs to players?

Talk about cheating.

[AgingAmerican]

62. Yes, if proven true

I'm sure you are on the case! Keep us abreast of your findings!

[former9thward]

66. Yeah, he is real innocent.

Seahawks' lead in PED bans under Carroll

The Seattle Seahawks lead the NFL in suspensions for performance-enhancing drugs since Pete Carroll became coach in 2010, research by ESPN Stats & Information shows.

Defensive end Bruce Irvin's four-game suspension, announced Friday, was the fifth during that span, according to research ESPN's Steve Martinez conducted using STATS PASS.

http://espn.go.com/blog/nfcwest/post/_/id/100145/seahawks-lead-in-ped-bans-under-carroll

Pete Carroll, USC and Scandal

http://www.bruinsnation.com/2006/6/26/113925/426

[AgingAmerican]

67. Post the proof

That Pete Carroll supplies performance enhancing drugs to his players, or go home.

The Seahawks are not at issue, and are under no investigations for cheating.

The Patriots on the other hand are.

[former9thward]

69. Sorry, I am not going anywhere.

Trouble follows Carroll everywhere. I wonder if you would be so understanding if it was a political opponent?

[AgingAmerican]

72. Carroll is not accused of cheating

Belichick is, and he has been fined/lost draft picks in the past for doing it.

[opiate69]

68. Since when is pot a PED?

Because that's what Browner (currently wearing the Cheatriots colors) was suspended for. So, if one removes him from the list, they tie with 2 other teams for PED suspensions... Of course, none of that really matters at this point anyway, since Bruce Irvin is the only current Seahawk who had been suspended in that whole mess, and not a single player from the 'Hawks have been disciplined at all this year for substance policy issues.

[former9thward]

70. Ask that question of the NFL, not me.

They make the rules.

[opiate69]

73. Well, since we're re-litigating the past now...

(in a laughable attempt to try to deflect from the most classless organization in football having been caught - yet again - cheating), I'm sure you'll be calling for the Patsies to declare Browner ineligible for next Sunday's game, amirite?

[former9thward]

77. I don't call for anyone to be suspended

because there is no innocence in the NFL.

I have no dog in the fight because I am a Cards fan but no one has been caught at anything at this point. Balls were found to be under-inflated. How they got that way is unknown at this point. The balls are given to the officials before the game who are supposed to determine they are proper. They are then given to the respective ball boys of the teams. I find it hard to believe ball boys would deflate balls when they are under view of dozens of cameras under NFL control before and during the game.

[frylock]

78. errrrrrrr.... uhhhhhhhhhh

[LittleBlue]

89. The players who took the drugs were punished

If Pete Carroll were found dealing, the NFL would be the least of his worries. That would bring federal charges.

Nice try, though. Belicheat is scummy cheat

[Frank Cannon]

97. Ha ha ha! Like there are ANY NFL teams who don't use drugs.

I'm sure the Patriots also got where they are today by eating their Wheaties every morning, taking multivitamins, and getting lots of refreshing sleep.

[former9thward]

98. No innocence in the NFL.

That is why the name calling by the Seattle fans is so hypocritical -- especially given their coach.

[TheCowsCameHome]

8. They certainly deflated the Colts balls.

[DrDan]

48. lol

handed to you on a platter

[DiverDave]

9. Colts go to super bowl

NE Cheated. DQ them

[earthside]

10. Nothing will happen -- even if they did cheat.

Are you kidding?

This hasn't been a stellar season for the NFL on the public relations front ...

Do you think they would let a major cheating scandal sully their reputation further?

So, even if the Patriots did cheat, it will be covered up or explained away and by Superbowl time, no one will care.

But the NFL better look out, it seems to me. The game has gotten very heavy on penalties, such that their impact is taking over the game; it often seems that good play is relegated to secondary consideration to 'rule infractions'.

I like the entertainment of professional football, but there is something trending wrong in the game.

[MohRokTah]

52. The official fine for deflating a ball is $25K

Other sanctions are possible.

They will still go to the Superbowl regardless and will still be heavily favored to win.

[matt819]

12. Sounds like a made-up scandal to me

I've read about how the balls are controlled, and, call me naive, but it seems pretty solid.

That said, one way to avoid this in the future is to use the cake-cutting approach that parents use for their kids. One kid gets to cut the cake "in half," and the other kid gets to choose the "larger" half.

[Saucepan of Kerbango]

18. Pressure/Temp

P = Pressure, T= Temperature (in Degrees Kelvin or Celsius) and k = Boltzmann’s Constant



or





T2 = Patriots Playing Time Temperature of 39 Degrees Fahrenheit = 3.9 Celsius (276.9 Kelvin)

T1 = 75 Degrees Fahrenheit room temperature when balls were checked = 22.2 Celcius (295.2 Kelvin)



P1 = 12.5 PSI (Pounds Per Square Inch)



276.9/295.2 * 12.5 = 11.7 PSI (Playing Time Pressure)

[MohRokTah]

38. 2 pounds under inflated would be 10.5 PSI eom

[Saucepan of Kerbango]

42. 220...221

Whatever it takes....

[AgingAmerican]

63. Playing time temperature was 51 degrees

Not 39

Because it was so warm at game time, the league has already stated that temperature is a non factor.

[pnwmom]

111. And if it WERE a factor, it would have affected Colts balls, too. n/t

[pnwmom]

110. Not solid at all. Each set of balls are taken care of by their own team,

and all the Colts balls were tested and met specs.

[Historic NY]

13. Sitting out in the cold & depending on when they were inflated...

how the y were stored can also make a difference. My trucks tires sensors have indicated variations of 1-3 lbs for the last few weeks when we have been having the latest cold snap.

[alarimer]

32. I've read that you lost 1 PSI for every 10 degrees F loss.

When the temps dropped very low a couple of weeks ago, my tire pressure warning sensor started going off. The pressure dropped enough to set it off.

When you have balls that are only 12.5 to 13.5 psi, it would be easy for them to go below the standard just by going outside and sitting for a while.

[Historic NY]

35. Exactly...

I've done nothing and the pressure changed as the temp up.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cold_inflation_pressure

http://www.goodyear.com/cfmx/web/corporate/media/news/story.cfm?a_id=371

[beam me up scottie]

61. 30 something below zero temps flattened all four of my truck tires.

I miss Vermont and I even miss the snow, but I don't miss those sub zero nights.

[frylock]

54. weird that the balls on the Colt's side of the field were unaffected by the temperature..

weird.

[AgingAmerican]

65. Yeah, I read they were all at 13 lbs at halftime

Definitely weird.

[pnwmom]

116. The Colts balls also sat out in the 50 degree "cold" weather,

and yet they all tested in normal limits.

[BillZBubb]

14. I strongly doubt this was cheating. We need to wait for all the facts to come out.

Access to all the footballs is strictly controlled and the officials are required to check all balls for correct pressure before the game. It would be very difficult to alter the pressure of balls during a game without that being seen.

It is possible balls were given to the officials before the game that were underinflated. That isn't cheating. The officials should have caught that and pressurized the balls to the correct range. If they didn't do so, it wasn't cheating, it was the officials failing at their job.

[trotsky]

16. Ah, so it's only cheating if someone finds out you cheated.

Got it.

[BillZBubb]

19. That's not what I said and you know it.

The responsibility for the balls being the correct pressure rests with the officials. That is one of their jobs. Teams give the balls to the officials know that they will be checked. There was no intent to cheat because it shouldn't have been possible to get underinflated balls into the game.

There are lots of possible, innocent explanations for the balls given to the officials were slightly under pressure. There is no explanation of how, if the officials checked them, that the pressure later was under the allowed range.

We need to find out if the officials even checked the balls in the first place.

[trotsky]

23. Yeah it is.

Because if the Patriots purposely deflated balls below the minimum required pressure, they cheated - whether or not the refs caught it.

PS - The final check by the refs is done 2 hours before game time, and then the teams get the balls back. Still plenty of time to tamper.

[BillZBubb]

25. Wrong again.

You have no way to know whether they "purposely" did anything. They could have been inflated in a warm room to within the proper range, but on the low end. Then when outside in the cold air, the pressure would have below the proper range.

PS - The ballboys ON THE FIELD in view of thousands get the balls in bags. Any tampering by them would be visible and caught. The balls are never in a place that would be hidden from view.

[trotsky]

27. That's why I said "IF."

And I would guess it's a lot easier to mess with the balls than you seem to think.

[frylock]

55. if that were the case, then one would think that ALL the balls would've been effected..

evidently, the balls used by the Colts were not underinflated.

[Yavin4]

33. The footballs are controlled by the home team

not the officials.

[AgingAmerican]

75. They are supplied by the home team

But they are officially inspected by the officials before the game to assure they are at proper PSI. Apparently all the balls were fine pre-game, but only the Patriots balls were deflated at half time.

Looks mighty suspicious...

[pnwmom]

112. No one is controlling the balls' access except the teams. And I'm sure the officials

did check the pressures before the game, since they'd already had a tip-off from the Ravens that there was a question about under-inflated balls.

[hopeforchange2008]

17. Why do the teams supply the balls? Why doesn't the league?

Total novice question I realize, but I really don't know.

[Jamaal510]

22. +1

[frylock]

56. that will likely change for next season

[IDemo]

24. Someone better than me at Photoshopping

needs to come up with a deflated SuperBowl trophy image in the event the Patriots win (they won't)

[BillZBubb]

26. So, you think deflated balls are the reason the Colts got trounced?

Unbelievable.

[IDemo]

29. No

The Pats likely could have won using balls over-inflated to 25lbs.

I just think that a very obvious and cheap attempt at cheating shouldn't be given a complete pass. That's all.

[Saucepan of Kerbango]

41. then

you need to see what Rogers and Eli Manning do to their balls. Not to mention what Brad Johnson did before the Super Bowl. He paid $7500 dollars for a guy to doctor the footballs before his Super Bowl.

http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2015/01/21/brad-johnson-paid-a-bribe-to-tamper-with-footballs-at-the-super-bowl/

[frylock]

57. oh, well that changes everything then

[AgingAmerican]

79. Brad Johnson cheated

Two wrongs don't make a right.

No, they don't need to run around trying to catch everyone else. Everyone else is not at issue.

"Everyone else is probably doing it too" is not a very good defense. Also, it is irrelevant to say they would have won anyway, it's a matter of integrity.

[tabasco]

86. One bad pass, one interception, one failure to convert

often changes the entire course of a game.

But you knew that if you know anything about football.

[Marrah_G]

28. I think they need to check into what effect the cold has

The balls were tested originally inside.

[Historic NY]

30. Big difference its science.

[pipi_k]

34. And how about

testing the Colts' balls as well?

Not necessary since they lost, but it would probably squash the whole shitstorm of idiocy if it was found that their footballs were not properly inflated too.

[pnwmom]

114. They did. The Colts balls all tested within regulation limits,

despite being subject to the same "weather" the Pats' balls was exposed to.

[bullwinkle428]

39. I think they said the temperature at the start of the game was 51°F.

[pnwmom]

113. All the balls were tested inside -- but magically, the Colts balls weren't

affected by the weather, just the Patriots'.

50 degrees outside isn't exactly frigid, either.

[pipi_k]

31. So a player who

intercepted a ball notices it feels funny. How many interceptions on NE were there during that game? One.

How many times did the footballs get handled by an official after each NE play? A receiver or runner either hands it back to an official or leaves it on the field for an official to pick up. That happened a few dozen times, and yet no official noticed that the balls felt a little strange?

Really?

Also, I find it extremely hard to believe that a Belichick/Brady-led team would think it's necessary to purposely try and tilt things in their favor in their own stadium. Against the Colts, no less.

[hack89]

64. The refs retested all the balls at halftime

so either they are lying about the low pressure or the Patriots did in fact cheat. Seems pretty clear cut to me.

[pipi_k]

99. What I'm saying is

that one guy on the Colts team who caught one Patriots ball notices it feels strange, but a whole shitload of officials in the game who are handling the ball(s) multiple times can't tell.

Some of those officials handle the footballs even more than some of the players do.

Yet they couldn't tell on their own?

[hack89]

103. All the local TV stations are giving people footballs with different pressures

and asking them on air if they can tell which one is the proper pressure and which one is under inflated. From what I can see it is not as easy as one would think. I am sure a pro quarterback who has spent decades handling and throwing footballs could tell the difference but perhaps it is a lot harder for a non-football player, even a referee to do so.

[pnwmom]

115. They were suspicious enough to test all the balls at half-time.

When do you think would have been a better opportunity?

[Yavin4]

36. Cheating is cheating. What about the Ravens game? Did they under-inflate the balls in that game

as well?

[dilby]

37. It's a shame really because I don't think the Pats needed the deflated balls to win.

But because they were cheating I think they should be severely punished, loss of draft picks, fines and everything else. It's too late to suspend them from the Superbowl and if they do win their win should definitely have a question mark next to it for history to see.

[liberalhistorian]

44. That's what's so puzzling to me,

the fact that they likely didn't need to do that in order to win; they would have been good enough otherwise. So why did they feel the need to cheat yet AGAIN, despite being smacked with a half a million dollars fine and other sanctions the last time? It kind of reminds me of Nixon in '72. He didn't need Watergate in order to win; hell, Jesus Christ himself could have run against Nixon in '72 and Nixon still would have won. Paranoia, greed and arrogance are a bad combination all the way around.

[dilby]

49. Well to be honest, they made the decision to cheat before the game started.

If they would have been down or a close game the under inflated balls would be a bigger deal. But they were ahead from the beginning but even that lead was generated with under inflated balls. I was impressed when I saw how well the Patriots were throwing and catching in that torrential rain storm but now we know why that was.

[liberalhistorian]

51. Indeed. They should

have this "win" forfeited and not be permitted to be in the Super Bowl, and BeliCHEAT should be fired immediately. But we both know that that is not going to happen.

[adigal]

104. Why is it too late to suspend them from the Super Bowl??? I don't get that. nt

[dilby]

106. Because the Superbowl is a little more than a week away.

It can't be rescheduled due to everything already booked and in place. It's also too short notice to just give the win to the Colts afterall the patriots probably cheated against the Ravens too so the whole game was completely moot.

[pnwmom]

117. Maybe they needed them to beat the Ravens, which they only did by a few points.

And the Ravens were the ones who first got suspicious about under-inflated balls, and reported them to the league, according to reports.

[liberalhistorian]

40. Well, there's a reason why he's

nicknamed "Belicheat" in some areas. Belicheat cheating again, no surprise here. It cost him and his team half a million bucks in fines last time, when it should have cost him his job and a permanent blacklist from coaching anywhere in the NFL. Somehow, I don't think they're going to care about any potential fines from this, either, since it didn't stop them last time. I hope Seattle kicks their cheating, arrogant asses good.

[benz380]

53. Maybe cold shrinkage? Ask George Costanza. n/t

[One_Life_To_Give]

60. If the NFL really cared

Each game would start with 30 brand new balls in boxes delivered to the ref's. Instead of only the Kicking balls being new and delivered to the ref's.

[spanone]

71. if nothing else, they should take responsibility for balls away from the teams

[we can do it]

74. Was everyone using the same balls?

Because if they were, what's the big deal?

[MohRokTah]

76. The home team provides the visiting team with 12 balls and themselves with 12 balls.

11 out of 12 of the balls for the Patriots were under inflated. The same was not true of the balls provided to the Colts.

[we can do it]

82. So wouldn't they be hurting themselves, then?

[MohRokTah]

83. No, under inflated balls are easier to throw and catch, especially in wet weather.

Cool, wet weather in Gillette stadium meant that the Colts were passing and catching hard balls that were difficult to hang onto in wet conditions while the Patriots were throwing and catching balls with a little give, making them easier to hang onto in the wet conditions.

[onenote]

84. except it didn't work out that way.

Last edited Wed Jan 21, 2015, 08:16 PM - Edit history (1)

I believe that Brady during the first half was 11/21 passing for 80 yards with an interception.
In the second half he was 12/14 with no interceptions and 139 yards.

From what has been reported, the underinflation was discovered at halftime and the balls were re-inflated.

[MohRokTah]

87. But the cheat was still in place

Ergo, they must at least be fined

[onenote]

88. No disagreement.

Just pointing out that the use of deflated balls doesn't appear to have given the Patriots an actual advantage. That doesn't make it okay if, in fact, it was intentionally done by or on behalf of someone in the Patriots organization.

[pipi_k]

100. It's really

all a matter of preference for each QB.

Aaron Rodgers has said he prefers his footballs a bit over inflated.



Also, Bill Belichick, in a news conference earlier this AM, said that he makes the team practice with the most miserable feeling footballs he can. Wet, freezing cold, sticky, whatever. He said if the players complain he makes them worse. I absolutely believe him.

If he makes them practice under the most miserable conditions, then there's no need to try and get an advantage by making the balls easier to grip during the game. They would already have experience playing with footballs that the Devil himself would be afraid of.

[MohRokTah]

101. Bill Belicheat is a known liar.

It is also known that 11 out of 12 Patriot balls were at 10.5 PSI and that all 12 of the Colts balls registered at 13 PSI.

There was a definite cheat. A $275K fine is in order under NFL rules.

[LittleBlue]

91. The Patriots had fumbling problems

Easiest way to stop fumbling is to make the footballs softer.

[pipi_k]

102. And yet...

After halftime, when the balls were reinflated to proper specs (and supposedly harder to handle), the Pats destroyed the Colts.

Weird, right?

[TeeYiYi]

80. I realize that all is fair in love and war...

...but I think it's kinda' shitty since the Patriots already had home field advantage.

The cold, rainy weather worked against the Colts. Deflated balls are easier to hold onto, throw and catch. Patriots didn't need to cheat to win but they did.

If both teams had had the advantage of playing with deflated footballs on a cold, rainy day, I wouldn't care... but they didn't. Colts were throwing rocks in cold weather. Patriots were throwing nice cushy rockets. Nothing fair about that scenario.

Patriots are a good team. No, they're a GREAT team...but they still cheat like they've got the mob in their back pocket. It detracts from their legacy.

Who would possibly want the 'cheaters' to win the Super Bowl now?... Hmmm…let me think... Maybe this was a calculated setup, made by bad guys in Vegas to try to control the Super Bowl outcome. I imagine Deflategate has already affected the odds…

I don't doubt that the Patriots cheated... I'm just surprised that they got caught. Most anyone WOULD cheat if they knew how and thought they could get away with it. That's just the nature of business in the real world of corporate America. It's a dog eat dog world… Just don't get caught.

Patriots have been finding ways to give themselves an advantage since the jump. Colts should've had their own cheat plan if they wanted to have any hope of winning the championship game against the number one, 'whatever it takes' Patriots.

I'm not surprised that the Patriots deflated their footballs on a cold and rainy day. I'm more surprised that the Colts didn't follow suit...

My 2 cents.

TYY

(Cross posted from Will Pitt's Deflategate post in the Sports Group.)

[BeyondGeography]

81. I blame Die Fledermaus

[Go Vols]

90. NE played better with properly inflated balls

The Patriots led, 17-7, at intermission, and outscored the Colts 28-0 after the officials seemingly corrected the ball issue.

http://www.bostonglobe.com/sports/2015/01/20/nfl-says-patriots-used-under-inflated-footballs/7UlPZI3eotRTBadM89saeO/story.html

[onenote]

96. Brady: 11/21, 80 yards first half. 12/14 139 yards second half

If it's shown that anyone in or connected to the Patriots organization tampered with the balls, there should be fines meted out. But the penalty should be commensurate with the harm caused by the violation, which is why those claiming that the Pats should be booted from the Super Bowl are wrong.

[pipi_k]

105. If this were

the Oakland Raiders being accused of "cheating", we'd never hear much about it.


Even if they were caught red-handed, nobody cares if a loser cheats.

That's pretty much being borne out by the seeming non-reaction to revelations that other QBs/teams also messed around with the air in their footballs.


But let even a sniff of a rumor come out about a winning team, with no proof as to how it happened, and the sharks circle around the drop of blood in the water.

In any case, it'll be interesting to see what happens after the Superbowl is over.

If NE wins, some will say they cheated. If NE loses, some will say they deserved it for "cheating".

[Pisces]

93. The only deterrent would be to take away Superbowl. What kind of message are we sending to

kids, the rest of the NFL. People get fired from jobs, kicked out of school, kicked out of their marriages for cheating.
There is a bigger message than using some deflated balls. If the NFL had any balls at all they would give Superbowl to
the Colts, end of story.

[onenote]

95. except the league already has specified the penalty

The league's rules provide for a $25K fine, which is a pretty good indication that they don't regard it as a serious violation (after all, each winning player in the Super Bowl stands to earn over $90K for the win alone, and the value to the team and to the players in future contracts and endorsements is huge).

I suppose going forward the league might change its rule, but its more like to change it to put the officials in charge of the balls.

Would barring a team that tampers with the game balls from the Super Bowl be a deterrent? Sure, but I can think of an endless list of harsh penalties that could be applied to those who violate the law in every day life that would be a deterrent but that no one would support.

[Paladin]

107. Chris Hayes: Bill Belichick is the Richard Nixon of football coaches.

Nixon didn't need those clumsy burglars to bust into the Watergate offices---there was never any doubt that Nixon was going to mop up the floor with McGovern in 1972. Similarly, the Pats would have prevailed in that game last Sunday without any hanky-panky being performed on the footballs. Thanks for the oh-so-apt analogy, Chris.

[Blue_Tires]

108. lalz...