By:
Advanced search…

Welcome to Detroit Sports Forum!

By joining our community, you'll be able to connect with fellow fans that live and breathe Detroit sports just like you!

Get Started
  • If you are no longer able to access your account since our recent switch from vBulletin to XenForo, you may need to reset your password via email. If you no longer have access to the email attached to your account, please fill out our contact form and we will assist you ASAP. Thanks for your continued support of DSF.

NFL investigating Patriots' footballs

biggunsbob said:
I wish the Lions would get investigated for winning big games in the playoffs :/
Click to expand...

Don't worry bob, if we ever do win a playoff game, there will be a massive investigation launched to figure out how it happened.
 
Here's the odd part of all this as we go forward...

The refs inspect the ball before the game (shit does that sound bad) and sign the balls to denote they have been inspected and weighed.

So we know they went out on the field in good order.

The balls that were weighed by the refs were "significantly under weight and pressure" according to the refs. Okay, so Belichick says they lost pressure due to the cold.

I can buy that.

But the NFL is investigating because the balls the Colts used, and the special teams balls on each side did not suffer "significant" deflation during the game in the same temperatures.

Um.. that seems like there might actually be something to all of this.
 
manchild98 said:
They'll lose draft picks and probably have to pay a large fine.
Click to expand...

One of the ESPN dorks said that because this would be their second "cheating" infraction within a ten year span, they could lose their entire 2015 draft over it.

That is some shit.
 
inkfreq said:
One of the ESPN dorks said that because this would be their second "cheating" infraction within a ten year span, they could lose their entire 2015 draft over it.

That is some shit.
Click to expand...

That would be funny as hell. Knowing what we know now (each team has their own footballs on the sideline, etc.) it sounds like the Pats definitely did deflate footballs. It wasn't cold that day so the balls deflating due to cold weather excuse sounds like complete bullshit.

Now we'll see if the NFL has the balls to pull the trigger on the punishment or they'll just say nothing happened and sweep it under the rug.
 
Mitchrapp said:
How would you prove something like this?
Click to expand...

If it was happening it had to happen on the sideline during the game right? I'm sure there's a stadium camera pointed somewhere on the sidelines during the game. You'd have to view the tapes to see if you can see who has the footballs...and are they nonchalantly sticking a pin into them or something. But if they don't have video evidence then I don't see how they could prove it.
 
manchild98 said:
If it was happening it had to happen on the sideline during the game right? I'm sure there's a stadium camera pointed somewhere on the sidelines during the game. You'd have to view the tapes to see if you can see who has the footballs...and are they nonchalantly sticking a pin into them or something. But if they don't have video evidence then I don't see how they could prove it.
Click to expand...

More so than that.... if it happened on the sidelines, there are 60,000+ people there, all with video cell phones. SOMEONE had to have seen it and went "Wow, what the...?" even though it was a home game.

I doubt it would have ever gotten to the media the way it did if they didn't have a TV camera, a security camera, a youtube video... something.

Without video evidence, this is all but impossible to prove, so the fact we all know about it, and there are ongoing updates on it, tells me they have something somewhere.
 
Mitchrapp said:
How would you prove something like this?
Click to expand...

In all honesty, I am not sure they have to "prove" something happened with malicious intent.

The footballs are inspected and weighed before the game. They are signed by the refs. They are handed to NFL equipment managers prior to keep secure prior to the first snap.

From point A to point B to point C, they are controlled and verified. Only when given back to the team can they be tampered with.

If the balls don't weigh out, and the Colts footballs and the special teams footballs are fine, the NFL has all it needs to smack someone around.

Remember, the NFL is not a courtroom. They do not need "beyond a reasonable doubt". They work on "good enough for me" all the time.
 
GREEN BAY, Wis. -- Aaron Rodgers says NFL referees take air out of footballs to be used in games, and he doesn't think it should happen.

In fact, the Green Bay Packers quarterback believes there should be a minimum air pressure and no limit to how much game balls are inflated. This comes after reports that the New England Patriots purposely deflated footballs used in Sunday's AFC Championship Game victory over the Indianapolis Colts, a charge the NFL is investigating.

"I have a major problem with the way it goes down, to be honest with you," Rodgers said Tuesday on his ESPN Milwaukee radio show. "The majority of the time, they take air out of the football. I think that, for me, is a disadvantage."

Rodgers said he likes the ball to be inflated because of his strong grip pressure and large hand size but doesn't believe that's the norm.

"The majority of quarterbacks, I would say more than half, are maybe on the other end of the spectrum and like it on the flatter side," he said on his show. "My belief is that there should be a minimum air-pressure requirement but not a maximum. There's no advantage, in my opinion -- we're not kicking the football -- there's no advantage in having a pumped-up football.

"There is, if you don't have strong grip pressure or smaller hands, an advantage to having a flat football, though, because that is easier to throw. So I think that is something they need to look at. There should be a minimum on the air pressure but not a maximum. Every game they're taking air out of the footballs I'm throwing, and I think that's a disadvantage for the way that I like them prepped."

Rodgers credited Denver Broncos quarterback Peyton Manning for lobbying the league to allow game balls to be handled by players before the game. Rodgers said he and the team's equipment staff work together to pick balls they've either practiced with or used in previous games.

Before each game, officials take balls from each team and approve them for use. They are separate from the designated K-balls, used on special-teams plays, which cannot be manipulated.

"The majority of people don't like throwing brand-new footballs, and that's why the change was made and Peyton was big on helping all the quarterbacks out with that," Rodgers said. "But if they're going to let us prep them the way we want them, I don't believe they should be able to take air out of the footballs."
 
2001: Raiders choke and blame the refs.

2003: Colts blame the Patriot DBs for playing too rough, Polian changes NFL rules.

2004: Colts blame Patriot groundskeepers for letting the field get muddy befiore the playoff game.

2007- forever: Spygate comes up after each Patriot win (over 100 and counting in the past eight seasons).

2011: Ravens blame the scoreboard operator for a missed 32 yard FG.

2015: Ravens claim Patriots use deceptive formations.

2015: Colts can’t stop the run, blame the ball.
 
Last edited:
I guess 10 of the 12 balls were deflated according to ESPN's ticker..
 
Last edited:
No wonder Blount ran all over the Colts for a buck fifty. Mother fucker was 2 ounces lighter. Rematch.
 
Still out of spec. Pats were trying to get away with it, and obviously thought it would favor them in some way. A fine just isn't enough imo. College teams face bans from bowl games for "cheating", this should be similar.
 
Last edited:
kdp1980 said:
Still out of spec. Pats were trying to get away with it, and obviously thought it would favor them in some way. A fine just isn't enough imo. College teams face bans from bowl games for "cheating", this should be similar.
Click to expand...

Probably loss of draft pick(s) and a hefty fine. I'm curious how far they will go if they don't actually find evidence of tampering. According to Eli Manning and Aaron Rodgers, footballs are doctored all the time. I wonder if more teams will get called out from now on.

Maybe they even give Belichek the Sean Payton treatment.
 
Last edited:
I don't know why this does not bother me... I mean I really don't like the Pat's other then Brady.. Didn't Seattle lead the lead in PED use this year or last? Seem like that is a bigger issue not ever mentioned... Footballs with less air? Weird because the Pat's rushed for a billion yards last weekend. Why would they need it verses a inferior opponent such as the Colts?
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

About Us

Founded in 2011, Detroit Sports Forum is a community of fanatics dedicated to teams like the Lions, Tigers, Pistons, Red Wings, Wolverines, and more. We live and breathe Detroit sports!

Stay Connected

Forum statistics

Threads
34,475
Messages
1,126,790
Members
965
Latest member
liberyjonney

Affiliates

    Discussion Hub
Back
Top