He was specifically referring to heating the ball on the sidelines. He even mentions the sideline heaters. It is not written in the rule book that you cannot inflate the ball in a specific environment, only that at time of testing, the ball must meet NFL standards. Pressure between 12.5 to 13.5 PSI and weighing 14 to 15 ounces. Anything else cited as a "rule" is via word of mouth and therefore not official. *IF* New England inflated their footballs in a sauna shortly before the check and brought them out to the field they would deflate to below league standards if they were to be checked again, without rewarming them in a sauna for the air to expand and come back to the PSI they were inflated to. *IF* this method was used to prepare the balls, it also should be noted that New Englands would deflate much more drastically than the Colts were their balls prepared "normally". So you can't say "Well, NEs deflated by 2 PSI and INDs deflated by only .5 PSI so NE obviously cheated". Doesn't work that way as far as I know, the playing conditions are the same, yes, the time outside if the same yes, but the method prepared, from what I understand, would alter the level of deflation for each ball. Another *IF*, if this is what is found, or not found (but theorized in the event that the league can't prove anything, which is sounding more likely at the moment) to have happened, it would still not be cheating on the part of New England. It would be shady, and "pushing" the rules for a competitive advantage, but no rule will have been broken. The balls would have not been tampered with after inspection as everything happened naturally.
I can't tell if this is denial, just plain stupidity or trolling. Not being sarcastic for dramatic effect: I really can't figure it out. Confirmation would be appreciated.
Uh yeah that would still be cheating mate, they are undertaking deliberate actions to circumvent the rules for a competitive advantage. Pretty good definition of cheating right there.
No his TD to int ratio makes him overrated. A guy who only threw more TD then int twice in his career to me is not a great QB. Show me another QB in the HOF like that? Sorry not a homer I just keep it real.
He had a winning record for our Jets and took us to our ONLY Super Bowl. You are worried about TDs vs Interceptions? If I were you I would worry about how your Geno stays on the team. He is no Namath..not even close.
If south park is still doing new episodes I can't wait to see what they'll do with this story. Sent from my LG-LS720 using Tapatalk
HLN reported pats admit deflation of footballs but by whom?? Got this report via telephone call from my brother. It was not CNN but HLN. Have no further info. He said he saw on HLN Weekend Express. I Have not found anything to follow up. He may have just heard them repeat tweet. I think I jumped the gun on this..SORRY
We'll see what the penalty is, won't we? What was the penalty for bounties before bounty gate? Buddy Ryan put bounties on players in the 90's. What was his penalty? I cannot believe you are a Pats apologist. And as the Board's self proclaimed most knowledgeable poster and the resident expert on all things NFL, how can you not see how it is an advantage for a QB (or a RB or WR) to handle a ball that is softer and smaller, particularly in bad weather? Not a big deal my ass.
An interesting article and analysis of the Patriots and possible effects of deflating the football. If their analysis is correct it's not not only passing that's helped, in terms of catching the ball, but the gripping of the ball also helps ball runners. The analysis points out that since 2010 the Patriots as a team fumble the ball every 73 touches. The next best team over that period of time? The Ravens at a fumble rate of once every 55 touches. That means the patriots are 25% better at not fumbling than the next best team over a 5 year span and 52% better than the league average. (note they were only comparing teams that have home fields that are not enclosed domes ) Okay, maybe you could argue the Patriots just focus more on not fumbling the ball. I could Buy that if you were just comparing one or two teams, or even 1/2 the league...but 25% better than the next best team on a year in and year out basis? I don't buy it. That would be saying that every other team in the NFL doesn't focus on not fumbling the ball. And here's the really interesting part. Players who have had multiple seasons with the Patriots and other teams during that span fumble at the normal rates when they're not with the Patriots but the fumble rate suddenly drops when they join the Patriots. Okay maybe coach B coaches them out of fumbling, but that would be saying that as soon as they leave the Patriots their new team says 'okay you can fumble now' because their rates go back up after leaving the Patriots. If this analysis is correct then the Patriots have been using under inflated balls for quite a while. I mean a softer football is easier to grip which means fewer fumbles. Remember that the Patriots play in the NE, not exactly known for clear weather and more known for slippery footballs than dry footballs. If this is correct it brings in to question the entire run of the Patriots success and means they've been cheating for a very long time. But again, it depends on the validity of the analysis so take it for what it's worth. http://www.wsj.com/articles/patriots-always-keep-a-tight-grip-on-the-ball-1422054846
