#DFG: Canceling the Noise

[RG33]

I'm actually pretty surprised at how well the NFL is keeping this under wraps without any significant leaks.
 

This is actually one of the reasons I'm pretty confident that the NFL doesn't penalize the Patriots. We have certainly seen how bad the NFL is at preventing leaks, so for there to have been none in weeks/months, leads me to believe that there is nothing to leak. Aside from Schefter, most of the national media would only be interested in leaking stuff that would paint the Patriots in a negative light.

We shall see. . . . .

 

[joe dokes]

If its 2.....isnt it the Refs responsibility (per the rule)  to Say "Hey....these are under inflated.....we better pump them up".  if they didnt, thats on them.  You cant use a game as a "Sting Operation"  certainly not a playoff game.  Thats like using your Prod for Test purposes (for all us IT geeks).
 
 
 

You aren't any less guilty because the authorities imcompetently blew their chance to catch you in the act or stop you until your heinous crime was complete. "They watched me rob the bank....if only the cop wasn't fapping in his car I wouldn't have killed the security guard."
 
If we play out the fiction, the refs failing to properly test the balls certainly makes the case weaker, but the fact remains, Pats' balls were soft at halftime.

 

[JokersWildJIMED]

You aren't any less guilty because the authorities imcompetently blew their chance to catch you in the act or stop you until your heinous crime was complete. "They watched me rob the bank....if only the cop wasn't fapping in his car I wouldn't have killed the security guard."
 
If we play out the fiction, the refs failing to properly test the balls certainly makes the case weaker, but the fact remains, Pats' balls were soft at halftime.

So many keep coming back to this or some variation of this.  Unless there is proof that the Pats tampered with the balls it does not matter that the balls were marginally deflated...the chain of custody issues, as well as atmospheric conditions, are potential culprits, along with an improper weighing procedures in the first place.  This investigation has always been about the officials and how best to explain league actions before and after the AFCCG.  

 

[PaulinMyrBch]

I was taking into account Pats hate from around the country and the Goodell adminstration's ability to fuck shit up. Hence the "Everyone is Guilty"

 

[joe dokes]

So many keep coming back to this or some variation of this.  Unless there is proof that the Pats tampered with the balls it does not matter that the balls were marginally deflated...the chain of custody issues, as well as atmospheric conditions, are potential culprits, along with an improper weighing procedures in the first place.  This investigation has always been about the officials and how best to explain league actions before and after the AFCCG.  

 
The Hernandez trial thread -- in which "burdens of proof" & "chains of custody," along with their friend "due process" are paramount -- is around the corner.
 
 
I am not making a prediction. What I and "so many" are suggesting is that for a variety of reasons upon which we dont necesarily agree -- stupidity, vanity, public relations perceptions, amount of expected blowback -- the quantum of evidence that Goodell "needs" isn't really any bigger than "the balls were deflated."  The rules were just changed in response to the Patriots' *legal* plays in the AFCCG. The League office will get no resistance if they slap the Pats wrist based on minimal evidence.  Minimal/wrist slap will feed the "Cheatriots" machine just fine, though.
 

I was taking into account Pats hate from around the country and the Goodell adminstration's ability to fuck shit up. Hence the "Everyone is Guilty"
 

Me, too.

 

[Average Reds]

 
We're really going in circles now, but if that's the route he wanted to go, he wouldn't have brought Wells in. If science backs the Patriots theory, and that much is found in the Wells report, he's not going to punish the Patriots based solely on footballs being underinflated. He just won't. Kraft would win the appeal in a heartbeat.
 

 
In the world of consumer products, the concept is known as "strict liability."  A plaintiff does not need to prove fault or even negligence on the part of the defendant.  If a product causes damage, the manufacturer is liable - even if the manufacturer does nothing wrong.
 
Apply the same theory to this situation and the Pats are going to be punished for the balls being under inflated.  Not because the Pats were responsible or that any proof exists to say they did anything wrong, but simply because the balls were found to be under inflated. 
 
I don't expect the punishment to be severe, but I will be completely shocked if Goodell does not punish the Pats in some form.

 

[snowmanny]

You aren't any less guilty because the authorities imcompetently blew their chance to catch you in the act or stop you until your heinous crime was complete. "They watched me rob the bank....if
only the cop wasn't fapping in his car I wouldn't have killed the security guard."
 
If we play out the fiction, the refs failing to properly test the balls certainly makes the case weaker, but the fact remains, Pats' balls were soft at halftime.

Belichick said in his press conference they told the refs to inflate them to 12.5. So in his mind handing in underinflated balls is not a violation. I'm quite sure he's right because he's smarter than all of them. I think it's possible the league nevertheless dings them for that, even though it would be stupid because it doesn't seem like a violation and the Packers admitted to handing in over-inflated balls. But I don't agree that they're wrong for hand in out of compliance balls and telling the refs to make sure the balls are in compliance.

 

[DJnVa]

I was taking into account Pats hate from around the country and the Goodell adminstration's ability to fuck shit up. Hence the "Everyone is Guilty"

 
But most of all Goodell is a sniveling wimp that simply wants COVER for his actions. The Wells report can possibly give him that.

 

[E5 Yaz]

 

[DJnVa]

My good man, you have 80 more posts than anyone in this thread.

 

[lexrageorge]

Let's face it: there are 3 trains of thought regarding the penalty Goodell will levy on the Pats:
 
1.) Those that believe Goodell will only levy a penalty if the Wells report finds evidence of either tampering or outright carelessness by the Pats, and that the evidence needs to be more than the sole fact that the balls were underinflated at halftime.  Otherwise, Goodell risks a fight with Kraft.  Exactly what "more evidence" means in this context is subject to debate as well. 
 
2.) Those that believe Goodell will levy a token penalty at the very least, no matter the findings in the Wells report, because there will be an underlying presumption that the Pats were at the very least negligent.  Most people in this camp believe that Kraft will not fight over a token fine or loss of 7th round draft pick in a future draft.
 
3.) Those that believe Goodell will come down hard on the Pats (aka, suspensions and loss of early draft picks), because it's important for Goodell to appease the Jets fans in the league office.  And that Kraft is powerless to appeal even in the event that the team is completely exonerated by the Wells report.   Most people in this camp would also agree that the chances of the Wells investigation exonerating the Pats are remote.  
 
We're probably at the point where everyone's mind is made up, and all we can do is speculate the various reasons why we think one outcome is more likely than the others.  While we all have varying opinions on how Goodell will react based on past history, none of us really can make an educated guess what the Wells report will contain and how it will position the team's guilt or innocence, and exactly how much influence the report will have on the league's final decision. 
 
This latest flurry of posts was caused by Florio, who's just trying to stay relevant by stirring the shit pot during a quiet period; and the recent punishments to the Falcons and Browns, cases that cannot be logically connected to this situation.  Unfortunately, unless and until some new information gets released by a credible source, the situation above will remain the status quo.  Not sure what else to say, to be honest. 

 

[E5 Yaz]

My good man, you have 80 more posts than anyone in this thread.

 
I'll bet the over

 

[dcmissle]

 
Why would you assume this?
 
I kind of assume the opposite. If the NFL knew something, the public would know something. I assumed that the lack of leaks means that the Wells crew is doing their job appropriately.

I agree. The NFL office leaked like a sieve for most of the two weeks leading up to the SB. Wells came on the scene, and the leaking stopped. We haven't heard anything since.

My guess is that the entire operation was moved out of the NFL office and into Paul Weiss. Whatever Goodell and Pash know, they are keeping to themselves. The minute that report is delivered all bets are off -- which almost certainly means it's not done yet.

Informed by Theo's input there, my theory is that Kensil and others were trying to bull rush Goodell into a suspension of BB for the Super Bowl, with other sanctions to follow. Thankfully -- and perhaps moved by BB's scorched earth press conference and Kraft's statements -- somebody woke the fuck up and persuaded Goodell to kick this to Wells, getting it out of League HQs. And here we sit more than 2 months later ...

 

[dcmissle]

 
Why would you assume this?
 
I kind of assume the opposite. If the NFL knew something, the public would know something. I assumed that the lack of leaks means that the Wells crew is doing their job appropriately.

Dup

 

[wilked]

Thursday is here, which means we are a day away from the Friday news dump...

 

[MentalDisabldLst]

edit: just realized no one cares, or ought to. 

 

[amarshal2]

I agree. The NFL office leaked like a sieve for most of the two weeks leading up to the SB. Wells came on the scene, and the leaking stopped. We haven't heard anything since.

My guess is that the entire operation was moved out of the NFL office and into Paul Weiss. Whatever Goodell and Pash know, they are keeping to themselves. The minute that report is delivered all bets are off -- which almost certainly means it's not done yet.

Informed by Theo's input there, my theory is that Kensil and others were trying to bull rush Goodell into a suspension of BB for the Super Bowl, with other sanctions to follow. Thankfully -- and perhaps moved by BB's scorched earth press conference and Kraft's statements -- somebody woke the fuck up and persuaded Goodell to kick this to Wells, getting it out of League HQs. And here we sit more than 2 months later ...

 
Your timeline isn't quite right.  The NFL announced Wells was getting involved the Friday after the Colts game (January 23rd).  The NFL continued to leak like a sieve well after Wells was on the scene.  I don't think this is sound logic demonstrating that the NFL doesn't know.

 

[dcmissle]

 
Your timeline isn't quite right.  The NFL announced Wells was getting involved the Friday after the Colts game (January 23rd).  The NFL continued to leak like a sieve well after Wells was on the scene.  I don't think this is sound logic demonstrating that the NFL doesn't know.

Yes, but the NFL's announcement of Wells' retention, and Wells actually rolling up his sleeves and getting to work, are two different things. Sometimes it takes a while to corral a client and impose order. Correct me if I'm wrong but I have heard no leaks of any substance since order was imposed. Indeed, we have no idea how close this is to a conclusion.

Edit. Remember too that well more than a dozen interviews were conducted by League people -- not Wells people -- in the immediate aftermath of AFC Championship game. At the time it was reported that a resolution was "a few days away".

Again theorizing, my guess is that a real lawyer, maybe Wells maybe not, took a look at the intended resolution and what supported it and asked', are you fucking kidding me? And then said, STOP! We're doing this right.

The undisputed League statement of "a few days away" right after that Colts game is entirely consistent with an intended railroad job. Given that months have now elapsed, I don't know that the statement can be consistent with anything else.

 

[amarshal2]

Yes, but the NFL's announcement of Wells' retention, and Wells actually rolling up his sleeves and getting to work, are two different things. Sometimes it takes a while to corral a client and impose order. Correct me if I'm wrong but I have heard no leaks of any substance since order was imposed. Indeed, we have no idea how close this is to a conclusion.

Edit. Remember too that well more than a dozen interviews were conducted by League people -- not Wells people -- in the immediate aftermath of AFC Championship game. At the time it was reported that a resolution was "a few days away".

Again theorizing, my guess is that a real lawyer, maybe Wells maybe not, took a look at the intended resolution and what supported it and asked', are you fucking kidding me? And then said, STOP! We're doing this right.

The undisputed League statement of "a few days away" right after that Colts game is entirely consistent with an intended railroad job. Given that months have now elapsed, I don't know that the statement can be consistent with anything else.

As I recall it, Goddell imposed order, not Wells. He asked for all leaks to stop and they slowed to a trickle after that.

I also have no recollection of an undisputed league statement of "a few days away" and haven't found one via Google. Perhaps you can produce that.

Here's where the say they've conducted dozens of interviews but that there's no timetable for an announcement. Only promises that findings will be shared quickly once the investigation is resolved. I'm pretty sure this was the first official league statement other than acknowledging an investigation.

http://sports.yahoo.com/news/nfl-says-no-conclusion-yet-pats-deflated-footballs-191028210--nfl.html

 

[djbayko]

As I recall it, Goddell imposed order, not Wells. He asked for all leaks to stop and they slowed to a trickle after that.

I'm fairly certain that dcmissle is correct about it being Wells. The NFL investigation was a sieve under Goodell. Wells made the following statement a week after the investigation started and just a few hours after what was probably the last major leak in the case - finding out about the Pats employee taking a piss - made while the team was on a plane.

"I expect the investigation to take at least several more weeks. In the interim, it would be best if everyone involved or potentially involved in this matter avoids public comment concerning the matter until the investigation is concluded. The results will be shared publicly."

http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2015/01/26/ted-wells-says-deflategate-investigation-wont-be-a-quick-one/

At least, this is the only public statement to this effect, that I'm aware of. What conversations happened behind closed doors and who really put a stop to what, we'll never really know.

Edit: Missing quote.

 

[JokersWildJIMED]

I believe it was Troy Vincent who stated the NFL would have its ruling "in a few days".

 

[amarshal2]

I'm fairly certain that dcmissle is correct about it being Wells. The NFL investigation was a sieve under Goodell. Wells made the following statement a week after the investigation started and just a few hours after what was probably the last major leak in the case - finding out about the Pats employee taking a piss - made while the team was on a plane.

"I expect the investigation to take at least several more weeks. In the interim, it would be best if everyone involved or potentially involved in this matter avoids public comment concerning the matter until the investigation is concluded. The results will be shared publicly."

http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2015/01/26/ted-wells-says-deflategate-investigation-wont-be-a-quick-one/

At least, this is the only public statement to this effect, that I'm aware of. What conversations happened behind closed doors and who really put a stop to what, we'll never really know.

Edit: Missing quote.

This is the statement I was remembering. Weird that I had it as Goddell in my memory when it wasn't him. Thanks for the link.

Even being wrong on both accounts I still don't think this is solid evidence to conclude that people inside the NFL office don't know the outcome. Certainly it isn't evidence to the contrary so it's definitely possible.

 

[dcmissle]

I believe it was Troy Vincent who stated the NFL would have its ruling "in a few days".

Vincent absolutely said that, and I accorded it a lot of weight at the time because he is the NFL's Executive Vice President for Football Operations, not just some suit they run out there to say something convenient.

EDIT -- Boston Globe, Jan. 20, 2015:

"FOXBOROUGH Troy Vincent, the NFLs vice president of football operations, said on Tuesday that the leagues investigation into whether the Patriots used intentionally deflated footballs during Sundays AFC Championship game against the Colts will be completed soon.

Were hoping to wrap that up in the next two or three days. The team is in place in New England now interviewing staff members, Vincent said while appearing on NBC Sports Radios PFT Live. We obviously want to get that behind us so that we can really get back to the game itself.'


Don't fuck with me on this. I know a lynch party when I see one.

 

[dcmissle]

And EDIT #2 --

Note that it's reported on January 20 -- "the team is in place in New England now interviewing staff members".

That means they were at work at least as early as January 19, the Monday after the AFC Championship game.

Yet according to marshall, Wells retention was not announced by the League until 4 days later.

 

[djbayko]

Weird that I had it as Goddell in my memory when it wasn't him.

Especially since Goodell's leadership on this subject has been nonexistent. While the Patriots were being crucified, he didn't say jack shit until media week when he said (ironically) "I'm available to the media EVERY SINGLE DAY!" (paraphrasing).

 

[Kull]

And EDIT #2 --

Note that it's reported on January 20 -- "the team is in place in New England now interviewing staff members".

That means they were at work at least as early as January 19, the Monday after the AFC Championship game.

Yet according to marshall, Wells retention was not announced by the League until 4 days later.

 
Kensil and his jackals were at the game on Sunday, so you can well surmise who the "team" consisted of that Monday. The Wells team went to work much later.

 

[dcmissle]

 
Kensil and his jackals were at the game on Sunday, so you can well surmise who the "team" consisted of that Monday. The Wells team went to work much later.

The timeline reveals so much. The day after Wells' retention was announced BB had his tour-de-force press conference -- a public don't-you-fucking-dare to the League. I suspect a private version of that was communicated by Kraft to Goodell after the Pats realized they were on a rocket sled to a hangin.'

 

[simplyeric]

You aren't any less guilty because the authorities imcompetently blew their chance to catch you in the act or stop you until your heinous crime was complete. "They watched me rob the bank....if only the cop wasn't fapping in his car I wouldn't have killed the security guard."
 
If we play out the fiction, the refs failing to properly test the balls certainly makes the case weaker, but the fact remains, Pats' balls were soft at halftime.

It's more like stepping out of bounds while running with the ball. It's your job to stay in bounds, but it's not a 'violation' to step out of bounds. And it's up to the refs, not the runner, to lap track of it.

 

[simplyeric]

 
In the world of consumer products, the concept is known as "strict liability."  A plaintiff does not need to prove fault or even negligence on the part of the defendant.  If a product causes damage, the manufacturer is liable - even if the manufacturer does nothing wrong.
 
Apply the same theory to this situation and the Pats are going to be punished for the balls being under inflated.  Not because the Pats were responsible or that any proof exists to say they did anything wrong, but simply because the balls were found to be under inflated. 
 
I don't expect the punishment to be severe, but I will be completely shocked if Goodell does not punish the Pats in some form.

But, at least according to the rules, the Patriots are the consumer (edit: yes the Patriots were allowed an extensive 'test drive' of the product prior to the game) and the refs are the final supplier. They effectively gave the refs an unfinished product prior to the game. The final consumer product is the checked and approved footballs. The patriots played with an inferior product, and the Colts claimed damages, but from the wrong party.
Obviously that doesn't matter if Goodell want to railroad it.

The timeline reveals so much. The day after Wells' retention was announced BB had his tour-de-force press conference -- a public don't-you-fucking-dare to the League. I suspect a private version of that was communicated by Kraft to Goodell after the Pats realized they were on a rocket sled to a hangin.'

I wonder if Kraft ever had to say, or considered saying, 'if you impose a penalty for the Super Bowl, like suspending BB, we will boycott the game. End of story'.

 

[Average Reds]

But, at least according to the rules, the Patriots are the consumer (edit: yes the Patriots were allowed an extensive 'test drive' of the product prior to the game) and the refs are the final supplier. They effectively gave the refs an unfinished product prior to the game. The final consumer product is the checked and approved footballs. The patriots played with an inferior product, and the Colts claimed damages, but from the wrong party.
Obviously that doesn't matter if Goodell want to railroad it.

 
I'm not saying it's right.  I'm just saying that this is what I expect the NFL to do.
 
Edit:  After reading your post more closely, who is your weed supplier?  Must be some good shit.

 

[simplyeric]

 
I'm not saying it's right.  I'm just saying that this is what I expect the NFL to do.
 
Edit:  After reading your post more closely, who is your weed supplier?  Must be some good shit.

I'm not saying any of this makes sense.
But: Pats receive balls. Pats work the balls up. By rule, pats give balls to refs.
Refs subsequently supply balls to Pats.

The Patriots are not the manufacturer with liability here. Yes, they've been in possession of the balls, but their use is contingent on what's been supplied to them at game time.
The liability lies with the refs, no?
(Again: not that this matters to Goodell, but the notion of the 'strict liability' applying to the Pats and not the refs seems misplaced)

 

[Leather]

The patriots clubhouse guy takes possession before the game and brings them to the field.

Did you forget the entire saga of The Old Man Pissing For 90 Seconds With The Balls?

Christ.

 

[amarshal2]

The Patriots cannot be considered the responsible party for maintaining the legality (or whatever) of the balls after the refs have approved them because that could require manipulating them...which would be illegal.

 

[joe dokes]

I'm not saying any of this makes sense.
But: Pats receive balls. Pats work the balls up. By rule, pats give balls to refs.
Refs subsequently supply balls to Pats.

The Patriots are not the manufacturer with liability here. Yes, they've been in possession of the balls, but their use is contingent on what's been supplied to them at game time.
The liability lies with the refs, no?
(Again: not that this matters to Goodell, but the notion of the 'strict liability' applying to the Pats and not the refs seems misplaced)

 
Then the refs will also face a token penalty. When the car is manufactured with the exploding steering wheel, which the manufacturer manufactured and the dealer, upon inspection failed to notice (even though he should have noticed it), and the steering wheel explodes and kills the purchaser, both the dealer and the manufacturer are on the hook.
The idea here is that IF it can be said that the Patriots handed over soft balls, the fact that the refs merely fondled them instead of catheterizing them does not absolve the Patriots. While I understand the premise of "they handed over soft balls" is in dispute, what I think AvReds and I and others are saying is that "the balls were soft at halftime"  probably gives Goodell enough of a fig leaf w/r/t public consumption to place some responsibility -- perhaps not exclusive resposibility -- on the Patriots.  And that while its not a very leafy fig, there are external issues (IMO, the biggest being that he is desperate to "look tough" in combo with the public perception that finds a Pats rules  violation akin to shooting fish in  a barrel) that weigh in favor of  him going with weak evidence to justify minimal punishment.  I think that would be wrongheaded, but wrongheadedness (with a dollop of arbitrariness) seems to be a major component of Goodell's disciplinary MO. 

 

[Average Reds]

I'm not saying any of this makes sense.
But: Pats receive balls. Pats work the balls up. By rule, pats give balls to refs.
Refs subsequently supply balls to Pats.

The Patriots are not the manufacturer with liability here. Yes, they've been in possession of the balls, but their use is contingent on what's been supplied to them at game time.
The liability lies with the refs, no?
(Again: not that this matters to Goodell, but the notion of the 'strict liability' applying to the Pats and not the refs seems misplaced)

 
If this were about facts and logic, the issue would have been resolved in a day or two.  The Pats would have gotten a warning and we never would have heard of it.  But this was blown way out of proportion by idiots who thought they had the Pats dead to rights on "another cheating scandal."  By the time the Pats pushed back and the NFL realized they really had no facts, the story had spun out of control. 
 
The NFL has a PR problem.  They can't levy massive punishment in the absence of facts.  And they can't simply pretend nothing happened after leaking all sorts of damaging innuendo at the outset of this non-scandal. 
 
The issue of "strict liability" is obviously an imperfect analogy and a stretch in any case.  I'm just speculating (like we all are) about what theory the NFL will use to justify a token punishment as a face-saving way out of this, because I'm convinced that's what they are going to do.

 

[Hoya81]

The Wells Report will have almost nothing to do with the Patriots. It is an investigation into the officials and the Colts. #DeflateGate
— Sharks of Vegas (@SharksOfVegas) April 11, 2015

The media are the only ones that centered it around the Patriots.
— Sharks of Vegas (@SharksOfVegas) April 11, 2015

 

[Koufax]

Very interesting.  Sharks of Vegas has been spot on in the past, no?

 

[MarcSullivaFan]

I don't think he's been proven wrong yet, but I don't recall that any specific piece of information he provided has later been unequivocally confirmed. He's been pressing the Kensil shenanigans angle from close to the beginning.

Edit: If the investigation is focusing on the Colts and officials, that would explain the long delay. But I'll believe it when I see it.

 

[amarshal2]

I don't think he's been proven wrong yet, but I don't recall that any specific piece of information he provided has later been unequivocally confirmed. He's been pressing the Kensil shenanigans angle from close to the beginning.

Edit: If the investigation is focusing on the Colts and officials, that would explain the long delay. But I'll believe it when I see it.

Right. I'll believe it when I see it.

....but it would explain a lot

-the long delay (as you note)
-the lack of NFL hq leaks: they were clearly coming from people with an axe to grind and had nothing to do with leaking for the public's interest. Now they have no reason to leak info and could be under investigation themselves
-the lack of media reporting - it does not fit any lens through which they all view this and therefore is not a lead they would pursue... even if it fell into their laps they would discard it

There's no way a Reiss or a Curran has any idea this could be true or they would have stopped speculating about the Pats getting unfairly punished.

There are a lot of reasons not to believe the Sharks tweet but when you stop and think about it there's a fit that makes some sense. Certainly more sense than believing the Pats intentionally under inflated 1/12 balls.

 

[GlucoDoc]

And the problem with the NFL trying to find a face saving way out of it and slapping the Patriots with a trivial fine for a trivial offence (like not doing a bladder ultrasound of their attendants to make sure they won't have to pee too often) is that outside of New England, the attitudes will still be that this was a major cheating event and we will have to face that for the next 5 years.  So I am hoping this really is about the Colts and Officials, and they don't have to put something on the Patriots just to safe face. 

 

[Ed Hillel]

I believe in Sharks of Vegas!

 

[Jed Zeppelin]

Patriots penalized for not alerting the league to obvious shenanigans.

 

[J.McG]

Very interesting.  Sharks of Vegas has been spot on in the past, no?

 
Sharks of Vegas has been swimming against the tide of ESPN, PFT, et al. "reporting" on this story - believe they were the first to say the Wells investigation was primarily focused on the NFL "officials" (unsure if that refers to refs, league office suits, or both), and not the Patriots. A handful of reporters and talking heads have floated that theory out there--Tom E. Curran, Boomer Esiason, among others--but SoV has been the only outlet to report it as fact, at least to my knowledge. They've stuck to their guns on this since the week leading up to the Super Bowl, and the tweet above is the most definitive I've seen from SoV to date. It's also the first time I've seen the Colts identified as a focus of the investigation. 
 
Assuming SoV is in the ballpark, I wonder if the Colts being at the center of the Wells investigation had any impact on Pagano & Grigson not receiving contract extensions this offseason? Believe both of them will be going into the 2015 season as lame ducks and it doesn't sound like Irsay intends to change that anytime soon, which left quite a few NFL "insiders" scratching their heads a few weeks back (links below). Pagano & Grigson being implicated in some elaborate Deflategate setup with the potential for lengthy suspensions, fines, and colossal embarrassment for the entire Colts organization would certainly be one potential explanation for Irsay's hesitance (keeping my fingers crossed, but not holding my breath). 
 
http://www.wthr.com/story/28694368/kravitz-blog-why-didnt-colts-pagano-accept-contract-extension
http://www.cbssports.com/nfl/writer/jason-la-canfora/25128807/irsay-stiffing-pagano-into-lame-duck-status-is-49ers-esque-in-stupidity
http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2015/03/27/pagano-grigson-could-have-a-hard-time-staying-on-same-page-this-year/
http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2015/03/30/grigson-pagano-relationship-may-have-been-strained-by-deflategate/

 

[Smiling Joe Hesketh]

That would be rich, given that it was Irsay who first leaked the story about deflated balls to Kravtiz the night of the game which set off the whole media riot in the first place. If Pagano and Grigson get slapped around for this, Irsay needs to be as well.

 

[dcmissle]

What would be really interesting about this -- what's the basis for investigating the Colts?

It cannot be merely complaining to the refs about ball inflation. Nor, likely, could it be orchestrating with Harbaugh to set the Pats up. Not every douchebag move is punishable

So if one credits this report -- a big IF at this point, admittedly -- what could the Colts have done that is worthy of investigation? Fucking with the footballs. Anything else?

 

[E5 Yaz]

Nothing means anything until the report is actually released.

 

[snowmanny]

Nothing means anything until the report is actually released.

Sure, but I think it would be helpful if each of us could run through everything we know and all the possible outcomes we can envision one more time.

 

[bankshot1]

 
I agree, if the report finds no wrong-doing it will be easy to exonerate the Pats.
 
But I've wondered if what seems like a very long time to explore and investigate the deflation issue, indicates that other related issues (Colts, Ravens, Kensil) were also looked into, and that other issues were found to be more substantive than the deflation issue, and if so how to handle them. Probably a pipe-dream. 

Just sayin...

 

[simplyeric]

The patriots clubhouse guy takes possession before the game and brings them to the field.

Did you forget the entire saga of The Old Man Pissing For 90 Seconds With The Balls?

Christ.

Of course I didn't forget about that.
Yeah if they find that the old pissing guy manipulated the balls, that's an entirely different story. That would be like taking possession of a car that's in perfect shape, and then, say, deflating the tires, then taking it for a drive and having your rims get damaged because of the deflation. The liability doesn't go back to the manufacturer in that context.

That's a totally different situation than taking possession of a vehicle that you've been told is in perfect condition, but isn't, because the supplier didn't do a final check

What does Jesus have to do with it?

 

[Smiling Joe Hesketh]

What would be really interesting about this -- what's the basis for investigating the Colts?

It cannot be merely complaining to the refs about ball inflation. Nor, likely, could it be orchestrating with Harbaugh to set the Pats up. Not every douchebag move is punishable

So if one credits this report -- a big IF at this point, admittedly -- what could the Colts have done that is worthy of investigation? Fucking with the footballs. Anything else?

 
Nope. My guess is that if the Colts are being investigated, it's because they deliberately deflated the ball that was intercepted to very low levels before presenting it to the officials and the league as evidence of Patriot wrongdoing. Given that they had already complained about balls that were low on pressure before the game, if they were caught doing that then they're going to be in veeeeeeeeeeery deep shit. Remember, one ball was reported to be 2 PSI below minimum measurements. My guess is that's the one the Colts picked off.