#DFG: Canceling the Noise
- Thread starter nattysez
- Start date
NortheasternPJ said:
That is the conclusion I came to as well. Brady's "I tell them to inflate them to 12.5" was really a "as low as we can get away with" rule. Umps check them by feel, and can't tell the difference between 11.5 and 12.5. Then the nark call is made and they have to use the gauge at half-time, and the balls are under. Nobody did anything to the balls from the time of initial approval. The only open issue is whether Brady even knew that they were below, or whether through trial and error from past the inflator knew Brady liked them soft and lo-and-behold, those were always the ones that were a tick or two under 12.5 and they always passed inspection.
NortheasternPJ said:
Who the hell are these people? I've never heard of these people before, but their plays (that they talk about on Twitter) seem to be pretty spot on. Had John Fox getting fired within 24 hours after the Broncos loss as well. Ohpleaseohpleaseohplease.
Stu Nahan said:
I took it to flat out mean no penalties period, but I have this suspicion this is something like Jake Wesley's latest endeavor.
Loyko is retweeting them. That's how i found it. They do have like 113k followers.
If anyone knows it's Vegas.
If anyone knows it's Vegas.
I fear that guilty or not, evidence or no evidence, the Patriots don't get out of this without at the least a fine. They are going to say the balls were fine and then they weren't while they were all in your possession thus you (the Patriots) must take responsibility.
SumnerH, I addressed this upthread already, but I took him to mean that the *new* / backup balls swapped in at halftime. If this is what he meant, then the weather hypothesis indeed takes a big hit. Your interpretarion might be correct, but as you point out, his article then makes no sense.SumnerH said:
One thing is for sure - we need to stop getting drips and drabs from unofficial sources.
Donovan McNabb saying Brady's presser felt "scripted". Seriously, can these networks find any players that haven't been beaten by the Pats at some point. And Mark Brunelle's crowning achievement was getting snot wiped on him by Mark Sanchize. So he can eat a bag of dicks too.
Fucking McNabb told Extra or one of those crappy celeb need shows last night that (paraphrasing): "It's not a big deal because everyone does it. However, this is the Patriots, and they've cheated before, so it needs to be looked at."CantKeepmedown said:
That's such an illogical position. Is it a big deal or not?
Edit: We all know it's only and issue because it's the Pats, but for someone to come right out use that as justification it is truly strange.
It's infuriating watching every news network not ask the simple and crucial question of whether the balls were gauge tested before the game. If they weren't, then this is so obviously an Aaron Rodgers situation. If they were, the Pats probably tampered with them. It's so simple, yet so hard for these mediots to understand. Or maybe they do understand, and are consciously ignoring the question because the answer might make this story fizzle out.
McNabb should just go back to blowing chunks on the set instead of giving any analysis since that is what does best.
I tend to think a fine would be the most favorable outcome we can realistically hope for. The NFL will state that the Pats are responsible for the condition of the footballs. Goodell is already on record as saying that he can justify a lower standard of proof before issuing a punishment for behavior that potentially affects competitive balance, and it could be that the NFL is trying to build enough circumstantial evidence that the fine can be justified. Still could see the Pats being docked low round draft pick if Goodell felt the team was less than forthcoming during the investigation. And all of this will be after the Super Bowl (King has been on that mantra since the beginning, so he's hearing that from someone).scotian1 said:
I still fear a worse outcome, as self important folks like Goodell tend to react irrationally when they feel a hint of gamesmanship under their watch is equivalent an outright attack on their personal integrity. But I do believe the window for suspending coach or QB for the Super Bowl has closed.
McNabb stated that, given the scandal and the fact that the Colts won't be ready for next Sunday, the Super Bowl should be declared a tie between the Seahawks and the Colts, and the winner determined by a coin flip.
In other news Donovan McNabb is wondering if we'll ever see Aaron Hernandez in an NFL jersey again.
Inconclusive at best. At no point does it rule out monkey butlers or reverse vampires as the culprits.FelixMantilla said:
Sounds reasonable. "He said 'heads'." "No, I said 'tails'!!!" "The call on the field is 'heads'."ngruz25 said:
ngruz25 said:
Well, there was that one PFF report that cited a 'league source' claiming the balls were 'properly checked', which sorta indicates gauge-tested but not definitively:
But I do think there's something to your suggestion that the media would rather prolong the story with silly questions than settle it with meaningful ones.
The whole focus on Brady seems like one of the silliest aspects of this (and that's saying something). Clearly, an under inflated ball would mainly be a benefit to the people CATCHING the ball and trying not to fumble it, rather than the guy throwing it. If you've ever filled up a bike tire, you know there's a point where it's only 80% full but the difference can't be discerned by poking or squeezing the tire-- you only feel it at 'high impact', when you go off a curb. Similarly, an under inflated ball would only be relevant at high-impact situations, not when you're throwing it out of your freaking hand. Had the Pats orchestrated this to gain a competitive advantage, it wouldn't principally benefit Brady... but the media can only think in terms of hackneyed storyline tropes: the dreamboat QB with model wife caught cheating! Gets his comeuppance! Benched for the SB! Let's ask him a bunch of dumb questions!
ngruz25 said:
Wait, really? Why not just give it to the Washington Wizards, while we're being fair and impartial.
The reason is that doing any in depth analysis makes the story less interesting to the so-called masses. Mike Freeman today basically admits that while he initially thought the scandal was a bit overblown, he now, after hearing their news conferences, wants to have lengthy suspensions for Belichick and Brady begin immediately. This is despite the fact that no new evidence has turned up; nothing has changed over the past 48 hours aside from the fact that Brady and Belichick denied any knowledge of it in front of the media. So now guys like Freeman have their panties all twisted because neither B nor B gave them anything to write about, so it's time to go on the attack.ngruz25 said:
Self importance and pettiness are traits not unique to Roger Goodell.
WRT the balls being guaged before the game.
In this big brother era of HD cameras etc. It wouldn't surprise me if the Patriots had camera footage and/or other proof that the balls couldn't have been tested or tested properly.
Ie:
a) Time X: Ref calls Pats ready for ball inspections (Phone log proof)
b) Time x+5: Balls dropped off (hall video footage)
c) Time x+10: Ref leaves Ref room (hall video footage)
d) Time x+15: Ref anywhere but ref room (misc video footage)
e) Remaining time to kickoff: Ref timeline built from video feeds etc.
The league tells the Pats they are going to swing the hammer for tampering with the balls and the Pats say they will release/leak proof the balls weren't properly tested making league look incompetent (again).
The league has yet to issue any statement. None. They haven't said A & B happened so we are looking into it. They've said nothing. There must be some problem they can't find an answer to. It has to be that the balls weren't properly tested prior to the game. Either the Ref admitted it after the fact or the Pats have proof. Nothing else makes sense to me.
ETA: Fix typo
In this big brother era of HD cameras etc. It wouldn't surprise me if the Patriots had camera footage and/or other proof that the balls couldn't have been tested or tested properly.
Ie:
a) Time X: Ref calls Pats ready for ball inspections (Phone log proof)
b) Time x+5: Balls dropped off (hall video footage)
c) Time x+10: Ref leaves Ref room (hall video footage)
d) Time x+15: Ref anywhere but ref room (misc video footage)
e) Remaining time to kickoff: Ref timeline built from video feeds etc.
The league tells the Pats they are going to swing the hammer for tampering with the balls and the Pats say they will release/leak proof the balls weren't properly tested making league look incompetent (again).
The league has yet to issue any statement. None. They haven't said A & B happened so we are looking into it. They've said nothing. There must be some problem they can't find an answer to. It has to be that the balls weren't properly tested prior to the game. Either the Ref admitted it after the fact or the Pats have proof. Nothing else makes sense to me.
ETA: Fix typo
Considering that most of here are Red Sox fans, it seems odd not to be able to recognize schadenfreude when it is staring you right in the face.djbayko said:
Schefter on Mike & Mike this morning said that if things stay the way they are (no evidence, Pats denying any wrongdoing) and there is a logical explanation for the loss of psi, there is nothing Goodell can do. The interesting part was, Schefter feels there can be a logical explanation, but never gave it. And of course, the hosts never followed up.
It would be amazing watching the media try to grapple with the difference between underinflated balls at pregame vs halftime.
I want live pregame ball pressure testing, a picture in picture cam on the balls all game, a half time ball pressure extravaganza and post game ball pressure testing at the 50 yard line before the Lombardi is handed out. The integrity of the game must be upheld god dammit!
CantKeepmedown said:
No, they can't This is the Patriots. Over the past 1.5 decades they have literally beaten everyone.
We don't know the colts balls stayed the same, we have heard they stayed in spec. So far we have anonymous reports and innuendo, unless the league releases ball pressures before, during and after the game and produces the exact balls in question for testing we know nothing.Bob420 said:
Patriot Nation turns its lonely eyes to the one doofus who might rise above all others in this hour of desperation.( . ) ( . ) and (_!_) said:
Help us, Eli Manning. You're our only hope.
twibnotes said:
I've given up hoping for that. This has given me a new appreciation for how deeply the rest of the NFL hate the Pats. We're not getting a life raft on this one.
kartvelo said:
So far, as of right now, all we have is circumstantial evidence that MAYBE the Patriots did something underhanded. We have no witnesses. We have no video. We actually have no records of anything - no logs that the refs recorded by instrumental measurement the exact psi of each ball during each testing period - nothing. We have a report from Chris Mortensen, unconfirmed by the way, that 11 of 12 balls were under inflated by, what, 2 psi? We have word that the refs "tested" the balls before the game and at or around halftime, and then afterward.
But really, nothing. We do NOT know what the Patriots' or Colts' footballs were pressurized to before the game, or at halftime, or after the game. If the weather dropped the pressure by 0.2 psi, and Mortensen got his report wrong, then a natural explanation is pretty obviously right. The Pats submitted their footballs at the minimum: 12.5 psi, while the Colts submitted theirs probably a lot higher, but still in range. The weather reduced the pressure by 0.2 psi, and the Pats' footballs were suddenly outside regulations, while the Colts' were fine.
That's a big IF. The point is, WE DO NOT KNOW ANYTHING, really. And people are jumping to all kinds of conclusions with incredibly limited information, despite this being 5 days old now.
I was joking, referencing the time confirmed idiot Donovan McNabb was told by a reporter that a tie at the Super Bowl would be determined by a coin flip. He was being pranked, but of course he believed it.twibnotes said:
Amusingly enough, that reporter's story was about how little players understand the rulebook.
Prediction: The league eventually announces that due to lack of evidence the Patriots will not be punished - but that there will be a new protocol for managing game balls going forward. Outrage ensues among most of the media and general public, who liken the outcome to the supposed white-washing of Spygate and compare it to the recent mishandling of other disciplinary issues by the Commissioner.
https://twitter.com/15miller/status/558470250539520001twibnotes said:
https://twitter.com/15miller/status/558470250539520001
link to tweet
https://twitter.com/15miller/status/558474597746876416
https://twitter.com/15miller/status/558474597746876416
link to tweet
https://twitter.com/15miller/status/558462470818635776
on McNabb: Of course it was scripted. He had a message (undoubtedly massaged by consultants) and he stuck to it. It would be shocking were it to have gone down any other way.
I looked at the video available via Washington Examiner and McNabb said nothing crazy, like deciding the Superbowl by a coin flip. Did he really say that?
I looked at the video available via Washington Examiner and McNabb said nothing crazy, like deciding the Superbowl by a coin flip. Did he really say that?
Isn't it possible that neither the team nor the refs used a gauge? Or that only the pats did but it was faulty?
I just don't know why the pats would go out of their way to take an unnoticeable amount of air out of the ball post inspection. The whole risk/reward thing is out of whack there.
If they DID do that and then lied about, they deserve the penalties and reputation damage...but it's more and more hard to believe when you analyze the situation.
Facts would be nice.
I just don't know why the pats would go out of their way to take an unnoticeable amount of air out of the ball post inspection. The whole risk/reward thing is out of whack there.
If they DID do that and then lied about, they deserve the penalties and reputation damage...but it's more and more hard to believe when you analyze the situation.
Facts would be nice.
https://twitter.com/15miller/status/558470250539520001RedOctober3829 said:
link to tweet
https://twitter.com/15miller/status/558474597746876416
link to tweet
https://twitter.com/15miller/status/558462470818635776
Who is James Miller? I can't find him on profootball-reference.com.
Montana and Marino put their names to a "it wouldn't make a difference - I couldn't tell the difference in those PSI changes" statement. Hall of fame testimony is as good as it is going to get.twibnotes said:
We also don't know if Manning said something to the league behind closed doors.
Jed Zeppelin said:
I thought about mentioning him in my post, but I just couldn't bring myself to do it. Too many wounds right now.