#DFG: Canceling the Noise

[PedroKsBambino]

Just to say it....
 
I wouldn't in the slightest rule out that Pats actually do play around with the ball PSI...and also that they are aware it's impossible to prove because of the physics involved.
 
Again, this is all about proof.

 

[ifmanis5]

Did he do that without any notes whatsoever?

He looked down a few times (at what seemed like an outline of the points he wanted to make and/or specific numbers from the tests) but there was definitely no script.

 

[fawstahcu]

I think Bill SECRETLY read this thread and got the idea for My Cousin Vinny.

Shady as always!!

 
Had he read this thread, he would've dropped in a Kristy Swanson reference.

 

[Leather]

 
It's all about proof.  They've put forward an explanation that explains the evidence we are aware of without there being any team malfeasance.  If someone (NFL, presumably) can come up with a better explanation of team malfeasance...Pats will be punished severly.  But you gotta have the facts, too....and right now their aren't enough to do much here.

Defendant: "I didn't kill the guy. I was at my friend's house, and he's here to testify to that".

Prosecutor: "Oh of COURSE you have an alibi. How CONVENIENT. Come on judge, you gonna buy that?"

 

[snowmanny]

I'm doing a media blackout except SoSH. Everywhere else is like a bunch of Creationists spewing made-up crap they so so want to believe is true.

 

[lambeau]

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/11/24/sports/football/eli-mannings-footballs-are-months-in-making.html?_r=0
 
This previously posted description of how Eli's balls are prepped for several months makes it seem very unlikely the Pats have to scrub balls on gameday--until someone had the brilliant idea that a last minute scrub would increase psi by (at least) 1 lb due to friction.
So the refs get an internally warm 12.5 psi ball which drops to 11.5 as the air molecules calm down, dropping further to 10.0-10.5 psi as the balls are taken into the cold, and the electrons further slow.
We can assume if the Giants use an "electric spin wheel" that the Pats do too--with the difference (perhaps) that they give an extra "high speed scrubbing" just prior to giving the balls to the refs, for the purpose of heating balls already approved by Tom.
Tom is not waiting until gameday to get the feel and texture right, if Eli has been getting his balls right for months.
This is all brilliant, totally legal, getting an edge through being smarter, and totally Belichickian.

 

[Bob420]

Only time he stumbled was when he said these things aren't man made. It looked like he thought for a few seconds and then explained the leather and bladder.

 

[P'tucket rhymes with...]

CNN is embarrassing themselves badly right now.

So, just another day ending in "y."

 

[OnWisc]

CNN is embarrassing themselves badly right now.

This could be posted at any time in any forum.

 

[ifmanis5]

CNN is embarrassing themselves badly right now.

Laughable. Belichick was mad! was literally their take. It's like they want to look like the willfully stupid shitshow they have created.

 

[Ed Hillel]

Only time he stumbled was when he said these things aren't man made. It looked like he thought for a few seconds and then explained the leather and bladder.

He meant they are pumped out by machines.

 

[SeoulSoxFan]

KC Joyner has been on Pats corner the whole time:
 
https://twitter.com/KCJoynerTFS/status/559103270573330433

 

[ifmanis5]

This whole episode is a masterclass on communication distortion. How people feel about something totally trumps all other information.

 

[Bob420]

He meant they are pumped out by machines.

I know. I didn't mean he made a mistake. He just paused and looked like he was thinking about what he just said. It wasn't meant as a knock. Just that speaking about something he really didn't know about until a few days ago is impressive and that was the only time it looked like he lost his thought.

 

[Tito's Pullover]

Updated media whitelist.  Any additions/subtractions?
 
Players:
Chris Kluwe
Willie McGinest
Jim Miller
Matt Leinart
Matt Chatham
Steve Young
Damon Huard
Drew Bledsoe
Louis Riddick

Non-players:
Adam Schefter
Doug Kyed
Charles Pierce
Rich Eisen
Steve Czaban
Bill Barnwell
Robert Mays
Don Banks
KC Joyner

 

[ifmanis5]

The same CNN crew who mangled Ballghazi will now discuss Obama's overseas trip. I'm sure they'll nail it.

 

[Seabass]

 
ProFootballTalk ‏@ProFootballTalk  20s21 seconds ago
This whole "blame the media" routine from some Pats fans is laughable. There's a real investigation going on, sparked by a sting operation.
 

 
Ballghazi is about ethics in sports journalism.

 

[Reverend]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QJPDGxM1ctc

 

[SeoulSoxFan]

https://twitter.com/KCJoynerTFS/status/559105188167176195

 

[strek1]

Well that sure seemed like some thorough work by the Pats to duplicate the conditions and process that took place.  The people who don't believe him will just say he's a liar.  The old business of "Don't bother me with the facts I've already made up my mind".  This notion of a QB being able to tell slight differences in air pressure was supposedly put to the test and refuted here.  It sounds like the "texture" of the pigskin is a lot more important to the QB's than the PSI.

 

[Byrdbrain]

If CNN hasn't brought up black holes yet then their coverage of this isn't as bad as it has been for other stories.

 

[CR67dream]

Just to say it....
 
I wouldn't in the slightest rule out that Pats actually do play around with the ball PSI...and also that they are aware it's impossible to prove because of the physics involved.
 
Again, this is all about proof.

Do you think that Belichick would have done this if there was any chance there was proof that could be found? Any chance at all? I'll take it one step further: do you think that he would do this unless he was 100% sure that no proof can be found because there is no proof to be found? If you answered yes to any of these questions, your take on the man is so different than mine that I can't imagine ever finding common ground in a discussion of the matter.

 

[SeoulSoxFan]

Updated media whitelist.  Any additions/subtractions?
 
Players:
Chris Kluwe
Willie McGinest
Jim Miller
Matt Leinart
Matt Chatham
Steve Young
Damon Huard
Drew Bledsoe
Louis Riddick

Non-players:
Adam Schefter
Doug Kyed
Charles Pierce
Rich Eisen
Steve Czaban
Bill Barnwell
Robert Mays
Don Banks
KC Joyner

 
Matt Hasselbeck, brother of the blacklisted Tim. 

 

[Bob420]

It will now be inflagate. Patriots intentionally raised temp to INCREASE PSI prior to ref testing.

 

[Pxer]

What do you guys think Belichick did right after the press conference? Ice his erection? Give Caserio a high five? Come read this thread?

 

[mauidano]

https://twitter.com/KCJoynerTFS/status/559105188167176195

From Day One of this nonsense I said the same thing. Put up or shut up. Rumors and speculation are not evidence of fact. Good Lord, why does it have to be so difficult?

 

[SeoulSoxFan]

@BestofBSMW From Mass State Police: Clearing accident scene in press center at Gillette Stadium. Many casualties.

 

[PedroKsBambino]

Well that sure seemed like some thorough work by the Pats to duplicate the conditions and process that took place.  The people who don't believe him will just say he's a liar.  The old business of "Don't bother me with the facts I've already made up my mind".  This notion of a QB being able to tell slight differences in air pressure was supposedly put to the test and refuted here.  It sounds like the "texture" of the pigskin is a lot more important to the QB's than the PSI.

 
I'd say a crisis PR firm they hired did a pretty brilliant job of trying to reframe the debate into one about evidence and science, where Pats might win, instead of one about 'morality'
 
There's no chance everyone will shift their focus, but Pats did a good job trying to change the discussion.  Only angle I would have considered (and I think the ideal way to do this would be a placement in a Sunday paper---so they still might do it) is to have a 'Pats are being screwed by league opening an investigation without evidence' article somewhere.

 

[SeoulSoxFan]

What do you guys think Belichick did right after the press conference? Ice his erection? Give Caserio a high five? Come read this thread?

 
Continue preparing for the biggest game of the year, bitches.

 

[rodderick]

Do you think that Belichick would have done this if there was any chance there was proof that could be found? Any chance at all? I'll take it one step further: do you think that he would do this unless he was 100% sure that no proof can be found because there is no proof to be found? If you answered yes to any of these questions, your take on the man is so different than mine that I can't imagine ever finding common ground in a discussion of the matter.

This. Also, if evidence came out that the Pats did in fact mess with the balls and Bill was involved, after a press conference like that I can't imagine him not being fired. We know how much Kraft cares about the image of the franchise. Bill would be putting his career, integrity and legacy on the line by willfully lying about this. No chance.

 

[Jnai]

 

[CaptainLaddie]

 
Ballghazi is about ethics in sports journalism.

DAAAAAMN

 

[Byrdbrain]

What do you guys think Belichick did right after the press conference? Ice his erection? Give Caserio a high five? Come read this thread?

Finish watching My Cousin Vinny?

 

[Mooch]

What do you guys think Belichick did right after the press conference? Ice his erection? Give Caserio a high five? Come read this thread?

Texted Goodell: "Tell me how my ass tastes"

 

[ifmanis5]

Wish this presser was on Thursday or Friday. I'm thinking this will get lost in the shuffle.
Most will see it on their Twitter feed as 'Belichick Denies Wrongdoing' snicker at it and move on without hearing the full explanations.

 

[Al Zarilla]

I am now at a Bloomingdale's at the Stanford shopping ctr., women's shoes. Thank God for this thread.

 

[wiffleballhero]

This. Also, if evidence came out that the Pats did in fact mess with the balls and Bill was involved, after a press conference like that I can't imagine him not being fired. We know how much Kraft cares about the image of the franchise. Bill would be putting his career, integrity and legacy on the line by willfully lying about this. No chance.

We also know how much Bill cares about the history of the game and his own place in it. If there was any chance of guilt he would be in full on damage control mode and would have lobbied for the admission of guilt last week. 
 
There is no way the Pats did this. All that is left to know is how the NFL stops the nonsense and how the fools in the media back out.
 
Good god I am almost more pumped for next year's Indy game than for the game next week.

 

[Infield Infidel]

I am now at a Bloomingdale's at the Stanford shopping ctr., women's shoes. Thank God for this thread.

 
Buying some Uggs?

 

[Leather]

"Did the colts get their balls from the same guy who sold Jack his bean stock beans?!"

 

[singaporesoxfan]

@BestofBSMW From Mass State Police: Clearing accident scene in press center at Gillette Stadium. Many casualties.

That was no accident.

 

[SeoulSoxFan]

 
Buying some Uggs?

 
Uggs are for women only. Demographics, people, demographics!

 

[Stu Nahan]

Do you think that Belichick would have done this if there was any chance there was proof that could be found? Any chance at all? I'll take it one step further: do you think that he would do this unless he was 100% sure that no proof can be found because there is no proof to be found? If you answered yes to any of these questions, your take on the man is so different than mine that I can't imagine ever finding common ground in a discussion of the matter.

Exactly. They know that they did nothing. Kraft would never have let him get up there and talk like that otherwise. Like them or hate them, Belichick and Kraft are smart guys. Belichick would NEVER have held that press conference and said those things if the Pats had manipulated the balls.

 

[Kull]

Just to say it....
 
I wouldn't in the slightest rule out that Pats actually do play around with the ball PSI...and also that they are aware it's impossible to prove because of the physics involved.
 
Again, this is all about proof.

 
And he stated as much. It's the rubbing/friction prior to measurement. Which Bill spent a lot of time explaining as something done for tactile reasons, not PSI. But if you are implying that people on the team are messing around with ball PSI AFTER the ref inspection....well.
 
The thing about conspiracies is, somebody always talks and the truth comes out. If you watched the same press conference I did, Bill Belichick does NOT believe PSI manipulation is going on. The only way that's happening is if people on the Patriots looked Bill in the eye and lied to him. I don't see that.

 

[geoduck no quahog]

I'm waiting for the transcript, but let me repeat this. 
 
I still don't believe BB was inferring that the football prep was done immediately before handing the balls over to the refs, 2 hr 15 m before game time (which is highly unlikely). I think he was trying to say that during football prep, the pressure increased by ~1 psi, so when the final inflation pressure was set by the handlers - what they thought was 12.5 was really 11.5. In other words, there was no purposeful deception being done.
 
Then, after sitting around, the balls go to the refs at 11.5. It's up to the refs to re-inflate them to 13 psi +/- 0.5. Then once the ball acclimates to 50 degrees, the pressure drops again by something more around 1 psi.
 
When the footballs were re-measured, it was (theoretically) not done in time for them to re-acclimate to 70 degrees, so footballs that could have gone out to the field at 11.5 and fallen to 10.5 may only h ave had enough time to warm up to (say) 55 degrees and re-inflate to (say) 11. Spare footballs sitting in the locker room through halftime would have been at a higher pressure...or maybe they were at 11.5 and the refs re-inflated them.
 
It doesn't make sense that the spare footballs would have been at 12.5 (theoretically the same as the 1st half balls) if the pressure drop from climate was only 1 psi. 
 
On the other hand,  if the pressure drop from conditions was closer to 2 psi - all bets are off and the explanation is extremely simple.
 
If the pressure drop was closer to 2 psi, the Colts footballs must either entered the game at 14.5 or their re-measurement was done under different conditions.

 

[singaporesoxfan]

Good god I am almost more pumped for next year's Indy game than for the game next week.

I hear a good way to get yourself pumped is to rub your balls.

 

[SeoulSoxFan]

Like filming game signals were legal (just not from certain spots), so is having leeway with PSI at the time of the ref inspection. 
 
Nothing wrong with submitting them at exactly 12.5+/-. What happens thereafter is also not illegal if not tampered with.

 

[Kremlin Watcher]

... Good god I am almost more pumped for next year's Indy game than for the game next week.

BB is going to drop as many points on Indy as humanly possible in that game.

 

[staz]

Direct quote hall of fame...
 
BB Statement:
 
"I believe now 100% that I have personally and we as an organization have followed every rule to the letter."
 
"That process (ball surface prep) raises the PSI 1 pound"
 
"The officials were asked to inflate them (the balls) to 12.5 PSI. What exactly they did, I don't know"
 
"Footballs prepared in our locker room, they are delivered to the official's locker room, which is a controlled environment. Whatever we have here, is what we have there."
 
"(After the footballs taken outside and reached an equilibrium) were down 1.5 PSI"
 
"Once the officials have them (footballs), we don't touch them."
 
"Never (prepared) in a heated room or heated environment."
 
"This team was the best team in the regular season... best team in the postseason."
 
"At no time was there any intent whatsoever to try to compromise the integrity of the game or to gain an advantage, quite the opposite..."
 
"We try to do everything right, we err on the side of caution... anything that's close, we stay as far away from the line as we can."
 
"As far as I know, and everything that I can do, we did everything as right as we could do it."
 
"We welcome the league's investigation into this matter."
 
"This is the end of this subject for me for a long time."
 
Q&A:
 
"... if the balls are measured in the same atmospheric conditions, then it's a non-factor... (otherwise) there's no way they're the same."
 
"Anybody wants to do those experiment, should go ahead and do it themselves. Don't take my word for it."
 
"(Spygate) Look, guy's giving signals out in front of 80,000 people. Okay? So we filmed him... like there were a lot of other teams were doing at that time too."
 
"I'm as transparent as I can be on this one. Period."
 
---
 
Wow. 

 

[Ed Hillel]

Wish this presser was on Thursday or Friday. I'm thinking this will get lost in the shuffle.
Most will see it on their Twitter feed as 'Belichick Denies Wrongdoing' snicker at it and move on without hearing the full explanations.

 
You know what? It made me feel a lot better about the whole situation, and the haters are gonna hate even if the NFL spends 12 billion reincarnating Einstein and he writes up a report exonerating the Patriots. I'm 99% confident they'll be exonerated by this entire farcical Ted Wells investigation now. That's significantly up from yesterday.

 

[Peak Oil Can Boyd]

Wow.  His rage about Spygate burns hot and deep.  That was awesome.  
 
As others have noted, there is no chance in hell any evidence exists of ball tampering.