#DFG: Canceling the Noise

[E5 Yaz]

Which, of course, will be stupid and wrong, but forever people will refer to this as another example of the "Cheatriots".  Soooooooo stupid.

 
Who fucking cares?
 
If there's a subset of Patriots fans out there who won't feel fulfilled and won't stop being frustrated until the "haters" acknowledge the error of their ways, then I suggest those people join a support group. You can sit in a circle in metal folding chairs and share the pain you suffered at the hands of the Patriots haters, share some weak-ass percolator Chock Full O'Nuts coffee and stale pastries, sing "Get Together" as some trapped in the 70s reject misses every third note on a KMart guitar ... then promise to meet again next week.

 

[Scriblerus]

The best thing the NFL could do at this point is announce a rule change for footballs that allows for QBs to not only rough them up, but inflate them how they like.  It creates competitive balance if Rodgers likes his at a higher psi and Brady lower.  It eliminates all the bs that will surround testing footballs, guarding approved footballs, and you know, trying to change the physics of air pressure.
 
The league has made a number of rule changes to increase offensive production, so this would be one more to add.  It would take away a lot of the fire that the media and haters are spreading, as well.  While not outwardly apologizing to the Patriots, it would send a clear message that this was a tempest in a teapot and ridiculous from the start.
 
Of course, Goodell will use this as a way to add four more layers of bureaucracy to the game and to paint the Patriots as the motivation behind it.

 

[BigJimEd]

I believe the NFL already said the competition committee would discuss increasing/changing the range and speak with Wilson.

 

[dbn]

I don't think they should change anything and I hope they don't. The only "issue" was a manufactured one, by Indy/Balt.
 
If the NFL does make changes regarding the game balls, it'll only be one more thing that helps people mis-remember what didn't happen.

 

[Zedia]

I'd love to see some sort of acknowledgment that every game played in cold weather since the rule was put in was probably played with "deflated" balls.

 

[Bone Chips]

 
Who fucking cares?
 
If there's a subset of Patriots fans out there who won't feel fulfilled and won't stop being frustrated until the "haters" acknowledge the error of their ways, then I suggest those people join a support group. You can sit in a circle in metal folding chairs and share the pain you suffered at the hands of the Patriots haters, share some weak-ass percolator Chock Full O'Nuts coffee and stale pastries, sing "Get Together" as some trapped in the 70s reject misses every third note on a KMart guitar ... then promise to meet again next week.

I fucking care. Let me guess - you either live in Boston or Northern New England, right? I live in Southern CT and I'm sick of having to hear shit from Giants and Jets fans. I stopped wearing Patriots gear a couple years ago just so I wouldn't have to deal with the nonsense. I don't think you guys up there have any idea how tarnished the Pats' legacy is, and how despised they are in many circles. If they didn't do anything wrong here. - fight it tooth and nail. Anything less would be viewed as guilt. What have they got to lose? Jesus - defend what little good name you have left.

 

[koufax32]

Repeat after me:

(when asked about Spygate) "What rule did they break?" (response of taping opponents) "Wrong."

(when asked about deflated balls) "Science and God say they didn't cheat. It's high school level stuff."

If you can't take lame, uneducated pokes and have stopped wearing Pats gear to avoid them then that puts you into rarified air of sucky fans. Don't rub their ignorance I their faces. Don't be a smug prick with double birds flying. Just simply draw attention to their ignorance driving a farcical narrative. Let their own minds do the rest.

 

[ivanvamp]

I believe the NFL already said the competition committee would discuss increasing/changing the range and speak with Wilson.

So you increase the range down to 11.5 say. Teams submit balls at 11.5 and then on cold weather days the ball, thanks to the laws of physics, deflate down to 10.5 and we have the same freaking issue.

 

[ivanvamp]

Repeat after me:

(when asked about Spygate) "What rule did they break?" (response of taping opponents) "Wrong."

(when asked about deflated balls) "Science and God say they didn't cheat. It's high school level stuff."

If you can't take lame, uneducated pokes and have stopped wearing Pats gear to avoid them then that puts you into rarified air of sucky fans. Don't rub their ignorance I their faces. Don't be a smug prick with double birds flying. Just simply draw attention to their ignorance driving a farcical narrative. Let their own minds do the rest.

I hear you. But as a fan I really don't enjoy the fact that the rest of the country considers my favorite team to be nothing but a bunch of cheaters. If that doesn't bug you, fine.

 

[koufax32]

I hear you. But as a fan I really don't enjoy the fact that the rest of the country considers my favorite team to be nothing but a bunch of cheaters. If that doesn't bug you, fine.

It bugs me but I'm not going to hide my fandom. If the Patriots had actually done something of substance that may affect how loud I express my fandom but Chips is suppressing his fandom due solely to the willful ignorance of other people. That's not just a horse of a different color. It's a cow instead of a horse.

 

[E5 Yaz]

I fucking care. Let me guess - you either live in Boston or Northern New England, right? I

 
I live in Oregon ... so I didn't read the rest of your post

 

[ivanvamp]

It bugs me but I'm not going to hide my fandom. If the Patriots had actually done something of substance that may affect how loud I express my fandom but Chips is suppressing his fandom due solely to the willful ignorance of other people. That's not just a horse of a different color. It's a cow instead of a horse.

Well I can't speak to that. I proudly wear my fandom everywhere. Red Sox stuff in Yankee Stadium. Syracuse stuff at Gampel Pavilion, etc.

But the "Cheatriots" crap still bugs me because I want other fans to recognize te legitimate greatness of the Pats. It doesn't make or break me but it does bug me.

 

[geoduck no quahog]

I hear you. But as a fan I really don't enjoy the fact that the rest of the country considers my favorite team to be nothing but a bunch of cheaters. If that doesn't bug you, fine.

 
I might suggest this link to make you feel better.

 

[Ed Hillel]

Well I can't speak to that. I proudly wear my fandom everywhere. Red Sox stuff in Yankee Stadium. Syracuse stuff at Gampel Pavilion, etc.

But the "Cheatriots" crap still bugs me because I want other fans to recognize te legitimate greatness of the Pats. It doesn't make or break me but it does bug me.

I'm fairly positive most recognize the greatness, they'd just rather hide it behind excuses they themselves don't actually believe.

 

[BostonFan23]

From @sportscenter:
 

 
 
Patriots locker-room attendant tried to put unapproved kicking ball into AFC title game, sources familiar w/ investigation tell @OTLonESPN.

 

[tims4wins]

Not, it is not April 1

http://m.espn.go.com/wireless/story?storyId=12340408

Here we go again.

 

[soxhop411]

Oh ffs

 

[NortheasternPJ]

Another day, another NFL League Office Leak...

 

[Kenny F'ing Powers]

Don't care. I hope we cheated every game this past season.

Suck my SuperBalls.

 

[lostjumper]

Man, people around the league really hate the pats. Now that deflategate has turned out to be nothing they are grasping for straws. Their bitter tears are so sweet!

 

[Silverdude2167]

Don't let leaks later contradicted by other leaks get in the way of a point.
 

 
 
One source said Kensil personally checked each of the PSI (pounds per square inch) levels of the 12 footballs the Patriots had for use on offense and that 11 of those 12 were under-inflated by "one to two pounds."

 

[E5 Yaz]

One reason to leak a name is to pressure that person into providing more information. There's no criminal offense involved here, so I don't know exactly what they would threaten him with, but it is a difference than the previous leaks that included no names.

 

[ivanvamp]

From @sportscenter:
 

 
Colts offensive linemen tried (successfully) to hold Chandler Jones  without getting flagged for a penalty as he rushed the passer too.

 

[DennyDoyle'sBoil]

Four sources? What a shit show the NFL is running.

 

[Leather]

Lol.

Guy offers a ball to an official, presumably one of the throwing balls, official says "oh wait we need a kicking ball!"

OMG cheating!!!

 

[TheoShmeo]

I'm worried about Mark Brunell.  This news is going to be hard for him to hear.

 

[E5 Yaz]

Four sources? What a shit show the NFL is running.

 
At least they got their stories straight!

 

[Bone Chips]

It bugs me but I'm not going to hide my fandom. If the Patriots had actually done something of substance that may affect how loud I express my fandom but Chips is suppressing his fandom due solely to the willful ignorance of other people. That's not just a horse of a different color. It's a cow instead of a horse.

Yeah, if you want to call if suppression of fandom, whatever. After a car full of fans lobbed a glass beer bottle at me and my 9 year old son a few years ago in Philly I decided that discretion was probably the better part of valor - at least when he's around me.

 

[lostjumper]

Gostkowski kicks the ball out of the endzone for a touchback almost every single time. Why would the pats intentionally try to change the ball? It doesn't matter. Gost would kick it out of the endzone, and then the team game balls come in. This doesn't make sense at all.

 

[PayrodsFirstClutchHit]

So that's how Ghost made that 21 yard FG in the second quarter.  I knew it.

 

[E5 Yaz]

Of course, the other point in this case is that it appears the improper football in question never made it into the game

 

[Kenny F'ing Powers]

"The Patriots almost got an unapproved ball onto the field for a kickoff. Despite the ball never reaching the field, it's clearly a competitive advantage and nullifies their SB victory.

Also: waaaaaaahhhh."

 

[wiffleballhero]

Well, okay. So now the real story is over inflated balls! I get it. The punter did it!

 

[IdiotKicker]

Well, okay. So now the real story is over inflated balls! I get it. The punter did it!

Always get the blame. Never the glory.

 

[Ed Hillel]

I read that twice and still have no idea what they are saying.

 

[Leather]

In other news, a Patriots crew member was wearing a non league-apparel, striped, undershirt. The NFL is looking into whether he may have been planning to pose as an official to call penalties on the opposing team.

 

[Ferm Sheller]

I'm worried about Mark Brunell.  This news is going to be hard for him to hear.

He shouldn't be alone tonight. Someone should stay with him.

 

[E5 Yaz]

I read that twice and still have no idea what they are saying.

 
An attendant, who may or may not be a full-time employee of the Patriots, handed the official in charge of balls a kicking ball that had not been cleared to be allowed in the game
 
The official noticed the error and didn't allow the ball in the game
 
Then, rehash

 

[PedroKsBambino]

If this is all they have, the NFL will be working on the language of an apology to Kraft shortly.
 
If there's more...well...then they won't be.

 

[E5 Yaz]

A source told Outside the Lines that Kensil decided to personally go down to the officials' locker room at halftime of the Patriots-Colts game to check the game balls, in part, because of the suspicions McNally's actions raised.

 
So, this incident with the improper kicking ball -- plus the fact the Colts said pre-game they were worried about under-inflated game balls -- led Kensil to find the underinflation, where as was noted above, 11 balls were 1-2 psi under

 

[Jed Zeppelin]

Still waiting for evidence that anything illegal happened at any point. Glad that Ted Wells has this on lockdown though.

 

[E5 Yaz]

Still waiting for evidence that anything illegal happened at any point. Glad that Ted Wells has this on lockdown though.

 
It was only four unnamed sources. 

 

[GeorgeCostanza]

I read that twice and still have no idea what they are saying.

Same here. Usually a big fan of OTL but that was poorly written.

 

[Mugsy's Walk-Off Bunt]

I don't even understand this at all - is there no way that the unapproved ball was MISTAKENLY handed to the official?

 

[koufax32]

Doesn't everyone see what this is? It's a technicality. NE attempting to use inappropriate equipment=a violation of the rules=a legit fine according to the letter of the law. Goodell gets something that sticks as the fine justifies the "Cheatriots!1!!1" rallying cry.

 

[Ed Hillel]

Kensil personally measured the footballs at halftime? Is that at all appropriate?

 

[Ed Hillel]

I don't even understand this at all - is there no way that the unapproved ball was MISTAKENLY handed to the official?

It's intentionally vague so as to be salacious. I also enjoyed the attendant "ducked into the bathroom" verbiage.

 

[Jed Zeppelin]

I don't even understand this at all - is there no way that the unapproved ball was MISTAKENLY handed to the official?

Not when you begin with the assumption of guilt and work from there.

Edit: Saw that line too EH. Guess it isn't editorializing per se but it's blatantly inflammatory language, even worse than the original purposely vague "took the balls to another area" report.

 

[E5 Yaz]

I don't even understand this at all - is there no way that the unapproved ball was MISTAKENLY handed to the official?

 
It goes back to the pregame request by the Colts to be on the lookout for fiddling with the balls.
 
Even if this was an innocent mistake, the fact Kensil and the game officials were alerted to this general topic beforehand apparently made them ultra-curious as to what was going on. But I agree with PedroKsBambino here. Unless this McNally guy admits to skullduggery, this doesn't sound like much

 

[wiffleballhero]

Same here. Usually a big fan of OTL but that was poorly written.

I've been drinking, but I thought it was a bit of a mess myself.