Yaz, the balls don't go back to the teams before the game. The balls go in for testing then head straight to the ball boys before the game.
The Seahawks entire secondary play is based off the idea the refs won't call pi every play. What are you talking about?twibnotes said:I've seen this argument a couple times and it's idiotic. No one tries to false start. No one plans to pass interfere. Apples and unicorns.
twibnotes said:I've seen this argument a couple times and it's idiotic. No one tries to false start. No one plans to pass interfere. Apples and unicorns.
RedOctober3829 said:Yaz, the balls don't go back to the teams before the game. The balls go in for testing then head straight to the ball boys before the game.
The game balls provided to each team for preparation were required to be inspected and approved by referee Walt Anderson two hours and 15 minutes before kickoff before they were returned to each team.
E5 Yaz said:
That's a good question. I guess I accept that as part and parcel of being the NFL. Honestly, I do.
But even in a league where that happens, that's never going to create the uproar as a team that allegedly does something to circumvent the on-field rules. As Mike Reiss wrote tonight, if the Patriots are found to have done this intentionally, they need to be held accountable ... regardless of how minor a rule it is.
Should wins be voided or BB fired or they not be allowed to play in the Super Bowl? Of course not; that's lunacy. But it also would be wrong to brush it aside as if they did nothing wrong. Whether we like it or not, the Patriots are in the crosshairs of those who watch the NFL and are not their fans.
riboflav said:I imagine if it can be proven BB had a direct hand in intentionally deflating the balls, Goodell will suspend him for the SB.
They're both breaking the rules. Spare me the sanctimony. And players most certainly break the in-game rules intentionally from time to time. It's better to get flagged for PI and put the ball on the 1 than it is to give up a gimme touchdown, for example.twibnotes said:I've seen this argument a couple times and it's idiotic. No one tries to false start. No one plans to pass interfere. Apples and unicorns.
wiffleballhero said:So the real smoking gun here will be if the league says that the balls were tested before the game and then on the mid game re-test they failed.
Without that pre-game test it still seems to me that before the entire planets gets too worked up about this, most of the responsiblity falls on the refs. to make sure the equipment is up to code.
Thank you. I needed a laugh.Titoschew said:Hopefully we can get Arlen Spector's take.
P'tucket said:If there's one thing on Earth that Bob Kraft understands, it's the importance of protecting a brand. BB's new nickname will be Fredo thisfast if anything that can be labelled Spygate 2 comes of this.
Welp I messed up there. Regardless, you tend to follow people around when you quote them and they quote you back, so yeah.E5 Yaz said:
Which one? You seem to be following me around
genoasalami said:
I was just going to post this ...if the league can wrap up the investigation in short order and they find that the team deliberately deflated footballs to gain a competitive advantage there will be ramifications ...and I believe BB will be suspended for the SB and perhaps for a portion or all of next year....think about this ....can you imagine Goodell presenting BB and Kraft the SB trophy after they knowingly cheated??? Not gonna happen...
That's a dumb analogy bc PI isn't binary. If the pats know that there is an acceptable psi range and they knowingly don't adhere to it, that's blatant cheating. When browner plays a guy aggressively, he's trying to walk the line bw PI and non PI.Silverdude2167 said:The Seahawks entire secondary play is based off the idea the refs won't call pi every play. What are you talking about?
twibnotes said:I've seen this argument a couple times and it's idiotic. No one tries to false start. No one plans to pass interfere. Apples and unicorns.
genoasalami said:
I was just going to post this ...if the league can wrap up the investigation in short order and they find that the team deliberately deflated footballs to gain a competitive advantage there will be ramifications ...and I believe BB will be suspended for the SB and perhaps for a portion or all of next year....think about this ....can you imagine Goodell presenting BB and Kraft the SB trophy after they knowingly cheated??? Not gonna happen...
kenneycb said:Welp I messed up there. Regardless, you tend to follow people around when you quote them and they quote you back, so yeah.
He's wrong. They never go back to the teams before the game. What would the point of testing them if the teams get them back and could deflate them before the game?E5 Yaz said:
My loin is definitely getting over-inflated over this post.Comfortably Lomb said:
Oh, pu-lease. I swear to god the NFL has brainwashed a large portion of its fans into thinking the sport is some sort of holy bastion of integrity.
This is the kind of nonsense a memo should be sent out over, to all teams, reiterating the proper PSI guidelines. And if the NFL had its shit together it would have buried this days ago. Instead we have catnip for sports media who think they're actual journalists and can prove it over something this inane.
When they should be spending all their time trying to figure out how to beat Seattle. This has to be a significant distraction for the team.DennyDoyle'sBoil said:Pats are on the clock. How did underinflated balls get into the game. They have had two days to figure it out. They better have a good answer.
I think the only chance you see this is if somehow it can be determined that Belichick lied or otherwise hampered the investigation. Or had someone go and tamper with the balls after the referee's inspection. So far, we're not there yet.genoasalami said:
I was just going to post this ...if the league can wrap up the investigation in short order and they find that the team deliberately deflated footballs to gain a competitive advantage there will be ramifications ...and I believe BB will be suspended for the SB and perhaps for a portion or all of next year....think about this ....can you imagine Goodell presenting BB and Kraft the SB trophy after they knowingly cheated??? Not gonna happen...
I don't know about this. We are distracted. The Pats? Maybe not so much.Bone Chips said:When they should be spending all their time trying to figure out how to beat Seattle. This has to be a significant distraction for the team.
Just like Spygate was for the 2007 regular season.Bone Chips said:When they should be spending all their time trying to figure out how to beat Seattle. This has to be a significant distraction for the team.
Here's another difference: the penalty for a flagged infraction is known ahead of time. Everyone agrees that a PI will result in a certain outcome, so both teams have accepted that premise.crystalline said:
What? Did you watch the three pass plays in the endzone at the end of the 2nd half in the Colts game? Of course teams intentionally try to pass interfere if they can get away with it, or if the consequences (half the distance to the goal with only a few seconds left) don't matter.
There is no chance that happens.genoasalami said:
I was just going to post this ...if the league can wrap up the investigation in short order and they find that the team deliberately deflated footballs to gain a competitive advantage there will be ramifications ...and I believe BB will be suspended for the SB and perhaps for a portion or all of next year....think about this ....can you imagine Goodell presenting BB and Kraft the SB trophy after they knowingly cheated??? Not gonna happen...
Conversation overheard from Kraft to Roger: "hey Roger, so where did you bury the Ray Rice tape?"genoasalami said:I was just going to post this ...if the league can wrap up the investigation in short order and they find that the team deliberately deflated footballs to gain a competitive advantage there will be ramifications ...and I believe BB will be suspended for the SB and perhaps for a portion or all of next year....think about this ....can you imagine Goodell presenting BB and Kraft the SB trophy after they knowingly cheated??? Not gonna happen...
Peak Oil Can Boyd said:The simplest explanation, to me, is that they inflated the balls by feel and got them to where Brady liked them -- and he has admitted publicly that he prefers under inflation. Then they didn't measure the exact inflation because it is almost never an issue and no one gives a fuck. Basically, exactly what Rogers does, but underinflated. This would explain why they are all uniformly under inflated.
Everyone here seems to think that they measured all the balls to 10.5 PSI and tried to slip it by everyone. That would be insane (and wrong and embarrassing).
I dunno, if that's what happened -- that they got the balls to Brady's preferred feel, the refs saw they were under at halftime, it was fixed and then we went on to outscore them 28-0, I just can't get worked up about this.
Comfortably Lomb said:
Oh, pu-lease. I swear to god the NFL has brainwashed a large portion of its fans into thinking the sport is some sort of holy bastion of integrity.
This is the kind of nonsense a memo should be sent out over, to all teams, reiterating the proper PSI guidelines. And if the NFL had its shit together it would have buried this days ago. Instead we have catnip for sports media who think they're actual journalists and can prove it over something this inane.
I say this has about 2.0% chance of happening.Laser Show said:Nevermind I'm actually nervous about this. Nervous that Goodell goes "hmmm Belichick Super Bowl suspension sounds right"
It's the NFL, where reality is made up and logic doesn't matter.SeoulSoxFan said:I say this has about 2.0% chance of happening.
Each team provides 12; home team provides 12 backup balls as well. Road team can provide another 12 backup balls in the event of an outdoor game.Harry Hooper said:The rule at NFL.com reads "The home club shall have 36 balls for outdoor games and 24 for indoor games available for testing with a pressure gauge by the referee two hours prior to the starting time of the game to meet with League requirements."
36 > 24 > 12, so I'm confused as to how it gets down to 12.
They're in the middle of an NFL investigation which they have to respond to. How could it not be a distraction?wiffleballhero said:I don't know about this. We are distracted. The Pats? Maybe not so much.
lexrageorge said:I think the only chance you see this is if somehow it can be determined that Belichick lied or otherwise hampered the investigation. Or had someone go and tamper with the balls after the referee's inspection. So far, we're not there yet.
DeJesus Built My Hotrod said:
I feel bad for everyone else here who is all distraught over this. I root for a team that routinely does what it takes to win and their detractors were going to feel that the Patriots cheated regardless of whether this came up or not. And you know what? I will take the super-cheaty New England Patriots over the honest, sad sack fuckers that we had to watch in the late 80s and early 90s every day and six times on Superbowl Sunday.
BroodsSexton said:Here's the full rule. It doesn't require the refs to test the balls before the game.
http://static.nfl.com/static/content/public/image/rulebook/pdfs/5_2013_Ball.pdf
Captaincoop said:There is no chance that happens.
They aren't going to taint the Super Bowl by having one of the coaches spend the week prior going to appeal hearings and other such nonsense while the team wonders who is coaching the game. Not to mention what an epic media disaster that would become.
I could see draft picks and/or a suspension for a game or two next year in the worst case scenario. And even that is a lot for breaking an immaterial and unenforced rule.
This is fantastic...many thanks for the much needed laughOnWisc said:I'm going to reserve judgement until after I disregard Collinsworth's take on it.