While dancing and singing along to Katy Perry on the field at halftime.twibnotes said:With BB wearing a fake mustache in the front row a la bobby V
You really think BB will waste his time on this even if Goodell personally calls him? Bill DGAF!!!singaporesoxfan said:Most of this thread's griping about the handling of this story has been about the media and the NFL itself, for good reason, but the Pats PR people have to step up now. I mean, I get that Belichick doesn't like to talk to the media and if Kraft's lack of PR response to Spygate is any indication maybe he just doesn't care either, but if Belichick ends up having to waste valuable prep time dealing with the investigation (as he did with Spygate) because the NFL feels the need to respond to a badly-handled media storm, that's partly on the Pats. We can all say that this should really be a tiny speck of a story - and it should, even if the infraction itself is disappointing - but putting it in the right context requires work on the Pats' part.
Plus having their field communication systems mysteriously malfunction two straight years in the playoffs against the Giants. Look into what Parcells had to say about that.Harry Hooper said:
You left out the 49ers' willful salary cap circumventions.
This is how I've dealt with it since spygate broke. We cheated, big deal, and maybe the team you root for wouldn't be so pathetic if they tried it themselves.Kliq said:It is time to fully embrace BB in all of his glory. Any fan of another team gets on your case about this, just laugh and say "That's right, he is a cheater, and ya know what, you can't beat the fucking cheater, so while he is headed to our 6th SB, and your team is sitting on its ass at home." That is what is going to get me through the next week and a half.
They are handed in to the nfl officials, tested, handed to the refs for inspection, then held until almost game time. They are then given to the blue crew(ball boys) to handle for the game. If it's bad weather, they'll keep backup balls back in a room to substitute in if any balls get water logged.riboflav said:Cool. Thanks. So, do ball boys have complete control over the balls once they're inspected by the refs or are they turned over to the team first?
Oh I know Bill DGAF. But he still reportedly had to waste hours talking to the NFL about Spygate before that Super Bowl.LuckyBen said:You really think BB will waste his time on this even if Goodell personally calls him? Bill DGAF!!!
It's not some baseless, out-of-thin-air mediastorm the NFL needs to deal with any more, it's a bunch of under inflated footballs. I don't think anyone is going to give a rat's ass about what some PR hairdo has to say during the morning talk-show rounds on ESPN89. It's going to take BB or Kraft out front to present a credible explanation of what happened.singaporesoxfan said:Most of this thread's griping about the handling of this story has been about the media and the NFL itself, for good reason, but the Pats PR people have to step up now. I mean, I get that Belichick doesn't like to talk to the media and if Kraft's lack of PR response to Spygate is any indication maybe he just doesn't care either, but if Belichick ends up having to waste valuable prep time dealing with the investigation (as he did with Spygate) because the NFL feels the need to respond to a badly-handled media storm, that's partly on the Pats. We can all say that this should really be a tiny speck of a story - and it should, even if the infraction itself is disappointing - but putting it in the right context requires work on the Pats' part.
It would be awesomely brazen if he was wearing the exact costume he wore on BB a football life, sitting next to his lady who is in the same costume she was inInvestor 11 said:While dancing and singing along to Katy Perry on the field at halftime.
I think that's the tack the Pats take. I hope its true.pappymojo said:I still think this is a nothing story and that Patriots reaction will be something along the lines of 'we gave you the balls for testing prior to the game. You approved them for play. We played the game. You tested them again during the game and reported them as under inflated. We have no knowledge of why the results were different the second time around and we take no responsibility for any discrepancies. Perhaps it was impacted by the weather. We dont know. We just play the game.'
Yeah no. I'm not feeling having my favorite team be accused of intentional cheating and accepting it. There is nothing bad ass or rebellious about cheering for cheaters.Kliq said:It is time to fully embrace BB in all of his glory. Any fan of another team gets on your case about this, just laugh and say "That's right, he is a cheater, and ya know what, you can't beat the fucking cheater, so while he is headed to our 6th SB, and your team is sitting on its ass at home." That is what is going to get me through the next week and a half.
RedOctober3829 said:They are handed in to the nfl officials, tested, handed to the refs for inspection, then held until almost game time. They are then given to the blue crew(ball boys) to handle for the game. If it's bad weather, they'll keep backup balls back in a room to substitute in if any balls get water logged.
RedOctober3829 said:They are handed in to the nfl officials, tested, handed to the refs for inspection, then held until almost game time. They are then given to the blue crew(ball boys) to handle for the game. If it's bad weather, they'll keep backup balls back in a room to substitute in if any balls get water logged.
I guess I didn't write clearly - totally agree that you need someone high up to front the PR effort. Preferably Kraft. I doubt BB would do it, and it would be a waste of valuable coaching and prep time. PR team preps them. Pretty much standard crisis comms.P'tucket said:It's not some baseless, out-of-thin-air mediastorm the NFL needs to deal with any more, it's a bunch of under inflated footballs. I don't think anyone is going to give a rat's ass about what some PR hairdo has to say during the morning talk-show rounds on ESPN89. It's going to take BB or Kraft out front to present a credible explanation of what happened.
Bye!ilol@u said:Yeah no. I'm not feeling having my favorite team be accused of intentional cheating and accepting it. There is nothing bad ass or rebellious about cheering for cheaters.
Yeah I wouldn't say as bad, but given we laugh at the media on a regular basis on here with cause and laugh at the NFL investigation procedure with cause, even if you think this is a major issue if true lets at least wait to see what happened rather than rely on innuendo.RedOctober3829 said:Everyone is jumping to conclusions that the Patriots intentionally did this and are just as bad as the people we've made fun of for belittling Spygate. Take a deep breath, relax, and let the facts come out. If it's proven that they doctored the balls after the fact then yes that's completely shady.
BroodsSexton said:
Yeah, well, if the crew did that to these game balls, then we got a real mystery on our hands.
BornToRun said:It's not like we snuck over to Indy's sideline and laced their Gatorade container with Ebola.
I think it's likely that the Pats didn't do this intentionally - most likely everything was done by feel. But they're not doing a good job of conveying why the balls were under inflated IMO.RedOctober3829 said:Everyone is jumping to conclusions that the Patriots intentionally did this and are just as bad as the people we've made fun of for belittling Spygate. Take a deep breath, relax, and let the facts come out. If it's proven that they doctored the balls after the fact then yes that's completely shady.
Again, I find it hypocritical that it's accepted that QBs are allowed to wear a glove to enhance grip but against the rules to adjust PSI.BornToRun said:Even if it is true that the Patriots deliberately deflated the balls, is it really that big of an offense? I don't mean how people interpret this but how it really is.
Deflating the ball to improve grip/control/whatever ranks right around scuffing a baseball to get better snap on breaking pitches in my opinion. It's against the rules sure, but accusations of it aren't generally followed by calls for the heads of the accused, and it's accepted as just something that goes on in the game.
It's not like we snuck over to Indy's sideline and laced their Gatorade container with Ebola.
WE DID!??BornToRun said:we snuck over to Indy's sideline and laced their Gatorade container with Ebola.
It's not bad in terms of outcome of the game, but it would be shady and show bad judgment. Like it wouldn't take any enjoyment away from me out of watching the Super Bowl, but it would make me think a bit less about the judgment of whoever was behind it. Not exactly in line with the no distractions way this team likes to do business.BornToRun said:Even if it is true that the Patriots deliberately deflated the balls, is it really that big of an offense? I don't mean how people interpret this but how it really is.
Deflating the ball to improve grip/control/whatever ranks right around scuffing a baseball to get better snap on breaking pitches in my opinion. It's against the rules sure, but accusations of it aren't generally followed by calls for the heads of the accused, and it's accepted as just something that goes on in the game.
It's not like we snuck over to Indy's sideline and laced their Gatorade container with Ebola.
No, it officially wouldn't and you are a dumbass.BigSoxFan said:Brady laughed off the accusations on Monday. If it's proven that he had some involvement, any involvement whatsoever, his legacy will take a major, major hit. And that would suck.
This is a thought I can't get out of my head - someone tipping off the Colts that the Pats use under-inflated balls for rainy games.OnWisc said:I almost wonder if someone tipped off the Colts equipment manager that Belichick was going to cirsumvent the rules.
I personally don't care all that much about this. But on a serious note, while the most likely explanation is probably just poor oversight by the refs on balls that were under inflated, this is an especially bad time for Goodell to admit to the league dropping the ball yet again with a poorly designed/enforced policy.
Their water container. Just so we could have another Watergate.BornToRun said:It's not like we snuck over to Indy's sideline and laced their Gatorade container with Ebola.
triniSox said:This is a thought I can't get out of my head - someone tipping off the Colts that the Pats use under-inflated balls for rainy games.
Something tells me nfl officials have been cursing the colts as much or more than the pats over this, especially for allowing it to go public.OnWisc said:I almost wonder if someone tipped off the Colts equipment manager that Belichick was going to cirsumvent the rules.
I personally don't care all that much about this. But on a serious note, while the most likely explanation is probably just poor oversight by the refs on balls that were under inflated, this is an especially bad time for Goodell to admit to the league dropping the ball yet again with a poorly designed/enforced policy.
Which would be hilarious given Rodgers actually did confess to this.BigSoxFan said:Yes, it would. It wouldn't be fair but it'd be a major talking point that would follow him around. I'm not saying I would judge him differently but others sure would.
Well done.OnWisc said:Their water container. Just so we could have another Watergate.
kenneycb said:Which would be hilarious given Rodgers actually did confess to this.
"Hey, we just got our ass kicked 17-7 at the half. Let's go complain to the league about the footballs."triniSox said:This is a thought I can't get out of my head - someone tipping off the Colts that the Pats use under-inflated balls for rainy games.
You're letting the team that only grudgingly removed convicted abuser Greg Hardy from their roster into the Super Bowl?jose melendez said:I think we have to grudgingly accept that the Patriots cheated and should be required to forfeit their Super Bowl appearance. Also, the Seahawks should forefeit due to half their team being doped up. Green Bay should foreit due to Aaron Rodgers admiting to overinflating balls. Indy should forfeit for piping noise into their stadium. Denver should forfeit for a combination of drugs and salary cap chicanery. Baltimore should forfeit for drugs covering up domestic abuse etc. Dallas should forfeit because of salary cap cheating. Detroit should forfeit due to attempting to injure opposing players. So your clean, above board (ish) Super Bowl XLIX? The Cincinati Bengals vs. The Carolina Panthers. Enjoy.
Also, wouldn't this have been an issue in last year's playoff game where weather was a big issue? It rained all day and was predicted for the game but never actually rained during the game(mercifully for me in attendance).triniSox said:This is a thought I can't get out of my head - someone tipping off the Colts that the Pats use under-inflated balls for rainy games.