Posted on 01/23/2015 1:50:05 PM PST by Colofornian
Under his oversized ski cap, Tom Brady could not hide from the fact he was convicting himself in the court of public opinion. The quarterback of the New England Patriots admitted that footballs pumped up to 12.5 pounds per square inch are "a perfect fit for me," yet swore he did not notice a difference in the AFC Championship Game when most of the balls had significantly less pressure.
Brady's story Thursday was harder to believe than the story of the 199th pick in the NFL draft becoming one of the greatest players of all time...
"I would never do anything outside of the rules of play," Brady said.
But his own words told a different tale, and as soon as he was done talking, a 17-year veteran of the quarterback position, Mark Brunell, said on ESPN that he was among those who didn't believe Brady. Earlier Thursday, even before Bill Belichick seemed to be throwing his franchise player under a triple-decker bus in his own news conference, Hall of Famer Troy Aikman said on a Dallas radio station the following:
"It's obvious that Tom Brady had something to do with this."...
(Excerpt) Read more at espn.go.com ...
“As a rough estimate - If the short axes of the ball expand as little as 1/10 of an inch from the smallest legal dimensions, assuming an ellipse, that’d be another .35 PSI drop, yes?”
—
Good estimate if the rubber was totally soaked but I expect that it is not.
I would expect the rubber to be waterproof. :-P
The allowable change in an NFL football is 1/4” in all dimensions.
I figured 1/10” was reasonably conservative for looking at what could happen. As Leaning Right suggested, that is probably one of those things to be tested.
...and it was really pouring.
“The allowable change in an NFL football is 1/4” in all dimensions.”
That is not in the rule book that I can find. Is it a Wilson spec?
Maybe they did deflate on their own.
There is no way to be sure of it at this time, and as such, it would be improper to issue any sort of severe punishment to anyone unless some evidence of tampering comes to light.
Suspending “someone” is madness, man, seriously.
If evidence does arise from an investigation, then I would certainly look at it and make a decision on that.
Obviously, cheating is cheating regardless of the score. But, even assuming the worst, this matter doesn't rise to the level of cheating! It is a gooey substance on Jon Lester's glove.
What should the consequences of that cheating be?
Obviously, the same consequence regardless of the score. Which, in this case, should be saying "don't do it again, at least so obviously."
Sub freezing? It was 50 degrees! That's not sub freezing in my book.
I have no dog in this hunt but the Pats have been caught before so people don't seem to be inclined to give them the benefit of the doubt.
“I like your theory...”
Try this on for size. The Evil Genius Belichick sees that the Pats are going to blow out the Colts early in the 2nd quarter...his defense is just too dominant. Fearing that his Pats will becme complacent with a Colts blowout, he decides to engineer a mega-controversy. Looking ahead to the Super Bowl, he knows that his Patriots thrive in an “us against the world” mental state. So, he tells the ball boys to let a little air out of the balls, tells Brady to throw a pick, and watches the action. Since all the Pats are zombies to his will, all perform to his command. Brady doesn’t know anything about the inflation change. Thus, Dr. Evil generates at huge distraction for the media and the New York papers while his staff are carefully prepping the Pats to deliver a epic ass-kicking on the Seahawks, holding their practices in a secluded underground bunker beneath Gillette Stadium.
Plausible....?
Rule 2 The Ball
Section 1
BALL DIMENSIONS
The Ball must be a “Wilson,” hand selected, bearing the signature of the Commissioner of the League, Roger Goodell.
The ball shall be made up of an inflated (12 1/2 to 13 1/2 pounds) urethane bladder enclosed in a pebble grained, leather case (natural tan color) without corrugations of any kind. It shall have the form of a prolate spheroid and the size and weight shall be: long axis, 11 to 11 1/4 inches; long circumference, 28 to 28 1/2 inches; short circumference, 21 to 21 1/4 inches; weight, 14 to 15 ounces.
The Referee shall be the sole judge as to whether all balls offered for play comply with these specifications. A pump is to be furnished by the home club, and the balls shall remain under the supervision of the Referee until they are delivered to the ball attendant just prior to the start of the game.
Section 2
BALL SUPPLY
Each team will make 12 primary balls available for testing by the Referee two hours and 15 minutes prior to the starting time of the game to meet League requirements. The home team will also make 12 backup balls available for testing in all stadiums. In addition, the visitors, at their discretion, may bring 12 backup balls to be tested by the Referee for games held in outdoor stadiums. For games in outdoor stadiums, eight new footballs, sealed in a special box and shipped by the manufacturer to the Referee, will be opened in the officials’ locker room two hours and 15 minutes prior to the starting time of the game. These balls are to be specially marked by the Referee and used exclusively for the kicking game. For games in indoor stadiums, six new footballs will be shipped.
In the event a home team ball does not conform to specifications, or its supply is exhausted, the Referee shall secure a proper ball from the visitors and, failing that, use the best available ball. Any such circumstances must be reported to the Commissioner.
In case of rain or a wet, muddy, or slippery field, a playable ball shall be used at the request of the offensive team’s center. The Game Clock shall not stop for such action (unless undue delay occurs).
Note: It is the responsibility of the home team to furnish playable balls at all times by attendants from either side of the playing field.
lol
Geez, no bias there, liberal.
Well said Sir.
I omitted the part about the sharks with laser beams attached to their heads being delivered to Seattle...
It gets better with the telling...
I seem to remember in the first quarter, the refs stopping play seconds before the snap, to change out the balls, because they errantly placed the kicking ball instead of the scrimmage ball down for play.
I think any pro who touches the ball, would discern the difference.
Especially when placing one team’s ball down repeatedly, then another one’s.
What did the team center say about it?
Seems funny that so many can supposedly explain how this could have happened naturally. But arguably one of the greatest coaches in nfl history claims he had no idea how this could have happened. He could have easily said that nature causes this to happen all the time. It would be a much more effective way to try to get off the hook. He gets paid millions to live breath and sleep football. He’s been involved at the highest level for 25-30 years. Yet he’s obviously dumber than many here.
He mentioned none of these explanations. He explained nothing about how this is normal. He said he had no idea.
Neither did one of the greatest quarterbacks of all time. They both played dumb.
The Pats should hire more physicists at least for their PR department.
Can’t wait for the Seahawks’ fans crowd signs:
Brady plays with his balls
Brady said his balls are perfect
Brady, don’t touch our balls
etc....
This actually plays into my tongue-in-cheek conspiracy theory.
Here’s a much more likely scenario...
Belichick and Brady know exactly what they are doing. I am sure that Bill knows exactly what the inflation limits are and the rules for handling the balls prior and during games. They also understand the physics and, even if they don’t, they know that balls lose pressure in situations where there is a substantial temperature difference between the testing conditions and game conditions. He and Brady know that Brady likes a “soft” ball as Brady himself admitted. Brady further detailed his part in the ball selection process and, as QB, I am sure that he has made his preference for 12.5 psi balls clear to the equipment guys every summer for the past 15 years.
I understand from some of my reading tonight, including the preliminary NFL report, that QB’s frequently test the limits of inflation. The NFL has quietly allowed deviations from the rule for years, in the case of under and overinflated balls - just as long as the deviations are not too flagrant. So Belichick knows that to expose him, the NFL risks exposure of their own waiving of their own rules - and that documentation exists to back their threat if the NFL comes down on them. Belichick and Kraft were and are perfectly willing to cough up the maximum $25,000 fine to have that little edge in the championship game - in this case, game balls that are more comfortable for their HOF QB. The NFL must stand by their claim that all the balls met the legal requirements at game time, even if the Patriots’ footballs were a little softer than league standards. The difference became more pronounced as the game conditions cooled - and softened - the game balls, to the Patriots’ advantage.
The plot gets really sticky when the chain of testimony reveals that the Colts linebacker who intercepted the suspicious ball now claims that he never said a word to anyone about the “soft” football and that he was irritated that he had been dragged into the middle of a controversy that he had no - and as he himself now says - NO part in.
So the question now turns to who ratted out the Pats? Robert Irsay? Ravens coach Harbaugh? Who knows, but once the Colts’ linebacker said that he had no part in the plot, inquiring minds will ask who did?
With the offending balls retreived at halftime and the finger pointed at the Patriots, the refs are instructed to inflate all the balls to NFL requirements in an effort to correct whatever errors they originally made in allowing slightly softer footballs into the game in the first place. Brady takes over in the third period and immediately goes 9 for 9 and two touchdowns on the way to a 21 point quarter with “properly” inflated footballs.
Belichick for his part is not shy about controversy and uses it to great advantage to motivate his teams. So the endgame for Belichick and Brady is to claim complete ignorance of the facts. Belichick knows nothing and couldn’t care less. Brady states in his presser that he indeed selects the 24 game balls which are turned over to the refs for verification and testing. That’s the last he sees of them prior to the actual game.
Thus, the onus of problem is shoved right back into the arms of the NFL and the refs. Belichick gets his controversy and for his part, Brady would be perfectly happy throwing bowling balls as footballs to his receivers. And the NFL is left holding the crappy end of the stick.
The problem is the NFL’s loose handling of the inflation rule, not the Pats.
Plausible...?
As imdb.com pointed out:
The press conference itself had quotes primed for jokes. "It's not like I squeeze the football," Brady said. "I grip the football."
Top Late-Night Jokes About Patriots 'Deflate Gate'
“Early Oxygen Rich Atmosphere? Origins of Sulfur in Rocks Tells Early Oxygen Story, Science Daily, April 2009. “
Those are the ‘allowable changes’. Those are the required production tolerances.
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