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Video of the Refs ‘typical’ actions before the game.
— So we get to see what the pressure gage used by the refs look like
— We also get to see the compressor the refs use to pump up the balls that are low.
— All the balls are marked by the refs.
— The refs are working in a bathroom. They are not acting cold - dressed in ordinary cloths.

— Note: Apparently all of the balls used after half time were the correct pressure. The Patriots ran up the score in the second half. So the issue in the first half of the game did not affect the outcome.

“Thu Jan. 22, 2015
How Officials Check Ball Pressure
During our Game 150 series, The MMQB got an exclusive look at the pregame check for proper inflation. You know you want to see it

One week ago it would have counted as deep football nerdery. Now, though, the procedure by which officials confirm the air pressure inside game balls has become a central storyline of the postseason. With the NFL’s having launched an investigation into whether the New England Patriots deliberately deflated the footballs they used on offense against the Colts in the AFC Championship Game, we went back into our archives for exclusive footage of the officials’ pregame process of checking balls for the proper pressure.

In November 2013 The MMQB’s Peter King and videographer John DePetro went behind the scenes with Gene Steratore’s officiating crew before a Ravens-Bears game at Soldier Field. The two were granted exclusive access inside the officials’ locker room during their pregame preparations.

In the video above, the crew inspects the game balls in the officials’ locker room for proper inflation—between 12.5 and 13.5 pounds per square inch. Head linesman Wayne Mackie and field judge Bob Waggoner are seen checking the pressure and taking some of the air out of balls to bring them down to regulation. Back judge Dino Paganelli, working at the locker room sink, reinflates balls that fell below regulation up to the 12.5-13.5 psi range. Line judge Jeff Seeman describes how teams work the K balls, the balls used only on specials teams, which come out of the box on game day and are given to the teams to work up for 45 minutes before the game.

The balls would be in the officials’ possession until just minutes before the start of the game, at which point they would hand to ball boys on each side of the field. For balls to be tampered with, it would most likely have to take place on the field during the game.

• DEFLATEGATE: Peter King on the investigation and possible repurcussions

One other note: Based on informal tests done at The MMQB offices on Wednesday, our staffers concluded that a difference of one pound per square inch, the acceptable regulation range, would be imperceptible to most people, and that even a ball that was under regulation by two psi, as the Patriots’ balls were reported to have been, would be very hard to detect, especially for someone not looking for it. A ball at 10 psi does not feel “soft,” and it would be understandable for officials not to notice the difference. That was also the conclusion of former NFL wideout Amani Toomer on SI’s Pro Football Now show when a similar test was done on Wednesday. “

http://mmqb.si.com/2015/01/22/deflategate-video-how-nfl-officials-check-game-ball-pressure/