Posted on 01/19/2015 7:48:57 AM PST by servo1969
The NFL has confirmed it is looking into charges the New England Patriots cheated Sunday night when they clinched a trip to the Super Bowl Sunday night by using deflated footballs.
NFL spokesman Brian McCarthy confirmed the probe Monday, following the AFC championship game, in which the Patriots demolished the Indianapolis Colts, 45-7. The charge was first made Sunday night, when an Indianapolis reporter that the NFL had seized at least one game ball from the AFC championship game to examine whether pigskins were intentionally deflated to make them easier to throw and catch.
“The NFL is investigating the possibility,” Bob Kravitz, of WTHR, tweeted, adding that, “at one point the officials took a ball out of play and weighed it.”
If the Patriots did cheat, it would not be the first time. The team was penalized a first-round draft pick, fined $250,000 and head coach Belichick was personally fined $500,000 after an investigation by the NFL determined the team had illegally videotaped their opponents hand signals during a 2007 game.
And unsubstantiated accusations of cheating have long dogged the team, stemming from their Super Bowl wins in 2002, 2004 and 2005. The St. Louis Rams claimed the team illegally videotaped their walk-through practices prior to the 2002 game, and players on the other defeated opponents have said the Patriots seemed to have inside knowledge of their playbooks.
(Excerpt) Read more at foxnews.com ...
Colts.
Green life savers and winter rules.
thx
Pats fan here. My understanding was the difference was everyone else was videotaping from the first row of the stands, which was legal. The Patriots were doing it from the sidelines, which was illegal.
Every team was doing it. Why do you think the offensive coordinator and defensive coordinator cover over their mouths with a plastic sheet. It is to keep the other team from reading his lips as he speaks into his microphone. All teams employ lip readers for just this purpose.
I know in college ball the officials take possession of the balls before the game starts. They take them and examine them. From that point forward the balls are handled on the sidelines from the “ball boys” who are standing next to the line judge. The refs then take possession of the balls during half time.
I can only imagine that the pro refs have people in control of the balls at all time.
If there was BS going on with the balls, the refs are at fault. It is there responsibility to make sure the proper balls are in play at all time.
This is just sour grapes.
My understanding is that after the refs check them out, the balls are handed back to the home team ball manager. I suppose theoretically that they would be able to give the rigged balls for plays to their team, and regulation balls to the visiting team.
No. Each team provides the refs with THEIR balls.
This prevents any crap between the teams. “Your” balls are given to the refs prior to the game for inspection and they are not in the control of the teams until after the game.
This is a stupid allegation. The Pats will simply say, “we gave you the balls prior to the game. We did not touch them. FU.”
I think we both agree that whatever the league does has to hurt enough to curb the behavior. I still don’t think the NFL goes far enough with their punishment. I still maintain for every time you are “caught”, there are at least one or two times you have not been caught. It has to hurt to the point of not even trying it. It’s like dealing with children. ..
Actually...what I read is that both teams bring their OWN footballs to play with and that they have to give samples of their footballs to be inspected by the NFL officials.
Have no idea if they used deflated balls. I’m not a Pat’s fan (Go Seahawks!). But the Pat’s looked pretty dang good on defense and offense. Don’t think any deflated football impacted the game.
Their cheating goes way back to the 70s.
Recall playoff game vs the Dolphins on a snowy field,
Pats go to kick a field goal, a tractor powered brush comes out, clears the holder spot. Pats win. Clearing the spot was/is illegal.
I'd root for the Red Chinese team to beat the Patriots.
Oh, forgot to mention QB Tom Brady ravaging my girl, Bridget Moynahan. :)
It is amazing what teams will go through to gain an edge in the NFL. You might have noticed that teams now issue their players tablets (such as the iPad) to store their game plans and game films. In the past, teams were paranoid about their playbooks being copied and given to another team. Especially when players got traded.
With the tablets, the teams now have the ability to remote erase them if they are lost. These tablets are locked down so tight that players are unable to backup the data or print it out. And if they try, every keystroke is recorded so that the team's security will immediately find out. I believe players have been fined severely for even the slightest misuse of their tablets.
Clearing the spot was not illegal at that until the following season.
Is air matter? Does it have mass?
“I think I’ve heard it all at this point,” Brady laughed. “That’s the last of my worries. I don’t even respond to stuff like this.”
Everyone want it to be a cheat. It’s just not.
This thread is reminding me of Smokey Yunick’s antic in NASCAR. The rules would say you could only have a fuel tank that could hold so many gallons. Smokey would put about 30 feet of fuel line under the car to add an extra couple gallons of fuel! Off topic, but similar.
I think the only deflated balls this past weekend were those of Packers fans.
What balls did the Colts use?
Ha!! That is an excellent point!
I truly enjoyed watching them get owned several times last season. :^)
Looked at it. Typical FUD. I’ve grown to ignore stupid accusations.
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