The accusation is that they were used when the Patriots were on offense.
I have no idea how this all works, so I am withholding judgement. I can’t see the league allowing one team to manage the game equipment in that manor. The fact is that someone in the game became suspicious and went through the process of weighing the balls, etc. There must be something that triggered that. We do know the Pats have been guilty of other cheating in the past, so it will be no surprise if this is proven out. If it is, Belichek needs to be banned from the league, and the Patriots punished severely. If it’s not true, then we play on.
I agree entirely.
The home team is responsible for providing ball handlers to get officials balls on the field. The scrimmage balls are inspected by the officials and then given to the ball handlers before kickoff. As such, there is an opportunity for the home team to tamper with the scrimmage balls. The "K" balls - kicking balls - remain in the custody of the officials because teams used to tamper with the kicking balls.