Overall, the team has the 24th ranked defense so maybe that's normal for them.
This definitely shows that games are more than starting QBs with big numbers.
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2014-15 NFL season thread
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Overall, the team has the 24th ranked defense so maybe that's normal for them.
This definitely shows that games are more than starting QBs with big numbers.
Yeah, nothing to see here.
ESPN.com said:
http://espn.go.com/boston/nfl/story...-had-inflated-footballs-afc-championship-game
Rodgers doesn't like how refs take air out of the balls. Duh, doesn't it seem like the NFL should investigate itself?
Look at the balls the Colts use and then compare before anybody jumps to any conclusions.
I doubt Pats cheated but if they did, out for the season to send message to everybody else and not just fines these millionaires can pay off like chump change.
The more I hear, the more it sounds as if the Pats did cheat.
However, it's a simple fix and one that should have been implemented long ago: Don't put the game balls in the custody of the team!!!
What genius couldn't figure that one out? I was amazed to hear this morning that the NFL sends game balls to each team so they can prepare them to the liking of the QB.
Footballs should be regulated like baseballs. You don't let each baseball team tweak and prepare balls. Nobody would stand for that. Why they've let this go on in football astounds me.
That said, if Bill Belichick did indeed order the balls deflated, I'd suspend him for a full season, and tell him any further infraction and he'd be barred from the league permanently.
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Please. I don't look to the NFL for honorable behavior, and I think it might be hard to find it in Seadderall.
But congratulations anyway.
That was an unbelievable comeback.
The deflated balls wouldn't have changed the outcome of the game, the Colts were outplayed period. The biggest concern here is the Patriots failing to be in compliance with NFL rules. This is not the first or second time they have been caught breaking the rules. The NFL has to be looking at some serious consequences.
I thought it lent some perspective to the issue of "honor" in the pursuit of rings.
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I completely agree. Ban Belichick for a year.
That ought to get his attention.
Goodell doesn't have the balls to do that. He back tracked on Ray Rice. He won't go up against Kraft and the hoodie.
I may not understand the entire issue but from what I've read, the patriots received a tactical advantage of using defalted balls (did the colts use the same deflated balls?). If so, then that may be one factor of why the patriots outplayed the colts.
I'm not saying the outcome would have been different but I am saying is from what I've read, the patriots benefited from this. If true and it appears to be so, then it looks like they cheated.
The theory is that it is easier to grip and hold a soft ball in colder weather. Did this give an advantage over the Colts, probably. Did it change the outcome of the game, who knows.
Well, he did suspend Sean Payton for a season over Bountygate.
I think that sets an excellent precedent for how he might handle Belichick.
But if you made me bet, I wouldn't put money on the penalty being that stiff.
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Nope. Each team gets 12 game balls which they can prepare according to their QB's preferencewith some standards, such as air pressure, set by the league.
I'd prefer if the league never handed over the balls to the team and simply said that you play with the balls that we give you at game time. But that apparently isn't the way things have been run.
We'll never know, and it definitely puts a pall over the team and the organization.
The difference is Sean Payton was actually putting hits on other players and making payouts on it.
To be sure it's a different "crime." But I don't see why the punishment couldn't be the same. It is after all, Belichick's second strike.
The teams can doctor the ball before hand. But 2hr 15 before the game the refs inspect the balls and check the pressure, at that point nobody can touch the balls.
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Goodell might go harder after the mess he was in over Rice. But don't underestimate the power Robert Kraft has on the league.
I don't think the team should touch the ball ... just like in baseball. I was really surprised to hear they could do that.
This is the part that is interesting. I wonder if the so called doctoring happened after the refs checked the ball or before they checked? Also, if the balls are deflated "that much" wouldn't the refs feel the difference and notice it every time they handle the ball between plays? Just curious.
According to this article the league confirmed that the refs checked the balls before the game and they were at the proper weight
http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.co...-properly-checked-before-colts-patriots-game/
the deflating happened after the refs checked the balls and they were handed over to the Patriots sideline.
Most coaches would probably get suspended for a significant amount of time after getting caught cheating twice, but since Kraft is in bed with Goddell this will be a light slap on the wrist if anything.... At least this time there won't be any getting rid of evidence like the last time since the spotlight is so bright on the NFL right now.
And people doubted the great Don Shula when he called him Belicheat lol.
Early in the season Brady was playing horrible looking old and done. Let a little air out of the ball and Wala! Brady has a better grip, accuracy improves throws downfield improve.... Belichick is the Einstein of our generation, the man is a genius!
That's one way to look at it. Albeit the cheating way.
I don't even know if Belichick has a second strike. It's not clear if he did anything wrong on the allegations of spying.
But the ball inflation/deflation thing bugs me in two ways:
1) Yes this one is really bad and I can't defend the Pats even as much as I hate the Seahawks. The ball deflation thing is unlike unproven spying allegations, and though I wouldn't ban him for a year or throw him out of NFL, I would disqualify his team for Super Bowl this year since this year is where he allegedly tampered balls. If the NFL has the balls and tested them, then they know if they were up to code or tampered with. It's not a he said, she said argument since we are talking about just how deflated the balls were and what the standard says.
But if Belichick does something against the rules next year then dole out the punishment that year and this should all be about swift justice.
That being said I seriously doubt any team would deflate balls knowing that's against the rules. There's too much at stake like getting disqualified. And yes, fine them to but that won't hurt these rich players and coaches one bit.
2) How stupid is the NFL giving balls to teams if they are concerned about cheating and can't they control the ball like the MLB?
But the ball inflation/deflation thing bugs me in two ways:
1) Yes this one is really bad and I can't defend the Pats even as much as I hate the Seahawks. The ball deflation thing is unlike unproven spying allegations, and though I wouldn't ban him for a year or throw him out of NFL, I would disqualify his team for Super Bowl this year since this year is where he allegedly tampered balls. If the NFL has the balls and tested them, then they know if they were up to code or tampered with. It's not a he said, she said argument since we are talking about just how deflated the balls were and what the standard says.
But if Belichick does something against the rules next year then dole out the punishment that year and this should all be about swift justice.
That being said I seriously doubt any team would deflate balls knowing that's against the rules. There's too much at stake like getting disqualified. And yes, fine them to but that won't hurt these rich players and coaches one bit.
2) How stupid is the NFL giving balls to teams if they are concerned about cheating and can't they control the ball like the MLB?
