There were lots of people all across the country (and some here) that grabbed their torches and pitchforks and wanted Belichick & Brady to hang. It was initially leaked that eleven balls were two PSI underinflated. Wrong!

As it turns out ... of the 12 Patriots' balls:

1) one was inflated correctly
2) ten were inflated just below the minimum level required (a fraction of one PSI, statistically insignificant)
3) one was two PSI below the minimum (the ball that was spiked by Gronkowski)

It appears this was all overblown. I wonder if those that had their panties in a twist will apologize.

Come on guys, where are all the Patriot haters?

Once again, ESPN looks foolish. It happens a lot.

I was working so I missed the AFC championship. But even if there was any legitimate issue with properly inflated balls, that wouldn't change 45-7

(02-03-2015 10:55 PM)UConn-SMU Wrote:  Once again, ESPN looks foolish. It happens a lot.

ESPN looking foolish isn't the worst thing in the world :)

I also understand there is no record of how inflated those balls were before the game started. Frankly, I doubt they were ever actually measured with a gauge to begin with. To me, this was always a non-story with regard to the Patriots. OTOH, I think the Colts showed their butts by colluding with the Ravens to narc on the Pats at halftime. If you are looking for an example of poor sportsmanship, that's your story. I am glad the Colts' stunt came back to bite them in the butt.

(02-03-2015 08:58 PM)UConn-SMU Wrote:  It appears this was all overblown. I wonder if those that had their panties in a twist will apologize.

I don't know if this was intentional or not, but the puns with this story just keep on coming!

I think somebody needs to apologize to that elderly man videotaped entering the men's room with the footballs just before game time. Apparently, he didn't want to pass up a chance to take a leak before the game started. As a certified geezer myself, I can empathize with that. What I'm curious about is why somebody would have gone to the trouble of following him and taping him in the first place. Is that standard operating procedure?

(02-03-2015 08:58 PM)UConn-SMU Wrote:  There were lots of people all across the country (and some here) that grabbed their torches and pitchforks and wanted Belichick & Brady to hang. It was initially leaked that eleven balls were two PSI underinflated. Wrong!

As it turns out ... of the 12 Patriots' balls:

1) one was inflated correctly
2) ten were inflated just below the minimum level required (a fraction of one PSI, statistically insignificant)

Is that "fraction of one PSI, statistically insignificant" claim from an NFL investigator, or is that merely Patriots fanboy spin?

(02-04-2015 02:57 AM)jdgaucho Wrote:  I was working so I missed the AFC championship. But even if there was any legitimate issue with properly inflated balls, that wouldn't change 45-7

Probably, but what makes you think the Patriots only used deflated balls against the hapless Colts? If they used them against the Colts, they almost surely used them against the far more dangerous Ravens, a game they were outplayed in and were extremely lucky to win.

(02-04-2015 02:57 AM)jdgaucho Wrote:  I was working so I missed the AFC championship. But even if there was any legitimate issue with properly inflated balls, that wouldn't change 45-7

Yeah, that's the biggest joke of all to me.

(02-04-2015 11:35 AM)quo vadis Wrote:  

(02-04-2015 02:57 AM)jdgaucho Wrote:  I was working so I missed the AFC championship. But even if there was any legitimate issue with properly inflated balls, that wouldn't change 45-7

Probably, but what makes you think the Patriots only used deflated balls against the hapless Colts? If they used them against the Colts, they almost surely used them against the far more dangerous Ravens, a game they were outplayed in and were extremely lucky to win.

You honestly think 2 psi would impact a game that much?

(02-04-2015 11:36 AM)blunderbuss Wrote:  

(02-04-2015 11:35 AM)quo vadis Wrote:  

(02-04-2015 02:57 AM)jdgaucho Wrote:  I was working so I missed the AFC championship. But even if there was any legitimate issue with properly inflated balls, that wouldn't change 45-7

Probably, but what makes you think the Patriots only used deflated balls against the hapless Colts? If they used them against the Colts, they almost surely used them against the far more dangerous Ravens, a game they were outplayed in and were extremely lucky to win.

You honestly think 2 psi would impact a game that much?

You must think the rule is arbitrary, but the NFL thinks it matters, that's why there is a rule. And in a game as close as the Ravens game was, even the slightest things could be enough to tip it.

Its the current media's need to be the first to report something without checking facts.

(02-04-2015 11:39 AM)Minutemen429 Wrote:  Its the current media's need to be the first to report something without checking facts.

You mean like the fact that contrary to the NFL rules, the Patriots used 11 underinflated footballs against the Colts? The lengths Patriots fans will go to defend that sordid franchise.

(02-04-2015 11:40 AM)quo vadis Wrote:  

(02-04-2015 11:39 AM)Minutemen429 Wrote:  Its the current media's need to be the first to report something without checking facts.

You mean like the fact that contrary to the NFL rules, the Patriots used 11 underinflated footballs against the Colts? The lengths Patriots fans will go to defend that sordid franchise.

How do you feel about Aaron Rodgers saying he over inflates his balls in a pregame interview. Or the Vikings holding balls in front of the on field heaters during a cold home game?

(02-03-2015 08:58 PM)UConn-SMU Wrote:  There were lots of people all across the country (and some here) that grabbed their torches and pitchforks and wanted Belichick & Brady to hang. It was initially leaked that eleven balls were two PSI underinflated. Wrong!

As it turns out ... of the 12 Patriots' balls:

1) one was inflated correctly
2) ten were inflated just below the minimum level required (a fraction of one PSI, statistically insignificant)
3) one was two PSI below the minimum (the ball that was spiked by Gronkowski)

It appears this was all overblown. I wonder if those that had their panties in a twist will apologize.

Why should anyone apoligize? People can only react to the information they have at the time. If people were reacting to a fact that all the balls were >2PSI off... then the big problem is with whoever told that lie.

Well, gotta say, it's great to be on the same side as Minuteman and Uconn-SMU for a change!

Last week, I had a running back-and-forth with one of the posters in this thread over this issue.

Two weeks ago, all of the "reports" indicated that this issue surfaced when a Colts LB brought the FB he intercepted in the game over to the Colts coaches as he was concerned something was wrong with the FB. Follow up reports indicated that 11 of the 12 FBs were underinvested by as much as 2lbs psi. Other reports indicated that nothing was wrong with the Colts FBs at halftime. We then had reports that the investigation was centered around a Patriots attendant who took the FBs into a room and out of sight for a period of time.

So, what have we learned since this first batch of reports. First, the Colts LB did not bring the FB to the sideline out of concern for the FB. He brought it to the sideline as a souvenir of his interception of TB. We subsequently learned that the Colts reached out to the NFL to check the FB pressure. It had nothing to do with the Colts LB. Now, there are reports that, withthe exception of one FB, all of the FBs in question had only small losses in pressure, which may very well be consistent with the notion that such losses were consistent with the environment at GS that day. It also would seem to make sense because the two referees that actually handle the FBs between plays clearly noticed no irregularities in them during the first half of the game with the Colts. We then learned that the locker room attendant, who had charge for the FBs for a couple of hours prior to game time, took the FBs into the bathroom with him as he need to use the facilities. He was in the bathroom for 90 seconds. Now, there are repeats that there is no documentation about the psi pressures for the FBs when they were inspected prior to game time. We still don't know definitely if the psi was actually checked. If this is indeed true, then no baseline would exist to make any claim that the FBs were subsequently adjusted after the referee inspection.

As I have maintained throughout this issue. I do not want to prejudge this and will await the finding of the investigation (which is being conducted by neutral third party who is one of the best in the business). I predict what will happen is that the investigation will find no evidence that these FBs were adjusted by anyone after the referee inspection, due primarily to the rather loose process for maintaining the FBs to begin with. I suspect that the rules will be significantly tightened. The QBs in the league who I don't think will be happy about this can, IMO, raise their ire at Colts and possibility Ravens organizations who appear to have made this a public issue.

(02-04-2015 02:02 PM)Bull Wrote:  

(02-03-2015 08:58 PM)UConn-SMU Wrote:  There were lots of people all across the country (and some here) that grabbed their torches and pitchforks and wanted Belichick & Brady to hang. It was initially leaked that eleven balls were two PSI underinflated. Wrong!

As it turns out ... of the 12 Patriots' balls:

1) one was inflated correctly
2) ten were inflated just below the minimum level required (a fraction of one PSI, statistically insignificant)
3) one was two PSI below the minimum (the ball that was spiked by Gronkowski)

It appears this was all overblown. I wonder if those that had their panties in a twist will apologize.

Why should anyone apoligize? People can only react to the information they have at the time. If people were reacting to a fact that all the balls were >2PSI off... then the big problem is with whoever told that lie.

But this is a larger problem which we have seen time and time again - especially in college realignment which is the subject of this board. Specifically, people with agendas or desire to get the "scoop" tweet or blog baseless speculation or rumor and present it as fact. The masses who consume these tweets and blogs react with their own agendas and simply accept these stories as established fact. Heck, we have seen that in this very thread! Quite often, even the mainstream media pick up a tweet or blog and report on it. In the days before the Internet and social media, this was less of an issue as stories only appeared in the mainstream press and, at least were subject to some fact checking rigor. This no longer exists as anyone can put something into a tweet or a blog without any due diligence to determine whether the story is based in fact.

Why don't we wait to see what the NFL finds here...