Speculation Thread: What do you think happened at Deflategate? (Merge)

ColtsBlueFL · January 23, 2015

So we all saw the HC and QB of the N.E. Patriots deny having any knowledge of what happened to their game balls air pressure. Since it is reported by the league Walt Anderson performed the pregame inspection properly, there has to be a good reason why 11/12ths of the Pats balls were 2 psi below minimum, while all 12/12 of Colts balls still tested within NFL spec at halftime of the AFCCG.

This thread can let us explore reasonable potential situations leading to the illegal balls used in the first half of the game.

From my research, all QB's are very particular with their game balls. They have them prepared to extraordinary degrees until the 'feel' is just right. This includes air pressure. Of course the game balls delivered to the officials will be checked and adjusted to between 12.5 and 13.5 psi. These are guarded by officials until 10 minutes before kickoff, where they are returned to the team equipment managers. That's not a lot of time.

So here is my first theory of 'what might have gone down' OK corral Foxboro.

Brady has equipment manager bag up 24 select game balls. 12 per bag. On one set, he either does it (reduces pressure) or instructs the equipment manager to reduce them to 10.5 lbs/in and put aside in it's own bag. The others are to be left at 12.5 - 13.5 and submit those to the officials. Luck has his equipment manager submit his 12 selected balls, all at 12.5 - 13.5 psi.

All balls are approved, or adjusted and approve by Walt Anderson. 10 minutes before the game, the officials return Andrew Luck;s ball to our sideline and equipment guy watches over them. On the other side, the officials drop off Tom Brady's approved 12 balls to their sideline. Here's where it might get tricky. Instead of using them, the Equipment manger substitutes the 12 balls Brady picked where the pressure was reduced back over to the sideline and sends the approved 12 balls in it's bag to the locker room. Brady mentioned today at presser he wants No One to Touch his balls once picked, and to not even adjust air pressure. So that reduced pressure set fits the bill.

The game commences. DQ picks Brady and takes the ball to equipment manager. They agree it was soft and call up to Ryan Grigson. Grigson alerts the NFL and keeps the evidence. The NFL, having heard from either Colts, Ravens, or both from prior games of a same complaint, was ready to collect and test the game balls from both teams again. They collect the games balls (in their bags) and find Colts balls are all testing fine. They find 11 of 12 balls Pats ball 2 psi below minimum allowable.

Now either Walt Anderson asks the officials to Bring all the Pats balls back up to spec, or ask the Pats for their backup 12 balls the home team (which would now be the approved legal balls Walt Anderson endorsed before the game) is required to supply in case the original 12 be deemed illegal. There's a slight delay to second half as officials make sure the legal set of twelve game balls are properly on the Pats sideline. League instructs officials to remain quiet as league investigation is to begin immediately.

For here, the game goes forward, no alerting of Pats team yet. game is finished and players and officials leave. Kravitz gets 'filled in' on the drama that ensued that game and blows the tweet whistle. Bazinga! Here we are...

OK... your turn! :-D

CR91 · January 23, 2015

unless BB is getting suspended or they lose all their draft picks, its a nonissue

ColtsBlueFL · January 23, 2015

unless BB is getting suspended or they lose all their draft picks, its a nonissue

BB and TB will not get suspended unless they can tie either/both of them to having knowledge the pressure was reduced. If BB gets caught lying about knowing, he will get a year suspension. The Sean Payton precedent will see to that. Not so clear cut for Brady. NFLPA will get involved heavily, but NFL will ram pretty hard itself. too many recent black eyes not to determined t al least be trying to do the right thing.

CR91 · January 23, 2015

BB and TB will not get suspended unless they can tie either/both of them to having knowledge the pressure was reduced. If BB gets caught lying about knowing, he will get a year suspension. The Sean Payton precedent will see to that. Not so clear cut for Brady. NFLPA will get involved heavily, but NFL will ram pretty hard itself. too many recent black eyes not to determined t al least be trying to do the right thing.

thats what im saying. if theres no punishment then theres no issue

bestQBever · January 23, 2015

honestly....who cares. It's just a deflated ball. It may help you feel comfortable, but it doesn't help you win games. It's against the rules, pats should be punished, end of story.

jvan1973 · January 23, 2015

Fine and endless public scrutiny

Blue Horseshoe · January 23, 2015

honestly....who cares. It's just a deflated ball. It may help you feel comfortable, but it doesn't help you win games. It's against the rules, pats should be punished, end of story.

It helps you win games if it reduces fumbling

mintor · January 23, 2015

It helps you win games if it reduces fumbling far bye change the pressure in a football way you catch it easyer , gripe it better, yes help alot in a raining , wind.

MTC · January 23, 2015

Nothing. Nothing at all.

JerodMayo51 · January 23, 2015

I still will keep the Colts Setup card on the table..

After this article, this smells to high heaven of Jim Irsay doing this as a setup:

http://www.nfl.com/news/story/0ap3000000462315/article/dqwell-jackson-footballs-didnt-change-outcome

Here are some tidbits from the article:

"I wouldn't know how that could even be an advantage or a disadvantage," Jackson said. "I definitely wouldn't be able to tell if one ball had less pressure than another."

This means that the supposed catalyst for this entire investigation that Kravitz reported was a LIE. Kravitz is buddy buddy with Jim Irsay, and the way they've approached this makes it look like they had this planned all along.

Here is Jackson's take on the deflated balls (lol)

Jackson also said he holds no bitter feelings toward the Patriots -- nor does he feel his team was cheated -- if indeed New England deliberately deflated the footballs.

"It wouldn't have changed the outcome of the game," Jackson said. "They outplayed us. We didn't match their intensity. I don't feel slighted at all personally. They created turnovers, they ran the ball on us. They won that game because of their intensity -- not the pressure of a football."

Then the story gets VERY interesting...

The game official mentioned something about their efforts to locate a usable football. Shortly after, Jackson noticed that the Patriots were using the Colts' footballs late in the first half.

So the Pats ended up with Colts footballs before half time...

Irsay had this planned since they got lambasted back in November.. I'd love it so much if they found camera footage of someone on the Colts swapping out balls or messing with the Patriots balls in some way. Irsay's hate of the Patriots is well known and hes already proven to be someone of questionable character, so I think with this plot twist speculating that he could have framed the Pats is as much on the table as any other speculative opinion at this point.

Kravitz hammered home the fact that it was Jackson that brought it to the attention of the team and officials after his interception.. which was a total lie... it was also being used in arguments of "How could Jackson tell the football was deflated but Brady couldnt!? Brady is a liar!"

So there you have it.. Jackson NEVER felt a difference in the ball or reported ANYTHING.. this was planned dating back to November by Irsay and his cronies.

You heard it here first!

esmort · January 23, 2015

honestly....who cares. It's just a deflated ball. It may help you feel comfortable, but it doesn't help you win games. It's against the rules, pats should be punished, end of story.

When it allows a QB with smaller hands to have better control of the football than it definitely helps you win games. It also allows other players to better hold onto ball reducing fumbles.

esmort · January 23, 2015

I still will keep the Colts Setup card on the table..

After this article, this smells to high heaven of Jim Irsay doing this as a setup:

http://www.nfl.com/news/story/0ap3000000462315/article/dqwell-jackson-footballs-didnt-change-outcome

Here are some tidbits from the article:

This means that the supposed catalyst for this entire investigation that Kravitz reported was a LIE. Kravitz is buddy buddy with Jim Irsay, and the way they've approached this makes it look like they had this planned all along.

Here is Jackson's take on the deflated balls (lol)

Then the story gets VERY interesting...

So the Pats ended up with Colts footballs before half time...

Irsay had this planned since they got lambasted back in November.. I'd love it so much if they found camera footage of someone on the Colts swapping out balls or messing with the Patriots balls in some way. Irsay's hate of the Patriots is well known and hes already proven to be someone of questionable character, so I think with this plot twist speculating that he could have framed the Pats is as much on the table as any other speculative opinion at this point.

Kravitz hammered home the fact that it was Jackson that brought it to the attention of the team and officials after his interception.. which was a total lie... it was also being used in arguments of "How could Jackson tell the football was deflated but Brady couldnt!? Brady is a liar!"

So there you have it.. Jackson NEVER felt a difference in the ball or reported ANYTHING.. this was planned dating back to November by Irsay and his cronies.

You heard it hear first!

Take the tin foil hat off. That's most ridiculous excuse for NE cheating yet.

Kalbo · January 23, 2015

I think we are taking a very narrow minded view of this when we look at in the context of just the AFC Championship game. If you look back into the season, you will remember that after the Patriots got blown out by the Chiefs the word was the Patriots were done, Tom Brady was old and could no longer throw like he used to. The dynasty was over. I'm sure everyone remembers "on to Cincinnati". Heck, even the guy who had Brady in our Fantasy League cut him. Then out of nowhere old Tom Brady becomes young Tom Brady and the Patriots don't lose again.

I was trying to think of any player that has left New England who has been able to match their success there. The only one I could think of was AV, but he's a kicker. Is it becuse they were older? Maybe. Is it scheme? Who knows? All I do know is not one of Belichick's coaches have been hired by another team and were able to duplicate the success at New England. Broncos, Chiefs, Notre Dame, Kansas, it hasn't worked anywhere but New England. With their reputation it definitely makes you go "Hmmm."

Edited January 23, 2015 by 21isSuperman

-JJ- · January 23, 2015

So we all saw the HC and QB of the N.E. Patriots deny having any knowledge of what happened to their game balls air pressure. Since it is reported by the league Walt Anderson performed the pregame inspection properly, there has to be a good reason why 11/12ths of the Pats balls were 2 psi below minimum, while all 12/12 of Colts balls still tested within NFL spec at halftime of the AFCCG.

This thread can let us explore reasonable potential situations leading to the illegal balls used in the first half of the game.

<snip>

Nice topic for a change.

We expect people to be CIVIL in it.

Myself I have no clue. Then again I was never any good at Clue.

Blue Horseshoe · January 23, 2015

Nice topic for a change.

We expect people to be CIVIL in it.

Myself I have no clue. Then again I was never any good at Clue.

Emperor Palpatine in the equipment room with a detached inflation nozzle.

BrownianMotion · January 23, 2015

Take the tin foil hat off. That's most ridiculous excuse for NE cheating yet.

There was no cheating as Jackson himself (along with all your players) have stated. Jackson couldn't feel a difference and said there was no advantage.

jvan1973 · January 23, 2015

I still will keep the Colts Setup card on the table..
After this article, this smells to high heaven of Jim Irsay doing this as a setup:
http://www.nfl.com/news/story/0ap3000000462315/article/dqwell-jackson-footballs-didnt-change-outcome
Here are some tidbits from the article:
This means that the supposed catalyst for this entire investigation that Kravitz reported was a LIE. Kravitz is buddy buddy with Jim Irsay, and the way they've approached this makes it look like they had this planned all along.
Here is Jackson's take on the deflated balls (lol)
Then the story gets VERY interesting...
So the Pats ended up with Colts footballs before half time...
Irsay had this planned since they got lambasted back in November.. I'd love it so much if they found camera footage of someone on the Colts swapping out balls or messing with the Patriots balls in some way. Irsay's hate of the Patriots is well known and hes already proven to be someone of questionable character, so I think with this plot twist speculating that he could have framed the Pats is as much on the table as any other speculative opinion at this point.
Kravitz hammered home the fact that it was Jackson that brought it to the attention of the team and officials after his interception.. which was a total lie... it was also being used in arguments of "How could Jackson tell the football was deflated but Brady couldnt!? Brady is a liar!"
So there you have it.. Jackson NEVER felt a difference in the ball or reported ANYTHING.. this was planned dating back to November by Irsay and his cronies.
You heard it here first!

no one ever said Jackson felt a difference. He gave it to the equipment guy who felt a difference.

The rest of your post is nonsense. How would the colts get 11 balls switched out with the patriots balls in gillete?

And if you think irsay and kravitz are buddy buddy, you know zero about their relationship

ColtsBlueFL · January 23, 2015

Nice topic for a change.

We expect people to be CIVIL in it.

Myself I have no clue. Then again I was never any good at Clue.

Well, we have my theory, and the crazy JerodMayo51 accusation that Jim Irsay and his 'boys' intentionally tampered with Pats equipment and set BB and TB up to take a fall theory. I hope the NFL does a much better job. LOL

-JJ- · January 23, 2015

Well, we have my theory, and the crazy JerodMayo51 accusation that Jim Irsay and his 'boys' intentionally tampered with Pats equipment and set BB and TB up to take a fall theory. I hope the NFL does a much better job. LOL

I'll take door B then ;-)

I wouldn't think Isray did anything. I thought it odd Jackson felt a difference as was attested here. Makes more sense he he now says so as wouldn't think he'd realize it.He was just playing. Now where it went from there I have no idea.

The NFL has a lot of high tech they can use and should have had something by now. We'll see...

Indycrazy1287 · January 23, 2015

Ignorance is not an excuse- Roger Goodell.

I love how much his words are going to haunt him. Doesn't matter if Brady and Belichick "didn't know", that's what the commissioner told Sean Payton from the whole bounty gate issue

Girlzarefanstoo · January 23, 2015

The Original Poster postulated the balls were substituted, but from what I believe I remember being described, the game balls are marked in some way as being approved by the ref. They would have to be the balls that had their air pressure lowered.

If I were the Colts and had experienced the Patriots balls being lower pressure in an earlier game and heard the Ravens tell me the same thing. I would have had multiple cameras placed in the crowd and take video of the balls being handled on the sidelines. It would be something else if footage like that came out (like the Ray Rice footage) and forced the league to do what they ought to.

GoColts8818 · January 23, 2015

I'll take door B then ;-)
I wouldn't think Isray did anything. I thought it odd Jackson felt a difference as was attested here. Makes more sense he he now says so as wouldn't think he'd realize it.He was just playing. Now where it went from there I have no idea.

The NFL has a lot of high tech they can use and should have had something by now. We'll see...

it got lost in the shuffle with all the moving parts but a day after this broke it was put out there Jackson wanted to keep the ball as a keep sake for getting a pick in the AFC Title game and gave the ball to the equipment manger who noticed it didn't feel right. People just ran with the Jackson noticed it bit.

GoColts8818 · January 23, 2015

I still will keep the Colts Setup card on the table..
After this article, this smells to high heaven of Jim Irsay doing this as a setup:
http://www.nfl.com/news/story/0ap3000000462315/article/dqwell-jackson-footballs-didnt-change-outcome
Here are some tidbits from the article:
This means that the supposed catalyst for this entire investigation that Kravitz reported was a LIE. Kravitz is buddy buddy with Jim Irsay, and the way they've approached this makes it look like they had this planned all along.
Here is Jackson's take on the deflated balls (lol)
Then the story gets VERY interesting...
So the Pats ended up with Colts footballs before half time...
Irsay had this planned since they got lambasted back in November.. I'd love it so much if they found camera footage of someone on the Colts swapping out balls or messing with the Patriots balls in some way. Irsay's hate of the Patriots is well known and hes already proven to be someone of questionable character, so I think with this plot twist speculating that he could have framed the Pats is as much on the table as any other speculative opinion at this point.
Kravitz hammered home the fact that it was Jackson that brought it to the attention of the team and officials after his interception.. which was a total lie... it was also being used in arguments of "How could Jackson tell the football was deflated but Brady couldnt!? Brady is a liar!"
So there you have it.. Jackson NEVER felt a difference in the ball or reported ANYTHING.. this was planned dating back to November by Irsay and his cronies.
You heard it here first!

http://www.reactiongifs.com/r/2013/02/incredulous.gif

Congratulations you've come up with the one thing more unbelievable than Brady today.

-JJ- · January 23, 2015

it got lost in the shuffle with all the moving parts but a day after this broke it was put out there Jackson wanted to keep the ball as a keep sake for getting a pick in the AFC Title game and gave the ball to the equipment manger who noticed it didn't feel right. People just ran with the Jackson noticed it bit.

yep- par for the course ;)

amfootball · January 23, 2015

All we know right now is the NFL is having a tough time finding evidence of tampering and had not spoke to Brady as of 4:00 p.m. yesterday. Jackson from the Colts has also distanced himself from this again saying he never thought Brady's ball he intercepted was deflated and that he did not say anything to the equipment manager which leaves most believing that this accusation by the Colts was in the works before the game. In addition, Pagano has distanced himself saying he was not aware of any deflated balls and also John Harbaugh also said he was not aware of any deflated balls when the Ravens played the Pats in the divisional round.

The longer this goes, the more it is losing steam. The only "report" from the NFL which was leaked by Mort was that 11 of the 12 balls were deflated but the NFL has not verified this or the amount of the deflation of each ball. Turns out all 12 balls were deflated according to many reports with the last ball not as deflated as the other 11.

Given the pressers by Bill and Brady yesterday, I think they are confident that the league has nothing as even Brady said he spoke to his equipment managers and they did nothing wrong and did a great job with their preparation of the game balls like they always do. I don't think much comes of this at all at this point. There is no way Bill and Brady hold those pressers yesterday if they believed the NFL had any proof whatsoever. They were definitive in their denial of any involvement and left no room for conjecture.

I expect the league to release its findings today or over the weekend.

My best guess as to what happened to the balls is that they lost air due to weather and use because they were pumped to the lowest possible spot on the range, 12.5. Bill basically insinuated this in his presser and said the Pats will make sure to have the balls pumped over the minimum in the future to ensure they never fall below the acceptable range. My other theory is that Brady, similar to Aaron Rodgers, submitted the balls under weight and the refs either missed it or let it go. For all 12 balls to be under inflated means they were that way at the start of the game IMO as no way some ball boy is deflating 12 balls in the first half with no one noticing.

FanFromtheWasteland · January 23, 2015

Then why did the Colts pass inspection both time? Lets follow your weather theory. The Colts footballs where at the same stadium at the same time in the same conditions so doesn't it stand to reason that there's should lose 2 pounds of preasure as well? For them to pass at halftime they would have had to be inflated above 14 psi which would not have passed initial inspection. Unless if coarse the laws of physics work differently on the Pats side of the feild :-)

OffensivelyPC · January 23, 2015

Take the tin foil hat off. That's most ridiculous excuse for NE cheating yet.

He's just trolling and repeating himself a billion times.

OffensivelyPC · January 23, 2015

All we know right now is the NFL is having a tough time finding evidence of tampering and had not spoke to Brady as of 4:00 p.m. yesterday. Jackson from the Colts has also distanced himself from this again saying he never thought Brady's ball he intercepted was deflated and that he did not say anything to the equipment manager which leaves most believing that this accusation by the Colts was in the works before the game. In addition, Pagano has distanced himself saying he was not aware of any deflated balls and also John Harbaugh also said he was not aware of any deflated balls when the Ravens played the Pats in the divisional round.

The longer this goes, the more it is losing steam. The only "report" from the NFL which was leaked by Mort was that 11 of the 12 balls were deflated but the NFL has not verified this or the amount of the deflation of each ball. Turns out all 12 balls were deflated according to many reports with the last ball not as deflated as the other 11.

Given the pressers by Bill and Brady yesterday, I think they are confident that the league has nothing as even Brady said he spoke to his equipment managers and they did nothing wrong and did a great job with their preparation of the game balls like they always do. I don't think much comes of this at all at this point. There is no way Bill and Brady hold those pressers yesterday if they believed the NFL had any proof whatsoever. They were definitive in their denial of any involvement and left no room for conjecture.

I expect the league to release its findings today or over the weekend.

My best guess as to what happened to the balls is that they lost air due to weather and use because they were pumped to the lowest possible spot on the range, 12.5. Bill basically insinuated this in his presser and said the Pats will make sure to have the balls pumped over the minimum in the future to ensure they never fall below the acceptable range. My other theory is that Brady, similar to Aaron Rodgers, submitted the balls under weight and the refs either missed it or let it go. For all 12 balls to be under inflated means they were that way at the start of the game IMO as no way some ball boy is deflating 12 balls in the first half with no one noticing.

lol. Brady looked anything but confident up there yesterday.

ColtsBlueFL · January 23, 2015

The Original Poster postulated the balls were substituted, but from what I believe I remember being described, the game balls are marked in some way as being approved by the ref. They would have to be the balls that had their air pressure lowered.

If I were the Colts and had experienced the Patriots balls being lower pressure in an earlier game and heard the Ravens tell me the same thing. I would have had multiple cameras placed in the crowd and take video of the balls being handled on the sidelines. It would be something else if footage like that came out (like the Ray Rice footage) and forced the league to do what they ought to.

Good point. I was under impression K balls (kicker footballs) were marked. But it is most likely that the game play footballs get an approval mark as well. But I also had questions that reported there were no 'usable' footballs from Patriots side late in second half and Refs had to start using the Colts (approved) footballs. Why? They weren't checked until halftime, right? Or did officials start testing them on the sideline during the game? (I doubt it). So many unanswered Q's and the league will take it's time leaving no stone unturned.

/sarcasm switch on

I feel that sometime before the Super Bowl, the league will fine Marshon Lynch a total of $500.00 in accumulated fines by the Friday before the Super Bowl. At the same time, the League will announce Brady is fined $25,000 which is to be turned over to the Patriots equipment manager and equipment staff.

That's called 'Getting it right!'

/sarcasm switch off

crazycolt1 · January 23, 2015

Nice topic for a change.

We expect people to be CIVIL in it.

Myself I have no clue. Then again I was never any good at Clue.

Mr. Mustard was always guilty.

crazycolt1 · January 23, 2015

I still will keep the Colts Setup card on the table..

After this article, this smells to high heaven of Jim Irsay doing this as a setup:

http://www.nfl.com/news/story/0ap3000000462315/article/dqwell-jackson-footballs-didnt-change-outcome

Here are some tidbits from the article:

This means that the supposed catalyst for this entire investigation that Kravitz reported was a LIE. Kravitz is buddy buddy with Jim Irsay, and the way they've approached this makes it look like they had this planned all along.

Here is Jackson's take on the deflated balls (lol)

Then the story gets VERY interesting...

So the Pats ended up with Colts footballs before half time...

Irsay had this planned since they got lambasted back in November.. I'd love it so much if they found camera footage of someone on the Colts swapping out balls or messing with the Patriots balls in some way. Irsay's hate of the Patriots is well known and hes already proven to be someone of questionable character, so I think with this plot twist speculating that he could have framed the Pats is as much on the table as any other speculative opinion at this point.

Kravitz hammered home the fact that it was Jackson that brought it to the attention of the team and officials after his interception.. which was a total lie... it was also being used in arguments of "How could Jackson tell the football was deflated but Brady couldnt!? Brady is a liar!"

So there you have it.. Jackson NEVER felt a difference in the ball or reported ANYTHING.. this was planned dating back to November by Irsay and his cronies.

You heard it here first!

The minute you said Kravitz and Irsay were buddy-buddy blew your horse dung out the window. You have almost a vivid imagination as Brady.

bababooey · January 23, 2015

All we know right now is the NFL is having a tough time finding evidence of tampering and had not spoke to Brady as of 4:00 p.m. yesterday. Jackson from the Colts has also distanced himself from this again saying he never thought Brady's ball he intercepted was deflated and that he did not say anything to the equipment manager which leaves most believing that this accusation by the Colts was in the works before the game. In addition, Pagano has distanced himself saying he was not aware of any deflated balls and also John Harbaugh also said he was not aware of any deflated balls when the Ravens played the Pats in the divisional round.
The longer this goes, the more it is losing steam. The only "report" from the NFL which was leaked by Mort was that 11 of the 12 balls were deflated but the NFL has not verified this or the amount of the deflation of each ball. Turns out all 12 balls were deflated according to many reports with the last ball not as deflated as the other 11.
Given the pressers by Bill and Brady yesterday, I think they are confident that the league has nothing as even Brady said he spoke to his equipment managers and they did nothing wrong and did a great job with their preparation of the game balls like they always do. I don't think much comes of this at all at this point. There is no way Bill and Brady hold those pressers yesterday if they believed the NFL had any proof whatsoever. They were definitive in their denial of any involvement and left no room for conjecture.
I expect the league to release its findings today or over the weekend.
My best guess as to what happened to the balls is that they lost air due to weather and use because they were pumped to the lowest possible spot on the range, 12.5. Bill basically insinuated this in his presser and said the Pats will make sure to have the balls pumped over the minimum in the future to ensure they never fall below the acceptable range. My other theory is that Brady, similar to Aaron Rodgers, submitted the balls under weight and the refs either missed it or let it go. For all 12 balls to be under inflated means they were that way at the start of the game IMO as no way some ball boy is deflating 12 balls in the first half with no one noticing.

If your "best guess" is the weather affected them but not the colts balls I have an island to sell you.

FanFromtheWasteland · January 23, 2015

All we know right now is the NFL is having a tough time finding evidence of tampering and had not spoke to Brady as of 4:00 p.m. yesterday. Jackson from the Colts has also distanced himself from this again saying he never thought Brady's ball he intercepted was deflated and that he did not say anything to the equipment manager which leaves most believing that this accusation by the Colts was in the works before the game. In addition, Pagano has distanced himself saying he was not aware of any deflated balls and also John Harbaugh also said he was not aware of any deflated balls when the Ravens played the Pats in the divisional round.

The longer this goes, the more it is losing steam. The only "report" from the NFL which was leaked by Mort was that 11 of the 12 balls were deflated but the NFL has not verified this or the amount of the deflation of each ball. Turns out all 12 balls were deflated according to many reports with the last ball not as deflated as the other 11.

Given the pressers by Bill and Brady yesterday, I think they are confident that the league has nothing as even Brady said he spoke to his equipment managers and they did nothing wrong and did a great job with their preparation of the game balls like they always do. I don't think much comes of this at all at this point. There is no way Bill and Brady hold those pressers yesterday if they believed the NFL had any proof whatsoever. They were definitive in their denial of any involvement and left no room for conjecture.

I expect the league to release its findings today or over the weekend.

My best guess as to what happened to the balls is that they lost air due to weather and use because they were pumped to the lowest possible spot on the range, 12.5. Bill basically insinuated this in his presser and said the Pats will make sure to have the balls pumped over the minimum in the future to ensure they never fall below the acceptable range. My other theory is that Brady, similar to Aaron Rodgers, submitted the balls under weight and the refs either missed it or let it go. For all 12 balls to be under inflated means they were that way at the start of the game IMO as no way some ball boy is deflating 12 balls in the first half with no one noticing.

Then why did the Colts pass inspection both time? Lets follow your weather theory. The Colts footballs where at the same stadium at the same time in the same conditions so doesn't it stand to reason that there's should lose 2 pounds of preasure as well? For them to pass at halftime they would have had to be inflated above 14 psi which would not have passed initial inspection. Unless if coarse the laws of physics work differently on the Pats side of the feild :-)

braveheartcolt · January 23, 2015

I really have no idea, but we can all be sure there was no wrong doing by the Patriots. Why? Because Bill and Tom said so, so it must be true.

Two natives wandering through the deepest darkest jungle in the Amazon Forest. One says to the other, "I see the Patriots cheated again today'. 'How the heck do you know that', replied his mate. 'It's Sunday....'

Narcosys · January 23, 2015

Megathread 2?

OffensivelyPC · January 23, 2015

Mr. Mustard was always guilty.

It was Colonel Mustard. The only Mr. was Mr. Green.

crazycolt1 · January 23, 2015

It was Colonel Mustard. The only Mr. was Mr. Green.

Oh well, I guess I am not qualified to make comments on Clue! lol

ruksak · January 23, 2015

It was Colonel Mustard. The only Mr. was Mr. Green.

^^^ Busted for Clue nerd.

crazycolt1 · January 23, 2015

There was no cheating as Jackson himself (along with all your players) have stated. Jackson couldn't feel a difference and said there was no advantage.

Did you overlook the Colts equipment man? He is the one who spilled the beans. When Jackson gave him the ball to keep is when the first underinflated ball was found. Then the refs found the other 10 when they inspected the Patriots footballs at halftime. You can pick and choose what you want to make your case but you really don't have a case. Maybe a little reading comprehension is in order for you?

OffensivelyPC · January 23, 2015

^^^ Busted for Clue nerd.

I've seen the movie a hundred times. Hilarious.

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Speculation Thread: What do you think happened at Deflategate? (Merge)

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