Football Air Pressure Controversy

Nconroe · #1 01-21-2015, 01:59 PM

Apparently 11 of 12 footballs from Patriots tested low air pressure after the game. Not sure how low, or what proper range should be.

Did they test Colts balls also?

Are balls always tested after games? Sounds like for sure two hours before games they are tested.

I was thinking one solution is don't let teams keep their balls during a game, have refs or league official keep balls for everyone if used in game.

From my own experience there is some happy medium football pressure best for a given temperature and rain effect for any given game. So slightly lower air pressure if cold and wet might make it easier to throw the ball and catch the ball on pass plays, but less distance and accuracy. If running the ball, maybe less likely to fumble? On kicks and punts, might give more distance if short/poch kicks/ and better direction control .

It wasn't really that cold, 45 degrees or so. Was raining some of the time.

If this was cheating intentionally, what should penalty be?

Right now all speculation as NFL hasn't released any official findings yet.

barrett · #2 01-21-2015, 04:24 PM

I'm a Patriots fan 2nd since I'm from there originally, but it is beyond defense. It is probably not that uncommon, but the Patriots are just so brazen about how they go about their cheating under Bellichik. It is hugely disappointing and takes the shine off a super bowl appearance for sure.

HPF Bob · #3 01-21-2015, 05:27 PM

The NFL has ruled that since the Patriots technically violated the rules, they will take a draft choice away from the Bills next April.

Arky · #4 01-22-2015, 12:57 PM

I just don't think it's that big a deal. Much ado about nothing. Does it make the ball easier to run with or pass/catch passes in inclement weather? Possibly. Maybe 1 instance out of 100 - just a guess. I haven't done thorough research on the subject but I would speculate that punts and kickoffs would travel less far with an under-inflated ball... Maybe their "ball checker" had a bad day....

Just really don't see a competitive advantage, here.....

Nconroe · #5 01-22-2015, 03:21 PM

Apparently Tom Brady likes a slightly underinflated football and he is having a press conference right about now.

difference between 11.5 and 12.5 psi, 1 psi low, not sure what that changes.

Nconroe · #6 01-27-2015, 11:05 AM

Just to update a few of rumors and stories going around

1. story out of Boston CBS affiliate this morning is that balls were given to referees before inspection a little low and they didn't inflate them so perhaps everything ok other than a check didn't really make a correction? this is normal for balls to be hi or lo and then officials are to put in the right range of 12.5 to 13.5, maybe didn't happen.

2. another story is Patriots turned over a film of ball boy taking two sacks of balls into a restroom( room?) for 90 seconds. but seems Pats have talked to him and ok, but NFL says person of interest, although some say NFL already has 40 people interviewed by NFL.

3. Apparently official NFL rules say fine for tampering with football is $25,000. ie. not a major offense.

4. Bob Kraft, Pats owners came out pretty strong saying if this is a bunch of bad NFL publicity he wants some big apologies.

5. Some testing shows if you take a football at 70 degrees to a another area at say 45 degrees, after an hour it likelyl looses 1 psi just naturally.

6. Some testing shows very difficult to tell feel of football changes much for 1 psi or that this impacts play positively or negatively and that each QB and person will hold football differently.

so, hopefully we should not prejudge in this case what really happened and it may be unprovable what happened, but maybe can be made more transparent in future.

just play the game

Another thought - is if nfl officials, refs, umpires handle the ball on every play, including in first half, why didn't they notice a ball was low pressure at that time and get a good ball in play. And, the Seattle players says he never said the ball was underinflated, he gave the ball to his ball boy to keep since he made interception on the play. This leads some to say there was a conspiracy by someone who was trying to trap Pats into this low deflated ball situation.

Of course, if only nfl employees, such as perhaps reserve ump and not the teams handled ball once inspected this couldn't happen either.

barrett · #7 09-01-2015, 05:05 PM

I figured this was the most appropriate place to put this.

http://espn.go.com/nfl/story/_/id/13...-destroy-phone

Somebody needs to muzzle Bob McNair. First he goes after Foster when he's hurt, now he is taking shots about NE in a season we have to play them, and he is dragging JJ Watt's name into it for no reason. Why make JJ enemies?

McNair really is an idiot. The more he opens his mouth, the more you see it.

Keith · #8 09-01-2015, 07:14 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by barrett

McNair really is an idiot. The more he opens his mouth, the more you see it.

That or he is an out of touch billionaire that habitually underestimates his audience.

chuck · #9 09-01-2015, 07:18 PM

I'm going to go with idiot. There is zero reason to comment on this matter at all.

Apparently McNair has not been watching Hard Knocks.

Nconroe · #10 09-01-2015, 08:18 PM

Maybe he wanted to be on Hard Knocks.

Hard to argue on this one.

WMH · #11 09-03-2015, 09:36 AM

Ruling overturned, at least for now.

Should go away with game 1 kickoff....

Nconroe · #12 09-03-2015, 01:05 PM

Fwiw, I agree with the judge.
Goddell should let it go.

HPF Bob · #13 09-03-2015, 02:43 PM

I agree with the judge, technically, but I so want to see Belicheat and the Patriots not get away yet again with another infraction.

I don't see why the NFL doesn't just punish the Patriots the way they always punish the Texans - with phantom holding calls at critical moments of the game. Nothing is announced and nothing is admitted but let's see what happens if Brady gets kicked in the nuts like Schaub was and have nothing called.

barrett · #14 09-03-2015, 04:55 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by HPF Bob

I agree with the judge, technically, but I so want to see Belicheat and the Patriots not get away yet again with another infraction.

I don't see why the NFL doesn't just punish the Patriots the way they always punish the Texans - with phantom holding calls at critical moments of the game. Nothing is announced and nothing is admitted but let's see what happens if Brady gets kicked in the nuts like Schaub was and have nothing called.

Are you really whining about them getting away with it? The league rules call for a $25K fine for equipment tampering (what Minnesota and Carolina got for getting caught doctoring footballs on the sidelines last season, http://espn.go.com/blog/minnesota-vi...nthers-vikings ). Today, Brady's suspension was vacated, but as far as I know the Patriots are still rung up on a $1,000,000 fine and a loss of a 1st round draft pick.

It's jealous whining fans like you that result in this even being a story at all, let alone still being talked about in September. Were you maybe a voter in this poll back in May?

http://espn.go.com/nfl/story/_/id/12...ions-tom-brady

ESPN (which I am pretty sure is a subsidiary of the NFL) conducted a poll that shows %63 of fans think Brady and the Pats deserved their punishment. Interestingly, only %54 of the same fans believe Brady and the Patriots cheated. This means almost %10 of the football fans polled think the Patriots are not guilty but should still be punished. I am pretty sure that includes Bob.

HPF Bob · #15 09-03-2015, 11:04 PM

Thanks for putting words in my mouth. I think (warning: opinion) that the Patriots cheated but the NFL couldn't prove it. This isn't a court of law. The Black Sox were found not guilty (their signed confessions magically disappeared) in court but Judge Landis still gave the players lifetime bans.

Maybe with access to Brady's cellphone, the circumstantial case could be proven with a confirming text. But we'll never know. Not unless the NSA steps forward with proof.

So, yes, the Patriots get away with cheating again.

barrett · #16 09-04-2015, 12:16 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by HPF Bob

Thanks for putting words in my mouth. I think (warning: opinion) that the Patriots cheated but the NFL couldn't prove it. This isn't a court of law. The Black Sox were found not guilty (their signed confessions magically disappeared) in court but Judge Landis still gave the players lifetime bans.

Maybe with access to Brady's cellphone, the circumstantial case could be proven with a confirming text. But we'll never know. Not unless the NSA steps forward with proof.

So, yes, the Patriots get away with cheating again.

How dense are you Bob? They didn't get away with anything. They got fined a 1st and 4th round pick and fined $1,000,000. That is the opposite of getting away with something.

HPF Bob · #17 09-04-2015, 09:40 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by barrett

How dense are you Bob? They didn't get away with anything. They got fined a 1st and 4th round pick and fined $1,000,000. That is the opposite of getting away with something.

But all the Patriots care about is winning - at any cost.

Think they care about a big fine? They just went out and signed Reggie Wayne.

Think they care about losing draft picks? They'll just trade Garoppolo next winter and get them back.

Keeping Tom Brady for 16 games means a lot more to them than fines or draft picks. Yeah, they "got away with it". Belicheat and Brady are laughing their asses off.

Nconroe · #18 09-04-2015, 10:07 PM

Hate to get into this, but didnt they say only one ball was deflated out of 12, 11 balls deflated was misinformation.

And didnt Brady do better after halftime when balls were all inflated properly.

So lots of rhetoric over nothing.

Then the rules say 25k fine for messing with equipment so if your opinion right the fine is out of line.

Then this is the fifth discipline overturned by courts recently, so this is likely worse for league image than anything.

Of course there is even precedent for people destroying a phone and not being punished.

So mistake was made by nfl trying to entrap someone due to unproven speculation.

The case being appealed is about the nfl process so not even about deflated balls.

This year i think they are using calibrated guages, measuring each ball before game and halftime, and keeping in possession of nfl till needed. Things that in hindsightvshould havevalways been done.

barrett · #19 09-05-2015, 01:57 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by HPF Bob

But all the Patriots care about is winning - at any cost.

Think they care about a big fine? They just went out and signed Reggie Wayne.

Think they care about losing draft picks? They'll just trade Garoppolo next winter and get them back.

Keeping Tom Brady for 16 games means a lot more to them than fines or draft picks. Yeah, they "got away with it". Belicheat and Brady are laughing their asses off.

Do you truly think they are laughing about the loss of a 1st and 4th round pick? Nobody who knows anything about football could really think that.

HPF Bob · #20 09-06-2015, 12:52 AM

So, what was their punishment for Spygate, you may be asking?

Quote:

The Patriots were also fined $250,000, and stripped of their first-round selection in the 2008 NFL Draft;

So the Patriots have had to forfeit their #1 pick before yet they still returned to the Super Bowl. It hardly slowed them down. If they're missing out on the 30th best player in the draft, is it really such a hindrance?