Datsun1500 wrote: So now it has been determined that New England cheated, why do they still get to advance? That only tells people thst theres no real penalty for cheating.
Didn't both teams play with said underinflated ball?
Datsun1500 wrote: So now it has been determined that New England cheated, why do they still get to advance? That only tells people thst theres no real penalty for cheating.
Didn't both teams play with said underinflated ball?
Datsun1500 wrote: So now it has been determined that New England cheated, why do they still get to advance? That only tells people thst theres no real penalty for cheating.
It's not cheating unless they did it deliberately. Considering the ref inspects the balls 2 hours before the game, and then they sit with the ball boys and not the teams, how or why would they even do it? Not to mention both teams play with the same balls. 2 psi could easily be lost just by temperature and pressure changes.
I though the home team supplied all the balls for the game. Otherwise, the visiting team if things are not going their way just might take their balls and go home.
Let's say New England was cheating, the NFL will add a arbitrary law in the future, it's not like they are going to ban New England, heck they caught them cheating before and did pretty much nothing. I think that is why the College coaches that cheat run to the NFL, because they are so lenient when it comes to cheating. Maybe they should change it to the cheater bowl rather then the super bowl this year 
"You mad bro?"
Interesting. I didn't realize that each team used their own balls. So, were the Pasties balls properly inflated for the 2nd half? Seems like if the refs figured out that they were under inflated at the half, then they should've been properly inflated for the second half, yet the article says that is still an unknown.
If only this were Bellicheck's forecast for today....
I'm not sure where you guys are getting that both teams bring their own balls.
Taken directly from the NFL rulebook:
Da Rulez, y0 said: The home club shall have 36 balls for outdoor games and 24 for indoor games available for testing with a pressure gauge by the referee two hours prior to the starting time of the game to meet with League requirements. Twelve (12) new footballs, sealed in a special box and shipped by the manufacturer, will be opened in the officials’ locker room two hours prior to the starting time of the game. These balls are to be specially marked with the letter "k" and used exclusively for the kicking game.
Why would this be a problem, if the Colts had the same "advantage?" If the ball acts differently than they're used to, it's not an advantage at all. It's a sabotage.
Datsun1500 wrote: In reply to Chris_V: No. Each team brings 12 balls and uses those.
That's not right. The defensive starters bring 22 alone*.
*does not account for any childhood bicycle accidents.
It's not like it would have made a difference anyway. The Patriots steamrolled the Colts
In reply to Datsun1500:
They cheat all the time. Offsides, holding, pass interference, face mask, etc.
A better question would be how many yards they should get.
Datsun1500 wrote: Cheating is cheating, and they should be forced to forfeit that game.
I think forfeit or Ban Belchicky from the Stupid Bowl.. He's been caught cheating more than once, the punishment should fall on him hardest.
fritzsch wrote: It's not like it would have made a difference anyway. The Patriots steamrolled the Colts
Exactly. The Patriots could have been using Nerf footballs and it wouldn't have mattered.
So why would they cheat? That's the part that doesn't make much sense.
But if the pressure of the balls was okay before the game (it was), then the decision was not made before the game. It was made during. And I dunno about you, but that score didn't surprise me 
In reply to Keith Tanner:
I knew that was coming as soon as I saw 45* and raining......
Tire pressure typically drops 1 PSI/ 10° drop in ambient temperature.
I haven't heard details of the inspection process but say the footballs were inspected while warm(er), of course they'd lose some pressure at playing field temps. Wasn't exactly balmy that day. Two PSI might be a stretch tho.
just my .02
In reply to Datsun1500:
Apparently if the cheater really won by a bunch such that it's obvious they were better then no problem with a little cheatsies.
What I find curious about this whole thing is that each team gets their own balls. What's the purpose of that? It's just asking for tampering. The best way to avoid all this fracas in the future is easy: everyone uses the same balls.
In reply to Keith Tanner:
Apparently the quarterbacks all like a different ball. And football as an establishment is ok with that
Weird. It's like letting the pitcher bring his own balls to an MLB game. Unless they do that...
In reply to Keith Tanner:
No. No they don't.
I wish the Patriots had deflated Blount a little bit. Man, the Colts defenders couldn't get a grip on him. That was hard to watch. I'm a little miffed that it was Bob Kravitz (former Indianapolis start columnist) that broke this story. Now it looks like Indy is whining again about the big bad Patriots. Kravitz was on Levitard last night and said that Belichick should be fired or suspended from the Superbowl. That was entertaining.
I can see lowering the pressure in the balls to the minimum allowable for those conditions, but you need to be careful not to go below the minimum. I have no idea what the punishment should be. Kravitz said that the Colts D-back that had the interception noticed it.
The more that comes out, the more it looks like the deflatriots out and out cheated. To answer the question as to why they would do this for this game, I can only surmise that they've been doing it all season. Brady says he likes a softer ball. Equipment guy makes sure he is happy. Probably been going on for a long time.
T.J. wrote: To answer the question as to why they would do this for this game, I can only surmise that they've been doing it all season. Brady says he likes a softer ball. Equipment guy makes sure he is happy. Probably been going on for a long time.
That's a very plausible theory.
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