#DeflateGate (Court of Appeals Reinstates Suspension)

[Smitty77]

this story is really a full-blown witch hunt.
rodgers says he over-inflates footballs and it's seen as funny, a joke. guys put sticky stuff on their gloves, no-one cares. the colts crank up the temps in their building so that the opposing team has cramps, no-one cares. vikings are cooking their football in an oven, no penalty. colts crank up fake noise over the loudspeakers, pats fans aren't whining. the dolphins are stealing the pats signs, no big issue. guys take PEDs all the time, no-one is calling for a team to lose draft picks. brad johnson says he paid off the ball boys at the super bowl to doctor the balls and it receives zero mention from the national media.
there's a million things going on in this sport that aren't completely on the level. opposing football teams usually keep their mouths shut publicly, because they don't want to be the next ones getting nailed. the "crime" here is only important because of the team involved.
the fans and media have hyped this up, largely due to their hatred of belichick.
and BB is certainly not innocent here; the NFL likely warned him after the incident with the colts earlier this season, and he wen ahead and continued doing it anyways. he is unyielding, which can be a strength but in this case has led to embarrassment.
BB should probably face some punishment just for defying the warnings of league. but as a whole to suggest this is some sort of legitimate competitive advantage for the pats is sour grapes at best, this is laughable as far as controversies go.

There will be NO need for sour grapes because Russell Wilson and the Seahawks are going destroy the N.E. CHEATERS!!!!!!  Mark it down.  When was the last time the CHEATERS won it all???

[rondohondo]

this story is really a full-blown witch hunt.
rodgers says he over-inflates footballs and it's seen as funny, a joke. guys put sticky stuff on their gloves, no-one cares. the colts crank up the temps in their building so that the opposing team has cramps, no-one cares. vikings are cooking their football in an oven, no penalty. colts crank up fake noise over the loudspeakers, pats fans aren't whining. the dolphins are stealing the pats signs, no big issue. guys take PEDs all the time, no-one is calling for a team to lose draft picks. brad johnson says he paid off the ball boys at the super bowl to doctor the balls and it receives zero mention from the national media.
there's a million things going on in this sport that aren't completely on the level. opposing football teams usually keep their mouths shut publicly, because they don't want to be the next ones getting nailed. the "crime" here is only important because of the team involved.
the fans and media have hyped this up, largely due to their hatred of belichick.
and BB is certainly not innocent here; the NFL likely warned him after the incident with the colts earlier this season, and he wen ahead and continued doing it anyways. he is unyielding, which can be a strength but in this case has led to embarrassment.
BB should probably face some punishment just for defying the warnings of league. but as a whole to suggest this is some sort of legitimate competitive advantage for the pats is sour grapes at best, this is laughable as far as controversies go.

There will be NO need for sour grapes because Russell Wilson and the Seahawks are going destroy the N.E. CHEATERS!!!!!!  Mark it down.  When was the last time the CHEATERS won it all???

Russel Wilson and the Legion of PED users you mean ?    ( not to say the Pats don't have any PED users , seee Browner who came from Seattle  )

When people saw Seahawks star Richard Sherman's crazed rant after Seattle's victory over the 49ers on January 19, many probably wondered, "What is he on?" Turns out Sherman has been accused of using performance-enhancing drugs, but his suspension was nixed on appeal. Plenty of his teammates haven't been as lucky, though: The other six Seahawks charged with PED gobbling have been suspended, including a number who'll be playing in Sunday's Super Bowl. Meet them below, complete with photos and memes highlighting Seattle's pill-popping rep.

http://blogs.westword.com/latestword/2014/01/seahawks_performance_enhancing_drugs_peds.php

[EJPLAYA]

There is zero evidence because there is zero evidence, I don't know how to explain it better. "The balls were irregular at halftime therefore the Patriots tampered with them" is not evidence, it is conjecture.

Of course it's evidence.

Refs check the balls for both teams.  Both comply.  Pats are in charge of Patriots balls afterwards; Colts are in control of Colts balls.  At halftime, refs check the balls of both teams.  Colts still comply, Patriots 90%+ not in compliance, to a significant degree.

Is there any other reasonable explanation?  Circumstantial evidence is evidence, and it all points at the Pats.

First of all, the officials are in charge of the balls afterwards. No-one has yet answered when the Pats equipment personnel received the balls -- although indications are that this customarily happens immediately before kickoff. There were 47(!) TV cameras at Gilette that night and god knows how many fans with cellphones, and I'm still waiting for footage of the Pats ball boy letting air out of TB's footballs.

Second, the only thing that the book explicitly prohibits is tampering with the footballs after they're approved for play. It makes no prescriptions about how teams should treat their balls prior to presenting them for inspection, and clearly points at the officiating crew as the sole authority of whether a ball is fit for play. There are things you can do prior to presenting balls for inspection to make sure a football loses some pressure before game time without tampering with it the way everyone seems to suggest. It's not against the rules, and if an official deems a ball unfit for play they can remove it at any time.

TP.  this, to me, nails it right on the head.

Isn't it Belicheck's job to find competitive advantages and exploit them? 
Is this any different than a really good tax accountant-- find the loophole in the tax code and exploit an advantage?

I mean, look at that rule.  They don't say anything about Temp change or how a team can or cannot prepare their footballs.  Technically, the whole thing should be moot because the NFL doesn't even get the metric for air density right...  That's a loophole you can drive a truck through... 

Gamesmanship? 
Sure. 

Illegal? 
Not according to the NFL's rulebook.

Only a Pats fan would say cheating is "gaining a competitive advantage". Of course with their coaches history and actions they really have no choice. Sad what society has come to. What are we teaching our kids?!

[Smokeeye123]

Just a thought but if someone was to take a needle to the balls immediatly before the inspection then it would still be legal correct? The tampering would of been done before the refs inspected it...A very shady loophole, but legal.

[Cman]

Okay.
I read the SI hack piece and found it annoying. Now David Flemming ESPN has his own hack piece:
http://espn.go.com/nfl/playoffs/2014/story/_/id/12206633/when-bill-belichick-others-caught-cheating-deflating-all-flem-file?ex_cid=espnapi_public

I stopped reading at :

"There have been so many bizarre scandals with this franchise, moving forward we should just start referring to them as the New England Gatetriots."

By "so many", I assume he is referring to one, ie: Spygate, and the *possibility* - and lets just be clear that it is still a possibility  - that Deflategate is a scandal? When did "one or two" become "so many"??

Sorry, I can't read anymore. What passes for journalism these days is shameful, lame, and insulting to readers.

[Cman]

There is zero evidence because there is zero evidence, I don't know how to explain it better. "The balls were irregular at halftime therefore the Patriots tampered with them" is not evidence, it is conjecture.

Of course it's evidence.

Refs check the balls for both teams.  Both comply.  Pats are in charge of Patriots balls afterwards; Colts are in control of Colts balls.  At halftime, refs check the balls of both teams.  Colts still comply, Patriots 90%+ not in compliance, to a significant degree.

Is there any other reasonable explanation?  Circumstantial evidence is evidence, and it all points at the Pats.

First of all, the officials are in charge of the balls afterwards. No-one has yet answered when the Pats equipment personnel received the balls -- although indications are that this customarily happens immediately before kickoff. There were 47(!) TV cameras at Gilette that night and god knows how many fans with cellphones, and I'm still waiting for footage of the Pats ball boy letting air out of TB's footballs.

Second, the only thing that the book explicitly prohibits is tampering with the footballs after they're approved for play. It makes no prescriptions about how teams should treat their balls prior to presenting them for inspection, and clearly points at the officiating crew as the sole authority of whether a ball is fit for play. There are things you can do prior to presenting balls for inspection to make sure a football loses some pressure before game time without tampering with it the way everyone seems to suggest. It's not against the rules, and if an official deems a ball unfit for play they can remove it at any time.

TP.  this, to me, nails it right on the head.

Isn't it Belicheck's job to find competitive advantages and exploit them? 
Is this any different than a really good tax accountant-- find the loophole in the tax code and exploit an advantage?

I mean, look at that rule.  They don't say anything about Temp change or how a team can or cannot prepare their footballs.  Technically, the whole thing should be moot because the NFL doesn't even get the metric for air density right...  That's a loophole you can drive a truck through... 

Gamesmanship? 
Sure. 

Illegal? 
Not according to the NFL's rulebook.

Only a Pats fan would say cheating is "gaining a competitive advantage". Of course with their coaches history and actions they really have no choice. Sad what society has come to. What are we teaching our kids?!

When did you get such a chip on your shoulder against the Pats?

[jambr380]

I am just happy and honored to be a Patriots fan. We have been spoiled for so many years with such an amazing franchise that all of this jealousy and animosity just reminds me of what we actually have. When you can't beat 'em, just accuse them of cheating.

Belichick and Brady 4-EVA!

[kozlodoev]

There is zero evidence because there is zero evidence, I don't know how to explain it better. "The balls were irregular at halftime therefore the Patriots tampered with them" is not evidence, it is conjecture.

Of course it's evidence.

Refs check the balls for both teams.  Both comply.  Pats are in charge of Patriots balls afterwards; Colts are in control of Colts balls.  At halftime, refs check the balls of both teams.  Colts still comply, Patriots 90%+ not in compliance, to a significant degree.

Is there any other reasonable explanation?  Circumstantial evidence is evidence, and it all points at the Pats.

First of all, the officials are in charge of the balls afterwards. No-one has yet answered when the Pats equipment personnel received the balls -- although indications are that this customarily happens immediately before kickoff. There were 47(!) TV cameras at Gilette that night and god knows how many fans with cellphones, and I'm still waiting for footage of the Pats ball boy letting air out of TB's footballs.

Second, the only thing that the book explicitly prohibits is tampering with the footballs after they're approved for play. It makes no prescriptions about how teams should treat their balls prior to presenting them for inspection, and clearly points at the officiating crew as the sole authority of whether a ball is fit for play. There are things you can do prior to presenting balls for inspection to make sure a football loses some pressure before game time without tampering with it the way everyone seems to suggest. It's not against the rules, and if an official deems a ball unfit for play they can remove it at any time.

TP.  this, to me, nails it right on the head.

Isn't it Belicheck's job to find competitive advantages and exploit them? 
Is this any different than a really good tax accountant-- find the loophole in the tax code and exploit an advantage?

I mean, look at that rule.  They don't say anything about Temp change or how a team can or cannot prepare their footballs.  Technically, the whole thing should be moot because the NFL doesn't even get the metric for air density right...  That's a loophole you can drive a truck through... 

Gamesmanship? 
Sure. 

Illegal? 
Not according to the NFL's rulebook.

Only a Pats fan would say cheating is "gaining a competitive advantage". Of course with their coaches history and actions they really have no choice. Sad what society has come to. What are we teaching our kids?!

And only a loudmouth hater would say that something that isn't against the rules is "cheating".

[crownontherocks]

Rumor from @seniorbowl (don't know if true), small group of team exec's saying Patriots will lose 2nd Rd Pick for "deflated ball scandal."

RUSSLANDE

[EJPLAYA]

I am just happy and honored to be a Patriots fan. We have been spoiled for so many years with such an amazing franchise that all of this jealousy and animosity just reminds me of what we actually have. When you can't beat 'em, just accuse them of cheating.

Belichick and Brady 4-EVA!

There is zero evidence because there is zero evidence, I don't know how to explain it better. "The balls were irregular at halftime therefore the Patriots tampered with them" is not evidence, it is conjecture.

Of course it's evidence.

Refs check the balls for both teams.  Both comply.  Pats are in charge of Patriots balls afterwards; Colts are in control of Colts balls.  At halftime, refs check the balls of both teams.  Colts still comply, Patriots 90%+ not in compliance, to a significant degree.

Is there any other reasonable explanation?  Circumstantial evidence is evidence, and it all points at the Pats.

First of all, the officials are in charge of the balls afterwards. No-one has yet answered when the Pats equipment personnel received the balls -- although indications are that this customarily happens immediately before kickoff. There were 47(!) TV cameras at Gilette that night and god knows how many fans with cellphones, and I'm still waiting for footage of the Pats ball boy letting air out of TB's footballs.

Second, the only thing that the book explicitly prohibits is tampering with the footballs after they're approved for play. It makes no prescriptions about how teams should treat their balls prior to presenting them for inspection, and clearly points at the officiating crew as the sole authority of whether a ball is fit for play. There are things you can do prior to presenting balls for inspection to make sure a football loses some pressure before game time without tampering with it the way everyone seems to suggest. It's not against the rules, and if an official deems a ball unfit for play they can remove it at any time.

TP.  this, to me, nails it right on the head.

Isn't it Belicheck's job to find competitive advantages and exploit them? 
Is this any different than a really good tax accountant-- find the loophole in the tax code and exploit an advantage?

I mean, look at that rule.  They don't say anything about Temp change or how a team can or cannot prepare their footballs.  Technically, the whole thing should be moot because the NFL doesn't even get the metric for air density right...  That's a loophole you can drive a truck through... 

Gamesmanship? 
Sure. 

Illegal? 
Not according to the NFL's rulebook.

Only a Pats fan would say cheating is "gaining a competitive advantage". Of course with their coaches history and actions they really have no choice. Sad what society has come to. What are we teaching our kids?!

And only a loudmouth hater would say that something that isn't against the rules is "cheating".

So it's not against the rules but the nfl is going to punish them for breaking the rules... YES taking the balls and removing air 2 lbs below the legal amount after the refs have checked them is against the rules. Keep rationalizing and break forum rules with personal insults. Right from the school of Bellicheat.

[LooseCannon]

guys put sticky stuff on their gloves

Stickum and similar substances were banned under the Lester Hayes rule.  Gloves can't have adhesives but can have "tackified" surfaces.

In 2012, the Chargers cleared of wrongdoing when suspected of using towels with an adhesive substance but were fined 20K for failing to hand over towels when requested by officials.

[kozlodoev]

So it's not against the rules but the nfl is going to punish them for breaking the rules... YES taking the balls and removing air 2 lbs below the legal amount after the refs have checked them is against the rules. Keep rationalizing and break forum rules with personal insults. Right from the school of Bellicheat.

As long as you can prove conclusively that this is exactly what happened, I'm with you. Sadly, so far we've seen absolutely no evidence anyone has "removed air" from the footballs, and I've given you at least one other plausible scenario where the same result can be achieved without tampering with the balls illegally. But of course "Bellicheat" must have cheated, because he's "Bellicheat". That's the type of logic of the modern Internet man.

[KeepRondo]

There is zero evidence because there is zero evidence, I don't know how to explain it better. "The balls were irregular at halftime therefore the Patriots tampered with them" is not evidence, it is conjecture.

Of course it's evidence.

Refs check the balls for both teams.  Both comply.  Pats are in charge of Patriots balls afterwards; Colts are in control of Colts balls.  At halftime, refs check the balls of both teams.  Colts still comply, Patriots 90%+ not in compliance, to a significant degree.

Is there any other reasonable explanation?  Circumstantial evidence is evidence, and it all points at the Pats.

First of all, the officials are in charge of the balls afterwards. No-one has yet answered when the Pats equipment personnel received the balls -- although indications are that this customarily happens immediately before kickoff. There were 47(!) TV cameras at Gilette that night and god knows how many fans with cellphones, and I'm still waiting for footage of the Pats ball boy letting air out of TB's footballs.

Second, the only thing that the book explicitly prohibits is tampering with the footballs after they're approved for play. It makes no prescriptions about how teams should treat their balls prior to presenting them for inspection, and clearly points at the officiating crew as the sole authority of whether a ball is fit for play. There are things you can do prior to presenting balls for inspection to make sure a football loses some pressure before game time without tampering with it the way everyone seems to suggest. It's not against the rules, and if an official deems a ball unfit for play they can remove it at any time.

TP.  this, to me, nails it right on the head.

Isn't it Belicheck's job to find competitive advantages and exploit them? 
Is this any different than a really good tax accountant-- find the loophole in the tax code and exploit an advantage?

I mean, look at that rule.  They don't say anything about Temp change or how a team can or cannot prepare their footballs.  Technically, the whole thing should be moot because the NFL doesn't even get the metric for air density right...  That's a loophole you can drive a truck through... 

Gamesmanship? 
Sure. 

Illegal? 
Not according to the NFL's rulebook.

Only a Pats fan would say cheating is "gaining a competitive advantage". Of course with their coaches history and actions they really have no choice. Sad what society has come to. What are we teaching our kids?!

lol chill out. Teach your own kid what you want. Don't rely on a football league for that.

Haha

[LooseCannon]

Let's ignore the question of whether or not the Patriots actually did anything and ask this hypothetical question:

Assume that a team made an intentional effort to change the pressure in footballs after they have been checked.  (I'm not sure why people are assuming that would have to mean someone sneaked in with a needle to tamper with each ball individually and not something like trading one sack of balls for another.)  What should be the penalty?

Ideally, your answer should be the same as it would be if Ballghazi had never come up, but let's be honest, that's not going to be true for everyone.

[KeepRondo]

this story is really a full-blown witch hunt.
rodgers says he over-inflates footballs and it's seen as funny, a joke. guys put sticky stuff on their gloves, no-one cares. the colts crank up the temps in their building so that the opposing team has cramps, no-one cares. vikings are cooking their football in an oven, no penalty. colts crank up fake noise over the loudspeakers, pats fans aren't whining. the dolphins are stealing the pats signs, no big issue. guys take PEDs all the time, no-one is calling for a team to lose draft picks. brad johnson says he paid off the ball boys at the super bowl to doctor the balls and it receives zero mention from the national media.
there's a million things going on in this sport that aren't completely on the level. opposing football teams usually keep their mouths shut publicly, because they don't want to be the next ones getting nailed. the "crime" here is only important because of the team involved.
the fans and media have hyped this up, largely due to their hatred of belichick.
and BB is certainly not innocent here; the NFL likely warned him after the incident with the colts earlier this season, and he wen ahead and continued doing it anyways. he is unyielding, which can be a strength but in this case has led to embarrassment.
BB should probably face some punishment just for defying the warnings of league. but as a whole to suggest this is some sort of legitimate competitive advantage for the pats is sour grapes at best, this is laughable as far as controversies go.

There will be NO need for sour grapes because Russell Wilson and the Seahawks are going destroy the N.E. CHEATERS!!!!!!  Mark it down.  When was the last time the CHEATERS won it all???

lol stop being a hater.

Btw... who's your team?