Deflate Gate....Really?!?

[hatehabsforever]

I cannot believe that this nonsense is being discussed 5 days after the fact. The Patriots have been nothing short of a dynasty for over a decade now, yet every step of the way, someone is suggesting they are cheating or are trying to degrade their accomplishments. Two pounds per square inch difference in the footballs, in a game decided by 38 points? Give me a break. The Patriots won the game because they were the superior team playing with home field advantage. End of story.

 

[JGlass]

I don't think anybody is suggesting that the Patriots wouldn't have beaten the Colts without the help of deflated footballs. But who's to say that having some deflated balls or knowing their opponent's plays didn't change the outcome of a day or two? The Ravens, who came a lot closer to beating the Pats than the Colts did, also apparently suspected the Patriots of deflating the football. Maybe the Pats shouldn't have even been playing the Colts in the AFC Championship.

The Patriots are obviously a very talented team, but who's to say that some of their games weren't decided by their nefarious deeds?

 

[hatehabsforever]

The thing is, though, is that I cannot imagine 2 psi makes one iota of difference to the football. And the thing is, I was reading somewhere that the alleged under-inflated balls were discovered at halftime and replaced with regular balls. And in the second half, the Pats out scored the Colts 28-0. The score was 17-7 at halftime, still very much up for grabs. Perhaps the Colts would have been better served by leaving the under-inflated balls in play.

 

[Mighty NorCal]

2 PSI def makes a difference. They did it on purpose, and they were indeed cheating.


Makes the ball easier to grip, carry, and catch. So does wearing gloves. So give a shit


^^I sincerely mean that, btw.

 

[Torgo]

the Krabby Patties have pulled this shit before.

#1 IF they are so good they shouldnt have to cheat to win
#2 2 pounds makes a huge difference. If an old retired lineman can tell, then Brady can tell
#3 Brady and or Belichek should be suspended.

NFL needs to clamp down on cheaters. Sick of this garbage.

 

[Барбоса]

I would imagine that it could effect kicking the ball too.

Then again, from what my ill-educated eye saw in the two championship games, the Patriots are head shoulders above the others. The Packers/Seahawks was a very poor standard, although I cannot judge the Seahawks as poor judged on that one game.

 

[Poop Master Flex]

1) The is no proof the Pat's even deflated the balls in the Colts game, it's just been proven that the balls were deflated.

2) The ball pressure will not decide a game one way or another. Coming from someone who played football for 3 years the psi pressure of a football does not change the outcome. Plenty of NFL QB's have since come out saying how ridiculous this whole thing is because as they say, "you still have to play the game to win".

3) Considering I did play football I can say in all honesty you will work out the feel of the ball within 3-4 throws and catches, it doesn't take long. These guys are NFL players, something tells me they are used to playing with balls that are too hard/too soft and I'm sure they know how to compensate considering.

4) Numerous Colts players have come out and said they lost because they played a superior team.

5) Do you really want to see a team that just lost 45-7 in the Superbowl?

Most of all (and I mean most of all) you can't say the Patriots did anything wrong and you certainly can't suggest they won games because of some deflated balls because there is NO PROOF they did anything wrong. Even if this is 100% proven to be true who cares? The Colts lost 38-7 so they weren't winning, The Raven's were up by 2 TD's at 2 different points in the game and had ZERO issue throwing and catching that ball, from what I see there is no way in hell a softer ball won the Patriots those games and people really need to stop this conspiracy theory shit when it comes to NFL games.

- Detroit lost because they BLEW it, not because of a no call on Pass Interference. They played pussy football in the 2nd half and it cost them, plain and simple.

- Dallas lost because Green Bay was the better team (and it pains me to say so as I am a Cowboys fan). Even though I think Bryant caught that ball and the Cowboys would have scored it doesn't change the fact they couldn't get that ball back, it doesn't change the fact that Rodgers marched down that field and ran out the clock with ease anyways (which makes me think he would have scored even if the Cowboys went up with 4 minutes left), they lost because they lost. Sometimes you just have to admit other team played better than your team.

- The Colts lost because New England was a superior team in pretty much every way.

That's all it comes down to, especially in regards to Deflate Gate. It's just bullshit reasoning that people use to justify the fact that their team isn't the best. The Colts could have paid the each ref $1 million to fix the game and they still would have lost in convincing fashion.

 

[Mighty NorCal]

I continue to be lost on how people think the margin of victory has any bearing on wether its cheating or not.


The proof (or at least reasonable doubt) is that its not the first time a complaint has been made to the league about this particular issue regarding this particular team.

 

[Poop Master Flex]

Where I'm truly baffled in all this is how the hell didn't the refs ever catch this? They touch the ball literally EVERY play, if it was truly as bad as it's being made out to be then don't you think at least 1 ref would have noticed? You pick up the ball, you squeeze it a bit, if a ball is under inflated then it's not that difficult to tell, even if it is only 2 psi difference.

 

[Torgo]

- The Colts lost because New England was a superior team in pretty much every way.

That's all it comes down to, especially in regards to Deflate Gate. It's just bullshit reasoning that people use to justify the fact that their team isn't the best. The Colts could have paid the each ref $1 million to fix the game and they still would have lost in convincing fashion.

We all know the Colts would have lost. Their defense is awful.

Dont give me the "Well you're just mad" business. I mean, yeah. I'm a Bills fan, why shouldn't I be. But no, this is more. It doesn't matter if they won or not, the point is that they cheated.

The evidence is that 11 of 12 were under inflated (12th was a kickoff ball) and Colts' balls were fine. Hmm.

Pats' franchise is forever marred by their cheating ways. Accept it.

 

[Mighty NorCal]

They did catch it at halftime, when they took the time to really inspect them.


Lot of shit going on in the game, it was cold and wet, and they don't really touch them for very long, especially since the pats enjoy running a hurry-up

 

[George Steele's Barber]

If the league decides this is true and no one steps forward as the culprit then Belicheck should be suspended for the SB and all of next year. He should be fined $250,000. The team should be fined an additional $5m and lose their next two years of first and second round draft picks (OK, I thought that up in 39 seconds but the point is that the punishment should be stiff).

This is embarassing for the league.

 

[Mighty NorCal]

Pats' franchise is forever marred by their cheating ways. Accept it.

Only in the minds of idiots.

Soft balls don't catch themselves, throw themselves, or tackle the shit out of people. You said yourself the Colts' balls were fine....didn't stop the Pats from getting interceptions.

 

[Mighty NorCal]

If the league decides this is true and no one steps forward as the culprit then Belicheck should be suspended for the SB and all of next year. He should be fined $250,000. The team should be fined an additional $5m and lose their next two years of first and second round draft picks (OK, I thought that up in 39 seconds but the point is that the punishment should be stiff).

This is embarassing for the league.

Witch hunt stuff right here.


If there is no way to connect Belichek to it, then he is not complicit in it.


Lack of organizational control? Loss of say, half of a draft? I can roll with that. No need to chop peoples arms off though.

 

[Torgo]

I agree the balls being underinflated had no effect on the Colts completely bombing. BUT, the Patriots still cheated. Doesnt matter if they won or lost. Somehow, those balls got underinflated. That is against the rules.


Tommy is a pro quarterback, reluctantly one of the GOATs. He should know that a ball is underinflated.

 

[Poop Master Flex]

We all know the Colts would have lost. Their defense is awful.

Dont give me the "Well you're just mad" business. I mean, yeah. I'm a Bills fan, why shouldn't I be. But no, this is more. It doesn't matter if they won or not, the point is that they cheated.

The evidence is that 11 of 12 were under inflated (12th was a kickoff ball) and Colts' balls were fine. Hmm.

Pats' franchise is forever marred by their cheating ways. Accept it.

If they deflated the balls on purpose then they most certainly should be punished, I have no problem with that. My only problem comes when people actually suggest that it was the key to their success and that's just horseshit, they are just that fucking good and for people to suggest otherwise is asinine.

If they did something against the rules then punish them as such and move on. Fine Belicheck, suspend him for a few games, just don't act like his success is based on him being a cheater because nothing could be further from the truth.

 

[Poop Master Flex]

They did catch it at halftime, when they took the time to really inspect them.


Lot of shit going on in the game, it was cold and wet, and they don't really touch them for very long, especially since the pats enjoy running a hurry-up

If the refs caught it at halftime then why didn't they rectify this situation while the Colt's were still in the game? It only takes a few minutes to get those balls to regulation psi after all.

 

[George Steele's Barber]

Witch hunt stuff right here.


If there is no way to connect Belichek to it, then he is not complicit in it.


Lack of organizational control? Loss of say, half of a draft? I can roll with that. No need to chop peoples arms off though.

Assuming that the balls were intentionally deflated, I find it hard to believe that Belicheck didn't know anything. I find it harder to believe anyone in that organization would pull a stunt like ordering balls to be deflated or deflating balls without Belicheck's ok.

I'm picturing Belicheck in a sleeveless hoodie on the stand ala Jack Nicholson in a A Few Good Men - "Did you order the Code Shrink?", " You're God damn right I did!".


JGlass - you still want to make movies? Do this parody and put it on YouTube.

 

[hatehabsforever]

They did catch it at halftime, when they took the time to really inspect them.

If they didn't take the time to really inspect the balls until halftime, that's a knock at the NFL and their rules concerning the handling of the equipment, not the Patriots, or Brady, or Belichek. If it were such a big deal, they would have taken the time to inspect things in a more timely fashion.

And after the "problem" was detected and addressed, the Patriots went on an absolute tear, out scoring their opponents 28-0. So how much of an advantage were the alleged under-inflated balls in the first place?

Apparently, Joe Theismann was given a regularly inflated ball and an under-inflated one, and he was unable to tell the difference. And that was indoors, not factoring in the elements. And I would think he knows a thing or two about the feel of a football, and the significance it's degree of inflation would hold.

All I'm saying is, non-Patriot fans look for every excuse imaginable to detract from the accomplishments that this franchise have enjoyed for over a decade. And this is just more of the same nonsense.

 

[Lee]

 

[Torgo]

No one is saying that that was the key to the game. Colts played like a 9 year old touch team. But somehow, those balls got deflated. The rules state that tampering with a game ball is $25,000 fine PER ball, but this is a repeat offense for the Pats.

I will say this IS being blown up much more than necessary. At least we get funny pics from it..

Spoiler

 

[ScreaminNormanSmiley]

It is hard to believe a control freak like Belichek has no idea what's going on with his team and crew. And while of course the Patriots would have won that game, can you really blame people for discussing the fact that they did cheat, and who is to say that is the only game they have done it? This is an organization that has been caught cheating already this era and proved it was willing to do it again. If the punishment is not severe there is no reason for them to stop and it will keep happening.

 

[ScreaminNormanSmiley]

All I'm saying is, non-Patriot fans look for every excuse imaginable to detract from the accomplishments that this franchise have enjoyed for over a decade. And this is just more of the same nonsense.

Yes, and a Patriot fan has no reason to brush it aside and just talk about how they won a lot of games. Of course they had a lot of success, but that doesn't excuse repeated underhanded tactics.

 

[Lee]

You know the trope in movies where there's a silent character and then towards the end he makes an impassioned speech? Yeah this was it:

It is hard to believe a control freak like Belichek has no idea what's going on with his team and crew. And while of course the Patriots would have won that game, can you really blame people for discussing the fact that they did cheat, and who is to say that is the only game they have done it? This is an organization that has been caught cheating already this era and proved it was willing to do it again. If the punishment is not severe there is no reason for them to stop and it will keep happening.

 

[Poop Master Flex]

No one is saying that that was the key to the game. Colts played like a 9 year old touch team. But somehow, those balls got deflated. The rules state that tampering with a game ball is $25,000 fine PER ball, but this is a repeat offense for the Pats.

I will say this IS being blown up much more than necessary. At least we get funny pics from it..

Spoiler

I've seen a ton of people discredit New England's success saying they only got where they were because of cheating, I know you aren't saying that but quite a few are.

All in all it still has to be proven that the balls were tampered with, on top of that, it has to be proven Belichick had any knowledge in regards to it. 11 balls were deflated even though they passed inspection 2 Hours before the game, somewhere in those 2 Hours it has to be visually proven that someone from the Pats organization tampered with the balls so what's the point of shitting on them until they're found guilty?

It wouldn't surprise me at all if it came out Belichick did something to those balls, it really wouldn't but this seems like a real dumb thing for so many people to harp on. All I got to say is if Belichick is guilty, and the refs knew those balls were deflated at half time then the refs punishment should be much more severe than whatever Belichick gets in my eyes.