The NFL found 11 of the Patriots' 12 footballs were under-inflated by 2 pounds of air (PSI)

bostonherald.com ^ | Jan 21, 2015 | Jeff Howe

[Boston Blackie]

The NFL is investigating whether the Patriots deflated footballs that were used in their AFC championship game victory over the Colts.

[Sir Napsalot]

Watch, if it hasn’t already happened. There’ll be those worshippers (including pundits/analysts) continue to give excuse for their beloved Patriots.

“Score showed it didn’t matter” etc etc

[McGruff]

Sore Losers. Your point about the officials being the first and last ones to touch the football is key.

[Travis McGee]

What is the correct inflation pressure?

Is 2 psi low 1%, 10%, or 50%?

[Fresh Wind]

keep in mind, if you inflated the balls to 13 psi in a very warm room (90F ?)... then brought them outside to 20F.. they would deflate a bit

Exactly. That's what tires do, same would apply to footballs.

[Girlene]

From a different source: NFL finds Patriots used underinflated footballs

.................."According to a National Football League letter about the investigation into the controversy that was shared with the Globe, the Patriots were informed that the league’s initial findings indicated that the game balls did not meet specifications. The league inspected each of the Patriots’ 12 game balls twice at halftime, using different pressure gauges, and found footballs that were not properly inflated.

According to ESPN, 11 of the 12 game balls were found to be underinflated by about 2 pounds each. The NFL specifications say they must be inflated to 12½ to 13½ pounds. ".................

So makes you wonder what was wrong with their initial guage and who provided that guage to the ref's. Your question about why the officials didn't notice this during the games is a good one. The only way it was found out was when a Colts player handled the Patriots' ball during an interception.

[Boston Blackie]

Minimum allowable psi is 12.5. It has been reported that 11 footballs were 2 psi below the minimum and that would be 16% variance.

[Duckdog]

My thought too. People are looking at that more that F&F, open borders, Bengazie(SP), IRS and about a million other thing this jacka$$ in the white house has done and will continue to do to this contry!

[Fresh Wind]

NFL rules state 12.5 to 13.5 psi is the allowable range.

[Joe 6-pack]

Ok...then why was the 12th, properly inflated ball not affected?

[biff]

2/13=15.3%

[Girlene]

Correct pressure is 12 1/2 to 13 1/2 psi. If they were all at least 2 psi under (or 10 1/2 psi) that’s 23% under the average pressure of 13 psi. So if it’s only 3/4’s of the regulation pressure, I would expect the ref’s to notice it.

[WayneS]

12.5 psi to 13.5 psi is the specified pressure range.

A 2 psi deficiency (10.5 psi) would be quite noticeable by anyone handling the ball, including the game officials.

"The Referee shall be the sole judge as to whether all balls offered for play comply with these specifications. A pump is to be furnished by the home club, and the balls shall remain under the supervision of the Referee until they are delivered to the ball attendant just prior to the start of the game."

A game official handles the football immediately prior to each play. If there was a problem, it could and should have addressed it before or during the game.

[Girlene]

Whoops, did my math wrong. 10.5 psi ball is 19% below average pressure of 13 psi ball.

[matginzac]

Whoa, the Seahawks are big shillers for O’bozocare and Pete Carrol is a known cheater, scumbag and lib....no shining light there...

[CAluvdubya]

keep in mind, if you inflated the balls to 13 psi in a very warm room (90F ?)... then brought them outside to 20F.. they would deflate a bit

I wondered about that. Makes sense.

[grania]

Who knows how it will turn out. It sure will be entertaining

Is the NFL ever going to change ANYTHING before they have a full-blown crisis to confront?

[DainBramage]

One ball is for the kickers.

[lepton]

actually, in the spygate thing, what was proved was that he was literate...and that the commissioner didn’t like that.

[Fresh Wind]

Cheating’s OK as long as it isn’t noticed until it’s too late to do anything about it. /s

[9YearLurker]

Yeah, but the legal minimum is 12.5, so they were 16% below the level allowed. Sounds like it’s a pretty common thing for QBs to try to sneak the same past the refs, however, and more QBs are supposed to like their balls under-, rather than over-, inflated. Also, the balls lose pressure in the cold and this is January, so they’re probably used to balls at or below 12.5 before they’re taken out to the cold, so the difference may not have been that great.