Posted on 01/23/2015 8:16:00 AM PST by canuck_conservative
Patriots defenders constantly make the point that deflated balls were not a big deal last Sunday, because the Pats won so convincingly over Indy. Maybe. But what about the Ravens game a week earlier? That one WAS close - 35-31. Does anyone really think the Pats weren't pulling their under-inflation tricks then, that it just started last week? Other teams raised the issue back in November, so it's reasonable to assume it's been going on since at least then.
One thing really bothered me about the Brady presser yesterday -
“Is Tom Brady a cheater?”
“I don’t believe so,” Brady said. “I feel like I’ve always played within the rules, I would never do anything to break the rules. I believe in fair play and I respect the league and everything that they’re doing to try to create a very competitive playing field for all the NFL teams.”
Notice the wimpy, defensive answer? Wouldn't someone truly innocent have responded with a forceful "Hell No!" or "Absolutely not!" ?
Just spot the Seahawks 21 points at the start of the Superbowl and be done with it.
They’ll need it.
Whether the Patriots won by one point or fifty is not the issue. Honesty is the issue, and this seems to be in short supply in Foxboro.
Does this really require its own thread?
Everybody speeds but when you get pulled over, it’s still against the law.
I love that he says “I believe in fair play”... .
Oh really? Like you had no knowledge of “SpyGate”? Like your team is really the poster child for playing within the rules.
What a bunch of bullshit.
Yawn. It’s just a media/NFL trick to hype the SB.
Other teams raised the issue back in November, so it’s reasonable to assume it’s been going on since at least then.
The NFL didn’t see fit to do anything about it.
Kind of late now...
This argument makes no sense. They seem to be saying that cheating is ok if after the fact it's determined that you would have probably won anyway. If someone gets found at a poker table with a ace up their sleeve it really doesn't matter than their pair of nines would have beaten the opponants pair of sevens. That cheater would get pummeled (or possibly worse)and rightfully so. If the Pats get away with this then NFL football has absolutely no credibility anymore - it will have become the equivilent of pro wrestling.
“equivilent of pro wrestling”
It crossed that Rubicon a while back.
“Whether the Patriots won by one point or fifty is not the issue.”
Exactly. Pointing to margin of victory is only sidestepping the real issue.
The Patriots threw and completed short passes. Their only long pass in the first half was a short catch and run. The one time Indy tried short routes on a drive was the one they scored on. The Patriots actually threw somewhat better and longer in the second half after the balls were reinflated.
The only one who seems to be gaining from this is the NFL, whose officials and calls are no longer the story. This is the same NFL that had control of the footballs until 5-10 minutes before the game when they are given to the ball boys (also paid by the NFL). If the ball boy deflated those footballs on camera on the most watched sideline in football, he should get a job as a stage magician.
Clinton-esque................
A better question is:
What difference does it make?
Yes, I am quoting Shrillary. But in this case, it really is irrelevant.
Someone posted an article earlier, noting that the media has spent HOURS on this trivial issue, but barely a minute on Obama releasing more terrorists from Gitmo.
It’s a proven fact that these guys are rejoining the war, and putting American lives at risk. If a Republican governor released an accused murderer that killed again, what do you think would happen?
I liked Rush Limbaugh’s take on this controversy. If the American people spent one tenth as much effort worrying about honesty and fair play in government as they do on some silly football game this would be a much better place.
i thought the same thing... when my sons answer me in such a way, i know they are lying... hiding something... the words "believe" and "feel" and even the word "think" are part of calculated speak... he carefully measured his words... he is a liar...
What I don’t understand is why this rule exists at all. Football is a very tough game for those who play it. I’ve heard that some quarterbacks like the ball very hard (Aaron Rodgers) and some like it softer. Usually, when there’s a rule, there’s a reason for it.
For example, interference calls are sometimes difficult to interpret, but the reason they are there is pretty obvious. Similarly with helmet spearing rules—although sometimes it’s hard to tell if it was intentional or not. With this... aside from a decision to standardize... I don’t understand the rule. If Aaron Rodgers wants his balls at 15 or 20 psi, why not let him? Same for Brady the other way.
I’d like to hear the reason, aside from the fact that “it has to be standardized.” Then I’d know how upset to be about deviations from the rule.
I am not at all certain about the facts. What were the actual observations and by whom, and under what circumstances that support the assertion that 11 of 12 balls were “significantly” underinflated?
Since the “officials” corrected the situation at half time, no more physical evidence exists to definitively establish the facts. (It’s as if a CSI team had gone in and cleaned up the crime scene, without taking any samples or photographs, and then went into court and testified that there was blood all over the place.) Still, if the officials had corrected the situation at half time, why was the ball taken out of play prior to the first snap of the second half?
I’ve heard all the innuendo, I just don’t know what the evidence is.
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