Posted on 01/21/2015 7:44:52 PM PST by randita
The Patriots’ run to the Super Bowl has turned into an episode of “Law & Order.” And three days into Deflategate, it is becoming increasingly clear that the “law” was broken.
Now the tricky part: Figuring out the appropriate punishment.
The NFL’s investigation into the Patriots using under-inflated footballs in Sunday night’s AFC Championship is still ongoing. The league has said very little about the investigation or the timetable for its conclusion. The NFL sent a letter to the Patriots on Monday informing them that the league concluded that under-inflated footballs were used on Sunday. The investigation is now centered on how this could have happened.
We don’t need official word from the NFL to know it’s not looking good for the Patriots right now.
We know the Patriots’ footballs weren’t fully inflated when tested by officials at halftime. We know it wasn’t cold enough (51 degrees at kickoff) for the balls to deflate by almost 20 percent on their own. Pro Football Talk reported Tuesday that the officials tested the balls properly before the game. WEEI reported that the officials removed the faulty footballs at halftime and replaced them with properly inflated backup footballs. ESPN’s Chris Mortensen reported that the Colts noticed the under-inflation in the teams’ Nov. 16 matchup and alerted the officials to it before Sunday’s game.
(Excerpt) Read more at bostonglobe.com ...
Someone seriously tries to do something about inflation and this is the thanks they get.
Worse than knocking your wife out in the elevator??
I think the Seahawks will have to strip search the Pats prior to the game.
How about a 21 point penalty - yeah that works...
make them produce genuine American birth certificates!?
"But the most important thing — the Patriot legacy — is lost. The Patriots and their fans will never win the “best ever” argument. Everything is tainted. Footballs (reportedly) have been doctored, headlines have been written, and opinions have been formed.
Locally, the Patriots are revered. Nationally, they are loathed and branded as cheaters, and once again they have handed the hammer to their legion of enemies."
Post of the NEW YEAR so far! LOL!
The Belicheck legacy.
Since both teams are using the same ball, can you tell me where there’s an edge??
This could mean the Patriots were under-inflating balls on an ongoing basis. If so, should this call for a greater penalty than doing it in a single, albeit crucial, game?
Why would an underinflated football favor one team over another?
The Seahawks have their own history with doctored balls, as anyone here in Dallas remembers.
Seattle K ball conspiracy theory still lingers
http://espn.go.com/blog/dallas/cowboys/post/_/id/4697590/the-curious-case-of-the-k-ball-vs-seattle
Slap 'em with a fine and a mid-level draft pick and be done with it.
Simple. Make them forfeit the Superbowl, and award the trophy to the Seahawks. NBC could run the movie Heidi instead.
Easier to catch.
Explain to me how underinflating footballs is cheating?
Aren't both teams using the same balls?
I wonder how long this has been going on. The Patriots sure turned their season around after a 2-2 start and a 30 pt loss to the Chiefs in week 4. Perhaps Brady was losing his grip... Pun intended.
Even with correctly inflated balls the Colts would have gotten creamed.
And, aren’t the officials supposed to check this? did one of them get bribed?
Could be worse. Could be the NBA where the officials fix games right in your face.
Each team uses their own 12 balls.
Doesn't that advantage go both ways?
How did an "easier to catch" football give New England an advantage over the other teams? Don't both teams get to catch the ball?
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.