Possibly plausible if the fine sticks at 25k or below. If anything more serious occurs like a higher fine, lost pick, and/or suspension, we’ll know for sure that it was all on the Pats.
It’s also tough to believe that these competitors on a team that has been busted cheating before would allow the situation to fester. But I suppose I could allow for it to a point.
My theory is that the Pats know a lot more of the collected evidence than has been publicly released. They’re just not sure what the nfl is going to do about it. Better to play stupid until you know what ends up being revealed.
Playing stupid has been a well-worn strategy for years because it works so frequently.
As for the cheating part, look at it from their perspective. The NFL has a published rule regarding the inflation standards for footballs. But the enforcement of that rule, by the refs, has been lax for years. Aaron Rogers likes his footballs overinflated - so cut him some slack. What difference does an extra 0.5 or 1 psi make? Brady likes his at 12 or even 11.5. The refs allow it because they know that this has little effect on the game. Game balls show up at the refs room for testing and some or all are either slightly under or over inflated, depending on the QB preference. The refs know this, and they let it slide.
Now someone blows a whistle from off the field and calls the Pats on under-inflated footballs. The refs scramble at halftime to correct the situation that they themselves created by allowing slightly under-inflated footballs into the game in the first place.
In order to conceal the malfeasance on the part of the refs - and the NFL - everyone has to play dumb. Otherwise, the NFL has to admit their part in this tempest in a teapot.
If anything more serious occurs like a higher fine, lost pick, and/or suspension, we’ll know for sure that it was all on the Pats.
Teams and players have been fined/penalized before over dumbassery on the part of NFL operations .