Deflategate fallout: NFL focusing on Patriots' locker-room attendant

Fox Sports ^ | 1/26/2015 | Jay Glazer

[mojito]

Deflategate has taken another twist.

FOX Sports has learned that the NFL has zeroed in on a New England Patriots locker-room attendant in connection with the scandal of improperly inflated footballs used in the AFC championship game against Indianapolis.

The person of interest was already interviewed by the league. The NFL is trying to determine whether any wrongdoing by this individual occurred, sources tell FOX Sports.

There is surveillance video showing the attendant taking the footballs from the official's locker room into another room at Gillette Stadium before bringing them out to the field, sources tell FOX Sports.

[MMaschin]

I don't believe the Patriots would want this guy to take the fall for them. I think they will try to get him to deny it to the end.

If this guy ends up claiming that he deflated the balls, and no one told him to do so, there is not a person other than Patriots fans who will believe him. The Patriots will instantly have by far the worst reputation in the league. They will even most likely lose some of their own fans who do not believe the team wasn't involved.

If the Patriots want to salvage their reputation (which translates to intrinsic team value), they need to make sure that they are absolved, or at least that there's not conclusive evidence that anything was done at all - and that's not going to happen if this kid admits to letting air out of the balls.

The only thing that works for the Patriots is the - "we don't know what happened, it was 'climate change'" argument. If this kid talks, even admitting to doing it on his own, the end is near for the Patriots.

[Pearls Before Swine]

The only thing that works for the Patriots is the - "we don't know what happened, it was 'climate change'" argument.

The climate change between the warm locker room and the field... 25 or 30 deg. (F), might account for 1 pound, but not 2.

But, I've seen a lot of press from QBs saying it doesn't make a difference to those who say it's huge. Which is it?

[NEMDF]

Yes... I neglected to consider the gambling aspects of it (naïve and in the Midwest, I am). You are right, that this could be VERY BIG.

But I doubt the NFL will go off on the tangential paths you suggested. The NFL wlll likely put out some report in a few weeks, providing some conclusions of their investigation, ding a draft pick or two, maybe a fine, then move everything right along.

[jacquej]

Something I have wondered about, but I don’t follow football much...

Is there any possibility that someone from the outside (meaning not from the Patriots) set this up to discredit the team?

Dirty tricks - because the team is too successful, and “needed to be taken down a peg?

[Varsity Flight]

“Fox Sports has learned”

...as has learned that the U.S. needs Extortion-Care.

From the QE pit of the globe.

[massgopguy]

He doesn’t have to take the fall. This is not a criminal investigation where he is under the pains and penalties of perjury. He can deny letting the air out of the balls all he wants. The video “allegedly” shows him going into a room. Yeah? So?

[grania]

how about an uncalibrated pressure gauge?

You're bringing a logical possibility to this discussion? The anti-Pats crowd will just claim that it was deliberately uncalibrated to get the desired result.

[rktman]

Wrong. It just occurred to me that while watching a portion of the game, I noticed that john f’n kohn-heinz-kerry was in attendance in the gillette sky box. The answer to the whole fiasco is that with his super inflated ego, it obviously lowered the Pat’s balls to a lower value. Case closed.

P.S. He served in VN in case anyone forgot. He suffered horrible wounds in combat from some wood slivers or something.

[MMaschin]

The climate change between the warm locker room and the field... 25 or 30 deg. (F), might account for 1 pound, but not 2.

But, I've seen a lot of press from QBs saying it doesn't make a difference to those who say it's huge. Which is it?


It's less than that.

Assuming the balls were inflated to the minimum of 12.5 PSI, in a room with a temperature of 70 degree's F. And the temperature of the air in the balls when they were checked at halftime was 50 degrees F - the air inside the ball most likely would not have dropped all the way down to ambient temperature, but for the sake of argument we can assume it did. The volume of the air in the ball would have dropped 2% for each 10 degree F drop.
http://www.engineeringtoolbox.com/air-temperature-volume-d_853.html

That means even a 20 degree drop in temperature would have resulted in a less than .5 (~0.495) PSI drop in the ball.

Brady is the one who confused me on being able to tell the difference. In one sentence he says he prefers a ball at 12.5 over 13.5 - so he can tell a difference of 1 PSI (8% difference), but later on he says he can't tell the difference between 12.5 and 10.5 (16% difference)? That's not very believable.


I really wish he would have simply said, "you know what, the ball did feel a little soft, but I knew they had gone through the pre-game testing, so I just figured they were OK". But he didn't. He said he couldn't tell the difference, and I find that unbelievable. So, in my opinion, Brady lied. And the only reason for him to lie, again in my opinion, is because he's hiding something.

[MMaschin]

Something I have wondered about, but I don’t follow football much...

Is there any possibility that someone from the outside (meaning not from the Patriots) set this up to discredit the team?

Dirty tricks - because the team is too successful, and “needed to be taken down a peg?


Not really, mainly because there would not have been access.

That was the main (IMHO - believable) argument against the Patriots intentionally deflating the balls. They claimed that if someone did it, they would have to have done it on the field, and they would have been seen. But now there appears to be video showing the ball attendant taking the balls into room for some reason. That means that someone did have access to tamper with the balls.

[muglywump]

What was the pressure of the Colts’ footballs which were checked by the league? The Colts’ footballs were checked, right?

[momtothree]

“Football is the devil..”

I see what you did there! :)

[Defiant]

Is there any possibility that someone from the outside (meaning not from the Patriots) set this up to discredit the team?

No, because Brady would have felt the balls and told someone to pump them up, unless they were the way he liked them.

[Liberty Valance]

Embrace the hate!

Ha! Been there. Done that.

The life of a Cowboys fan.

[minnesota_bound]

The Patriots are just stronger and squeezed the air out of the football as they easily grasped the ball.
The Colts are girlie men.

[Psalm 73]

"Its the Water Boy. Throw him under the bus."

The "attendant" in question was previously on the payroll of the NY Jets.

[mkleesma]

“Ha! Been there. Done that.

The life of a Cowboys fan.”

I truly commiserate, my friend - you know the “Pain of Greatness”

[Pikachu_Dad]

It was 45F at half time when they were checked.

A 50 F swing needed for 2.5 psig drop.

[JohnG45]

How old are you? 10?