[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?

[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?