Posted on 01/19/2015 7:48:57 AM PST by servo1969
The NFL has confirmed it is looking into charges the New England Patriots cheated Sunday night when they clinched a trip to the Super Bowl Sunday night by using deflated footballs.
NFL spokesman Brian McCarthy confirmed the probe Monday, following the AFC championship game, in which the Patriots demolished the Indianapolis Colts, 45-7. The charge was first made Sunday night, when an Indianapolis reporter that the NFL had seized at least one game ball from the AFC championship game to examine whether pigskins were intentionally deflated to make them easier to throw and catch.
The NFL is investigating the possibility, Bob Kravitz, of WTHR, tweeted, adding that, at one point the officials took a ball out of play and weighed it.
If the Patriots did cheat, it would not be the first time. The team was penalized a first-round draft pick, fined $250,000 and head coach Belichick was personally fined $500,000 after an investigation by the NFL determined the team had illegally videotaped their opponents hand signals during a 2007 game.
And unsubstantiated accusations of cheating have long dogged the team, stemming from their Super Bowl wins in 2002, 2004 and 2005. The St. Louis Rams claimed the team illegally videotaped their walk-through practices prior to the 2002 game, and players on the other defeated opponents have said the Patriots seemed to have inside knowledge of their playbooks.
(Excerpt) Read more at foxnews.com ...
Likely, but the combination of inflation pressure and the ball weight would obviously indicate a difference.
That and Helium would would leak in a football rather quickly.
I agree... I’ve thrown a ton of footballs as well. But that practice weight was always a different type of ball. A heaver ball than the game balls. We never said... hey.. let’s put more air in it so it will be a lot heavier to practice with.
I didn’t know that. I didn’t know the properties of helium woul prevent a football from holding it? Hmmm....
Now you’ve done it .... giving away secrets planned for the SB.
Handoffs...
It might matter some. But, it was 50 degrees at game time (true it was raining more as the game went on). I don’t think ball handling is much affected unless it’s a lot colder. Even if the cold reduces air pressure, in the teens the ball feels like a rock.
I’m off to go play golf. I gotta find a way to use illegal equipment that my buddy won’t recognize. I need all the help I can get there.... Later.
The league has guidelines on how much pressure the ball must have between 12.5 and 13.5 pounds per square inch, weighing between 14 and 15 ounces.
Kravitz says the fine could be a stiff one if the Patriots are found guilty.
There was a delay before the third-quarter-opening kickoff that might have included game officials investigating the balls the Patriots were using.
I think these balls must have really hurt the Colts defense. It caused them to not be able to stop the run.
This is just another case of a team that plays half of their games indoors having to play outside in adverse weather conditions getting their but kicked.
ping
Cheating only matters if it affects the outcome of the game. /sarc
Not the properties of Helium but the physical configuration of the football. Bladder of butyl rubber (I think) has porosity and then covered by a seamed leather cover. LotsaLeaks.
Helium, being the smallest naturally-existing molecule can not be controlled (your kids’ Mylar birthday-ballons don’t float after 2-3 days, right?).
I’d be willing to experiment regarding a completely-helium inflated football (at 13.5 psi) that would essentially be unplayable at game time of an NFL game given the pregame activities of throw/catch/kick etc.
LOL! 13 pounds would be a heavy football. It would have to be made of iron to weigh that much.
model rockets in the ball, I am sure nobody would notice... lol
lol, my bad, I knew they were playing the Texans, not the Packers.
I’m not seeing the risk reward on it. Because the balls get inspected you have to have them regulation before the game, then you’ve got to mess with them in relatively plain sight, and hope nobody spots you, or the refs don’t feel the difference. And what do you get? Slightly improved grip? But also a ball that’s different from what your team has been handling all their careers, which in the end makes the ball harder to use.
Just look at the kerfuffle the NBA had a few years ago when they changed the ball, according to all the “science” it was a better ball, better grip, easier to control, less variation in the bounce. And all the players hated it (and scoring dropped) because it wasn’t the ball they’d been using all their lives so its behavior wasn’t what they were used to. And eventually the NBA went back. A slight change in the grippiness of a ball will change the point of release on a throw, which will change the flight path. That’s just not the kind of thing players will get used to, not even in a week’s practice.
It just doesn’t add up. It’s a high risk no reward situation.
Spygate is exaggerated. At the time, every team was videotaping their opponents’ hand signals during games.
Early in the season the commissioner sent a cease and desist letter to all teams. Belichick didn’t cease and desist, and was caught three weeks later.
That’s the whole thing.
My advice for the “colder” months of the year? Have a pocket in your bag wherein you can stash a few chem-heat packages. Keep all your game balls there.
Do not allow an extensive amount of time to pass before teeing off...the ball, under heat, will become soft and pliable and fly a few yards further than if it was cold; I have realized [up to] an additional 10 yards on the fly (roll-out is surface dependent..)
Please note that if you have a slice, those extra yards will be added to your left-to-right distance also. YMMV.
No. It was the one’s that Blount folded in half and stuck in his back pocket.
That 8-ball infection can be helped with penicillin.
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