Posted on 01/21/2015 6:57:45 AM PST by Colehill1999
The Patriots used underinflated footballs on Sunday night.
The next question is how did it happen?
According to a National Football League letter about the investigation into the controversy that was shared with the Globe, the Patriots were informed that the league’s initial findings indicated that the game balls did not meet specifications. The league inspected each of the Patriots’ 12 game balls twice at halftime, using different pressure gauges, and found footballs that were not properly inflated.
According to ESPN, 11 of the 12 game balls were found to be underinflated by about 2 pounds each. The NFL specifications say they must be inflated to 12½ to 13½ pounds.
According to some (un-named) coaches - this is fairly common practice throughout football, that's why the NFL allows "team balls".
It's one of those nod-n-wink rules, nobody ever bitches about it - until the Colts were down by 28 points, that is.
A bush-league gripe if there ever was one - like Billy Martin's pine-tar complaint - normally a non-starter, but some losers (like teams and theri fans not going to the Super Bowl) are gonna' find something to whine about..
But the Patriots are cheaters..... WAAAAHHHHH...
Only the Patriots cheat - didn’t you know that?
Not the sainted Broncos, or bite your tongue - the Packers or Cowboys....
What a bunch of crybabies out there.
Pats will beat the Seahawks convincingly.
The Colts would have gotten their @sses handed to them regardless of the ball pressure. But I’m chuckling at the Freepers that want the Colts to be “given” a Superbowl slot because They “deserve” it and “haven’t been to the Superbowl in a long time”.
Next up on the FR: “Freepers support public schools’ policy on giving every child who plays a trophy.”
If I pump to the lower and the weather drops it a lb, the statement MIGHT be made two pounds lower IF I use the higher to base my statement
High end (but pumped to 1 lb lower end) minus a hypothetical 1 lb loss = 2 lb underinflated
Not according to what former ref Gerry Austin said on ESPN a couple of hours ago.
No, the ball boys get the balls about 10 minutes before the game. They are not turned over to the teams.
warm room and then took them outside early enough to cool off before the game, the balls would end up about 2 psi below the designated pressure.—
We can run the numbers:
P1 x V1 / T1 = P2 x V2 / T2
T is absolute temp
if 75 f inside
if 45 f outside
use P1 minimum of 12.5
Assume V is constant (probably not quite)
12.5 / (75+460) = P2 / (45+460)
P2 = 11.8
Looks like >2 psi means tampering
That is entirely possible and explains why the Refs didn’t catch it on inspection, why 11 out of 12 were under inflated and why only the Patriots side.
That said, after the Refs corrected it at the half, the Patriots put up 28 points and the Colts zippo. So if anything the Refs helped the Patriots.
Interestingly enough, if there has been no under-inflation, would the INT by D’Qwell Jackson been dropped due to the ball bouncing from his hands? Did the Colts, statistically, benefit from such shenanigans? Maybe.
In the next round of contract negotiations, would Mr. Jackson point to his interception in the 2014-15 AFC Championship game as cause for a boost in pay?
Malfunctioning pressure gauge....
Not insignificant. Measuring the pressure will let some out.
And of course there’s nothing new about ball tampering:
http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2015/01/21/brad-johnson-paid-a-bribe-to-tamper-with-footballs-at-the-super-bowl/
Really the more we’re looking at the comments from other QBs the more this is a silly kerfuffle.
Colts: all 12 balls properly inflated
The article doesn’t say or even imply that the Colts balls were properly inflated.
So if you cheat, but you still play well you didn’t cheat?
For those who are interested here is the audio of former NFL ref Gerry Austin talking about how the balls are handled before a game etc.
Bkmrk
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