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 ...
Slippery when wet.
What if they find the Patriots cheated? Would the NFL throw out the results of the game? Is that even possible under NFL rules?
The old let the air out of the football trick.
Usually used when the visiting teams is setting up for a field goal.
Wouldn’t both teams have the “deflated balls”? You dont win 45-7 because you deflated the ball.
Pa-lease.
Why all the hate for the Pats? Because they win?
45-7? Not so much.
The Ravens made some noise about Patriot cheating when they lost a week ago. It just seems to be the things to do — lose a big game to New England and then say it’s because they cheated.
Based on the way Indianapolis played yesterday, I can’t see why anyone would feel the need to cheat.
Yeah, that’s the big rub. If both teams have them, you have to go to some second-order gripe like “but Brady got to practice with the deflated balls.” Good luck with that.
Some Football Facts and notice the next to last...
Wilson, The NFL and Ada, Ohio 2014 Super Bowl XLVIII Fact Sheet
Number of football-only factories in the United States: 1
Number of Wilson football-only factories in world: 1
First year Wilson began making the Official NFL Game Ball: 1941
First year that the Wilson Factory in Ada, Ohio, began producing Official NFL Footballs: 1955
Total number of footballs produced annually at the Ada Football Factory: 700,000
Total number of workers employed by the Wilson football factory in Ada, Ohio: 130
Average number of years employed by Wilson for Ada Football Factory workers: 20
Average number of footballs made by a single cowhide: 10
Pounds of air pressure in an NFL game ball: 13 psi
How many game balls does each team receive? Each team is shipped 108 game balls - 54 for practice and 54 for the game.
Total number of game balls used during the Super Bowl: 120, including 12 Kicker Balls
Number of laces found on an NFL game ball: 1
Total number of lace holes on an NFL game ball: 16
Total number of panels on an NFL game ball: 4
Difference between the regular NFL game ball and NFL kicker ball: Letter “K” is inscribed on the kicker ball, sealed in boxes (with anti-tampering tape), sent to the NFL official hotel one week before the game and then delivered to the officials’ room approximately 2.5 hours prior to kickoff.
The special “watermark” that is printed on a Wilson football to prove that it is authentic: The letter “W”
When are the Super Bowl footballs delivered to the teams? Wilson employees work through the night to ship game balls to the teams within 24 hours of NFC and AFC championship games.
When do the teams give the game officials their 54 game balls? Teams present their 54 game balls to the officials on game day for inspection, then a DNA ink is added to the laces to indicate they are the authentic on-field game balls.
What is the difference between the regular season Wilson NFL Game Ball and a the Super Bowl Game Ball? The Super Bowl ball has the Super Bowl logo stamped on the ball, along with the names of both teams, date and location.
Isn’t “deflated balls” a euphemism for steroid use?
As an Indy resident and Colts fan, I have to admit that the Colts didn’t lose because of deflated footballs. The Colts were a flawed team thin on talent outside of Andrew Luck, and got past an equally flawed Bengals team and banged-up, and washed up, Broncos team. Just about every road game against a quality opponent was a disaster for the Colts this year.
Having said that, the Patriots are still the spawn of Satan. Belichek is the bad neighbor who burns old tires in a barrel in the back yard.
And yes, they cheat.
Nope.
At worst they would lose draft picks, which they really do not even need.
The air pressure of the balls both teams used has zero to do with the stomping the Colts received.
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.
Jus' sayin' ...
And here’s the kickoff:
“PBLLFLUFFFF!!!”
Long as nobody made a ‘football move’ it’s all good.
Euphemism? No, I think it’s a common result.
This is the kind of think the NFL should be investigating - NOT criminal behavior of wife-beating- that should be sent to the police for criminal case handling
Belichick looked like he was storing some of the doctored footballs under his hoodie.
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