I’m not convinced, they spend too much time with the balls (especially during the rain when they’re frequently toweling them). But let’s pretend that yes the differences are too subtle to notice. That brings us back to Aaron Rodger’s assertion that there shouldn’t even be a rule, if the difference between a 13 and a 9 is that miniscule why does the league even care?
It’s interesting to me that the last big “scandal” for the Pats involved a rule that really didn’t need to exist and wouldn’t have if the league had allowed defenses radios when they gave them to offenses, and that in the subsequent off season they gave defenses radios. And here we are again with a rule multiple QBs don’t like, and have lobbied for change (Peyton Manning even succeeding), and admit to breaking whenever they can. I want to see what they do with it this off season, will the league again “admit” it’s a dumb rule. This will certainly take the heat off the “through contact with the ground” rule.
The PSI differences may be miniscule to a layman, but according to comments some ex-pro quarterbacks have been making, two less PSI makes a difference in performance.