I saw the AFC Championship game the Patriots played against the Indianapolis Colts where the score ended up 45-7. These ‘deflated footballs’ tested 2psi under the NFL limit, folks. This is not some extraordinary advantage that caused the final score to end up 45-7.
Colts QB Andrew Luck threw two interceptions — one of them to Darrelle Revis. You’ve got to be out of your mind to throw near Revis in a championship game. The hell you think was going to happen there?
Tom Brady could have been throwing plastic frisbees, wooden croquet balls, or genuine turkey head badminton birds in that game and the score wouldn’t have been much different. The Colts looked like a sack of crap in the second half of that game.
Ever hear of point spreads? Never mind the integrity of the game. The integrity of the point spread must be protected.
Yup, the Patriots would have won without cheating. So what?
The Patriots cheat because it’s their modus operandi. They gain an advantage in three ways. One, it does give them a slight advantage in the physical part of the game.
Two, it gives them a confidence boost, because it would be easy for the NFL to prevent the cheating, but for the most part they turn a blind eye to the Patriots, which gives the Pats a sense that the NFL is helping them win games.
Three, it demoralizes their opponents, because they know the Patriots in any given game are getting away with cheating.
It is unlikely their record would be different by more than a few points scored without the cheating, yet they still feel compelled to cheat. They are undermining the fans’ view of the sport, and the punishments that have been meted out will not change the underlying attitude driving the behavior.
Tom Brady’s career was launched by a referee reversing a called fumble late in a playoff game when he had both hands on the football and it was knocked out of his hands. He walked off the field with his head down because he knew he had lost the game. Belichik didn’t start jumping up and down screaming it wasn’t a fumble because he saw it happen and knew they had no reason to claim otherwise. Then the referee misapplied the rule about pump fakes and gave the ball back to his team. I am convinced that that particular moment gave both QB and coach a sense of entitlement and made them think they could get away with anything they want.