PFT: League likely will be saying more about ball controversy this morning

[BipolarFuk]

Feh. I am sure they are not the only team that has done this. Brad Johnson came out and said he paid $7500 to doctor up the Bucs balls prior to the Super Bowl. Fine them, take a late round pick, but this in no way was the reason why they beat the Colts.

I know it wasn't the reason they beat the Colts, but Belichick continues to cheat. They deserve a big punishment.

 

[Carp]

I know it wasn't the reason they beat the Colts, but Belichick continues to cheat. They deserve a big punishment.

Part of the problem is that the league is culpable as well. If they received the footballs before the game they should have weighed and insured that they met specifications. Also, how do they allow someone to alter them after you have possession of them?

 

[Kbrown]

Part of the problem is that the league is culpable as well. If they received the footballs before the game they should have weighed and insured that they met specifications. Also, how do they allow someone to alter them after you have possession of them?

This is where the perception that the league (particularly Goodell) has a cozy relationship with Bob Kraft comes in. Remember the spygate tapes being destroyed?

 

[L.T. Fan]

I don't think you can take 2lbs out of a football...

Yep the ball wieghs the same inflated or flat.

 

[Carp]

Yep the ball wieghs the same inflated or flat.

 

[L.T. Fan]

Sophisticated humor.

 

[Carp]

Sophisticated humor.

 

[L.T. Fan]

I am not inclined to explain it today. I just got home from the golf course. I am tuckered out somewhat.

 

[dallen]

Also, the refs touch the ball constantly...why didn't they throw out the balls like they do in baseball? If a ball shows up scuffed or whatever, they toss it out and don't make a big deal about it.

Is it possible that NFL referees are totally incompetent? It's worth questioning.

 

[skidadl]

I've deflated our footballs in the rain during a high school game. There aren't rules in high school though.

 

[L.T. Fan]

I've deflated our footballs in the rain during a high school game. There aren't rules in high school though.

Okay lets hear for the judgement of this self proclaimed blatant act of non sportsmanship.

 

[skidadl]

Okay lets hear for the judgement of this self proclaimed blatant act of non sportsmanship.

When it rains it is easier to grip a flat football. There are no rules so we did what we did.

 

[L.T. Fan]

When it rains it is easier to grip a flat football. There are no rules so we did what we did.

Just yanking your chain.

 

[Genghis Khan]

The punishment for this is problematic.

I think most likely it will be a fine, and maybe a loss of a draft pick or two.

But how much punishment is that, really? Think about it. Why do teams make draft picks? To win the super bowl. Why do teams spend money? To win the super bowl. Why would a team cheat? To win the super bowl.

So, essentially NE would spend, say, a first round pick and $500,000 or whatever, and instead of getting a player and paying him a salary you cut right to the chase and trade it for a super bowl.

If you think your cheating helps win you a super bowl, wouldn't teams take that trade ten times out of ten?

For the sake of deterrence, there almost has to be a suspension here, doesn't there?

 

[L.T. Fan]

The punishment for this is problematic.

I think most likely it will be a fine, and maybe a loss of a draft pick or two.

But how much punishment is that, really? Think about it. Why do teams make draft picks? To win the super bowl. Why do teams spend money? To win the super bowl. Why would a team cheat? To win the super bowl.

So, essentially NE would spend, say, a first round pick and $500,000 or whatever, and instead of getting a player and paying him a salary you cut right to the chase and trade it for a super bowl.

If you think your cheating helps win you a super bowl, wouldn't teams take that trade ten times out of ten?

For the sake of deterrence, there almost has to be a suspension here, doesn't there?

Suspension of who?

 

[Genghis Khan]

Suspension of who?

Well we have to know who is behind it, but I'd say probably belichick.

 

[boozeman]

Well we have to know who is behind it, but I'd say probably belichick.

I doubt it.

It was undoubtedly Brady, who probably has free run to boss around some equipment boy lackey.

 

[Genghis Khan]

I doubt it.

It was undoubtedly Brady, who probably has free run to boss around some equipment boy lackey.

True.

 

[Cotton]

Brady pushed for rule to let visiting team provide own footballs

Posted by Michael David Smith on January 22, 2015, 11:37 AM EST

Patriots quarterback Tom Brady has long wanted control over the footballs he throws, to the point where he was the driving force behind a rules change that allowed visiting teams to provide their own footballs, rather than having both teams use footballs provided by the home team.

In 2006, Brady and Peyton Manning successfully lobbied the league to let every team provide its own footballs to use on offense. Prior to that, it was always the home team that supplied the footballs, which meant that road team quarterbacks didn’t get to try the footballs out until pregame warmups.

Brady said at the time that he appreciated the opportunity to address the league’s Competition Committee and get a rule change that he felt would be advantageous to himself and other quarterbacks.

“The thing is, every quarterback likes it a little bit different,” Brady told the Sun-Sentinel at the time. “Some like them blown up a little bit more, some like them a little more thin, some like them a little more new, some like them really broken in.”

Brady’s comments come into new focus this week as the NFL investigates whether the Patriots deflated footballs in the AFC Championship Game, in violation of NFL rules. After Patriots coach Bill Belichick said today that he knows nothing about how balls are prepared prior to games, increased attention has turned to whether Brady was behind deflating the footballs.

 

[Carp]

The punishment for this is problematic.

I think most likely it will be a fine, and maybe a loss of a draft pick or two.

But how much punishment is that, really? Think about it. Why do teams make draft picks? To win the super bowl. Why do teams spend money? To win the super bowl. Why would a team cheat? To win the super bowl.

So, essentially NE would spend, say, a first round pick and $500,000 or whatever, and instead of getting a player and paying him a salary you cut right to the chase and trade it for a super bowl.

If you think your cheating helps win you a super bowl, wouldn't teams take that trade ten times out of ten?

For the sake of deterrence, there almost has to be a suspension here, doesn't there?

I think a suspension of Belichick would make the biggest impact. Not advocating it, but I don't think you'd ever hear about another inflation issue if he were to get a 2-4 game suspension.