Kuetsar Posted January 22, 2015 Share Posted January 22, 2015 Why bring up the Seahawks though? Brandon Browner was suspended before too. He's not a Seahawk anymore, he's a Patriot. I don't see what it has to do with the Patriots getting caught cheating again. I'm just saying that for whatever the reason performance enhancers are not a big deal in the NFL, everyone expects they are all juiced up and nobody cares, so it's difficult for me to see one form of cheating receive a pass and then get riled up over another. I brought up the Seahawks past because they are in the game. If the Seahawks win I expect there will be a lot of people who will say "serves New England right!" but forget about what's gone on in Seattle. The whole "Patriots can't win without cheating" thing is tiresome. They were a miracle catch away from being 19-0. Give the Giants all the credit in the world for finishing the drive and knocking them off but come on. One play away from being undefeated and people are still pushing that narrative. If the shoe fits. . . . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Death From Above Posted January 22, 2015 Share Posted January 22, 2015 My problem with the "If the Patriots cheated here maybe they did it other times and we don't know" narrative is that it's self defeating. Exactly. We don't know. What are we going to prove it with, the always trusted word of Terrel Suggs or whoever else in the NFL doesn't like the Patriots? Someone brings forth a Brady interception ball from 5 years ago not at current game PSI that could have been tampered with post-incident? There's nothing to dig up there unless I'm missing something. Isn't this exactly the kind of speculation we rip the hell out of the sports media for all the time? If the Patriots are guilty here (and it certainly appears they are), there should be some definite consequences to that. But trying to drum it up as part of the Global Patriots Illuminati Conspiracy comes off as AboveTopSecret dot com kind of reporting. Let's stick to the here and now of the facts and deal with it on those terms. The only exception I can think of to the above would be if it came out certain officials were in on it with the Patriots all along over several years. Now that would be quite the story, but again, I haven't seen anything to suggest that, nor am I suggesting it myself. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Burgundy LaRue Posted January 22, 2015 Share Posted January 22, 2015 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dogwelder Posted January 22, 2015 Share Posted January 22, 2015 This is from a Boston radio station, so take that for what it's worth... The Patriots used 12 backup footballs for the second half of Sunday’s AFC championship game after issues were found with most of the original 12 balls used by the offense in the first half, an organizational source told WEEI’s Joe Zarbano. Team spokesman Stacey James confirmed to WEEI.com that the team had 24 footballs available, 12 of which were tested by the officials pregame and another dozen stored inside as backups. After the officials found that the majority of the balls used in the first half were below the acceptable PSI as mandated by the NFL, the backup balls were brought in. According to the source, the backup balls were tested and found to be at the correct levels, and subsequently put into play — just barely in time, as the second half already had started by the time the testing was completed. This is why the officials stopped play and swapped out the kicking ball on the first play from scrimmage of the second half. ESPN’s Chris Mortensen reported late Tuesday night that 11 of the 12 game balls were underinflated. WEEI.com’s source recalled either 10 or 11 balls being a problem. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
odessasteps Posted January 22, 2015 Share Posted January 22, 2015 We will never know the truth but since the Patriots have been caught cheating multiple times, I wonder what they have done and did not get caught? Somebody needs to pitch this for a 30 for 30. There wont be a 30 for 30 on that until Simmons leaves espn. 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vincey Greene Posted January 22, 2015 Share Posted January 22, 2015 “If you ain’t trying to cheat a little, you ain’t likely to win much.” - Richard Petty, all time great NASCAR driver. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
elizium Posted January 22, 2015 Share Posted January 22, 2015 I will have all of you banned if you continue to use "Gronk" as a verb. It's in literature. It's a legit word. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Nature Boy Posted January 22, 2015 Share Posted January 22, 2015 I honestly hope that book is about how Gronk beat that guy's ass and took his girl. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vincey Greene Posted January 22, 2015 Share Posted January 22, 2015 I will have all of you banned if you continue to use "Gronk" as a verb. It's in literature. It's a legit word. If I didn't think Amazon would suggest other, horrific erotic fan fiction titles to me forever afterwards, I'd totally buy the Kindle version. I'm sure it's good for a laugh or seventy four. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
elizium Posted January 22, 2015 Share Posted January 22, 2015 I think Amazon pulled it, because they have NO BALLS. Deflated or otherwise. (n/m...just checked, its back up) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
elizium Posted January 22, 2015 Share Posted January 22, 2015 I honestly hope that book is about how Gronk beat that guy's ass and took his girl. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Nature Boy Posted January 22, 2015 Share Posted January 22, 2015 I honestly hope that book is about how Gronk beat that guy's ass and took his girl. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
piranesi Posted January 22, 2015 Share Posted January 22, 2015 I will have all of you banned if you continue to use "Gronk" as a verb. It's in literature. It's a legit word. That's seriously perverse. An elbow patch cardigan???? Have some goddamn self respect. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gonzo Posted January 22, 2015 Share Posted January 22, 2015 They won 45-7. It's a minor story. If it had been like 28-24, it would be a big fucking deal. Can we just fine James Harrison $25,000 and be done with it all? 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FluffSnackwell Posted January 22, 2015 Share Posted January 22, 2015 Brad Johnson says he bribed some unnamed people 7,500 bucks to tamper with the game balls for the Bugs/Raiders Superbowl. Scuffed up all 100 balls to make them easier to grip and catch. Brad Johnson's noodle arm manipulating balls is roughly the same advantage gained as the crafty old bastard pitcher in Major League rubbing snot on the ball. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Burgundy LaRue Posted January 22, 2015 Share Posted January 22, 2015 I honestly hope that book is about how Gronk beat that guy's ass and took his girl. Johnnyboy wrote this. I'm sure of it. Ol' chap could have given us preview copies. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
supremebve Posted January 22, 2015 Share Posted January 22, 2015 I think the biggest part of this story is that there really isn't a way this could be coincidence. One team had 12 balls and 11 of them are a couple pounds under inflated, and the other team had 12 and none of them are under inflated. The odds of that being an accident are minimal at best. It doesn't matter that it didn't affect the game, because it was done before they knew the final score. Add to the fact that the Patriots have a reputation for bending rules to gain an advantage, you have a really big issue. I can't say for sure who decided to deflate the balls, but someone clearly decided to deflate those footballs. There are a couple of real life reasons that they could make the decision to deflate the balls too. They've benched a couple of runningbacks recently for fumbling, deflating footballs helps hold onto the football. The biggest reason is that aging quarterbacks lose control on their deep balls mostly because of loss of grip strength. The thing people always point to about Peyton Manning's comeback after the neck injury is he doesn't have the same grip that he did before the injury. The Seahawks won that Super Bowl last year because they dared the Broncos to beat them deep and the Broncos just plain couldn't do it. The Patriots deep passing game is basically non-existent and if they were to end up in a shoot out with Luck and the Colts deflating the footballs could have helped Brady throw deep. We are looking at a game that wasn't very competitive after the fact, but those balls weren't deflated after the game. They were deflated before they knew how the game would go, and were hedging their bets just in case. That isn't a non-issue. 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Technico Support Posted January 22, 2015 Share Posted January 22, 2015 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gonzo Posted January 22, 2015 Share Posted January 22, 2015 Tom Brady now questionable for Super Bowl XLIX after being thrown under the bus by Bill Belichick. 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Burgundy LaRue Posted January 22, 2015 Share Posted January 22, 2015 It is pretty amazing how Belichick is painted as this cheating ogre, but nothing sticks to Brady--the one person who would request for the footballs to be inflated a certain way. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Technico Support Posted January 22, 2015 Share Posted January 22, 2015 One guy looks like a model, one guy looks like Palpatine. Go figure. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brysynner Posted January 22, 2015 Share Posted January 22, 2015 So let's say Brady ends up getting the blame for this one...suspended all of 2015? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
supremebve Posted January 22, 2015 Share Posted January 22, 2015 Is this the most ridiculous year in the history of any sport? How much shit could happen to one league over the course of one season? Ray Rice, Adrian Peterson, Fucking Goodell weaving lies and telling tales, and now deflated balls, this is just an amazingly ridiculous string of events. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Nature Boy Posted January 22, 2015 Share Posted January 22, 2015 Brady gets a fine and a stern talking to. No way he gets suspended. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EdA Posted January 22, 2015 Share Posted January 22, 2015 I really find this whole thing amazing since we all know that nothing of significance will happen to the Pats - at most, they would lose a draft pick which, to the Pats, seems to be nothing. It's just fascinating that Belichick (and let's face it, whatever Brady's involvement, NOTHING goes down in NE without Belichick knowing) is so very Nixonian. This really is so incredibly analogous to Watergate - a mediocre crime that was ultimately unnecessary - that I fully expect a touching helicopter goodbye by Bill in the middle of training camp next year. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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