There is conclusive evidence that the balls were fully inflated:
So they didn’t write the values down, but they were each tested by the head referee himself.
I mean conclusive forensic evidence, not the word of one guy (who frankly has every reason to lie if in fact he didn’t do his job properly. That is not an accusation, merely an observation.).
I’m not saying he didn’t gauge test them. I’m saying that it is easy to create a perception that the league is operating on assumptions rather than proven facts, and that could create a PR problem.
And for what it’s worth, I believe he did gauge test them (having no reason to think otherwise).
Which eliminates that as a scenario. It leaves us with a few others:
- The gauge was wrong to begin with.
- The Patriots turned in legal balls, then deflated them between the check and game time (or, I suppose, on the sideline during the game, but that seems harder to pull off).
- The weather explanation, with perhaps a side of something else going on with the 10.5psi ball (if indeed there was only 1). Defective ball? Colts let a little air out before turning it in?
- Something else (aliens? The Illuminati?).
I make no claim to the likelihood of any of those scenarios.
I’m still not even sure about that, but I wouldn’t rule it out. The NFL has been very careful with the way they are wording the few bits of info they have realeased. They know full well the public is speculating, and demanding to know if the ref used a gauge to determine the precise psi levels in the ball. If they wanted to confirm that as truth, it seems they would have said that in, instead they said:
“Everything was properly tested and marked before the game.” -true whether a gauge was or was not used- nothing in the rulebook requires the use of a gauge
“Walt gauged the footballs himself” - this is strikes me as the most interesting comment- the using the word “gauge” as a verb here can be both misleading and not a lie- if the ref checked the footballs by hand, by definition he is gauging their suitability for play. It strikes me as a clever attempt to slip one by. With the magnitude of all this- I don’t think he hasn’t been advised exactly what to say by lawyers. If they wanted to confirm absolutely that a gauge was used, he would have said “a gauge was used”. If for some reason they wanted to leave that open to speculation, they would say something like “he gauged them” instead.
Well, looks like we can put this one to bed. It’s been resolved.
Bob Kravitz, columnist from the Indy Star who “broke” this story, and has been pretty vocal about his certainty of the Patriots guilt, (and last week called for the firing of Bill Belechick) just did a spot on Boston radio and reported that it looks like the Patriots will be exonerated
Audacy Inc: An Audio Universe of Discovery & Connection
That sure doesn’t track with what he actually said.
My favorite Kravitz quote:
"Q: What kind of feedback have you received from your report and your columns? From Patriots fans and non-Patriots fans.
BK: Feedback? Hell, it’s been a tsunami of hatred. My office voice mail is full. My emails are overflowing from New England fans. The tweets are just out of control. It’s gotten very personal, very mean-spirited, some anti-Semitic remarks, some threats to my well-being, but, then, I didn’t expect otherwise. I’ve been in the business for over 30 years and I’ve developed some very thick skin over the years. I’m a big boy; I can handle it. I’ll say this: New England fans are among the most vocal and passionate I’ve ever seen, which is a good thing."
Ah, it was either exonerated-absolved from blame or guilt
OR not proven to be guilty-possibility of guilt exists, but not proven.
Sure sounds like he now thinks exoneration is a reasonable possibility. I wonder what made him change his mind? He was once as sure of their guilt as you are.
IMO what they should do for non-kicking balls is just say “the ball should be fully inflated” and leave it to the teams to decide exactly what psi they want. If one team likes balls that fly farther but are harder to catch and another likes balls that don’t fly as far but are easier to catch, who cares? If one team discovers a distinct advantage one way the rest of the league will quickly follow like they do for all other innovations.
Or am I not playing the arguing over minutia game right?
Oh, I agree that’s what they should do, but I doubt that’s what they will do. When is the last time the NFL loosened the restrictions on something?
You mean regarding this specific discussion? 2006, I believe.
I think it’s time to stop meaning this as a compliment.
I meant in general. What changed in 2006?
That’s when the teams started supplying their own footballs for the offense. Before that the home team supplied all the footballs.
Quote:
“The thing is, every quarterback likes it a little bit different,” Brady said. “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.”
That quote is from a 2006 article where Brady is discussing the rule change for which he and Manning successfully lobbied to let each QB prepare and use their own balls. This preparation included breaking in, scuffing, pretty much whatever they wanted to do.
Does anyone know if TB and PM also ask the competition committee at that time to consider changing the allowable pressure range? From the above quote, it’s obvious that pressure was an issue, but was Brady just saying that some like them close to 13.5 (“…blown up a little bit more…”), and some like them near 12.5 (“…a little more thin…”)?
It seems odd that they wouldn’t have at least asked for it. If they did and the committee rejected it, it would be interesting to hear their reasoning.
Thanks, in part, to Tom Brady’s lobbying:
For years the home team supplied the balls, and the two teams shared them. That all changed in 2006 when two quarterbacks lobbied the NFL to allow each team to ‘customize’ their own footballs. Brady and Peyton Manning, with the support of other league quarterbacks, convinced the NFL’s competition committee to allow the visiting team to supply their own footballs. The committee received no resistance and passed it.
“The thing is, every quarterback likes it a little bit different,” Brady told the Sun-Sentinel in 2006. “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.”
http://chicago.suntimes.com/football/7/71/313097/tom-brady-lobbied-nfl-2006-change-football-rule
So that beeping sound you heard this afternoon was the NFL backing up. From Goodell’s statement today:
“We don’t know enough in this case to know who is responsible or if there was an infraction,”
One thing we learned yesterday is that refs don’t usually write down the PSI of balls they test before the game. No one asked though if they write down the PSI of balls tested at halftime. We still haven’t had an official release of those numbers - just the leak to Mort, which has gotten vaguer as time has gone on. Did ol’ Walt realize that this was going to explode into the biggest story in the world as he was testing the balls at halftime, or was this just another pain in the ass thing he had to do during his one 12-minute break on a cold and rainy night and so he followed normal procedure of “thumbs up or thumbs down” with no written record.
(personally, I like to picture him measuring and pumping up balls with his feet in buckets of hot water, a blanket draped over his shoulders, muttering “what kind of crap did those assholes pull this time. I’ll pump 'em up to 13.5. Show them bastards. . . ruining my break.”)
I wonder how common it is the adjust the balls at halftime. You would figure if this was the first time it’s ever happen they’d be reaching out to Blandino to figure out what to do.