No, it was not assumed. Anderson checked the inflation levels. Any below 12.5 were inflated to 12.5. Two Patriot balls were thus inflated. Any above 13.5 were deflated to 13.5. No balls exceeded 13.5.
The Patriots balls were all at 12.5 before the game. The Colts balls were within 0.1 psi of 13.0.
Is there a written record of this?
No, Anderson was going by memory.
Like every other game played. Ever. The rule does not require that there be a written record of the inflation numbers. Unless you wish to take yet another desperate swing and include Anderson in some kind of conspiracy or accuse him of lying during the investigation, it’s pretty clear he measured the balls and had them inflated to the proper range before the game.
No, the point is that the supporting data is unreliable. Just as it would be if any other team was investigated for this.
Was that really not clear?
It doesn’t tell us anything about the accuracy of the measurements. He could be mistaken without being part of a conspiracy. My question was just to clarify what the facts are, I think it is more likely than not that he found the balls to be in the allowed range of inflation according to the gauge he used.
Very little of what you ever say is “clear”. What “supporting data” are you on about now? Anderson and his team checked the balls, inflated the ones that needed to be to be legal, just like Hentor said. What “supporting data” is unreliable?
It may make you uncomfortable at times, but it’s clear.
Sigh.
Well done. 
“The Logo and Non-Logo Gauges appear to have worked reliably and consistently on Game Day, and the difference in the pressure drops between the teams was not caused by a malfunction of either gauge. Based on our experimental results, both gauges would have read consistently and with good repeatability when used in the range of temperatures to which they were exposed in the Officials Locker Room (approximately 67 to 74°F) and when used to measure a range of pressures that includes those measured on Game Day (approximately 10 psig to 14 psig).” From the report.
Wow, another inane and substance-less reply from ElvisL!ves. Give me a minute to get my surprised face on.
This is who Wells hired to give him his results:
Get the picture?
I think so. You think that Exponent fabricated their experiments and their report in order to help the NFL frame the Patriots. You’re going with the conspiracy angle then, right?
Take the pot shots out of this thread. Comments like this have no bearing on the discussion at all. Take it to the Pit.
Warnings are going to be given out for nothing but personal shot posts directed at others.
You’re going with the “If it supports the conclusion I want reached, then it must be credible, and if not, it isn’t” angle, then.
Is *that *clear?
Which may or may not be true. His memory was such that he tested them and ensured all balls from both teams were within the rules at the same time using the same gauges. What the measurements were when Anderson tested them, I think is irrelevant. This is because the balls were deflated after he did whatever standard testing he performed.
The measurements that are a problem are the measurements taken during halftime.
Nope. I’m going with the angle that relies on the evidence. I know that’s treading unfamiliar territory for you, but I like to rely on actual evidence, such as the testimony of witnesses, the opinion of experts, and text messages, rather than rampant speculation (remember when you were blaming the Colts and saying they were the team going to be punished? Ahhhh, good times!).
But I am glad we got your opinion that the evidence against the Patriots is just a conspiracy. I’ll give that opinion as much weight as I give all your opinions.
After it’s been manufactured and/or filtered in such a way that it points to the conclusion you like. Been over that already.
You *really *might want to read the part in the report about how this story got started, then.
I don’t have much of an issue with the measurements per se. I have a little problem with an ad hoc process for determining whether there was an actual rule violation, but my main problem is that a new standard of enforcing rules and meting out punishment has been put in place over this triviality. This is just scapegoating IMHO, and I don’t think the same standards would have been applied to other teams. Has there been any effort to determine if other teams used improperly inflated balls? Was this kind of investigation ever carried out for other allegations of rule violations? It sounds to me like there was an assumption that the Patriots are cheaters from the beginning and all this effort was to rubber stamp a predetermined outcome.
Well, Troy Vincent did specifically say, if I am not mistaken, that the rule violation in and of itself was a lesser offense. That the history of the Patriots (Spygate) and their seemingly systematic lack of cooperation is what really brought the hammer down. I don’t think the deflation of footballs is really what the punishment is about. I think its about the culture of breakign the rules and the consistent lack of integrity the Patriots organization plays with despite the maudlin protestations of Elvis, Teddy Bruschi, et al. It’s a “Hey, knock of your bullshit. This ‘I’m not touching you’ game is getting old.”
I believe it was said back when Spygate happened that any future events of this kind under this same regime WOULD be judged and sentenced harsher. So, yeah, sure, they got hammered harder than, say, the Jaguars in that they are repeat offenders. That’s to be expected, I would think.
You don’t have to rely on “sounds to me”, though. You can actually read the report. And you can read the responses of Brady and Kraft. You can actually look at the evidence, and make a determination based on that, rather than relying on “sounds to me”.