NFL 2014 Season Thread

[Boris Godunov]

This is a lot worse the Spygate though. I don't think it would be a problem for the Colts to play. Yes it would be a logistical nightmare but not impossible. Refund the Pats fan's tickets, that's not that hard.

I don't know if it's worse than trying to steal an opponent's signals.

Refund tickets? OK. How about airline tickets? Hotel deposits?

[EPW]

I don't know if it's worse than trying to steal an opponent's signals.

Refund tickets? OK. How about airline tickets? Hotel deposits?

It's worse because the tapes in spygate weren't used in the same game. Teams were also warned about tampering with the balls earlier in the season: http://espn.go.com/blog/minnesota-vi...nthers-vikings

Airline tickets/deposits. Well they can still go to the superbowl or vacation if they want too.

[EPW]

Oh dear. And here I thought Spygate was the worst possible thing that one NFL team could do to another NFL team. Clearly, insisting that the air in the ball conforms to the laws of physics is beyond the pale.

(Am I making assumptions there? Sure, exactly as many as you are.)

Then why weren't the Colts ball's effected?

[Koyaanisqatsi]

I haven't seen anything reported one way or the other on the Colts balls. That would be a useful piece of information to have.

I have, on the other hand, seen other players refer to the same phenomenon when talking about other games. (See Graham Gano's tweets.)

[EPW]

I haven't seen anything reported one way or the other on the Colts balls. That would be a useful piece of information to have.

I have, on the other hand, seen other players refer to the same phenomenon when talking about other games. (See Graham Gano's tweets.)

The big problem with this theory is that the officials measured the pressure at room temperature before the game and then (almost definitely) retested them 2 days later again in at room temperature, so any pressure change caused by a low temperature during the game is irrelevant.

[Koyaanisqatsi]

That disagrees with the reports I saw. What I've read is that the balls were checked at halftime and removed from play in the second half. So, presumably they were inflated indoors, brought into lower temps for a half, then tested within a few minutes of being brought back indoors.

But, this is what happens when you make assumptions based on leaked info.

Edit: Or maybe just correctly inflated for the second half; either way, it sounds like things were returned to normal after the half. Not sure how that plays into the ball that was removed from play at the beginning of the 3rd.

[EPW]

You would have a point if they were dumb enough to do that. But it looks like they weigh the balls to calculate pressure: http://sports.yahoo.com/blogs/nfl-sh...062844133.html

which wouldn't depend on temperature.

[Koyaanisqatsi]

Except that's apparently not what happened, depending on who you listen to.

http://www.bostonglobe.com/sports/2015/01/21/deflategate-latest-patriots-scandal-that-just-won-end/Xoi6mzat41vza3dUEpW1XM/story.html

The league inspected each of the Patriots’ 12 game balls twice at halftime, using different pressure gauges, and found footballs that were not properly inflated.

[EPW]

I suppose it's possible then.

[rah]

As anyone that's had an issue where their car tires in the cold knows what temperature can do to air pressure.
And if the team set them to the lowest level allowed because their players prefer it that way and then took them outside, I could see how it would fall below.

This one might me difficult to prove unless they find a smoking gun.
And it's the responsibility of refs to check this stuff so some of the blame has to fall on them.

Having said all that, this is the type of thing that the Pats don't seem to shy away from.

I'll predict another draft pick loss but not a lot of anything else. (unless they find a smoking gun)

I like Rogers comments on it. He said he prefers the balls at the higher pressure since he has larger hands and a stronger grip. I'll bet the Packers made sure the balls were at the upper end of the pressure range when they prepped the balls for their game. (in not saying over the league limit)

[Sava]

so much talk about balls

[Donegeal]

Alright, I am officially done with this deflate-gate crap! The Patriots are no more cheaters than everybody else. Why? Because everybody f***ing does it; and if you don't realize your team does it, you're a f***ing moron!

[Imran Siddiqui]

Well, heck, if the everyone does it defense actually was valid, Ray Rice may still be on a team

[H Tower]

Lets solve this in one swoop. It's time to do the same thing with the regular down balls that they did with the kicking balls. The NFL needs to bring them. Everyone uses the same balls, none of this team preparation crap. I will even go so far as to say that the game balls cannot be used during warmup. The first time a player, coach, or team representative touches the ball is when the center puts his hands on it for 1st and 10 after the kickoff.

[rah]

Testing them right before they were used and then keeping them away from the teams would serve the same purpose.