2014 NFL thread: The Final Battle

[DarthSkywalker]

I wonder if Goodell has had the balls in question destroyed yet? Nothing sweeps a controversy under the rug like destroying evidence (ala the tapes in Spygate).

 

[The Incredible Hulk]

They are kept in stasis within the cosmic birthing chamber by War Master Straxus until they are needed to defend the indefensible.

This is amazing.

 

[Pink Ranger]

I wonder if Goodell has had the balls in question destroyed yet? Nothing sweeps a controversy under the rug like destroying evidence (ala the tapes in Spygate).

Unfortunately, there is a police video of Tom Brady reinflating a football in an elevator in Atlantic City and then casually walking out dragging the air pump by the hose.

 

[Hound55]

Thought you were going to go in a Ray Rice direction there... but we all know Gisele would leave Tom crying and bleeding out in the elevator.

 

[Urich Leeds]

There's only one solution to all of this.

Balls were the true offenders here, so henceforth, all NFL games should be played without them.

Might as well with all rules on what constitutes a catch, fumble, etc.

What relevance does the ball itself really have anymore, when the refs only care about is dissecting how a player is holding it.

 

[DarthSkywalker]

Damn, there's always next year, Darth.

The Colts are the AFC version of the Panthers -- overachieving squads with holes everywhere.

I missed this. Thanks Doomsday.

 

[DarthSkywalker]

Unfortunately, there is a police video of Tom Brady reinflating a football in an elevator in Atlantic City and then casually walking out dragging the air pump by the hose.

We now know Tom looked like this before the game.

 

[The Apocalypse]

Maybe they shouldn't have cheated then?

Do you even know how much more of a difference it even makes? I fail to believe that a lighter ball made that much of a difference to even label it cheating. If this was another team we would not be making a big deal about it. Plus, they were checked at the half. If they were still deflated in the second half then the refs are at fault for not changing it. Maybe Goodell should look into his refs then.

 

[samsnee]

Do you even know how much more of a difference it even makes? I fail to believe that a lighter ball made that much of a difference to even label it cheating. If this was another team we would not be making a big deal about it. Plus, they were checked at the half. If they were still deflated in the second half then the refs are at fault for not changing it. Maybe Goodell should look into his refs then.

Because it didn't affect the outcome of the game, it's not cheating?

 

[DarthSkywalker]

Which is complete BS.

 

[Warhammer]

This is classic deflection. What others do is irrelevant. Especially when you consider most are probably not ridiculous enough to try this kind of thing during the game.

LOL.

My goodness.

 

[Warhammer]

Lol haters gonna hate on my boy.

All day, everyday, my man.

As a WWE fan, you should be used to that.

Unfortunately, this is true.

Hahaha yeah.

I've always seen Flacco as a luckier version of Jay Cutler. Maybe Trestman can just turn him into normal Jay Cutler, lol.

Haha, I hope so. My Sundays will be 10x better.

 

[JeetKuneDo]

They should have waited to after the Superbowl to release this story. All the media outlets are going to have a field day with this crap and it's going to overshadow the actual game.

Agreed. What a non-issue. Players and ex-players are even coming forward rolling their eyes over it.

I don't see a single problem with allowing each team to decide how they want the ball to be inflated for their offense. ....Especially since they are apparently already doing that very thing. It's the same as allowing each team to tie their shoes the way they want or choose between various cleats and facemasks.

Since every QB is different, that is actually a way to allow each QB an equal playing field to maximize their ability. Forcing each QB to play with the same pressure is an advantage to some and a disadvantage to others. This is a basic truth. Ask Aaron Rodgers.

Rodgers said he inflates them more. Now whether he gets away with it, who knows. It actually does the exact opposite of making the ball easier to catch, which is what the Pats are being accused of here. Or maybe I am wrong. Rodgers also says be believes there should be a minimum number, which goes against what the Pats did.

Rodgers reasoning is pretty revealing and funny when you read it:

"I have a major problem with the way it goes down, to be honest with you," Rodgers said Tuesday on his ESPN Milwaukee radio show. "The majority of the time, they take air out of the football. I think that, for me, is a disadvantage."

He's just revealed that this is common practice in the NFL. It's something he encounters very often...and he doesn't play the Pats very often.

Rodgers said he likes the ball to be inflated because of his strong grip pressure and large hand size but doesn't believe that's the norm.

"The majority of quarterbacks, I would say more than half, are maybe on the other end of the spectrum and like it on the flatter side," he said on his show. "My belief is that there should be a minimum air-pressure requirement but not a maximum. There's no advantage, in my opinion -- we're not kicking the football -- there's no advantage in having a pumped-up football.

"There is, if you don't have strong grip pressure or smaller hands, an advantage to having a flat football, though, because that is easier to throw. So I think that is something they need to look at. There should be a minimum on the air pressure but not a maximum. Every game they're taking air out of the footballs I'm throwing, and I think that's a disadvantage for the way that I like them prepped."

He again confirms that most QB's like less pressure and that this is common practice.

But here is where I start to laugh at him.

He seems really against other QB's having the ball the way they want it....but doesn't think there should be a rule against him having the pressure the way that gives him a better performance. lol....

Gotta love how he insists there is no advantage for him to have a higher pressure. So we are supposed to believe he just wants it that way for no reason at all.

 

[Warhammer]

^Prepare yourself for the responses you are about to get.

 

[The Incredible Hulk]

 

[MessiahDecoy123]

^ Classy

 

[MessiahDecoy123]

I'm deflated that there are so many Patriot fans on the hype.

It just takes the air right out of me.

 

[ih8nyy]

I'm deflated that there are so many Patriot fans on the hype.

It just takes the air right out of me.

I see what you did there.

BB basically just told everyone at his presser to ask Tom. Tom's 4pm presser should be interesting.

 

[HaplessHenchman]

I see what you did there.

BB basically just told everyone at his presser to ask Tom. Tom's 4pm presser should be interesting.

Yeah, Belicheat said that he didn't know anything about the footballs...

 

[Urich Leeds]

I'm deflated that there are so many Patriot fans on the hype.

It just takes the air right out of me.

 

[JeetKuneDo]

^Prepare yourself for the responses you are about to get.

I'm sure it goes against the assumptions.

Which are:

A mandated air pressure is "fair" and an "even playing field".
Being outside that mandate is "unfair" and an "uneven playing field".

The more I hear various QB's talk about it, the more the opposite seems true.

So if each QB performs at his best at different air pressures, how is mandating that all of them use the same pressure "fair"? I'm sure any QB who prefers his pressure within that range will gladly call it "fair"...but how about the guys who prefer it outside that range? A mandated pressure is going to help some QB's and hurt others. How is that "fair"?

And how is it fair to the fans? Don't we want to see every QB at his best? How is that a bad thing? Or are fans ok with it as long as it is not a disadvantage to the QB of their team?

We've already heard from Aaron Rodgers and how more air pressure is a benefit to him. (And there shouldn't be a rule against you getting a benefit, eh Aaron?)

Steve Young also likes more air pressure:

"I would say throwing a deflated football is of no advantage. Personally, I wouldn't want to throw a deflated football," said Young, now an analyst for ESPN. "But there's no advantage for me. If you look at a quarterback's performance, I struggle to see how underinflated footballs are changing the way you play."

Former Chicago Bears starting quarterback Jim Miller served as Patriots quarterback Tom Brady's backup in 2004. The current SIRIUS NFL Radio analyst sees Deflategate as "much ado about nothing" because quarterbacks are allowed to "doctor" footballs to their liking.

"Every team doctors the football, every quarterback around the league is scuffing the balls up to make sure they're broken in," Miller said. "… I would hate a deflated football or an overinflated football. It's like the three bears from Goldilocks and the porridge. As a quarterback, you want your football inflated just right.

"This is more about 'Oh, here goes Bill Belichick and the Patriots again.' It is about conspiracy theories. People perceive Belichick is just thumbing his nose at the league again."

http://www.usatoday.com/story/sport...teve-young-nfl-deflategate-patriots/22130249/

Onetime NFL MVP Rich Gannon dismisses the notion of wrongdoing, noting that trying to find the right game balls is nothing new for quarterbacks.

"Ask any quarterback, and this is a non-issue. Everybody does something to them. It's like a pitcher, he wants the ball a certain way. Take Tiger Woods, you wouldn't tell him after he's been hitting a 10.5 degree loft all week with a certain ball that, 'Hey, now we're going to switch your ball out.' That's his thing, and it's that specific feel that you want. That football is how we make our living and it sounds crazy, but it's a sacred thing. It's got to be a certain way."

As Boomer Esiason noted, in his day they took 24 balls out of the box before the game and that was it. Those were the game balls. "Quarterbacks have been complaining about that for years," said Esiason, who remains very close to the game as a CBS analyst and radio color commentator on broadcasts. Then, after superstars like Peyton Manning and Brady lobbied the league office to have more control over the balls, visiting teams eventually were allowed to supply their balls, while the home team supplied the rest.

"It really does seem totally ridiculous that this story has been blown so far out of proportion," Esiason said. "If you look at the footballs that the quarterbacks are playing with and throwing for the last six or seven years, just realize that everybody is doing the same thing."

http://www.cbssports.com/nfl/writer...e-find-doctoring-nfl-footballs-is-nothing-new

I mean....air pressure? Really? This is bordering on comical. The bounty thing and the spy camera thing I get....but frigging air pressure in the ball?

 

[CK_ALL_DAY]

I guess I'll chime in on this topic. As far as a ball being somewhat deflated, at least as the nfl rules are concerned, yes a deflated football does give a quarterback more of an advantage. With the football being slightly smaller, it's much easier to grip and give the quarterback more control especially in rainy or cold situations. If you don't believe that's true, try it out for yourself (unless you can't throw a football anyways).

As far as the Patriots are concerned, yes they should face some type of punishment because they broke a rule. And to be honest, they didn't even need to deflate anything to beat the Colts last Sunday. But let's not act like the Patriots are the only team to have done this. And I'm sure they've been doing it for sometime just like many other teams.

 

[Venom'sDad]

The wording has been changed from deflated to under inflated...which if you understand the difference....one implies intent, the other implies unknowingly.

The "League" changing the narritive. ;-)

The "League" wants this to go away, cause it hint at certain proprieties. Changing the narritive, is their way of hoping the story just dies out. They don't have an out, cause Sheriff Goodall would have to leverage penalties against Kraft organization. ;-)

 

[DarthSkywalker]

Brady and the Emperor looked horrible today.

 

[The Apocalypse]

Because it didn't affect the outcome of the game, it's not cheating?

It is against the rules, it is cheating. But there is a level to cheating. This would be on a very lower scale. It's not like the game was rigged or the refs were conspiring against another team. It was a one half of the ball being deflated a little. It's being blown out of proportion. If this happened to Peyton Manning no one would be throwing a *****fit (reference to other players and the media, not anyone on here). It's just really not a big deal and since they can't prove that this has happened before, it needs to be dropped so we can focus on, hopefully, a good Superbowl.

EDIT: Just saw a clip of Mark Brunell holding back tears saying Brady was lying. My lord has this been blown out of proportion.