saying that if there is not conclusive evidence they demand an apology.
he also mentioned the science of how footballs react to temperature, etc.
said the discourse has been driven by the league leaking information, etc. (excuse if i get anything wrong, i'm typing as I listen).
boy, now we'll see what the league has.
i think Kraft is just distancing himself. he knows how BB bends the rules. he wants to go on camera now saying his folks have never lied to him. that way if it turns out they did something he can be shocked.
Cmon. We're talking the air in footballs. Apologies? Firings? Slap in the face? Wow have we become a society that overreacts to everything, from snowstorms to the air in footballs. Incredible.
Ok, so what should happen? Forfeit, cancel the Super Bowl. Suspensions. Banishment, what? Not easy is it. Unless you've been in a position of determining penalties for infractions of rules you really don't know. It's easy to do it from your couch. Doing it for real is a lot different.
There hasn't been an official statment yet from the NFL.
People are now bactkracking...11 balls were under inflated by 1 lb, Jackson never notified anyone.
The officials have stated the balls were checked 2 1/2 hrs before the game and never left their side until 10 minutes before game time.
BB and Brady has said they have no idea why the balls were deflated other than to say neither of them doctored the balls in any way or told anyone to do it.
But somehow everyone wants to rush to judgement and tarnish people's reputation without any official statement, and what looks like faulty leaks from people with an axe to grind. OK
if the Pats are guilty it's a debacle
The League hasn't talked to Brady yet, although they have spoken to more than 40 people already. This seems to indicate they think he's complicit. But who knows. They've said nothing.
I still am convinced the air was let out intentionally and it wasn't the first time.
I think Brady likes an underinflated ball, just like Aaron Rodgers and other QB's have stated they like an over inflated ball.
Sometimes the refs add air, or take some air out if the ball doesn't feel right. I don't think this is an exact science, and I'm sure each officiating crew handles it a little differently. Some officialls have already stated they don't measure each ball.
This "Deflatgate"...is definitely the work of someone with an axe to grind. The Pats are the most successful franchise in football for the past 15-20 years. There are a lot of haters and envious people out there. This is a contrived story (witchunt) with the main intent to bad mouth the Pats brand along with the coach and QB.
I'm not ready to go there until the NFL has provided documentation without a doubt that they intentionally cheated.
There hasn't been an official statment yet from the NFL.
People are now bactkracking...11 balls were under inflated by 1 lb, Jackson never notified anyone.
The officials have stated the balls were checked 2 1/2 hrs before the game and never left their side until 10 minutes before game time.
BB and Brady has said they have no idea why the balls were deflated other than to say neither of them doctored the balls in any way or told anyone to do it.
But somehow everyone wants to rush to judgement and tarnish people's reputation without any official statement, and what looks like faulty leaks from people with an axe to grind. OK
You wouldn't happen to be a Patriot fan would you
I must say, they there is an air of confidence starting to ooze out of Brady, Beli, and now Kraft about this issue. They must have really done their internal homework - even beyond the science fair Prof. Beli gave Saturday - and feel they've got this locked down. Because right now they are basically telling Goodell and the NFL they don't need any more river cards to make their hand...
It's already been leaked the attendant brought all 24 balls into a bathroom.
The NFL is going to conclude that no relationship exists between the attendant and the Patriots. The attendant will be fired and that will be the end of this controversy.
And we will all continue to watch the NFL.
Link - ( New Window )
What other stand can they take though? No one that actually plays or coaches is going to come forward about this, so it ends up getting dumped on some low level employee who did this on his own. They already know they will be punished, so this is just a preliminary shot for PR reasons.
Now if the NFL puts out undeniable proof that the Pats cheated, then have at it. I think that Kraft, BB and TB are telling the truth.
This place would explode
I think all of their draft picks for this year should be taken away and put into a lottery with all the teams in there to see who gets what lol.
Now if the NFL puts out undeniable proof that the Pats cheated, then have at it. I think that Kraft, BB and TB are telling the truth.
What more proof do you need outside of 11 of their balls being drastically underinflated?
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Not a fan of the Patriots, I've been cheering for the Giants for longer than you have been born. My kids were all raised Giants fans. Just for 1 minute think about how you would feel if they tried to tarnish the Giants rep with this BS.
Now if the NFL puts out undeniable proof that the Pats cheated, then have at it. I think that Kraft, BB and TB are telling the truth.
What more proof do you need outside of 11 of their balls being drastically underinflated?
Drastically? The hyperbole surrounding this has really gotten silly. This is the single most overblown non-scandal I have ever seen...
Once the NFL has provided us with their findings then we can each come to our own conclusions about the Pats organization.
Tom Brady has always struck me as a class act, kind of the same way I feel about Eli. The rush to judgement on this has been ridiculous. If the media has done this to the Giants, many on here would be pissed beyond belief.
Smells like guilt to me.
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not 1 but 11 of them, are infractions of the rules. People can belittle the infraction all they want but it IS illegal under NFL rules. I'd have no problem with it if it were 1 or 2 balls, but 11 of 12 is on purpose.
Ok, so what should happen? Forfeit, cancel the Super Bowl. Suspensions. Banishment, what? Not easy is it. Unless you've been in a position of determining penalties for infractions of rules you really don't know. It's easy to do it from your couch. Doing it for real is a lot different.
I'm not doing anything from my couch. I'm simply stating they broke the rules, clearly. I have no idea what the penalty should be, not my job to either. I'm guessing the penalty won't fit the crime since it won't come before the SB.
The severity of the crime itself has never been the point.
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is that the severity of the "crime" is being overstated to the point of lunacy...
The severity of the crime itself has never been the point.
It is entirely the point...
Stephen A. Smiths argument this morning though was laughable to me. He stated why would Bill do all the nasty stuff he does to the balls in practice just to go and have the balls under inflated during the game. ITS OBVIOUS!!!
The same reason you have players put on weight when they train and then put them in the lightest uniform possible during the game. You practice with a tough ball and then you get a easier ball to play with and you go out and play like a super team. And from the turnover report compared to the rest of the NFL as of 2007 they play like a super team.
#Wheretheressmoketheresfiredoesntapplytothepats
Benson can fume all he wants, and I think the league went way overboard on the punishment doled out to the Saints. But intentionally seeking to hurt the opposition is much graver than possibly manipulating ball pressure.
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In comment 12111405 Chris in Philly said:
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is that the severity of the "crime" is being overstated to the point of lunacy...
The severity of the crime itself has never been the point.
It is entirely the point...
No, it's not. I've not found a single person who's seriously trying to pretend that New England beat Indy because the footballs were underinflated.
So no, it's never been about how under-inflated footballs affected the outcome of one game. It's about deterring New England and other teams from screwing around with the rules in the future.
If the league finds out this was done with institutional approval, and they DON'T drop the hammer, then it's an implicit greenlight to all the other teams to find little ways around the rules that nobody really pays attention to, so they can have their own advantages. And suddenly, 32 NFL teams are in a race to the bottom - each trying to outdo the other with little cheat codes. I don't want to watch that league.