It was like watching Master Sergeant Hans Georg Schultz suddenly appear in back-to-back performances in the New England Patriots headquarters. Coach Bill Belichick insisted that he not only had no idea how the balls in the game with the Colts were deflated, he claimed utter ignorance about virtually anything to do with the subject of air pressure and footballs. He was followed by quarterback Tom Brady who, despite previously saying that he preferred underinflated balls, said that he could not tell that the balls were deflated (even when a Colts employee could immediately feel the difference and report it). It is the immaculate deflation. It just happened by some cosmic coincidence over(1) and over(2) and over(3) and over(4) and over(5) and over(6) and over(7) and over(8) and over(9) and over(10) and over(11) again.
In the law, there is a certain thing called circumstantial evidence and it reads like this. First, the Patriots were playing on a rainy day when deflating a ball can help a QB throw and a receiver catch in the conditions of play. Second, Brady previously said that he preferred under-inflated balls.. Third, 11 out of 12 balls were deflated. Fourth, it appears that the Colts did not have deflated balls. (I will not include a suggestion of modus operandi or prior conduct evidence involving the Patriots in prior allegations of cheating).
What appears clear is that such deflation is not accidental. The New York Times includes a quote from Kevin Murphy, who runs the American football division at Wilson that such deflation could not be the result of colder weather or spiking the ball.
No one is of course coming forward to admit any knowledge of the cheating. However, that does not mean that the NFL should then just walk away in frustration without a designated defendant. In the absence of some notion of a crazed, rogue ball-inflating employee, the team is still accountable for another violation of NFL rules. There has been no plausible explanation offered thus far for the evidence. If the NFL walks away or simply issues some rhetorical sanction, it sends a message that rules cannot be broken unless there is no one caught in the act or willing to confess in the aftermath. As noted earlier, deterrence is accomplished through the relative adjustments between detection rates and sanctions. The lower the detection rate, the higher sanctions must be to achieve deterrence.
Under the rules, the organization could be fined $25,000. Even if you multiply that by the balls, it would still only be $275,000 — a small fine for giving Brady his preferred under-inflated balls. The most serious penalty may be the loss again of a draft pick, which would seem more than justified in this circumstance. My problem is that, if the NFL believes this was intentional, there is a continuing pattern of dishonesty.
There may be some challenge in terms of causation with reluctant witnesses, a problem often encountered in the medical area. This is a standard problem in the medical field where there is often multiple actors and sketchy records. Indeed, the court in Ybarra v. Spangard faced such a problem in terms of causation when no doctor or nurse came forward to identify the responsible party or parties in a case of malpractice. The court allowed the case to continue on the basis of the staff as a whole — a response to what is sometimes called the “conspiracy of silence” in the profession.
There is also a doctrine of joint and several liability that would seem analogous. This is a team working in concert for a common end. Regardless of which agent of the team committed the violations (if the NFL determines it was likely an intentional act), it was done on behalf of the team. There is a rogue employee defense but the team itself is responsible for the balls and compliance with the rules.
I am also curious how Brady was not questioned by the NFL, which insists that it is doing a thorough investigation. Brady said that he has not spoken with NFL investigators. I must also confess that I fail to see how a seasoned NFL quarterback had no inkling that the ball were deflated as Brady says. Brady simply insisted “I have no knowledge of anything. I have no knowledge of wrongdoing. I have no problem saying that – as far as I know.” Belichick also insisted that he knows very little about pressure and footballs period: “I had no knowledge of the various steps involved in the game balls and the process it went through and what happened.”
It all seemed strangely familiar:
Fiver … okay, you’re right. By the mid to late 90’s I was not much of a movie or television comedy or drama fan. By then my kid was in her 20’s and her pursuits were seldom television or movies. She liked “live” performances and still goes to concerts with the hordes at 42…though she looks more like 32 & fit as can be. She’s a fan of Nickelback, who I had to look up on youtube.com to find out who they were. My last concert, IIRC, was Prince’s Purple Rain tour, and that was as security for the group, not as an audience member.
BTW…Prince Rogers Nelson ran the best organized tour events in large venues of all the groups I worked with back then….which included The Who, the Rolling Stones, AC/DC and sundry others….Michael Jackson’s Victory Tour was the worst of the bunch, way too many relatives in the mess. Easy audience crowd though, most were in their 50’s or so, which was sort of a surprise….for a guy who stopped paying attention to the Motown crowd when they left town. Among the groups, I really liked The Who for their pretty girls in bikinis who handled and counted the cash we escorted to them from the vendor tables. Made me want to 25 again.
If I see a movie these days it’s on pay per view cable….and watching one is still rare. I know that there is dirt out there younger than me…dang it. We got our first television around 1954 or so…otherwise it was all of us kids watching the one TV on the block at a friends house, on Saturday mornings, whose mother won it on a radio game show….and was a very patient woman to say the least. I grew up reading books (and playing sports and competing in them outdoors) and still prefer them, non-fiction these days, to most other diversions.
As for my favorite sports…one might say I am a tad less agile than the old days, etc. Ppbbffffttt…..life happens.
Instant Replay The Unedited Version
http://meetingsnet.com/site-files/meetingsnet.com/files/uploads/2014/08/Chuck-Lane-Lombardi.gif
Coach Lombardi was insistent that we pay attention to every detail. He worried about the lights in the film room and the food at the training table. The paper used to print up the play books. The size and type of towels in the locker room.
But most of all he was concerned about the balls.
Not his balls of course. The balls we used to play the game with on the field. You see depending on how the ball was inflated it could do different things. If it was inflated to the max when you kicked it would go really far. If it was deflated then it was easier for Bart Starr to grip and for the receivers to catch in the freezing cold tundra of Lambeau field. Of course you couldn’t deflate them too much because of Hornung. You see he like to put them in his mouth. He was funny that way.
Coach Lombardi was super strict about all of the equipment. The tackling sleds. The whirlpool. And of course the tackling dummies. He always tested them every training camp. He wanted to make sure they were big enough and hard enough. That is why he would sit on them and feel them between his cheeks.
At least that is what he said. Hey. He’s the Coach.
(Instant Replay- The Unedited Edition, Jerry Kramer & Dick Schaap Random House 1968)
The physics of temperature differential only accounts for .4-.5 psi. Not 2psi.
Referred to several sites on this one.
Sorry to talk about this instead of flubber, but I believe the sites you’re citing have miscalculated by using gauge pressure (e.g., 13 psi) instead of absolute pressure (which is gauge pressure plus atmospheric pressure). The calculations I cited earlier were performed by Boston-area physicists, who are much more trustworthy than their Indiana counterparts.
Aridog,
I guess the Flubber thing is pretty age based. I just loved those movies when I was I kid.
We need information from the league and the officiating team for that gamel There have been so many different stories it’s ridiculous. A QB on Fox saying the QB is responsible for the ball! Give me a break! There is a procedure defined by the NFL about how many balls and who checks them and who keeps them throughout the game. I have never seen anyone on a pro team sideline toss in a ball. It comes from the sidelines by one of the officiating team (the guy with the towel). The ref on the field asks for it.
Now, how many of you have some recorded games, perhaps this game. Take a look and see if there’s something different. A receiver says he told a ref after an interception the ball seemed wrong. When did that happen? What official? What did he do? Officials are given 12 balls by each team to check and approve. Did they skip that part?
This is all about the officiating, period. If they didn’t do everything correctly, it is neither team’s responsibility.
The NFL is a tax-free, RICO enterprise. Because of the millions made by players for billionaire team owners and other special interest parties, do not expect any punishment that would make a statement about the need for integrity in this or any other wealthy, corrupt organization.
Is there anyone here that doubts the boys in Vegas didn’t factor this in whenever they set the “LINE”?.
Everything so far is based on speculation. The NFL has finally issued an official statement: http://www.nfl.com/news/story/0ap3000000462476/article/nfl-investigation-of-balls-in-afc-title-game-led-by-pash-wells
Pats official statement: http://static.nfl.com/static/content/public/photo/2015/01/23/0ap3000000462506.pdf
How about we do what we like to say in every other situation and not pass judgement or claim facts based on gossip, leaks, unidentified sources, what others players / coaches / commentators claim must be true for all because it’s their belief / experience?
Two observations
1.The physics of temperature differential only accounts for .4-.5 psi. Not 2psi.
Referred to several sites on this one.
2. The Pats scored many more points after the detection of the pressure issue.
E.g. More points with regulation pressure. So could it be said that the Pats were spotting the Colts, I.e. handicapping themselves? (Tongue in cheek?)
One thing that comes out of all this for me….previously had no idea who supplied balls and how officials use a different ball for field goals and kickoffs.
Would be interesting if balls were handled in much the same manner as MLB. You get what the ump gives you. Adds more unknowns to the QB equation and levels the playing field.
Canon – I keep asking for a scientific commission to examine all the evidence. I do not trust the NFL, or any of their lackeys to tell me the truth.
I do not follow professional football and I am following this story only on here. I was surprised to find that the teams supplied their own balls at their own psi, and the league supplied the field goal balls. I do not think NE deflated the balls, given the constraints put on them once the balls have been approved.
Funny? This is downright hysterical!
The best part of this nonsense, aside from the admittedly juvenile plays on ball deflation, is watching the contortions that Patriot fans are willing to endure to protect their Saint William and Saint Thomas.
More popcorn, please. This is only going to get better.
Fiver….on, yeah, that and I almost don’t believe you enticed me to Google “Flubber Theory.” What can I say…
Fiver said…
This is the funniest thing to happen in the [entertainment business] in quite a while.
Minor correction, otherwise carry on. “Sport” is not a phenomena of the NFL. 🙂
Aridog,
Emoticon issues?
Relax. Take a breath. Smile.
Enjoy.
This is the funniest thing to happen in sports in quite a while.
BTW, you still haven’t addressed my “flubber” theory 😛
fiver – I looked at the ‘flubber’ theory but figured that died with Fred MacMurray.
none of the Colts balls went below the mandated minimum, while all of the Patriots balls did.
What psi did the Colts’ balls measure during inspection? Oh, that’s right–nobody knows except the officials, who aren’t saying.
The weather argument is just plain silly no matter how many unnamed, vaguely credentialed, Boston area “experts” are said to claim otherwise.
Avogadro’s Law is totally an invention of Boston sports fans. Or maybe Bill Belichick, Evil Genius.
BTW, the evidence of a “loss of 2 psi” is this tweet from ESPN’s Chris Mortensen:
NFL has found that 11 of the Patriots footballs used in Sunday’s AFC title game were under-inflated by 2 lbs each, per league sources.
That’s a “loss” of 2 psi if (a) the degree of underinflation cited by the “league sources” was relative to the minimum standard rather than the midpoint and (b) we know that the officials did in fact measure psi rather than doing a “feel” test.
The NFL has chosen to give us none of that info. Why is that?
One obvious reason would be what I wrote earlier–this is a rule that nobody really cared about until the Colts noticed they were getting beaten badly at the line of scrimmage.
Compare the handling of the balls used in ordinary play to that of the balls used in kicking plays. In the latter case, the officials maintain control at all times, b/c the league doesn’t want 60-70 yard FGs. The reason the league allows teams access to the regular game balls is precisely so that QBs can alter them to their own preferences in terms of the surface condition–presumably w/in some limits. It’s likely that the refs’ pregame inspection is more concerned w/ the surface condition of the balls than their precise psi.
But it’s funny to see people get irate over this, so by all means carry on.
One thing that’s clear is that the NFL should make the standard 11.5-12.5 psi, so that the rest of the league can catch up to NE in terms of performance.
fiver…Reading comprehension issues? I did NOT say the officials did it. I suggested they may be culpable if they knew the balls were deflated and said nothing. The Umpire handles the game ball for every play, all of them, and as far as I have read, he said squat. No “deflection” involved here…just information not yet released, if ever to be released. Given the officials have custody of the game balls, both sides, pre-game (if the balls were systematically deflated by the Patriots) how did they not notice the issue and do something? Maybe because they couldn’t tell or didn’t measure anything whatsoever? All I ask is for an explanation of that phenomena when 11 balls of 12 were found deflated post-facto.
As I said, NFL ball is entertainment…and they’re sure doing a good job this week.
Otherwise: Yawn.
Aridog,
The officials did it?
Really? That’s the worst attempt at deflection since New England Patriots tried to escape liability for The Boston Tea Party by dressing up as Native Americans 😉
Al Michaels is a superb sports broadcaster who showed his skills under fire during the World Series earthquake in 1989, elevating his realm from sports. Collingsworth is a nasally, smarmy, a-hole. I’m w/ you on him.
Fiver you said …
… except for the officials …
A rather gapping “exception” in my view. Very little has been said about how they conduct the football sequestration or how they “measure” the footballs before accepting them. Let alone the Umpire who handles every ball for every play didn’t notice the deflation as the game proceeded.
Or did they and said nothing?
Otherwise, NFL football…Yawn. I’d as soon watch re-runs of SNL.
I know the context is different (intentional v. negligent behavior), but this is almost a res ipsa loquitur case. The balls were prepared by the Patriots, inflated by the Patriots, and under the control of the Patriots (except for the officials and the one intercepted ball handled by the Colts).
The loss of 2 psi is not something that happens without intentional manipulation. One or two defective, nearly brand new balls might be possible. But all twelve? (eleven under by two psi and the twelfth by 1 psi).
The weather argument is just plain silly no matter how many unnamed, vaguely credentialed, Boston area “experts” are said to claim otherwise. Not only is a drop from room temperature to 50 or 45 degrees insufficient mathematically to account for a 2 psi (16%) reduction, none of the Colts balls went below the mandated minimum, while all of the Patriots balls did.
Of course, that doesn’t necessarily mean that Patriots tampered with the balls after inspection. Remember, the Patriots aren’t just any cheaters; they have had many years of experience and are easily among the world’s foremost experts in the field (or on the field).
They could have filled the balls with hot air (at the precise temperature calculated by an MIT post-doc who must obviously remain nameless) and simply waited for it to cool.
Or, my personal favorite, they could have just added some flubber 😉
Fiver. posted – “They could have filled the balls with hot air (at the precise temperature calculated by an MIT post-doc who must obviously remain nameless) and simply waited for it to cool.” That is the best explaination I gave heard and would explain why the second half was when deflation occurred.
Just great. Now we’re all gonna have to listen to Al Michaels and … no, God no, Chris Collinsworth go on and on about this. Someone tell me how NBC hired that moron and he gets to commentate a Super Bowl? I’d rather hear just about anyone else but him, and thanks to these modern toys like digital cable and HD, I can’t turn down the tube and turn up the radio anymore.
Or how about a faulty gauge that tested the balls to begin with?