Call me crazy.....

[DanielSan]

....but I would like the NFL to disqualify the motherf***ing Patriots (or should I say the Deflatriots) from the Super Bowl!!!!!!! & yes, I'm a Jets fan

[2thehoopand1]

Man this side of realgm doesn't get visitors often. Man I feel you I'm giants obviously. I dont hate the pats but its just up their alley to do something like this. I doubt anything happens before the Superbowl though. Of a big fine take away some draft picks maybe bill or Brady gets a miss a couple games next season.

[2thehoopand1]

Double post

[83SixersRocked]

I think Brady's at risk for the HOF if they aren't more convincing. And coach could get suspended for a year. There's precedent if the evidence is there.

[RIPskaterdude]

No

[therealbig3]

Even if they are guilty, a slightly deflated football is like wearing cleats that are too long...it's a minor offense at most. Nobody is losing their job, nobody is getting year long suspensions, and nobody is being denied the HOF. Seriously, this "scandal" is the dumbest thing I've ever seen. People are acting like they committed murder. It's because it's the Patriots that people are freaking out, but this is pretty much nothing compared to the **** we've seen over the years in the NFL. If this was any other team...first of all, there wouldn't be a witch-hunt mentality and an actual investigation would take place before details were leaked and people already made up their minds, and second of all, they would have gotten a slap on the wrist at worst. None of this talk about kicking them out of the SB and suspending their coach and QB would even be a topic of discussion. You wouldn't have ex-CIA breaking down their press conference on CNN if that was any other QB, or any other team.

[therealbig3]

And I should also point out...nobody knows what actually happened yet. They COULD be innocent.

[El Turco]

It became a big deal because there is a precedent and culture of cheating, nothing to do with having a bulls eye on your back

[jackwindham]

Even if they are guilty, a slightly deflated football is like wearing cleats that are too long...it's a minor offense at most.

Those that have played the sport might argue with you here. I'm sure centers and long snappers would tell you that the grip makes a difference, especially when there is defensive pressure coming at you. Quarterbacks obviously know the difference. Wide receivers, tight ends and running backs can tell as well.

[Worm Guts]

Even if they are guilty, a slightly deflated football is like wearing cleats that are too long...it's a minor offense at most.

Those that have played the sport might argue with you here. I'm sure centers and long snappers would tell you that the grip makes a difference, especially when there is defensive pressure coming at you. Quarterbacks obviously know the difference. Wide receivers, tight ends and running backs can tell as well.

If it's that important, the NFL should be supplying the balls and both sides should be using the same ones.

[therealbig3]

Even if they are guilty, a slightly deflated football is like wearing cleats that are too long...it's a minor offense at most.

Those that have played the sport might argue with you here. I'm sure centers and long snappers would tell you that the grip makes a difference, especially when there is defensive pressure coming at you. Quarterbacks obviously know the difference. Wide receivers, tight ends and running backs can tell as well.

There was a Sports Science video on ESPN that showed that a deflated football might actually be a disadvantage for other reasons too.

Anyway, my point was that a small change in equipment that's not allowed is pretty much never blown out of proportion like this.

Furthermore, recent reports are actually finding that the Pats are probably innocent and that this whole thing was a media-driven witch hunt, because the Ravens, Colts, and Jets were butt hurt. Independent scientific labs are corroborating what Belichick said in his press conference, while it's now being revealed that most of the deflated footballs were probably only 1 PSI under, not 2, which further supports Belichick's statements. In fact, the only ball that was 2 PSI under was the one that the Colts handed to the officials...

http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/20 ... flategate/

http://www.bostonglobe.com/sports/2015/ ... story.html

[LAKESHOW]

Tom Brady didn't need to. They would've and did kill the Colts without it. And it didn't play a difference in the game. But Tom Brady went ahead and did it anyway.

[Bulltalk]

It's cheating. Pretty much that.

[Higga]

It's cheating. Pretty much that.

Cheating is too wide of a term. I mean committing pass interference is cheating too. There are degrees. What the Pats did IMO was like a parking ticket. I really don't think it's that big of a deal at all. It's mostly a media witch hunt trying to take down the top dog Pats. Journalists wanting to make a name for themselves as being the guy/gal that broke the big story that destroyed the Patriots.

[Bulltalk]

It's cheating. Pretty much that.

Cheating is too wide of a term. I mean committing pass interference is cheating too. There are degrees. What the Pats did IMO was like a parking ticket. I really don't think it's that big of a deal at all. It's mostly a media witch hunt trying to take down the top dog Pats. Journalists wanting to make a name for themselves as being the guy/gal that broke the big story that destroyed the Patriots.

Cheating is cheating. The rule is clear. It wouldn't have been done if there hadn't been a perceived advantage. It's clear that it was done. Eleven out of twelve footballs of the Pats? None for Indy?

I'm not saying this is an earth shattering injustice, but it certainly is cheating, and should be punished.

[therealbig3]

It's going to be hilarious to see how many people end up eating crow on this one. Not one shred of evidence has come out against the Patriots intentionally doing this, and if the NFL had anything at this point, they would have come out with it by now. They wouldn't let this hang over until after the SB...unless, you know, they know that they're full of **** and need to save face.

[therealbig3]

It's cheating. Pretty much that.

Cheating is too wide of a term. I mean committing pass interference is cheating too. There are degrees. What the Pats did IMO was like a parking ticket. I really don't think it's that big of a deal at all. It's mostly a media witch hunt trying to take down the top dog Pats. Journalists wanting to make a name for themselves as being the guy/gal that broke the big story that destroyed the Patriots.

Cheating is cheating. The rule is clear. It wouldn't have been done if there hadn't been a perceived advantage. It's clear that it was done. Eleven out of twelve footballs of the Pats? None for Indy?

I'm not saying this is an earth shattering injustice, but it certainly is cheating, and should be punished.

Problem is, nobody knows if the officials did their jobs properly in the first place of making sure every ball was inflated to standards. I'm hearing that they just felt them and didn't actually use a pressure gauge.

If the Colts footballs started at 13.5, and dropped by 1 because of the weather...they're still within regulations. If the Pats footballs started at 12.5 and dropped by 1 because of the weather (10 of those 11 balls were only deflated by 1 PSI), they're suddenly considered under inflated now. I also haven't really heard of a convincing report that said that the Colts footballs were checked at half time, at the same time as the Patriots', in the same conditions. Also, if the Colts kept their balls in heaters, they wouldn't have lost pressure. The Patriots definitely did not. Knowing the starting PSIs, and the PSIs at half time for both teams would be helpful...I really doubt that the NFL has that though, or else we would have heard about it by now.

A lab in Pittsburgh already corroborated what Belichick said could happen to their footballs. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CxsXFX3tDpg

And finally, there have been reports that this was a witch hunt designed by Harbaugh and Pagano, and that the NFL had heard complaints about the footballs since the regular season, didn't do anything about it at the time, and was trying to run a sting operation on the Pats and try to catch them red handed (they were going to check the game balls regardless of the Colts reporting it at the time)...which is far less ethical than ANYTHING the Pats are accused of doing.

[Celtsfan1980]

The first time around, they should have had their first two picks taken away and all management involved(including the coach) should have been fired. Strict rules should be set, and harsh punishment should be given if you violate them. I'll still pull for them on Sunday though.

[Bulltalk]

Well now there is a prime suspect in Deflategate. Might even be footage of it. If this turns out to be true, oh yeah, lowly ballboy did it all on his own.

[Icness]

There are way too many holes in the investigation for anything to happen to Brady or esp. Belichick.

Is it cheating? Maybe but that's probably reading too much into it.

Is it cheating to pump in extra crowd noise, like Indy and Atlanta regularly do? Is it cheating to purposely make the field soggier when playing a team that likes to run, as the Dolphins have done for years? Is it cheating to purposely illegally block down the field on screens like the Packers do every week? Is it cheating for fans to pull fire alarms in the visiting team's hotel at all hours, which pretty much happens all the time?

The score was 45-7. Even if it gave them an advantage on maybe 3 plays, does it really matter?