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January 21, 2015
I got into a long discussion on Facebook regarding this whole New England Patriots football deflation story with a Pats fan. That’s not the way to talk about this. Pats fans, like any fans who find themselves in situations like this, are the last ones you truly want to talk to because they’re so invested. Instead of talking about the situation from an unbiased point of view, it turns into a Indianapolis Colts-bashing session or a ref-bashing session wherein the Pats can only be partially held responsible for their own potential actions in bending or breaking the rules. I live with a Colts fan, but I honestly didn’t care if they made the Super Bowl or not. I had my issues with Belichick as the man who cut Bernie Kosar, but I don’t dislike him anymore. I am not a Tom Brady hater, either. I think I can be totally unbiased when I talk about this, so I really wanted to lay it out.
The outcome of Colts game…
One thing that I agree with the Pats fans about is that the Colts game outcome wouldn’t have changed. Where I part company with those same fans is whether this has anything to do with the issue at hand. Regardless of the lopsided outcome of the Colts game or whether or not the Colts could have made it closer or won, that does nothing to the morality question in play. Vast team superiority is not a justification for skirting the rules and it does nothing to minimize the issue. Is there some situation in a sport where momentum is important that potentially not having deflated balls somehow changes the trajectory of the game and the Colts could have been in it? I guess it’s possible, but let’s not forget how short a field Indianapolis gave the Pats thanks to a Josh Cribbs fumble with 12:27 left in the first quarter. The Pats’ first two scoring drives were 26 yards and 59 yards and those starting positions had nothing to do with the pressure in the ball.
The Pats don’t deserve the benefit of the doubt…
I take no glee in saying this, but Pats fans, your team doesn’t get a clean slate from “spygate.” The principal parties are still in New England, namely Bill Belichick, and he’s the one who received a personal $500,000 penalty for the infraction. That’s the max penalty and was followed up by a $250,000 team penalty as well as a lost draft pickâtheir first rounder in 2008. I know that’s unrelated to whether or not the Pats were cheating by deflating their footballs beyond acceptable limits, but sorry Pats fans, you don’t get the benefit of the doubt. You just don’t. And to talk about this issue as if the Pats deserve it is misguided and wrong.
Talk about Bill Belichick’s legacy…
Despite not deserving the benefit of the doubt, I refuse to buy any of the talk that this injures Bill Belichick’s legacy. I mean, I guess it could depending on how it all turns out, but save me the MLB PED comparisons or anything involving Pete Rose and the Hall of Fame. I know Belichick was fined of something in the past and this might be a second incident under the umbrella of “cheating,” and it’s “funny” to nickname him “Belicheat,”1 but this is a first ballot Hall of Famer and an all-time great NFL coach.
Punishment talk…
“You know what we ought to do? We ought to sneak into their parking lot and deflate all their tires while they’re reviewing illegal game tape!” Nobody actually said this,2 but ugh. That’s all I have to say is “ugh.” The only thing worse than overly partisan defenses of the Pats is equally partisan takes on what the creative punishments ought to be. If the Pats are guilty and the NFL finds enough evidence to support a punishment it should be another fine and potentially a loss of draft pick. We know this playbook. When Bob Kravitz suggests Belichick be suspended for the Super Bowl, I laugh.3
"I would suspend (Bill Belichick) for the Super Bowl"- @bkravitz Watch his interview on this link. #DeflateGate #WTHR http://t.co/qGr9ONq6Wy
— Scott Swan (@ScottWTHR) January 21, 2015
So the answer to chaos in the AFC Championship game is to introduce more controversy into the biggest game of the year? So the answer to one potentially impacted outcome is to impact the next game even more? You don’t solve chaos by introducing more chaos. There’s a reason that we don’t go to Pats fans for a reasonable take on the Pats potential crimes. We also don’t listen to an Indianapolis reporter for the punishment.
If there’s a scenario where a fine and a pick aren’t harsh enough for a repeat offender, then you take two draft picks. But don’t try to say Belichick should be suspended for the Super Bowl.
The sadness of it all in the end…
The saddest part of all this is that I don’t think the Pats had to cast this light on themselves. Bill Belichick is one of the best coaches the NFL has ever seen. Tom Brady is one of the most successful quarterbacks in league history as he finishes out his career. We’d all be much better off as fans of teams in the NFL if none of this was at issue the week before the Super Bowl. You may hate the Patriots, Tom Brady and Bill Belichick, but it’s “sports hate.” In your mind, even though you know they cheated you know they’re still really really good. You know they’re really talented and make the most of their situation more times than not. The only way you can consistently win like they have over time is to consistently make the most of your situation.
So regardless of all the other noise or whether they’re villainous characters, I’m saddened by the distraction around a team with some of the real all-time greats. It didn’t have to be this way. It shouldn’t be this way. They have nobody to blame but themselves.
33 Comments
I agree wholeheartedly on all counts, Craig. You have to take the emotion out of these things and react logically. So there’s no point in doing anything crazy with the Super Bowl. The NFL isn’t about to mess up their crown jewel game, nor should they.
But if it is shown beyond a reasonable doubt the the Pats did deliberately cheat, then the Commish has got to bring the hammer down, starting the day after the game. Since the Pats are repeat offenders and since losing their No. 1 pick last time didn’t teach them a lesson, then sanctions for next year have got to be much worse. While the act itself is pretty trivial (I don’t see much of a risk-reward benefit here), the disregard for the rules is not.
I don’t think Kraft knew anything about this (I could be wrong, but that’s the sense I get), but Goodell must be highly p.o.’ed at him, and Kraft has to be highly p.o.’ed at Belichick.
If they want to suspend Belichick for all or parts of next year in addition to taking away draft picks, I think that would be defensible.
considering that it is a rule, I agree that they should be fined.
however, I hope that it brings to light how silly the rule is in itself.
I fully believe that each team should be able to choose however inflated they want their 12 balls to be. as long as the balls are standard issue NFL footballs (no difference in texture), the QB and WRs from each team should have it where they like it.
some QBs like it over-inflated (Rodgers) and some like them under-inflated (Brady – obviously).
I’ll agree that the NFL is ridiculously anal about too many things, whether it be ball inflation, the definition of what constitutes the “process” of catching a pass (and it’s cousin, the “fumble process”), or in trying to determine with mind-numbing exactitude whether or not the outer molecules of the ball broke the plane before the outer molecules of the runner’s knee touched the outer molecules of the nearest blade of grass. My God, how did this all happen?
Lawyers run the league (right Garry!!!).
http://img0.joyreactor.com/pics/post/auto-303299.jpeg
I admire Belichik’s coaching tremendously but his history fairly screams that he’s the eternal undeveloped Boy in the Bubble, a coach’s son raised in a film room and steeped in Parcells’s bullying style, who’s never done anything else, never held a real world job. Mangini was much like that, and Shanahan appears cut from similar cloth His atrocious behavior toward fans, media and veterans in his first gig here, quitting the Jets hours after accepting their HC gig, spygate … He’s seems to have as distorted a worldview as LeBron did in ’10. My bottom line is that I don’t think Belichik can even conceive that (if he’s responsible) he did anything wrong since in his mind it was in the furtherance of winning. So if punishment is to be meted I’d hit him right where it hurts: draft choices. Alas, heard someone say that under this particular “inflation” rule the max fine is $25,000. That is, about the cost of a team lunch in the super bowl practice week. And Belichik probably knew this, so why not try anything that might give your team a little goose.
But what I really hate is “-gate.” Can’t we, or anyone, be more original?
My favorite so far was seeing/hearing multiple folks suggest that the Patriots team be excluded from the Super Bowl itself–not forfeit, mind you, because it’s the SB and it must be played, but replaced by the Colts. Actually one creative thinker said replace the Pats with the Packers, since “too much weird stuff happened” in the NFCCG. It’s all been rather entertaining.
I could really care less about this whole thing. Fine them, dock their draft picks, whatever, and move on. You can probably never prove Belicheck had anything to do with this.
So is this common place in the NFL? Is this part of “home field advantage?” Because it seems like the refs never noticed anything until it was pointed out to them. Just PLAY FOOTBALL, for god’s sake. The NFL & media make more noise about these stupid “scandals” than the games themselves sometimes.
But this does remind me of one of my all-time favorite sports moments – Jason Grimsley climbing through the ceiling of the umpires office in Chicago to steal Albert Belle’s corked bat & getting caught. Now that’s off-field entertainment!
https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/originals/ff/3c/ab/ff3cab5d2758b4b991aca6129a148de6.jpg
Actually, I won’t be surprised at all if the “NFL officials” – probably a couple of pimply kids in the lowest of NFL entry-level jobs – never did check the balls before the game as required, because who the hell ever checks that or monitors them? And that Belichik, whose brain works like that, knew there was some advantage to exploit there.
I fully believe that the last team that Belichick was the HC (must include coaching an actual game) is the one that should replace the Pats in the Superbowl. And, since we kept the name, colors, and history, it is our Browns that get to play the Seahawks!
Good thing that many of them are staying in shape for the always hyper-competitive pro-bowl this week. Hope that DeFillippo has enough time to put his offense in this week. Good thing we cannot look any worse than Denver did in last year’s Superbowl.
note: for those that don’t know me very well, there is a possibility that the above is sarcasm. just a possibility, mind you.
that’s one of my favorites
I could really care less
ruh roh shaggy. though, the fact that you typed that many words to comment on it does indicate that you really could care less đ
Deadspin has taken to calling it Ballgazi, which I like. It’s more relevant.
Is “Squishy Balls” already copyrighted?
I would google it, but all the alarms on my work computer would almost certainly go off
I’d love to see the Browns play in that game with DeFillippo having installed a Tecmo Bowl offense with 4 plays (just as long as none of them are “Manziel sweep left”).
“Ready, down, hut, hut, hut, hut, hut, hut…”
the bot-ads are probably already queuing up a bunch of ED and prostate advertisements up for all of us reading this thread already too.
Manziel is the new “Metcalf up the Middle”
you know, maybe he could return punts?
Just as long as DeFillippo is hammering the B button when the ball is received
and checking to see which guy is “Excellent” at any one time
think of how many more Xtra Pt attempts we’re gonna block!
ZOINKS! ~ your right!
Since losing a first round draft pick wasn’t enough, they should lose every draft pick in the upcoming draft. (And by “should,” I’m not trying to pass judgment. Moreso IF they’re found guilty.)
Bo Jackson and LT were unstoppable in that game.
“I fully believe that each team should be able to choose however inflated they want their 12 balls to be”
This is the part of the entire story I cant even comprehend. How in the world is the football not the exact same for each team regardless of offense or defense?
Why in the world would you cater to how a QB likes the ball?
What if the backup likes his a certain way from the starter? Do we put an X on the starter, a Y on the backup a Z on the third string?
The only one deserving a penalty in this entire situation is the freaking NFL for having one of the most asinine rules you could possible dream of.
Isn’t it possible that the balls were correctly inflated within the rules on the low end when the refs checked them pregame then lost some PSI from the cold? Also when they were given new balls to start of the 3rd quarter Brady went 9 for 9 with a touchdown in that quarter when the Patriots scored 21 points. Seems like he did much better with the properly inflated balls than the under inflated balls. But it’s the Pats. They must be cheaters.
d’quell would never have caught the ball if was properly inflated
Wait until jerry rice was in the end zone and just throw it was unstoppable
The world.
(For what it’s worth, I just don’t buy that this court exchange ever actually happened.)
Yeah, the world is pretty messed up too đ
I will say it’s a good thing engineers don’t run things though, we’d really screw things up
Hypothetically, if this is proven to be Belichick’s doing, and he purposefully cheated the rules, why would it be out of line to suspend him for the next game? When players stomp on QB’s legs or throw punches, etc. we suspend them for a game. I would argue that a coach intentionally undermining league rules deserves a worse punishment than a player who lost their cool in the moment on the actual field.
BTW, I dont think this will be proven, but if it could be, I would 100% support suspending the coach from the next game, which just happens to be the Super Bowl.
Given that history of cheating the Pats have and the fact that all 12 of the Colts balls were also checked and found to be properly inflated anyone who is not a Pats fan can easily infer that they cheated again.
Interesting stats about the Pats passing game improving in cold weather while everyone else’s declines: http://thebiglead.com/2015/01/21/the-patriots-pass-the-ball-unusually-well-in-cold-weather-compared-to-other-teams/
This was the game they got caught but I bet this has been going on all year and maybe years.
As they are repeat offenders they need something that will really hurt them and send a message – maybe few draft picks over a couple of years and a salary cap penalty. Maybe they can force Brady to play with an overinflated ball in the Super Bowl and all next year (that was sarcasm by the way).
Most likely nothing of consequence will happen and the Patriots, like the “Too Big To Fail” banks, will shrug and say they their paltry penalty was simply the price for getting to the Super Bowl (which in fact they did).
Remember when Mike Tomlin inadvertently stepped on the field a few years back? It did cost Baltimore a touchdown but also was clearly unintentional. He was fined $100,000 and there was talk about taking away from draft picks.
It will be interesting to see how this plays out.