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Why all the attention on deflated balls

pocketpiececommemspocketpiececommems Posts: 5,723 ✭✭✭✭✭
Why is there all of the attention on the deflated balls? ( I'm not saying it's right if it can be proved who did it. ) People are acting like it's the only time that something like this has happened in sports. How about watering down the field. Cutting the grass close or letting it grow long. Putting sand around the first base area to slow down base stealers. Watering down the pitchers mound. We could go on and on.

It's time for the Super Bowl.image

Comments

  • MGLICKERMGLICKER Posts: 7,995 ✭✭✭
    Well thank you for starting a fifth thread on the subject.




    image
  • mlbfan2mlbfan2 Posts: 3,115 ✭✭✭


    << <i>People are acting like it's the only time that something like this has happened in sports. How about watering down the field. Cutting the grass close or letting it grow long. Putting sand around the first base area to slow down base stealers. Watering down the pitchers mound. We could go on and on.
    >>



    Those things are allowed, at least when done in moderation. Plus, when you alter a baseball field, it still affects both teams equally. Deflating a football below 12.5 PSI isn't allowed.
  • MGLICKERMGLICKER Posts: 7,995 ✭✭✭


    << <i> Plus, when you alter a baseball field, it still affects both teams equally. >>





    Not always true.
  • CNoteCNote Posts: 2,070


    << <i>

    << <i> Plus, when you alter a baseball field, it still affects both teams equally. >>





    Not always true. >>



    Elaborate.

  • pitbosspitboss Posts: 8,643 ✭✭✭
    I think what he is trying to say is that both teams have to play with the same field and the other team has the speedsters and the away team does not so it affects only the visiting team.

    Spring training is only a month away guys.

    i am excited guys.

    Once super bpwl is over it wont be long.

    Go Red Sox!
  • BarndogBarndog Posts: 20,454 ✭✭✭✭✭


    << <i>I think what he is trying to say is that both teams have to play with the same field and the other team has the speedsters and the away team does not so it affects only the visiting team.

    Spring training is only a month away guys.

    i am excited guys.

    Once super bpwl is over it wont be long.

    Go Red Sox! >>



    They still need to move some excess players, IMO
  • pitbosspitboss Posts: 8,643 ✭✭✭
    Moving excess players will take care of itself in spring training.

    Something will happen to make the better players come to the top like cream did to the top of the milk bottle in the old days. ( do you remember those days?)
  • JoeBanzaiJoeBanzai Posts: 11,171 ✭✭✭✭✭


    << <i>Why is there all of the attention on the deflated balls? ( I'm not saying it's right if it can be proved who did it. ) People are acting like it's the only time that something like this has happened in sports. How about watering down the field. Cutting the grass close or letting it grow long. Putting sand around the first base area to slow down base stealers. Watering down the pitchers mound. We could go on and on.

    It's time for the Super Bowl.image >>



    Because even though they didn't need it, Patriots gave them selves and illegal advantage.

    Saying that violating the rules is only bad if it's the first time its ever been done makes no sense to me, but to answer your baseball question in part, sand was often brought in when a team complained about watered down infields.

    If we are not going to enforce the rules, why even have them?
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  • CubbyCubby Posts: 2,096
    "Plus when you alter a baseball field, it still affects both teams equally"

    "Not always true"

    "Elaborate"

    While it does affect both teams equally, one team can benefit more....
    I think thats what MG meant


    BTW: Cubby=Cub Fan
  • RoarIn84RoarIn84 Posts: 859 ✭✭
    What does any of this matter? The Colts scored 7 points and lost by 38. Wake me when this happens in a close game..... Yawn
  • pitbosspitboss Posts: 8,643 ✭✭✭
    Glad there is only another week to go in the season so we can get on to baseball and forget about football until they get no answers to the lost 2 pounds in each football. Then I suppose it will be back on again but at least we will have something else to watch besides boring basketball.
  • TennisCoachTennisCoach Posts: 301 ✭✭✭
    There has been quite a lot media attention about under-inflated footballs from TV to Radio and we will get even more on Tuesday during media day. Maybe someone that has read up on the subject can speculate about some possibilities. 1. How does 11 of the 12 Tom Brady footballs gain an extra artificial 1lb to 1.5 lbs of PSI during the ball preparation phase in the looker room. Then later lose 2lbs PSI before halftime as they settle to their equilibrium. 2. Can we give Brady the same 12 balls with an official and league office person present, ask him to prep the balls in exactly the same way and see if he can reproduce the result. The official will measure the PSI when they leave the locker room and again at halftime. If they lose 2 PSI then Brady is given an official apology by the league. If they don't lose any pressure, then the league officials get to prep his footballs for the first 8 games next season to their liking.

    For 11 of 12 footballs to lose 2PSI before halftime would suggest that either the bladders of his footballs were defective or they were tampered with. It is fairly well known that having less pressure in a football makes it easier to catch and grip. Having a football less likely to bounce off a receivers hands would help a quarterback's completion percentage and might keep a drive going that leads to points. So there is definitely an advantage even if it's just a small one, maybe it equates to a few extra completions over the course of a game. I am sure some of the old Denver Broncos receivers back in John Elway's time wish they could take some air out of the football. Catching balls shot out of a cannon led to many crooked fingers over the course of a career.

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  • fergie23fergie23 Posts: 2,079 ✭✭✭✭
    Is Brady the one that preps the footballs? I would assume they have staff for that and Brady just tests them until they feel right.

    By providing a 1.5 lbs of additional PSI explanation the Patriots are able to turn the conversation into a .5 lbs of PSI under inflation story. I would image the Patriots tested the theory several times before going all in with it. Given that the refs are responsible for measuring and then inflating the balls to the 12.5 - 13.5 lbs of PSI when they receive the balls from the Pats the .5 lbs of PSI could very easily fall within the margin of error for the refs reading of the PSI as well as when the refs re-measured the footballs at halftime. If they did it at halftime then there would not have been time for the footballs to reach an equilibrium from their time outside. Also note I have read that the refs do not always check the actual pressure of the balls with a gauge but sometimes rely on the feel of the ball. If the Pats submit footballs at 12 or 12.25 lbs of PSI that could very easily pass the feel test. Aaron Rodgers has already said that he sometimes tries to get overinflated footballs (ie over 13.5 lbs of PSI) past the refs which would turn this into a non-story.

    According to Simms, Rodgers admitted to them that he likes to over-inflate game balls. "I like to push the limits of how much air we can put in the football, even go over what they allow you to do," is what Simms recalls Rodgers telling them.

    I believe it is a theory that allows for reasonable doubt to creep into the conversation. I am not sure if this is much of a story if the headline is 11 out of 12 footballs under-inflated by .5 lbs of PSI. It also removes the testing of the Colts footballs from the conversation as well since there is no guarantee the Colts followed the same ball preparation steps as the Patriots, performed the preparation at the same time nor requested the refs inflate the football to the same initial pre-game PSI.

    Given the Patriots explanation neither the bladders of the football being defective nor the footballs being tampered with are required for a 2PSI difference. It will be interesting to see if the league verifies the up to 1.5 lbs of PSI added by ball preparation. Certainly food for thought.

    Robb
  • MGLICKERMGLICKER Posts: 7,995 ✭✭✭


    << <i>

    << <i>

    << <i> Plus, when you alter a baseball field, it still affects both teams equally. >>





    Not always true. >>



    Elaborate. >>




    Several teams have adjusted the outfield fences to favor the strengths or weaknesses of their hitters.



    Text
  • MGLICKERMGLICKER Posts: 7,995 ✭✭✭


    << <i>What does any of this matter? The Colts scored 7 points and lost by 38. Wake me when this happens in a close game..... Yawn >>



    Were all the Patriot wins blowouts this year? A few losses and the final playoff match could have been on the road with a New England loss.

    No Olympic runner has been spared disqualification because of PED use because their winning margin was too great.
  • jay0791jay0791 Posts: 3,508 ✭✭✭✭
    Just wondering.......

    according to Charles law temperature affects pressure.

    Were the balls checked at 70 degrees and used at 40 ????

    Is there enough air volume for this to matter?

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  • pocketpiececommemspocketpiececommems Posts: 5,723 ✭✭✭✭✭
    Did the refs also check the footballs used by the Colts?
  • CubbyCubby Posts: 2,096
    Did the refs also check the footballs use by the Colts? Affirmative


    BTW: Cubby=Cub Fan
  • jdip9jdip9 Posts: 1,895 ✭✭✭
    So, do I have this right? The teams bring their game balls to the referee's locker rooms 2-1/2 hours before game time to have them "inspected". And then the teams are able to walk out of the ref's locker room with the game balls and do what the want they with them until game time? I'm not saying it justifies the Pats (because that would mean I assume they are guilty, which I do not believe they are), but isn't that kind of weird process? Why wouldn't they just measure the balls with the team reps there, and then leave the balls in the ref's locker room until game time?

    Also, if the deflated balls were such a HUGE advantage (which you'd be led to believe by all the crying going on around the league and on this board), and the Colts suspected the Pats of using "deflated" balls in their regular season game, why would the Colts not tip the refs to it prior to gametime, and have them measure the balls again 10-20 minutes before kickoff?

    Don Banks puts it all into perspective rather well on SI.com. I didn't see what Peter King wrote, but he can't be serious. Is there anyone on the planet that makes a mountain out of a mole hill better than Peter King?
  • MCMLVToppsMCMLVTopps Posts: 4,581 ✭✭✭✭✭
    So, as the onion is slowly peeled back and things like "facts" come to light...as opposed to the crucifixion mentality expressed by some...for you naysayers and believers that the evil Patriot's have committed such an atrocity as deflating footballs...square this one for me...

    FACT ONE...the "deflated footballs" were identified and removed in the first half of the game, score at half time 17-7 Patriot's.

    FACT TWO..."properly inflated footballs" were introduced at the beginning of the second half. Second half score was 28-0 Patriot's, final score 45-7.

    Le question...(pls research the first half stats), how on earth did Brady etal gain one scintilla of an advantage over a football that was approximately 1lb less in psi than the "properly" inflated footballs introduced in the second half?

    Is it not possible that weather conditions came into play and that maybe MAYBE, as the footballs went from a nice and toasty 70, low humidity environment to one over 25 degrees colder and much more humid with rain that the footballs could have shrunk a bit? Surely the logical person could see that if the footballs were originally in tolerance...ie 12.5 psi (the lowest side of the range scale)...then the balls go outside and drop by "x". Could that not be a rational conclusion? The problem here is, I don't know how low they dropped and certainly don't know the impact of weather on the footballs...surely there is a correlation here.

    As an aside, while Belichick isn't the smoothest orator amongst coaches and Brady appears a bit more laissez-faire, I believe both of them...too much at risk for such an almost miniscule advantage...spy-gate was different and Billy ponied up $500k. The snow plow thing was more like field maintenance and kinda funny at the time, but not for the Miami team.

    So, I say this...it's all in the details somewhere. Undoubtedly all this will come out good, bad, or indifferent. I say much ado about nothing...the Patriot's were gonna win that game and there was nothing Luck could do about it...again, google the game stats and see what took place on the field.

    Ok, I'm out of this...may the better team win next Sunday. I'll be pulling for the Pat's...others for the Seahawks...we shall see.

    If your team is the Seahawks...good luck to ya...I think my Boston boys will bring home the bacon.
  • A lot of people seem to forget that the only football that we know of to be at 10.5 psi was in possession of the colts. We still don't have all of the facts about the other footballs. An apparent league source has has told PFT that the other 10 footballs in question were closer to 11.5 psi, which is 1 psi below the required minimum to start the game.

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  • TennisCoachTennisCoach Posts: 301 ✭✭✭

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  • perkdogperkdog Posts: 29,361 ✭✭✭✭✭


    << <i> Is there anyone on the planet that makes a mountain out of a mole hill better than Peter King? >>




    Alot of posters here.
  • MGLICKERMGLICKER Posts: 7,995 ✭✭✭
    """"So, as the onion is slowly peeled back and things like "facts" come to light...as opposed to the crucifixion mentality expressed by some...for you naysayers and believers that the evil Patriot's have committed such an atrocity as deflating footballs...square this one for me...

    FACT ONE...the "deflated footballs" were identified and removed in the first half of the game, score at half time 17-7 Patriot's.

    FACT TWO..."properly inflated footballs" were introduced at the beginning of the second half. Second half score was 28-0 Patriot's, final score 45-7. """"


    No one is doubting that NE would have one that particular game with or without using off spec balls. Just as Richard Nixon would have won in 72 even without the break in.
  • pocketpiececommemspocketpiececommems Posts: 5,723 ✭✭✭✭✭
    This is something that Eric Holder definitely need to be looking into. If the Patriots win the Super Bowl will they give Obama a deflated ball with a "1" on it when they visit the White House?
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