Are you ready for some NFL Football? 2014 Edition.

[CarlSpackler]

Wilfork to the rescue

http://www.nfl.com/news/story/0ap3000000460864/article/vince-wilfork-helps-pull-woman-from-wrecked-vehicle

I met Vince a few years ago at work.  Really nice man and big, but not tall.  He seemed so gentle.  We're lucking in that a Patriot comes to the plant every year for the United Way.  I've met Nate Solder, Mat Slater, who are on the current team.  My all time favorite was Troy Brown.

Does Matt Light still play for the Pats? He's from my neck of the woods. Good guy from what I hear.

[jamo]

Does Matt Light still play for the Pats? He's from my neck of the woods. Good guy from what I hear.

Retired a few years ago.

[k-troop]

Of course it is - spygate makes the patsies the equivalent of felons. Would you let a convicted rapist date your daughter?

Great analogy. Trying to steal the opposing team's signals to win a football game is totally the same thing as rape.

[CarlSpackler]

Retired a few years ago.

I figured. He was getting up there in the years.

Wait... he's younger than I am. CRAP!

[dsc123]

Great analogy. Trying to steal the opposing team's signals to win a football game is totally the same thing as rape.

If they were the same then it wouldn't be an analogy.

[meenman]

Great analogy. Trying to steal the opposing team's signals to win a football game is totally the same thing as rape.

In the real world, someone that committed a similar crime as belicheat would be locked up as long as a rapist. These guys get nothing more than a hand slap for violating the rules. At least in college ball, wins can be vacated (which is still meaningless) On its current path, the NFL is headed in the same direction as the NBA and WWE.

[Golfingdad]

Great analogy. Trying to steal the opposing team's signals to win a football game is totally the same thing as rape.

It's not even that, though.  Trying to steal the other teams signs is entirely permissible.  It's simply the fact that they were trying to record them.  They should have just hired some guy with a photographic memory and they could have legally accomplished the exact same thing.  Everybody is also forgetting that it's been said by a lot of people that the Patriots were not the only team doing this - they are just the only team that happened to be caught.

It's stupid to think this is that big of a deal.  It's monumentally insane to even think of comparing this to something like rape.  But we all know that @meenman is just trying to be funny and isn't expecting to be taken seriously, so it's all good. ;)

[boogielicious]

http://www.sportsgrid.com/nfl/wanna-know-why-deflate-gate-isnt-a-big-deal/

Quote:

BREAKING: AARON RODGERS OVER-INFLATES HIS BALLS

Jake O'Donnell 12:10 pm, January 20th, 2015

Apparently “Deflate-gate” could’ve been “Inflate-gate” were the refs paying attention to the psi of the balls being thrown around in the Packers-Seahawks NFC Championship game. During the CBS broadcast of the Patriots-Packers game on Nov. 30, former NFL quarterback Phil Simms told the audience that Aaron Rodgers actually likes his balls over-inflated, and will “push the limit of how much air [the Packers] can put in the football, even go over what they allow you to do and see if the refs take air out of it.”

Someone get Michael Rosenberg on the phone and tell him that his NFL cheating conspiracy runs deeper than even he imagined.

Bottom-line: everybody fiddles with their tools. Now can we please move on from this non-story?

[Golfingdad]

http://www.sportsgrid.com/nfl/wanna-know-why-deflate-gate-isnt-a-big-deal/

Well, the answer to that is obvious.

UNDER inflated balls are easier to catch and hold on to (as we all now know) and so it's pretty clear that since he was OVER inflating his balls that he's being paid by the Patriots (Belicheck specifically) so the Packers will fumble more often and drop more passes, because the Patriots feel they have a better chance at beating the Seahawks.

[boogielicious]

Quote:

Originally Posted by boogielicious

http://www.sportsgrid.com/nfl/wanna-know-why-deflate-gate-isnt-a-big-deal/

Well, the answer to that is obvious.

UNDER inflated balls are easier to catch and hold on to (as we all now know) and so it's pretty clear that since he was OVER inflating his balls that he's being paid by the Patriots (Belicheck specifically) so the Packers will fumble more often and drop more passes, because the Patriots feel they have a better chance at beating the Seahawks.

http://deadspin.com/aaron-rodgers-likes-to-tamper-with-footballs-too-1680676328

And it was discussed during the Packers Patriots game broadcast.  No congressional hearing then, porque?

[dsc123]

Of course.  Its okay for the Patriots to cheat because Phil Sims says Aaron Rodgers cheats for the other team.  And it didn't have any effect on the game.  The patriots just break rules for fun.

But seriously, it sounds like Rodgers is talking about something different.  We know that the balls are weighted before games.  It sounds like Rodgers tells his people to fill it up as much as possible, maybe even too much, to see if it slips by.  My impression from the Patriots situation was that the investigation is to see whether the balls were altered after the weigh-in.   There's not a lot of details out, but that's what I put together based on what I read.  We'll see what happens.

Actually, we probably won't.  Nothing will come of this because 1) The NFL has proven that it can't/won't properly investigate matters that make the league look bad; 2) Bob Kraft was His Highness's biggest supporter as he fumbled the Ray Rice fiasco; and 3) the penalties never fit the crime (ask BB whether he pay $500k and give up a draft pick in exchange for another 3 rings).  Its up to people like me and @meenman to fight the good fight!

[boogielicious]

Of course.  Its okay for the Patriots to cheat because Phil Sims says Aaron Rodgers cheats for the other team.  And it didn't have any effect on the game.  The patriots just break rules for fun.

But seriously, it sounds like Rodgers is talking about something different.  We know that the balls are weighted before games.  It sounds like Rodgers tells his people to fill it up as much as possible, maybe even too much, to see if it slips by.  My impression from the Patriots situation was that the investigation is to see whether the balls were altered after the weigh-in.   There's not a lot of details out, but that's what I put together based on what I read.  We'll see what happens.

Actually, we probably won't.  Nothing will come of this because 1) The NFL has proven that it can't/won't properly investigate matters that make the league look bad; 2) Bob Kraft was His Highness's biggest supporter as he fumbled the Ray Rice fiasco; and 3) the penalties never fit the crime (ask BB whether he pay $500k and give up a draft pick in exchange for another 3 rings).  Its up to people like me TO MAKE MASSIVELY ILLOGICAL CONCLUSIONS WITH NO EVIDENCE.

Massive ROTFL!  You are such a HYPOCRITE!  You like Rogers, so it's OK if he breaks the rules and admits to doing it.  You have a pathological hatred for the Patriots (or at least that appears to so to me), so they must be evil incarnate and every sour grapes accusation by opponents they beat must be taken as gospel truth and we should alert the FBI!

Forget the fact that refs handle the ball on EVERY play and check the ball for defects and inflation with their hands on EVERY play.  Both Blandino and former referees and supervisors stated this.

This is just the whiny Colts trying to deflect an embarrassing loss from their fans and the fact that a linebacker was arrested for rape 4 days before the AFC Championship.  Period.

[GolfLug]

Massive ROTFL!  You are such a HYPOCRITE!  You like Rogers, so it's OK if he breaks the rules and admits to doing it.  You have a pathological hatred for the Patriots (or at least that appears to so to me), so they must be evil incarnate and every sour grapes accusation by opponents they beat must be taken as gospel truth and we should alert the FBI!

Forget the fact that refs handle the ball on EVERY play and check the ball for defects and inflation with their hands on EVERY play.  Both Blandino and former referees and supervisors stated this.

This is just the whiny Colts trying to deflect an embarrassing loss from their fans and the fact that a linebacker was arrested for rape 4 days before the AFC Championship.  Period.

[Golfingdad]

http://deadspin.com/aaron-rodgers-likes-to-tamper-with-footballs-too-1680676328

And it was discussed during the Packers Patriots game broadcast.  No congressional hearing then, porque?

Of course.  Its okay for the Patriots to cheat because Phil Sims says Aaron Rodgers cheats for the other team.  And it didn't have any effect on the game.  The patriots just break rules for fun.

But seriously, it sounds like Rodgers is talking about something different.  We know that the balls are weighted before games.  It sounds like Rodgers tells his people to fill it up as much as possible, maybe even too much, to see if it slips by.  My impression from the Patriots situation was that the investigation is to see whether the balls were altered after the weigh-in.   There's not a lot of details out, but that's what I put together based on what I read.  We'll see what happens.

Actually, we probably won't.  Nothing will come of this because 1) The NFL has proven that it can't/won't properly investigate matters that make the league look bad; 2) Bob Kraft was His Highness's biggest supporter as he fumbled the Ray Rice fiasco; and 3) the penalties never fit the crime (ask BB whether he pay $500k and give up a draft pick in exchange for another 3 rings).  Its up to people like me and @meenman to fight the good fight!

Have to agree with Scott here.  This is a bit of a stretch.  It's OK because he was trying to skirt the rules before the game, not during?  Seriously??

Also of note:  The refs were apparently made aware of the allegedly deflated ball by Chuck Pagano after Chuck Pagano was alerted by one of his defenders after an interception.  That would be like me calling the cops and telling them that I think my friend shot some guy because the gun that I'm holding that is smoking while I'm standing over that guys dead body has my friends name on it.

This whole thing is just off-the-charts stupid.  We shouldn't even be talking about it.  We should be talking about the Seahawks comeback or how Mike McCarthy needs to be fired (but really shouldn't be because there's no better options) or how the Patriots are going to contain Russell Wilson.

[dsc123]

Massive ROTFL!  You are such a HYPOCRITE!  You like Rogers, so it's OK if he breaks the rules and admits to doing it.  You have a pathological hatred for the Patriots (or at least that appears to so to me)

First, I have totally admitted to bias against the Patriots, though I probably wouldn't call it "pathological" .  I haven't seen you admit that you're flat out making stuff up to support your team, though.  You should do that so that we're at least both starting with our cards on the table.

Second, I'd say I'm indifferent towards Rodgers.

Third, we don't have a lot of context here, but like I said, I think it sounds like Rodgers admitted to giving over inflated balls for testing by the refs prior to the game.  The accusation against the Patriots, as I understand it, was to alter the state of the ball after it was tested.  You may disagree, but I think those are completely different things.

so they must be evil incarnate and every sour grapes accusation by opponents they beat must be taken as gospel truth and we should alert the FBI!

The report was that a ball was taken out of play, and that there is an investigation.  I don't understand why you don't believe the beat writer.  This has been confirmed by the NFL.  There's video of the refs taking the ball off the field.  What did he say that you don't believe?

Forget the fact that refs handle the ball on EVERY play and check the ball for defects and inflation with their hands on EVERY play.  Both Blandino and former referees and supervisors stated this.

I'm not sure what the point is here.  Yes, the refs handle the ball.  In this case, they took one out of play to weigh it.  Since there is now an investigation into whether the Patriots intentionally deflated the ball, its fair to assume that the ball that the refs took out of play was deflated.

This is what I refer to earlier. You're literally just making stuff up. The ball was intercepted in the 2nd quarter, when the game was close.  That's when the complaint was made by the colts.  Its not some post hoc whining.

Afterwords, the NFL initiated an investigation into whether the patriots were intentionally deflating the balls. EVERYONE in the media is making a big deal out of this.  Its on the front page of ESPN.com and NFL.com.  Its has been in all the major newspapers.  Your claim that this is just the colts deflecting attention from their loss is complete nonsense.

Rather than confront the very real possibility that the Patriots have once again been caught cheating, you shoot the messenger.

Its not illogical and there is evidence.  Here are the undisputed facts:

1. The balls were tested before the game.
2. The Patriots had possession of the balls during the game.
3. At least one of those balls was deflated.
4. Deflated balls benefit the Patriots.
5. The Patriots have in the past demonstrated a propensity to cheat.
6. The NFL is investigating the Patriots for cheating by deflating the balls.

You might think that that's not enough to convict, but its certainly enough to speculate until we have a real answer.

Have to agree with Scott here.  This is a bit of a stretch.  It's OK because he was trying to skirt the rules before the game, not during?  Seriously??

Dead serious.  Passing something off for inspection and hoping it passes vs changing it after inspection are different to me.

Also of note:  The refs were apparently made aware of the allegedly deflated ball by Chuck Pagano after Chuck Pagano was alerted by one of his defenders after an interception.  That would be like me calling the cops and telling them that I think my friend shot some guy because the gun that I'm holding that is smoking while I'm standing over that guys dead body has my friends name on it.

I don't think you understand what happened here.  Each team has their own balls for offense.  The LB intercepted a pass in the second quarter, noticed the ball not feeling right, and told his coach, who contacted the GM, who contacted the refs (or maybe who told the coach to tell the refs).  The ball was taken off the field before the first play in the 3rd quarter, when the Patriots were on offense.  It might have been the same ball, it might not have been.

Are you suggesting that the LB caught the ball, deflated it, then gave it back to the patriots and it just happened to be the ball that they were using when the next half started?

Of course, the other problem with this, and Scott's points about this being about the Colts' whinning, is that the ball was either deflated or it wasn't.  The intentions of the guy that discovered that fact doesn't make it more or less likely to be true.

[Golfingdad]

Afterwords, the NFL initiated an investigation into whether the patriots were intentionally deflating the balls.  EVERYONE in the media is making a big deal out of this.  Its on the front page of ESPN.com and NFL.com.  Its has been in all the major newspapers.  Your claim that this is just the colts deflecting attention from their loss is complete nonsense.

Point taken, however, I'd dispute that a "big" deal is being made out of this by anyone but us.  It's on the sidebar of espn.com but it's not jumping out as one of their headlines.

Its not illogical and there is evidence.  Here are the undisputed facts:

The balls were tested before the game.

The Patriots had possession of the balls during the game.

At least one of those balls was deflated.

Deflated balls benefit the Patriots.

The Patriots have in the past demonstrated a propensity to cheat.

The NFL is investigating the Patriots for cheating by deflating the balls.

I dispute those! First off, you're missing point 3.5, which is that the Colts had possession of the ball in question immediately before it was taken out of play.

Regarding Point 4:  How do you know this?  It's been "proven" that that is an erroneous assumption in the last hour by Aaron Rodgers himself.  If under-inflated balls are an advantage to the offense, why does he try to over-inflate his?  That is an assumption being made in the stories being circulated, but by no means is it a given.  Just throw that one out.

And if I was a lawyer, I could get 5 thrown out as irrelevant**, and 6 is unnecessarily inflammatory.  My "undisputed" list of facts is:

• The balls were tested before the game.
• The Patriots had possession of the balls during the game.
• At least one of those balls was deflated.
• The Colts had possession of this ball immediately before the discovery.
• The NFL is investigating how the ball became deflated.

Now, try and dispute that!

**I base that on the fact that when I was on a murder trial jury, the defense lawyer successfully got the defendants other gun charges thrown out. ;)

[saevel25]

Regarding Point 4:  How do you know this?  It's been "proven" that that is an erroneous assumption in the last hour by Aaron Rodgers himself.  If under-inflated balls are an advantage to the offense, why does he try to over-inflate his?  That is an assumption being made in the stories being circulated, but by no means is it a given.  Just throw that one out.

I have to agree on this. In reality you want the ball over-inflated because it would go be easier to throw. If the ball is under-inflated then it is less aerodynamic. Given some are saying it is easier to catch, but the problem is on accuracy on the throw it self. I would say most NFL WR wear gloves that are extremely tacky. I see no real benefit from under-inflating a ball. Heck, an under inflated ball would hamper a field goal kicker as well.

[boogielicious]

Quote:

Originally Posted by dsc123

Afterwords, the NFL initiated an investigation into whether the patriots were intentionally deflating the balls.  EVERYONE in the media is making a big deal out of this.  Its on the front page of ESPN.com and NFL.com.  Its has been in all the major newspapers.  Your claim that this is just the colts deflecting attention from their loss is complete nonsense.

Point taken, however, I'd dispute that a "big" deal is being made out of this by anyone but us.  It's on the sidebar of espn.com but it's not jumping out as one of their headlines.

Quote:

Originally Posted by dsc123

Its not illogical and there is evidence.  Here are the undisputed facts:

The balls were tested before the game.

The Patriots had possession of the balls during the game.

At least one of those balls was deflated.

Deflated balls benefit the Patriots.

The Patriots have in the past demonstrated a propensity to cheat.

The NFL is investigating the Patriots for cheating by deflating the balls.

I dispute those!  First off, you're missing point 3.5, which is that the Colts had possession of the ball in question immediately before it was taken out of play.

Regarding Point 4:  How do you know this?  It's been "proven" that that is an erroneous assumption in the last hour by Aaron Rodgers himself.  If under-inflated balls are an advantage to the offense, why does he try to over-inflate his?  That is an assumption being made in the stories being circulated, but by no means is it a given.  Just throw that one out.

And if I was a lawyer, I could get 5 thrown out as irrelevant**, and 6 is unnecessarily inflammatory.  My "undisputed" list of facts is:

The balls were tested before the game.

The Patriots had possession of the balls during the game.

At least one of those balls was deflated.

The Colts had possession of this ball immediately before the discovery.

The NFL is investigating how the ball became deflated.

Now, try and dispute that!

**I base that on the fact that when I was on a murder trial jury, the defense lawyer successfully got the defendants other gun charges thrown out. ;)

Add the Patriots scored 28 unanswered points after the supposed ball was taken out of play.  So the alleged deflated ball made a massive difference in the game.  Pathetic indeed.