DawgTalkers.net Forums The Archives 2014 NFL Season The NFL Post Season 2014 Report: NFL Probing NE for Deflating Balls

That brings up another very concerning question.

IF proof is found and it's determined that BB or TB were lying all along, wouldn't that be as big or bigger of an infraction as deflating the balls in the first place?

I'm pretty sure that lying or hampering the investigation is probably pretty high up on the infraction list.

I can't fathom any way they'd find either Bill or Tom had anything to do with it..

Its not like they kept any papers planning it..

The random ball boy will give some random excuse, and he will be let go with a "severance package"

Hell they claimed the guy filming other teams was "acting on his own" IIRC...

Thoughts on this: http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2015/01/26/video-shows-employee-taking-24-balls-into-bathroom/

It is almost hard to fathom, that a situation arose where a Patriots employee had access to the 24 game balls, locked by himself in a bathroom, after being inspected and approved by the officials but before the start of the game.

That's not even a dig at the Patriots-- it just shows how corrupt and/or incompetent the NFL actually is.

Certainly 90 seconds is enough to deflate 11 footballs if someone has practiced it enough. A few seconds with a needle per football and onto the next one. In fact, it would make perfect sense that one of the 12 balls was properly inflated. Maybe the Pats employee just mistakenly missed it while hurrying.

Again it's not really a dig at the Pats; it's only circumstantial evidence and if they are innocent then shame on the NFL for allowing such a ridiculous conflict of interest to arise with a Super Bowl appearance on the line.

Forget deflating footballs. The Pats (or any other team) could do this and doctor up the other team's footballs as well... maybe rub a bit of oil or some other substance on them to make them a bit more slippery, and it's not like you can put cameras in a bathroom due to legal and ethical reasons. The solution then is to not let a team employee take game balls by himself into the bathroom before the start of the game.

"When ya gotta go, ya gotta go.."

He just had to ... umm ..... make a leak.

Great movie and interestingly enough, it makes more sense than the NFL's procedures for gathering game balls.

JC...


Personally, I just don't care anymore, and the whole thing about using the suffix "gate" with every conspiracy is getting old, I actually tune out most reporters when they say use it.

This makes more sense than all the other stuff to me. Brady could like the ball at the dead minimum psi. Maybe he even likes it a little less, but its below the legal level. So you fill the balls in a hot room, and then when you go outside in the cold you have the pressure you want. As you state, you can easily figure the difference.

Where do the refs check the initial pressure? I'll bet its not out in the cold.

Where did the refs check the pressure when it was brought into question? Outside at halftime? In the cold? Did they bring a cold ball inside and immediately check it, or wait for it to be the same temperature as it was earlier.

Where did the colts check theirs? Back in Indy in a warm room?

This is sour grapes to me. Did they push minimum to the max? maybe. But i don't know that it could be labeled as cheating.

Wow I never knew something as dumb as "deflated footballs" would make national headlines and continue to be the talk of the town for how long it has. There's more talk about the deflated footballs than the superbowl.

I just wish it would get over with, so I can stop hearing about it and all that is associated with that topic.

Both Indy and NEs balls were checked. All of them passed.

Afterwards, when they were given back to the teams.. NEs didn't pass, while Indy's still did..

I don't see how you can blame this on the cold..

The thing is, the NFL doesn't need to prove anything "beyond a reasonable doubt"

If they can that it is "most likely" something occurs, they can punish them..

They dont need a smoking gun. Finding the smoking gun would just make the penalties worse.

BUT, if you are a congressman, lieing is expected.

Not by 40.

I don't really disagree with anything you said.

I just know it is within the rules and is a violation of the rules. Same goes for Green Bay. I don't know that there's some huge advantage or anything. But for some reason the NFL believes that there are parameters that constitute acceptable levels of inflation for footballs and those parameters were broken.

Also all of the K balls maintained pressure. Its obvious 1 of the 4 sets were tampered with.

That's a lie!!!

Mike Lombardi's reunion with Bill Belichick at the Super Bowl is another sucker punch to Cleveland

In the shadows: Mike Lombardi’s visibility at Super Bowl 49, much like during his 11-month stint as Browns general manager, is very understated.

Lombardi has not been available for interviews at the New England Patriots press sessions all week. This would be ironic because Lombardi was terribly frustrated by the muzzle former Browns CEO Joe Banner wrapped on him. But it is understood when you agree to work for Patriots coach Bill Belichick that you must only do “your job,” and Lombardi’s job created by Belichick does not include speaking to the media.

When Lombardi was fired by Browns owner Jimmy Haslam on Feb. 11, 2014, it took exactly two days for him to be linked to Belichick and nine days for him to be hired by the coach who originally tabbed him as his top personnel aide 20 years ago.

In Cleveland, they shared Belichick’s first-ever playoff victory as a head coach – and the Browns’ last – and now they are reunited as Belichick, the NFL’s all-time winningest coach in terms of post-season wins, goes after his fourth Super Bowl victory in six appearances.

This time around, Lombardi was given the nebulous title of “assistant to the coaching staff.” What exactly does that mean?

“Good question,” said one long-time New England media insider. “When you find out, let me know.”

Another said, “It’s very intriguing. Mike’s like a liaison between the coaches and personnel. He is on the practice field. He sits in position meetings. On game days, he is in the coaches box upstairs. It’s very innovative how Bill uses Mike.”

The young old gang: Belichick’s top aides for some time have been offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels and director of player personnel Nick Caserio. The two former John Carroll University teammates have been groomed by Belichick since joining the Patriots 13 years ago.

McDaniels left for an ill-fated, two-year stint as Denver head coach and returned in 2012 to rehabilitate his NFL career. Lombardi is now doing the same.

When I asked McDaniels what is Lombardi’s role, his answer surprised me.

“I don’t know if I can accurately tell you,” McDaniels said. “I mean, I don’t know that I know all the things he does because I know he works with Bill and does a lot of different things there.

“For us, he really helps us to prepare for the opponent, gathering information and putting together how we feel about the opposing team. Mike’s obviously got an extensive background in evaluating and he’s seen a lot of different things over the course of time. There’s a lot of things that we use him for as we get familiar with the team we’re going to play.”

McDaniels said that ever since he has been Belichick’s main play-caller on offense, Caserio, who started with the Patriots as an offensive coach before switching to personnel (a la Ozzie Newsome), has been the person in the coach’s booth who talks to him in the headphones during games. Lombardi may listen, but does not speak.

Another Belichick assistant coach, Brian Daboll, the former Browns’ offensive coordinator under Eric Mangini, explained Lombardi’s role this way, “He’s kind of everywhere. Whatever Bill needs him to do, that’s kind of his role.”

Yet another coach who rejoined Belichick after breaking out on his own, Scott O’Brien, the special teams coordinator, said of Lombardi, “He does a lot of projects. He does a really good job of breaking down personnel, opponent’s personnel. Michael’s always with us every day, on the practice field, in our staff meetings. His input goes both ways, both sides of the ball, and with Bill, too.”

Freed from dysfunction: In Cleveland, Banner and Lombardi were a marriage of convenience. Banner wanted to run football operations and Lombardi just wanted back into a team headquarters after being exiled for five years writing blogs and appearing as an analyst on NFL Network.

Lombardi’s brief run as Browns’ general manager ended when he and Banner sparred during the coaching search that produced Mike Pettine. Haslam took note of it and decided to replace Lombardi with Ray Farmer as GM and eliminate Banner’s position.

After another troubling year for the Browns, Banner and Lombardi came off as sages for trading plodding running back Trent Richardson in 2013 and for wanting to trade serial suspended receiver Josh Gordon, only to be blocked, reportedly, by Haslam.

And then Lombardi moves on to Belichick’s side, and the Patriots somehow land a more promising quarterback in the second round with the 62nd overall pick, Jimmy Garoppolo, Tom Brady’s heir, than the Browns took in the first with the 22nd pick, Johnny Manziel.

And Lombardi winds up in the Super Bowl.

And the Browns change again on offense, launch another search for a quarterback, and raise ticket prices.

http://espncleveland.com/common/more.php?m=49&post_id=41861

lets blame Mike Lombardi.

No, really. It's not.

No kidding, talk about sensationalizing something to get people reading your story. I'm pretty sure if Lombardi was here we still would not have made the Super Bowl.

So that's why they are in the Super Bowl? Lombardi?

I'll bet that's what La Canfora thinks too

and pettin and farmer... just sayin....