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11 of 12 Patriots’ Game Balls Found Under-inflated

Indianapolis Colts linebacker D’Qwell Jackson intercepted a Tom Brady pass in the first half of last Sunday’s AFC Championship game. D’Qwell noticed the ball seemed under-inflated, and brought it to the attention of the officials. Reports now are coming out that the officials checked the 12 New England Patriots game balls, and 11 were deflated. The officials then told the Patriots to switch to their back-up balls for the second half.

By rule, the NFL has each team bring 12 game balls, which they inspect two and a half hours before the start of a game. The home team also has 12 back-up balls, which was the New England Patriots last week. The balls have to be between 12.5 and 13.5 pounds of air per square inch and weigh 14 to 15 ounces. So the big question on everyone’s mind is how could 11 of the 12 balls, checked by officials before the game started, become under-inflated? That is what the NFL is investigating right now.

The question is, what will they find out?

Of course this brings up visions of the Patriots past, which have had past run-ins with breaking the rules. Back in 2007, the Patriots and head coach Bill Belichick were caught videotaping opponents signals, now known as the infamous Spygate. The league fined the Patriots $250,000 and Belichick $500,000 along with stripping them of a first round draft pick. So what happens now? The team is already on the NFL watch-list for this past infraction, so the league may come down even harder on the Patriots if Deflate-gate is found to be true.

So why even deflate the balls?

Well Sunday’s game was cold and rainy, causing a normally inflated ball to get hard and slippery. When a football is deflated, it becomes easier to squeeze. This allows the quarterback to get a better grip for throwing passes and allows ball carriers the ability to hold the ball tighter, leading to a smaller chance of fumbling. What adds to the controversy is Patriots’ quarterback Tom Brady has been quoted in the past as preferring the balls slightly under-inflated.

So was he the culprit?

Did Brady ask his equipment managers to deflate the balls?

That’s what the NFL aims to find out with the investigation.

Bill Belichick held a press conference on Thursday and he vehemently denied any knowledge of the balls being deflated. He stated over and over that he has nothing to do with the balls, he doesn’t give them to the league to inspect, and he doesn’t touch them during the games.

Belichick even spoke about punishing his players during practices when they complain about the condition of any balls. He said he was “shocked” when the league brought the under-inflated balls to his attention.

So we all sit and wait to hear what the League’s findings are. Will the results show some sort of tampering by the Patriots? If it does, what will the penalties be?

Since this would not be a first offense, the New England Patriots may be looking at some serious punishment.

Finally, how big of a distraction is this leading up to the Patriots preparing for the biggest game of the year, the Super Bowl?

Don’t know who bet on this Super Bowl?

Check out the expert reviews, NFL picks and game odds at betonsports.com

 

Submitted by Guest Blogger Dave Zamzack

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