I miss the days when the only ‘Gates’ I had to worry about in the NFL was Antonio Gates…

Yesterday’s mass release of #DeflateGate documents included an email chain that originated with Colts Equipment Manager Sean Sullivan sending an email to Colts GM Ryan Grigson expressing some concern for the impending AFC Championship game between the Patriots and the Colts. Of course the Boston Globe was the 1^st to find this gem within the slew of documents released:

Here’s something new — confirmation that the #Ravens tipped off the #Colts pic.twitter.com/19rMJgl1xi

— Ben Volin (@BenVolin) August 4, 2015

The assumption made here by Ben Volin of the Boston Globe is shared with many outlets nationwide – the Ravens ‘tipped off the Colts.’ I mean it’s fairly obvious, right? The email clearly states “…Baltimore Ravens called Coach Pagano…” and that’s a pretty obvious smoking gun.

Except, it’s not. Not even close actually.

For starters, let’s hone in on the (alleged) contact within the Ravens and his issue at hand.

This email from Sullivan specifically mentions Special Teams Coordinator Jerry Rosburg of the Ravens, and nobody else within the Ravens organization. And as a ST coordinator, Rosburg’s concern is (shocker) with the kicking balls only, specifically not having the team prepared balls available for use in the game. This email mentions nothing about the Ravens having an issue with any other footballs, most notably the balls used by the Patriots offense, which are the footballs in question.

So how exactly does this mention of Rosburg incriminate the Ravens where deflated Patriots balls are concerned?

We can also look at the second half of Sullivan’s’ email for a true declaration of innocence on behalf of the Ravens, where Sullivan basically lays out the Patriots typical pregame procedures, including a needle and a needy quarterback, all while letting Grigson know that this information is common knowledge in league circles.

“As far as gameballs are concerned it is well known around the league that after the Patriots gameballs are checked… the ballboys for the patriots will let out some air with a ball needle because their quarterback likes a smaller ball.”

That portion of the email alone should alleviate the Ravens of any ‘tipping off’ of the Colts. When you have a team Equipment Manager saying that it’s ‘well known around the league’ that the Patriots personnel deflate balls in secrecy, how does this incriminate the Ravens at all? Clearly their actions are not a huge secret in the league, and while it had been overlooked for some time, the Colts wanted to do all that they could to level the playing field, which is why Colts GM Grigson would go on to forward this email up the ladder to the league office.

Of course the Ravens won’t take these accusations lying down, especially when it’s evident that the very nature of the claim that they tipped off the Colts are based on loose interpretations of a single email and nothing more.

The team issued a statement this morning, as did head coach John Harbaugh and special teams coach Rosburg, addressing these allegations.

All 3 statements shared the same sentiment: nobody from the Ravens organization contacted a member of the Colts organization regarding deflated footballs prior to the AFC Championship game. And comparing these statements from the Ravens to Sullivan’s email above, everything checks out. The email made zero reference to deflated footballs, and the only thing Rosburg had to say was in regards to kicking balls.

There is one obvious discrepancy, and it’s fairly minor, regarding who-called-who between Pagano and Jerry Rosburg. According to Rosburg’s statement, Colts coach Pagano called him; however, Sullivan’s email states that Pagano told him that Rosburg made the call. Again, it’s really a moot point given the topic of conversation was not about deflated balls, however I’m likely to lean in favor of the statement released by Rosburg over Sullivan relaying 3^rd party information to Grigson.

Hopefully the statements released today by the Ravens will squash any implications in the #DeflateGate debacle from here on out, as the proof of any involvement is less than… the air pressure in Brady’s footballs (rim shot!).