Do deflated footballs make any difference? From all angles...

First, the two important elements of this story - 

1) The NFL has indeed learned that eleven of the twelve footballs used in Sunday's game WERE, in fact, significantly BELOW what their inflation should have been.

2) It wouldn't have mattered if the footballs they played with were NERF footballs - New England would have won the game. Let's repeat that: the underinflated balls did NOT cost Indianapolis a trip to the Super Bowl.

So the question becomes, why did it happen? And was somebody trying to gain an advantage? Or help the players out in the colder weather by NOT giving them rock hard footballs to throw, kick, or catch?

Here's the investigation, courtesy of ESPN Boston.

Here's an FAQ about the legal aspects of the situation...

Here's Andrew Sharp's take on it in Grantland...and here's ESPN's Jackie MacMullen's...

AND, to top it all off, there's now a report from CBS Sports that there are Baltimore Ravens players who think the balls may have been deflated in their game as well...