The NFL has conducted more than forty interviews on this matter... yet of all people not to interview, apparently they've yet to talk to suspect number one, the quarterback of the team involved, Tom Brady...who came off sounding like an idiot yesterday, in particular for a combination of two quotes:
He said he prefers the football to be inflated at 12.5 pounds per square inch, which is the lowest end of the league requirement. "To me, that's a perfect grip for the football," he said. "When I pick those footballs out, at that point, to me, they're perfect," he said. "I don't want anyone touching the balls after that. I don't want anyone rubbing them, putting any air in them, taking any air out. To me, those balls are perfect, and that's what I expect when I show up on the field."That implies very strongly that he can tell the difference between 12.5 and 13.5 psi, which is the maximum legal range for an NFL game football.
(Remember, this man has been an NFL starting quarterback for fourteen years.)
Now, consider this quote: Brady said he didn't notice a difference between the footballs from the first half to the second half on Sunday. "I'm not squeezing them, that's not part of my process," Brady said. "I grab it. I feel the lace, the leather. I feel the tack on the ball. That's really what you go for."
Now, the league has said that all twelve New England footballs were under-pressurized, and at least eleven of the twelve were at least two psi under the legal pressure.
TWO psi. When Brady has a strong preference within a single psi range.
On Colin Cowherd's show this morning, Sal Paolintonio (who's covered the Pats for years and years, certainly all of Brady's tenure there) pointed out two things he's known for a long time: Brady very much prefers softer footballs, and has said so in multiple interviews over the years, not just this week. But he prefers them so much that he was the driving force behind a rule instituted a few years ago that the VISITING team should get to choose THEIR footballs, and not just have the home team handle all 24.
This is a subject that MATTERS to Tom Brady.
One more point, and you've heard it everywhere if you've listened to any talking heads this week... Mark Brunell, a former starting QB in the league said it best: "I did not believe what Tom had to say. Those balls were deflated. Somebody had to do it. I don't believe there's an equipment manager in the NFL that would, on his own initiative, deflate a ball without the starting QB's approval ... That football is our livelihood. If you don't feel good about throwing that ball? Your success on the football field can suffer from that."
Did I believe Bill Belechick? I hate to say it, but yes, to a point. He went out on a limb at his press conference in a couple of ways: he didn't need to hold the conference at ALL, nor did he need to say more than he ever says, which loosely translates to "On to Arizona. Next question." He was eloquent, elaborated on a great deal of the behind the scenes stuff that he really didn't need to say (he scuffs up practice balls to give the team trouble in practice to deal with? Wow.) - AND he took a relationship with the quarterback that made him the "genius" that he is today, and essentially threw it and him under the bus. To me, that sounds completely like something Belechick would do. He's cut every player who can no longer do his team good - and if that's what this scandal has come to, then Brady's next. No one realistically thought that when Brady hit the aging back-up stage, Belechick would keep him on the roster for "old-times' sake", did they? He doesn't do that for his own grandmother, and he's proven that time and time again. He does whatever it takes to win: legal (roster cuts, clever formations and plays), shady (remember the snow shoveler who found the lines and cleared the turf for the game winning kick years ago?), and outright illegal (Spygate, may it rest in peace).
Check the motivations. Bill Belechick did exactly what he does. I believe every word...EXCEPT that he doesn't know what's going on with the balls before a game. Bull. He knows where every media member is in his stadium at all times, and he doesn't know the procedures for the most important piece of equipment they use? I don't doubt he has "plausible deniability", but don't tell me you didn't know what the process was, Billy boy. But I don't think he's the primary offender here. He probably gave Brady carte blanche to do whatever he thought he needed to do, and Brady went too far.
And if I'm wrong, I'll never be able to prove it, because Mr. Runway Model slit his own throat in his own press conference the next morning.
SO, what's the appropriate punishment? I don't know. It's not like the commissioner has given us any reasonable set of precedents to gauge our choices by. But the court of public opinion will decide the only important punishment for these two men - the same way they have for Alex Rodriguez, Mark McGuire, Barry Bonds, Ray Rice, Adrian Peterson, Roger Clemens, Lance Armstrong, and any other athlete they determine is a serious and unrepentant offender. If they're convinced, this blows over after the game. If they're not, and this is the last straw for Patriot haters...
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