Cheatriots At It Again....

[pgellis]

Breaking news from Jay Glazer:

http://m.tmi.me/1eXHpm

[gregr2]

Originally Posted by pgellis

Breaking news from Jay Glazer:

http://m.tmi.me/1eXHpm

This is what I thought would happen from the beginning. Some no name, low level employee would get blamed and fired for this. The Patriots (Tom Brady) will of course claim that they never ever ever ever ever ever told him to reduce the air pressure in the balls, he just did it on his own.

[vintagetoppsguy]

Originally Posted by gregr2

The Patriots (Tom Brady) will of course claim that they never ever ever ever ever ever told him to reduce the air pressure in the balls, he just did it on his own.

Of course

[itjclarke]

Maybe it's time to start a parallel Scooter Libby thread to lend some perspective.

Like Mike said, there's been some good stuff said, examples given, but seems the posse doesn't seem interested. What my Niners allegedly did by paying players under the table would be far far more severe than playing with lower pressure game balls. What any number of teams, that for whatever reason never had to face this type of scrutiny is more severe than deflated game balls.

Dean- re fumbles, I've seen reference to those stats. It's interesting, and I'd be curious to check out individual player stats to see how their fumble rates increased or decreased in NE (but trying to get work done!!). I did do a quick scan of Legarrette Blount's stats, and looked like he fumbled at a similar rate in NE as TB. I do think strong coaching emphasis on protecting the ball (look at Tiki Barber's career) and quickly benching fumble prone players can go a long way toward better offensive turnover numbers. I also consider a lot of other things as the truest factors in not fumbling-- being strong especially hand strength, protecting the ball (4 points of contact), being able to safely transfer ball hands, covering up with 2 hands when needed, wearing sticky gloves, etc. Just like some teams were ahead of the curve teaching stripping techniques (relatively recently, especially in secondary), I'd guess the Pats position coaches may be very good at teaching ball security techniques. Just checked, they did not lead the league in fewest fumbles this year, and were tied with 3 other teams for 2nd.

I vow I am not a Pats fan (and not blushing) and I was very happy when the Niners beat them in NE on MNF last season. This whole debacle has definitely given me a stronger rooting interest in the SB though.

[Runscott]

Originally Posted by gregr2

This is what I thought would happen from the beginning. Some no name, low level employee would get blamed and fired for this. The Patriots (Tom Brady) will of course claim that they never ever ever ever ever ever told him to reduce the air pressure in the balls, he just did it on his own.

Agreed. I once took the fall for a multi-million dollar deal that failed, even though I had nothing to do with it - but I was a paramecium and even the people on the other side of the deal understood what was happening. I even had management explain the situation to me beforehand, and we all agreed (me included) that it was best that we put my name on it as opposed to blaming the guilty and losing the deal.

I got a raise and a promotion for doing so. This is all part of business 101. The equipment manager will get a lobster dinner and a huge pile of cash. The Pats are grateful, but the behavior on all sides was expected. Even the NFL will be happy with such an outcome - it was the only way this could end, so I don't doubt it in the least.

[Runscott]

I echo Ian in that this has been a great discussion, with only minor flaming

I hope it all is swept under the rug prior to Superbowl Sunday, then the Patriots and the NFL can bring in 'The Wolf' after a week or so.