Weird story for sure. That said, I think this goes back to the fact the league did NOT CARE nearly as much about its game balls as they let on after the deflate gate story broke, or as their "procedures" would imply. I think many of these procedures are mainly for show and to help uphold their silly "Shield" image, but are mostly lip service otherwise.
In a much more serious light (not to get too off topic), who thinks the Rooney Rule is for real? I didn't see the Niners interview many/any minority coaches after firing Harbaugh and cleaning house... but this rule looks good from a PR standpoint. Julian Edelman looked pretty wobbly after getting smacked by Kam Chancellor, but it seems he (and I'm sure many others, in every game) was able to effectively dodge the league's very public concussion protocol, which would have almost certainly kept him off the field for the last drive. And then there's the league's drug testing policy, where players get nearly a day's notice before their pee test. I think all of these (and many more) procedures and protocols are good for public consumption but mostly for show. The NFL seems to do as much as they can to sanitize the game for the fans/TV viewers, but football will always be a dirty, nasty, brutal, bloody, injury and concussion filled game.
Separately, back on the topic of footballs I just got a new one, deciding to get that old Wilson 1005 ball I'd mentioned earlier. Wilson's box says something to the effect of- "made to the smallest allowable size for more confidence in throwing". Holding one of these compared to a normal game ball is crazy, and throwing a narrower ball is a far bigger advantage than lowering pressure, yet any HS or major college program can use them. This is fine to me though. Coaches, QBs can and have always been able to choose footballs they're most comfortable with and very few seem bothered by it. I have never heard fans gripe about a pass heavy team like the late '90s Florida (think Danny Wuerfel, Rex Grossman) using a totally different sized ball than Wisconsin or Nebraska. I don't really see why this has to all of a sudden change and become a big deal at the NFL level. I hope the NFL continues loosely enforcing game ball rules because I'd prefer QBs feel comfortable with their footballs, but I doubt they will after all this publicity.
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