So Mortensen’s and King’s “unnamed league sources” don’t agree on the inflation of the balls? How can that be if the pressures were tested and written down?
What pressure did the Colts’ balls start at? That was checked and written down, right? It must have been since this was a planned sting operation. Right?
LOL ok, ok, I give. Everyone is lying except the Pats. You win. Enjoy the cloud that will forever hang over your team’s Super Bowl victory.
Isn’t it curious? Of all the reports from “league sources” about specifics of the Pats’ ball, we have seen not a single report of an actual inflation pressure of a Colts’ ball? And, nobody asking how Luck likes his footballs?
Belichick said in his press conference that the Pats specifically asked the referee (who has sole responsibility for inflating the game balls) to pump the Pats’ balls to 12.5 PSI (the lower limit). Aaron Rodgers has said that he prefers a firm ball and the Packers often give ball inflated above the 13.5 PSI limit to the referee pregame. Sometimes the ref lets some air out. Sometimes he doesn’t.
How about the Colts’ balls? Surely this information should be readily available. After all, it was written down pre game, right? And Grigson surely knows after spending much of AFC Championship week focusing on game balls with Mike Kensil in the NFL offices. Perhaps he doesn’t know “per se”…
@LasMa, honestly, this is precisely the attitude that makes it hard for Pats fans to be gracious. But I will continue to try.
First of all, let’s sort out what we know as fact (precious little) from rumor, innuendo and anonymously sourced reports (from sources who very likely have a particular bias or agenda). The direct evidence we have consists of (1) Goodell has publicly confirmed that the league is investigating the matter and has hired Ted Wells, (2) Tom Brady, Bill Belichick and Chuck Pagano have all unequivocally stated publicly that they knew nothing about the matter until the day after the game, (3) D’Qwell Jackson has publicly stated that the football he intercepted did not feel deflated and (4) Dean Blandino (NFL VP of Officiating) has stated publicly that the league was not informed of any issues relating to underinflated balls prior to the game, but Ryan Grigson has now stated publicly that the Colts did inform the league of issues related to underinflated balls prior to the game, so they’re in direct contradiction. (Which could be explained if Grigson notified Mike Kensil and Kensil never told Blandino or anyone else, but that’s just speculation.)
The Mortenson and King reports that you cite, and just about everything else that’s been written or spoken on this subject in the last four weeks, are all rumor and innuendo. The Mortenson report that 11 of 12 balls were underinflated by at least 2 psi was directly contradicted by an NBC Pro Football Talk report that came out the morning of the Super Bowl that said that only one of the 11 was significantly underinflated - the one that Jackson intercepted and that was in the possession of the Colts for an extended period of time before being turned over to Kensil. That report was also based on anonymous sources. The theory that the Colts could have intentionally deflated that football did not originate in New England (indeed, the early reaction from the Boston press was quite critical of the Patriots). So far as I can tell, it started with Boomer Esiason, and only got picked up by the Boston press in the backlash that followed the debunking of the Mortenson report (and there’s a pretty widespread belief that the source for the Mortenson report was Kensil or someone close to Kensil, which would certainly feed the Kensil-Grigson conspiracy theory).
In any event, there is currently just as much hard evidence that the Colts intentionally deflated the one football that was significantly deflated as there is that the Patriots intentionally deflated 11 footballs. Which is to say, none. But given the wild abandon and glee with which the national media proclaimed the Patriots guilty, and Brady and Belichick liars, based on no evidence, I feel no guilt in speculating on the dastardly deeds that Ryan Grigson may have committed. And you’ll have to admit that Grigson looks a whole lot more like a weasel than Tom Brady! More seriously, I do not believe that Brady and Belichick are flat out liars, nor do I believe that Chuck Pagano is a flat out liar. All three have stated unequivocally that they knew nothing about any of this until the day after the game, and I believe all of them (and for any even moderately objective observer, there is no reason not to believe them). In contrast, Goodell, Blandino, Grigson and Kensil have all been evasive in answering questions on this matter, and as noted, Blandino’s and Grigson’s public statements are directly contradictory to one another. So I’m ready to believe anything about the four of them.
As I said before, I’m looking forward to the Wells report, as I’m confident that it will exonerate the Patriots. Whether it implicates anyone else remains to be seen.
Oh, and by the way, you probably should get your vision checked. There is no cloud hanging over the Patriots Super Bowl victory. Or any of their other Super Bowl victories for that matter. Greatest coach and quarterback of all time, and greatest NFL dynasty of all time. How sweet it is! 
I root for the Giants. There is no cloud over the Patriot’s Super Bowl win beyond people thinking why didn’t he just hand off the ball. The air pressure in the ball means nothing in terms of the Patriot’s run to the championship. They are a great team that has had a great run (this season plus the last 10 or more) and they have as great a coach/qb duo as the NFL has ever seen.
Thanks @tom1944. I lived through the early years of the Pats’ existence, so the last 13 have indeed been great. Though they would have been even greater but for your Giants. The Patriots’ Kryptonite! The ridiculous Kearse catch brought back memories of the ridiculous Tyree helmet catch for every Pats fan in the nation. But I also thought, at least we’re not playing the Giants - we still have a chance. I’m already missing the football season. Can’t wait 'til next year.
Pete Rozelle would have ended this foolishness weeks ago --“who knows what happened we screwed up, let’s move on”.
Goodell et al have botched this beyond repair. The chain of evidence re: the intercepted football makes any data on its pressure meaningless.
The embarrassment of the Ray Rice (and Ray Lewis, for that matter–got away with accessory to murder–where’s the clothes, Ray??) incident results in the over-attention to air pressure in footballs???
Anybody else but the evil, hated Patriots, this is a non-issue. When will Jerry Rice be removed from the HOF for ADMITTING to cheating his entire career? Aaron Rodgers ADMITTED to OVER-inflating footballs–is he now HOF ineligible when his time comes? How many millions is the fine for the pathetic Falcons pumping in fake crowd noise?
Seems appropriate that a witch hunt be directed toward a Massachusetts team. After all, we invented the concept.
The vast majority of team sports have “cheating” from scuffing a ball in baseball to teaching linemen how to get away with holding, to stick-em, corking bats, wiping away the back line in the batters box which ones are okay and which ones nullify your win if caught?
Jerry Rice may have “cheated” but he or Jim Brown are the greatest NFL players ever in that they are heads and shoulders the greatest at their position. No other player enters the argument against them at their position.
I think when most Patriots fans raise the issue of Jerry Rice’s use of stickum, it’s not meant to diminish his accomplishments in any way or to seriously suggest that he should suffer any repercussions from the admission. He was undoubtedly the greatest at his position, and I couldn’t care less about his use of stickum. Rather, it’s to illustrate the hypocrisy that has run rampant through the whole deflategate hysteria. Particularly with Jerry Rice being one of the talking heads accusing the Patriots of being cheaters, it’s just too perfect a juxtaposition.
Jerry Rice*
Joe Montana*
Bill Walsh*
Steve Young*
Somebody needs to ask Rice what we should tell the children…
I realize that cosar.Idad is pointing out the same thing.
Drinking my morning coffee, planning to go out in the sun to cut back the ferns and prune the roses and becoming increasingly aware of who has cabin fever - the thaw can’t come soon enough! B-)
Belichick and Rex Ryan:
Oops. Here’s the link that works:
Interesting Pro Football Talk column (that coincidentally came out the day after my post 3056 on the topic). An excerpt::
The league doesn’t want to issue a ruling. If they did, they would have issued it long before this. The idea that it takes this long to come to a conclusion is ludicrous.
Wonder why they’re stalling? If the evidence exonerated the champs, you’d think they’d be eager to get it out there.
When you are billing at $1,500 an hour… what’s the rush?
Is this thread ever going to die? I keep seeing it pop to the top every day.
The vitriolic hysteria on both sides is growing tiresome.
"Is this thread ever going to die? "
Are you kidding?! This is a thread about all things FOOTBALL! 
Football is 365 days a year now (366 next year).
Anyway, it’s not all PSI: New England in here.
Why, just today I was reading that Earl Thomas needs shoulder surgery that will require 6-8 months off. He says he will be ready by the start of the season, but… this could be a big blow. Hopefully he doesn’t turn into the next Bob Sanders.
Plus, with three injuries to members of the LoB… will they ever be the same?