(OT) HeadSmart Lab: Deflategate experiment vindicates Patriots?
I know that there has been plenty of talk on this, but I thought this experiment deserved its own thread.
A HeadSmart Lab study using brand new official NFL Footballs...
All footballs are inflated to 12.5 PSI at 75 degrees...like they would be in a locker room...the balls are then put in a 50 degree room and made wet (there was heavy rain in the AFC Title game and about 45 degrees by halftime of the game).
Facts:
#1 Colder air will condense the air and decrease PSI in a ball
#2 Wet leather will expand and therefore decrease the PSI in a leather football.
Experiment Results:
The footballs lost PSI of up to 1.95 PSI --- perfectly in line with what the Patriot balls were. Keep in mind, only 1 Patriot ball was down 2 PSI. The rest lost less than that.
Edit: I failed to embed and have kids to put to bed so here is the link to a video.
January 26th, 2015 at 8:41 PM ^
January 26th, 2015 at 8:45 PM ^
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January 26th, 2015 at 8:45 PM ^
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January 26th, 2015 at 8:50 PM ^
I have zero faith the NFL could conduct an investigation properly (regardless of how important an issue is or isn't). But wouldn't simply testing the Colts balls and showing it dropped from say 15psi to 13.5psi end all of these questions?
January 26th, 2015 at 9:28 PM ^
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January 27th, 2015 at 11:23 AM ^
Or integrity, we can't forget that they have none of it.
January 26th, 2015 at 8:48 PM ^
Of course the weather influenced the Colt's balls. People are ignoring a lot though:
1) Andrew Luck's balls started off at 13.5 PSI, Brady's at 12.5 PSI. The Colt's balls can fall 1 PSI and still be legal.
2) The Colt's footballs may have been measured indoors during halftime giving them time to reacclimatise.
3) The Colt's balls may have been drier and wamer from the proximity to their sideline heater, both of which would increase their PSI in relation to a colder and wetter leather ball.
January 26th, 2015 at 9:33 PM ^
It isn't unreasonable to assume they ensured their balls would meet spec before lodging their complaint.
My question all along has been, Just why didn't the Colts' balls similarly deflate with the drop in temperature? Maybe the wrong people are being looked at, maybe NE didn't do anything to their footballs while the Colts did in fact manipulate the pressure in their footballs.
January 26th, 2015 at 8:41 PM ^
January 26th, 2015 at 8:43 PM ^
Good, now we can call it day and move on!!
January 26th, 2015 at 8:44 PM ^
I don't think the Colts balls were inflated that low to begin with. I've wondered about the elemental effect, but none of the brainless talking heads has mentioned it yet.
January 26th, 2015 at 8:45 PM ^
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January 26th, 2015 at 8:46 PM ^
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January 26th, 2015 at 8:51 PM ^
January 26th, 2015 at 11:23 PM ^
January 26th, 2015 at 11:55 PM ^
January 26th, 2015 at 8:46 PM ^
Love it, a true family man.
January 26th, 2015 at 8:46 PM ^
January 26th, 2015 at 9:00 PM ^
January 26th, 2015 at 9:33 PM ^
( although I'd love to see Jim Harbaugh play this on the piccolo!)
January 27th, 2015 at 12:22 PM ^
rob f
January 26th, 2015 at 10:15 PM ^
( although I'd love to see Jim Harbaugh play this on the piccolo!)
sorry, double post, so....HARBAUGH!
January 26th, 2015 at 11:22 PM ^
January 26th, 2015 at 8:47 PM ^
If only this would end it.
January 26th, 2015 at 8:57 PM ^
January 26th, 2015 at 8:51 PM ^
But, there's a video of the coverup that's VERY convincing. The ball boy had the balls and disappeared into a room only to emerge an unspecified time later. The only question is did he act alone or was there a second ball boy on the grassy knoll. Also, did Brady or Belichek give the order for the code red?
January 26th, 2015 at 8:54 PM ^
You need me on those balls!"
twss
January 26th, 2015 at 9:34 PM ^
January 26th, 2015 at 8:55 PM ^
It is convincing that he entered a room where the camera can't see and did _____?
January 26th, 2015 at 9:27 PM ^
Someone may have thrown your meter off a couple points.
January 26th, 2015 at 11:18 PM ^
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January 26th, 2015 at 10:00 PM ^
Love this reference. I use it frequently.
"Dodson, DODSON..WE GOT DODSON! See, nobody cares".
January 26th, 2015 at 9:06 PM ^
Honestly, unless you're from Boston or the Northeast, most of us wouldn't root for the Patriots if it wasn't for Tom Brady.
IMO, even if the deflation of footballs was inadvertent, the whole image factor for Belichick after spygate and now deflategate has been that he will get dangerously close to cheating as long as he wins.
January 26th, 2015 at 9:38 PM ^
A guy at work kept on me until I commented today. I really don't care about NFL so I don't have a horse in this race.
I explained that a long time ago I wanted to be a team engineer on a race team. As part of that profession it is the engineer's job to know what is and is not specified in the rules and how to work within them while getting bloody close to the edge.
I can very easily believe that TB prefers to throw low pressure ball. If the spec is 12.5 to 13.5 or something like that, the job of those assistants is to make sure the balls are certified at 12.5 not 12.6 or 12.4 but EXACTLY 12.5 full well knowing that once they are in the cold the pressure will drop. It's not rocket science.
In racing, the teams that win week in and week out are the ones that are the most prepared just like in sports. If shaving 3 threads off a bolt will cut laptime someone is going to do it.
Without a doubt the Patriots are one of the most prepared teams in the NFL. I'm not a fan and even I know that. I'm sure very little is left up to chance and someone is well aware of all the rules and how to walk right up to the edge of them. How else could that team keep winning at the standard they set with Tom Brady and a bunch of wierd guys?
January 26th, 2015 at 10:03 PM ^
Similar situation, regarding someone just wanting me to comment and get my opinion so they could shit all it with their (his) nonsense; it's male drama. He's a good guy, and he tries to toe the line and be open-minded but then references Mike and Mike and other ESPN garbage and I just can't take him seriously.
January 27th, 2015 at 12:01 AM ^
January 27th, 2015 at 8:51 AM ^
If the Patriots didn't have Tom Brady, they probably wouldn't be good enough to root for anyway, even if you were from the Northeast.
January 26th, 2015 at 9:15 PM ^
January 26th, 2015 at 9:20 PM ^
January 26th, 2015 at 9:29 PM ^
January 26th, 2015 at 11:16 PM ^
January 26th, 2015 at 9:38 PM ^
Are you denying science? Do you not believe that colder air will lower the PSI? That wet leather expands lowering the PSI? Is there something that you disagree with in their experiment?
The footballs had more air put into them while cold and still wet at halftime...hence the footballs would retain a similar PSI when remeasured still cold and wet.
A guy going into a room with the ball bag is not proof of wrong doing and "if" he did let out air - it was minimal at best and certainly not 2 PSI, as science indicates that you can lose up to that much from the dry 75 degrees to wet 50 degrees.
January 26th, 2015 at 9:44 PM ^
January 26th, 2015 at 11:14 PM ^
January 27th, 2015 at 1:02 AM ^
January 27th, 2015 at 11:55 AM ^
Many former players have said NE manipulates the injury report. From misreporting how or what a player is injured, to making guys "questionable" when they are clearly out (or completely healthy). It may not be "against the letter of the rule" but it is not acting in good faith.