Are you "outraged" about deflate-gate?
I just watched a report on the Today Show where 81% of viewers in a snap twitter poll said yes to the question "if guilty should the Patriots be banned from the Super Bowl?" Leaving aside the silliness of the question, which isn't on the table as a possibility, the rest of the discussion was about how there is "growing outrage" over this. Is there? I'm probably in the minority, but this is nothing but a yawner to me as a scandal. I'm shocked, shocked, that there is gambling in this establishment. Scuffing balls happens in baseball, as does stealing signs, as does trying to get any edge possible. You catch a guy or a team, you punish them under the rules, you move on.
But I could be wrong, what do you think?
January 22nd, 2015 at 9:43 AM ^
The problem I have with this is that these kinds of things are going on everywhere in the NFL. And no, it doesn't make it right, but it does seemingly make it a witch hunt. Why is it that the most hated team in the NFL(in the same fashion many people view UM as one of the most hated team in college football) is the one always getting caught doing these things? It's not because they are the only ones doing them, that's for sure.
January 22nd, 2015 at 1:21 PM ^
January 22nd, 2015 at 9:51 AM ^
I think it depends on how they cheated. If they had a ball boy deflate the balls after inspection then that's clearly "cheating" even if it's a stupid rule and should draw a real punishment (not keep them out of the super bowl, but fine/draft picks). Whatever one thinks of a rule, sportsmanship says you should play within it. On the other hand, if they did something along the lines of what was discussed on this board yesterday where they pumped up the balls in a much warmer room right before inspection, and after a couple hours in the cold they were no longer kosher, that's probably violating the spirit of the rules but shouldn't draw a huge punishment as its the type of advantage football teams take all the time.
January 22nd, 2015 at 7:35 AM ^
here at all. Seems like everything was back to normal after halftime, and then the Patriots deflated the Colts after that...
January 22nd, 2015 at 7:36 AM ^
January 22nd, 2015 at 7:37 AM ^
This has been blown up by all the media outlets to drum up interest in the Superbowl, which means more $$$$. They will pound this dead horse until it runs dry or something "juicer" comes along.
I just treat it like white noise, I ignore it, that way it doesn't bother me.
January 22nd, 2015 at 7:58 AM ^
January 22nd, 2015 at 7:38 AM ^
January 22nd, 2015 at 8:05 AM ^
Maybe the Today Show should start quoting and linking to Pornhub.com...
January 22nd, 2015 at 8:14 AM ^
January 22nd, 2015 at 7:38 AM ^
January 22nd, 2015 at 7:39 AM ^
will be outraged. New England and Brady fans will yawn. Those who don't care will listen to both sides scream "facts" at each other and just look on confused. (that's me by the way).
January 22nd, 2015 at 7:39 AM ^
However they will only get a loss of draft picks
January 22nd, 2015 at 8:15 AM ^
January 22nd, 2015 at 8:29 AM ^
Both those punishments seem way out of proportion. I think a five yard penalty would have sufficed.
January 22nd, 2015 at 7:42 AM ^
January 22nd, 2015 at 7:42 AM ^
January 22nd, 2015 at 8:22 AM ^
Fake Outrage is indeed coming, but running a just a little late because it was detoured at False Equivalency.
January 22nd, 2015 at 8:36 AM ^
I wasn't equating them but at the end of the day neither will matter outside of their respective situations.No one is going to actively avoid the watching the NFL due to deflategate and no one will think twice about a frat being complete ass hats on a ski trip when applying to/donating to the University of Michigan.
Hence the "outrage."
January 22nd, 2015 at 7:43 AM ^
The "advantage" isn't even measurable.
January 22nd, 2015 at 7:44 AM ^
a lot of the media is excusing the Patriots "cheating" becaus the margin of victory was so large. Last time I checkd, cheating is cheating, the outcome does not determine whther or not its relevant because cheating is WRONG. If it were a 3 point game then this would matter? You've got to be kidding me. Again, society lays an egg.
January 22nd, 2015 at 7:53 AM ^
January 22nd, 2015 at 8:08 AM ^
The margin of victory does matter because people are talking about what a huge advantage this gives the Patriots or they wouldn't be doing it. The score was 17-7 with deflated balls and 28-0 after they were replaced. Some huge advantage. And as far as "cheating" goes, I don't call it cheating if there's no advantage gained. Is Marshawn Lynch a "cheater" because he breaks the NFL game conduct and media rules every week? He wouldn't keep breaking the rules if it didn't give him an advantage right? Maybe saying f*&$ you to the league helps him reach Beast Mode.
January 22nd, 2015 at 11:19 AM ^
January 22nd, 2015 at 1:25 PM ^
One report says they reinflated the original balls at half and then checked them after the game. Another says they used the Patriots' back up balls. I hope the NFL would be smart enough to check them and not just send them out for use.
January 22nd, 2015 at 7:50 AM ^
January 22nd, 2015 at 7:51 AM ^
January 22nd, 2015 at 7:52 AM ^
January 22nd, 2015 at 7:53 AM ^
Also I love it when the media says "the story EVERYONE is talking about..." No, the media is talking about it. I went the whole say yesterday NOT talking or even thinking about it.
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January 22nd, 2015 at 8:09 AM ^
The whole self-serving interest on the part of the media to create a tempest in a teapot belies the fact that the Patriots are just better than almost every other team and have been for a very long time. The thing is, they don't have to cheat to be that good.
January 22nd, 2015 at 8:48 AM ^
I mean, shouldn't news that other players are also cheating make you more irritated by this? There are two rational responses:
1) Lots of guys are cheating. Maybe the rule is silly and we should get rid of it.
2) Lots of guys are cheating. Maybe we should make the punishment more harsh to deter that bad behavior.
Here's the irrational response:
Lots of guys are cheating. So, it's widespread enough that I don't care about it.
January 22nd, 2015 at 7:53 AM ^
That "81%" number ... all from the Indianapolis area, per chance?
This "scandal" is so stupid ... it makes me wonder if it's all not some made-up PR stunt to gin up buzz and mouse-clicks.
January 22nd, 2015 at 8:05 AM ^
From Baltimore, I'm sure.
January 22nd, 2015 at 8:06 AM ^
All the Colts fans I have talked to have said that deflated footballs are the least of their problems. Now if you get them started about their run defense...
January 22nd, 2015 at 7:56 AM ^
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January 22nd, 2015 at 8:11 AM ^
Using under inflated balls is probably worth less in terms of changing the outcome of a play or a game than holding does.
Proportionality matters in determining a punishment for a rules infraction.
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January 22nd, 2015 at 8:38 AM ^
Holding happens on one play and you get a 10-yard penalty every time you do it. The Patriots used a deflated ball on every play of the first half, so by your logic, they should've gotten perhaps a 5-yard penalty on each and every play.
January 22nd, 2015 at 10:03 AM ^
If you think that holding gets called every time it occurs in a football game, especially in the NFL, you might want to watch the games more closely. Holding occurs on almost every single play and probably gets called 5 to 10 percent of the time, and that is usually because those tend to be ergregious or right in front of a referee. If this same situation had occurred and the balls had been overinflated akin to Aaron Rodgers stating that he prefers the football to be harder or have more air than standard, would there still be the same "outrage" or publicity? Just because I keep the basketball I like to play with at a slighlty different PSI than what someone else I play with does, does that mean the I'm cheating by playing with that ball with that amount of air in it? No it doesn't. Obviously there is a functional limit to how low the PSI can be in a basketball before it can't bounce effectively, but footballs also have a similar functional limit oin order to be thrown effectively and with enough velocity to be used on a professional level.
Should they have purposefully done this? Probably not. Does it give a slight marginal advantage to team doing it? Perhaps. The real question though is did this have enough of an effect on the game to have an actual impact on the final score enough to warrant the Patriots to not play in the Superbowl (including the fact that they only used them for the first half)? Absolutely not. The worst that should happen is that they get fined.
January 22nd, 2015 at 10:52 AM ^
I never said the Pats should be kicked out of the Super Bowl. Here's the question for you:
Since you think deflating footballs against the rules gives an advantage to the team doing it, does that mean you think teams should refrain from doing it? And do you think a small fine will stop the Patriots from doing it?
January 22nd, 2015 at 7:41 PM ^
This is actually a very relevant question for this game (along with the idea that holding occurs so frequently). Many people believe the success of Seattle is linked to the physicality of their defense. In this case, they are actually breaking the rule for pass interference and illegal contact more frequently than any other team -- and are more penalized than any other team. (don't believe it? Just ask a Seahawk fan).
But the refs can't call it all. They are penalized often, but their physical nature pays off. Not unlike the old NY Knicks who fouled so much you couldn't call them all. Interesting parallel. And, as Aaron Rodgers and Eli Manning and others have indicated, it doesn't appear the punishment for the over/under inflation of the footballs is truly a deterent. I believe both Green Bay and Minnesota were given a "don't do that anymore" earlier this year, but that was the extent of it.
January 22nd, 2015 at 11:38 AM ^
Holding is ubiquitous, and rarely penalized. It has a major impact on individual plays and, cumulatively, the game.
Tweaking the ball to the QB's liking is ubiquitous, and even more rarely penalized. It has a negligible impact (or no impact, if the sciency arguments are right) on individual plays and, cumulatively, the game.
As equipment infractions go, it's not nearly as impactful as too much curve on the blade of your stick in hockey (also rarely called), and the penalty for that is a minor.
I just don't get the furor.
January 22nd, 2015 at 7:59 AM ^
January 22nd, 2015 at 7:59 AM ^
Being that I live in Indiana this would represent the outrage here...for me being a Lions fan i usually respond jokingly. Then they wish they could do this to me as it usually creates more rage.
January 22nd, 2015 at 8:00 AM ^
The people who care about this hate the Patriots or Belichick or Brady or someone else, anyway. They WANT to believe this to be the scandal the media is hyping it up to be. I was listening to the radio last night and some MSU fan called in ranting about how Brady is a jerk, so of course he cheated. And he was very upfront with the fact that his opinion was based on Brady going to Michigan.
January 22nd, 2015 at 8:02 AM ^