Deflategate's True Benefit? Fumble Prevention
http://www.slate.com/articles/sports/sports_nut/2015/01/ballghazi_the_n…
It seems that the rate at which Patriots fumble is statistically highly unlikely.
Do you think the coach was not aware of this fact?
January 24th, 2015 at 2:51 PM ^
Geez, enough with this crap.
January 24th, 2015 at 3:00 PM ^
it reminds me of the george brett pine tar incedent. ya, there is a rule against pine tar past a point of the bat. the yankees knew about it. the umpire made a big deal out of it and disallowed the HR. the league then said it made no difference and gave brett his HR, which is the right call.
the nfl needs to do something similar. ya, it's a rule but it made no difference. it it's a big deal, the refs should control the footballs before and during the games.
January 24th, 2015 at 3:55 PM ^
January 24th, 2015 at 3:57 PM ^
Yes and no. I mean it didn't make a difference in who won the game. NE was so much better. I do think that it makes a difference though, especially in wet and cold conditions. Its heasier to squeeze as a receiver and QB and easier to tuck/less likely to fumble as a RB. I have no idea how this is bigger news than ISIS but somehow people have decided to blow this thing up.
January 24th, 2015 at 4:50 PM ^
rodgers has indicated he likes them inflated more. it's likely brady likes it less. it sounds like it's up to the QBs and not the RBs.
that said, if it was an issue, the refs should control/monitor the footballs. the nfl obviously didn't think it much of an issue because in 2007, they allowed each QB/team to pick out the footballs to use.
much ado about nothing.
January 25th, 2015 at 6:29 AM ^
January 24th, 2015 at 2:53 PM ^
January 24th, 2015 at 2:55 PM ^
So for almost a decade, the Patriots have been using a deflated football to prevent fumbles, and the Colts are the first team to notice? That seems unlikely. On a related note, the Iraq War got less coverage than this story.
January 24th, 2015 at 3:31 PM ^
Second, people can improve on ball handling skills. Tiki Barber went from a fumble machine to the best in the league because he was taught to handle the ball differently and because Coughlin was ready to throw him overboard.
Third, how many Super Bowl wins since 2007 does the Pats have? So much for the advantage leading to SB wins.
January 24th, 2015 at 2:55 PM ^
January 24th, 2015 at 2:57 PM ^
This:
...is a gate.
What happened to the footballs in Foxboro last Sunday had absolutely nothing to do with any 'gate'.
January 24th, 2015 at 4:46 PM ^
January 24th, 2015 at 5:49 PM ^
Watergate happened while I was in high school, Nixon resigned while I was in college.
It's just that "_____-gate " is just way too overused as a tag or description of anything that's a scandal or controversial. And I'm of the opinion that this is a media-driven scandal that has been way overblown. The Colts, plain and simple, got beat by a much better team.
January 24th, 2015 at 6:20 PM ^
"I am not a crook!"
January 24th, 2015 at 2:59 PM ^
...I really do. And I'll admit, I shouldn't have.
But I'm hoping my post will be high enough for everyone to see me BEG the board to PLEASE STOP!!!
It's OT, it's old, no one cares anymore...PLEASE take these threads to Pats and Colts message boards.
Maybe if it was a close game, maybe if it was something other than deflated footballs we'd care, but just because ESPN says we should care doesn't mean we should care.
I wonder how many people on this board remember that USC deflated footballs in a game versus Oregon a couple years ago. I get this is the NFL and it's Super Bowl week, but it's the same thing. It got it's 48 hours, let's all move on, PLEASE.
January 24th, 2015 at 3:07 PM ^
This is really not about the controversy. It is the fact that deflating the ball could possibly have very significant effect on fumble prevention. That is something that anyone who has interest in football should pay attention to.
January 24th, 2015 at 3:42 PM ^
January 24th, 2015 at 3:03 PM ^
January 24th, 2015 at 3:11 PM ^
One guy/team can't legitimatey be THAT much better than everyone else, especially when youre comparing them to the best in the world. People are going to be dismissive of this because they like to believe their heros have superhuman abilities. But the fact is theyre mortals like everyone else.
January 24th, 2015 at 3:28 PM ^
Yes, they can be that much better than everyone else. There are several possible explanations that do not involve them cheating for a decade without anyone noticing.
January 24th, 2015 at 3:38 PM ^
I dont doubt that teams can be better than others at preventing fumbles. It does seem unlikely that one team could be that much better for that long without doing something differently though.
January 24th, 2015 at 4:59 PM ^
Sent from MGoBlog HD for iPhone & iPad
January 24th, 2015 at 5:28 PM ^
January 24th, 2015 at 7:05 PM ^
January 24th, 2015 at 7:51 PM ^
January 24th, 2015 at 3:43 PM ^
January 24th, 2015 at 3:47 PM ^
January 24th, 2015 at 3:48 PM ^
Gretzky, Jordan, and Cy Young would all like a word with you.
January 24th, 2015 at 4:05 PM ^
January 24th, 2015 at 4:52 PM ^
mike hart i believe fumbled in his first game and his final game; nothing in between. he must have cheated some how.
January 24th, 2015 at 7:03 PM ^
January 24th, 2015 at 4:19 PM ^
Barry Bonds too
But seriously, maybe the Patriots are actually the best of all time at not fumbling, like the players you mentioned were the best of all time at what they do.
With all those players you can point to unique skills etc that make them the best. What makes the Patriots the best? It could be any number of things, but it seems silly to completely dismiss deflating the balls as a possible explanation.
January 24th, 2015 at 3:12 PM ^
if you wanna talk about this shit please go to a ESPN board....all teams dabble in the grey areas of the NFL rule book (some better than others). this is worse than a 6 year old telling the teacher on you because you told them to shut up....
January 24th, 2015 at 3:14 PM ^
January 24th, 2015 at 3:26 PM ^
January 25th, 2015 at 12:44 AM ^
It isn't evidence of anything. Apparently the NFL doesn't check air pressure of the footballs with game conditions in mind. That is an angle that needs to be explored before your ilk goes off about cheating.
January 24th, 2015 at 3:20 PM ^
This is so stupid. Colts got wrecked. The ball didn't play a part in Pats running the ball down the Colts throat.
January 24th, 2015 at 3:31 PM ^
I agree that this is stupid, overblown and gone on way too long. But at this point, the only thing that matters is if the NFL can find and prove that this has been ordered by the coaching staff and going on for a long time. If it turns out that the Pats deflate balls every game, or even just every cold/wet game, then it is a big deal.
I think that that everyone who completely dismisses this issue based only on the AFC championship game are missing a, possibly, bigger issue.
January 24th, 2015 at 4:57 PM ^
Recording other teams practices = cheating and despicable.
A ball that is 1 pound under pressure guidelines = stupid and if you ever played sports you ought to know that. It doesn't help tackle it doesn't help blocking. It doesn't help the Pats D who dominated. It sure didn't help Brady when he threw that pick to Jackson.
Read the comments, virtually zero fucks given by everyone. Because people complaining about something so minute and trying to make it into a huge deal makes them sound like drama queens.
/gets off soapbox
January 24th, 2015 at 9:30 PM ^
Wow, you missed my point entirely. i'm saying that people who think just because it was a blowout that the NFL shouldn't look into it further to see if this has been systematic behavior for the Patriots are possibly missing a bigger issue. Yes, the level of inflation in the football made no difference in the AFC Championship game.
And I did play both football and basketball in high school. Having a football under inflated does make a difference to how it feels and how easy it is to grip and handle.
January 24th, 2015 at 3:34 PM ^
I also don't understand why you can't use NFL ballboys, they use them for the chain gang. I think that they should use the same balls, or since they let them scuff the balls up anyway, why not just let each team inflate them to whatever level they want.
You know teams would invest money and time into finding just the perfect pressure for different weather and temps. Studio analysts will then be able to break down whether or not a team lost because of using a too highly inflated ball that led to a late fumble.
January 24th, 2015 at 3:33 PM ^
Agreed, this doesnt seem like a coincedence. Brady/Pats fans will want to ignore this too though
January 24th, 2015 at 3:51 PM ^
January 24th, 2015 at 4:06 PM ^
But its not that the Patriots were the best, I could buy that. Its that they appear to be so far off the charts better than any other team.
They are clearly doing something differently, maybe theres another explanation for it, but in the midst of this controversy it's definitely something worth looking into / talking about.
January 25th, 2015 at 12:50 AM ^
Therefore they cheat.
January 24th, 2015 at 4:11 PM ^
January 24th, 2015 at 3:52 PM ^
January 24th, 2015 at 4:02 PM ^