NFL 2014

[Nebu]

If Belichick is smarter and better at cheating, then why is he the one that keeps getting caught at it?  

Selection bias.  If he's cheating so much, then why is he still a coach in the NFL?  That's the better question. 

[Trippy]

Or maybe he just cheats so much more than the rest that it increases his odds of getting caught

[WayAbvPar]

If Belichick is smarter and better at cheating, then why is he the one that keeps getting caught at it?  

Selection bias.  If he's cheating so much, then why is he still a coach in the NFL?  That's the better question. 

That is the question we are asking. That and if everyone else is also cheating, why aren't they being punished for it?

[Nevermore]

If Belichick is smarter and better at cheating, then why is he the one that keeps getting caught at it?  

Selection bias.  If he's cheating so much, then why is he still a coach in the NFL?  That's the better question. 

Because the punishments being handed out aren't nearly enough of a deterrent?

[Paelos]

There's getting away with stuff as a player and then there's systematically violating the rules from the coaches on down. Big gap there.

Are you really this fired up about the whole ball pressure thing or do you just hate Belichick that much? I'm guessing the latter.  Coaches have been looking for ways to gain an advantage since humans have been competing in sport.  It's the nature of competition... particularly when large sums of money are involved.

I don't like Belichick, but I was actually in favor of him winning over the Seahawks since I don't like repeats. But now? Fuck him. Telling me that everyone's cheating reeks of the same shit that was going in baseball with drugs. Fuck those guys too, and fuck the guys who think competition means breaking the rules on a team level. Because you know damn well if it comes to light, fans turn on that kind of stuff faster than a guy beating his wife, kids, etc.

[Nebu]

Because the punishments being handed out aren't nearly enough of a deterrent?

I said exactly this earlier. 

NFL fans care far more about the product than they do the process.  That's the root of the issue. 

[Paelos]

NFL fans care far more about the product than they do the process.  That's the root of the issue. 

Consumers in general barely give a shit about the process in anything. What makes you think the NFL would be special? As long as the slacks cost $20, tons of people don't care who died in China to make them.

[HaemishM]

If Belichek gets caught cheating, I'm not sure why he would be allowed to coach the Super Bowl. Or why he wouldn't get the same treatment Sean Payton did with Bountygate? Suspend him for a year.

He won't, and you know he won't but still... it the NFL gave two shits about real accountability, that's what would happen.

[Paelos]

Kraft is one of the owners that came to Gooddell's defense outspokenly. There's zero way the league is burning that team. Which is why it's such horseshit.

[Nevermore]

Because the punishments being handed out aren't nearly enough of a deterrent?

I said exactly this earlier. 

NFL fans care far more about the product than they do the process.  That's the root of the issue. 

But if the NFL doesn't take a hard line against cheating when it's found out, it'll undermine at least the perception of the product.  Maybe not right now about this particular instance of cheating, but it's a slippery slope if the NFL just let's this kind of thing slide.

[Phildo]

Apparently it was also controversial that John Fox referred to Jay Cutler as 'Jake'.  Slow news day.

[01101010]

Still find it odd that ALL 11 of those balls were 2psi less, each. When? I could see sneaking air out on the sideline, but 2 lbs from each ball like clockwork? and with the amount of cameras in an NFL stadium and on that big of a venue, when could this have happened?

Just odd in the frequency and uniformity and timing of it. And really... Colts got crushed on both sides of the ball.

[K9]

Still find it odd that ALL 11 of those balls were 2psi less, each. When? I could see sneaking air out on the sideline, but 2 lbs from each ball like clockwork? and with the amount of cameras in an NFL stadium and on that big of a venue, when could this have happened?

Just odd in the frequency and uniformity and timing of it. And really... Colts got crushed on both sides of the ball.

This. It inclines me to think that the gauge the refs used to check the balls before the game was somehow faulty.

Or why he wouldn't get the same treatment Sean Payton did with Bountygate? Suspend him for a year.

Bountygate was a wee bit more serious and significant (also potentially true) than ballghazi.

As other people have said, the perfect punishment (if indeed there was cheating) would be to make Belichek coach the pro bowl 

[Paelos]

Make him coach the pro-bowl, and his team has to win or he doesn't get to coach the Super Bowl.

Record ratings for the pro-bowl.

[Tannhauser]

My understanding is this:  Each team brings 12 balls to the game.  2.5 hours before kickoff they give them to the NFL (refs) who test the balls.  THEN the refs give the balls back to each team.  I think I see a problem here.

Also Tom Brady likes softer balls , while Rodgers likes them very firm.  So 11 of the 12 balls were under-inflated, which, again, Tom Brady likes.  Soft balls.

[Megrim]

Last I checked, some no-name from (would you ever guess this?) Indianapolis posted something about this on twitter. Since then, there has been nothing official. Did something change in the interim? Or is this more of the usual Paelos "I swear Romo is actually good you guys" flerp-derpery?

[01101010]

My understanding is this:  Each team brings 12 balls to the game.  2.5 hours before kickoff they give them to the NFL (refs) who test the balls.  THEN the refs give the balls back to each team.  I think I see a problem here.

Also Tom Brady likes softer balls , while Rodgers likes them very firm.  So 11 of the 12 balls were under-inflated, which, again, Tom Brady likes.  Soft balls.

Not the team, but a ball attendant who is an official I believe. Quoted from here:

Former NFL official Jim Daopoulos, in an interview with ESPN on Monday morning, explained the process in which footballs are managed. Two hours and 15 minutes before each game, officials inspect 12 footballs from each team and put a mark on them to indicate they meet the proper requirements and are good for usage. Then those footballs are given to the ball attendant.

There also is a second set of six footballs, used specifically for the kicking game, that are marked appropriately and remain in the possession of officials at all times.

"Officials check balls as they go into the game, and if the ball doesn't feel perfect, they can throw it out," Daopoulos said. "There is always the possibility that balls can lose air due to the conditions."

This article is a bit more on the HOW part.

[Chimpy]

It still seems silly as fuck that this is even a thing.

[01101010]

From the second link:

A person with intimate knowledge of the process told USA TODAY Sports the ball attendant is a uniformed official – generally the same person each week at a given stadium – who comes to the locker room to pick up the balls and takes them to the officials' locker room for testing.

The ball attendant delivers the balls to the ball boys – usually four provided by the home team and two traveling with the visiting team – who make sure their quarterback's preferred balls get into the game, said the person, who spoke on condition of anonymity because they weren't authorized to speak publicly.

*shrug

[Paelos]

Last I checked, some no-name from (would you ever guess this?) Indianapolis posted something about this on twitter. Since then, there has been nothing official. Did something change in the interim? Or is this more of the usual Paelos "I swear Romo is actually good you guys" flerp-derpery?

ESPN ran with it.

http://espn.go.com/boston/nfl/story/_/id/12202450/nfl-says-new-england-patriots-had-inflated-footballs-afc-championship-game

"Flerp-derpery"?

[Surlyboi]

Nation can't wait to hear Patriots fans' excuses this time.

[Megrim]

Last I checked, some no-name from (would you ever guess this?) Indianapolis posted something about this on twitter. Since then, there has been nothing official. Did something change in the interim? Or is this more of the usual Paelos "I swear Romo is actually good you guys" flerp-derpery?

ESPN ran with it.

http://espn.go.com/boston/nfl/story/_/id/12202450/nfl-says-new-england-patriots-had-inflated-footballs-afc-championship-game

"Flerp-derpery"?

And you did read the article, right?

[Paelos]

I did. The NFL doesn't have to confirm the facts yet for ESPN to feel they could run with it, especially since they have sources inside the NFL.

With how tied ESPN is to the NFL it would be monumentally stupid on their part to run with a story that's fabricated and not cross-checked. They often break things long before the teams release them. There is a story that the Falcons have already chosen their coach in Dan Quinn, but they haven't confirmed it yet.

EDIT: I mean do you remember the Ray Rice thing? The NFL still won't confirm they saw the tapes. They are liars. You have to drag stories out of these people, and way most of them come out is anonymous sources.

[Rasix]

Bad lip reading, 2015 edition.

Redrum. Redrum.

[Ginaz]

Looks like Josh Gordon has failed yet another drug test, this time for alcohol.  Due to his DUI conviction, he was barred from consuming alcohol. 

I don't know what's wrong with these people.  I haven't had a drink in about 15 years, not because I was a raging alcoholic, but I because just decided not to drink and I've never used drugs.  Its not fucking hard.  If he has a substance abuse problem he should have gone into rehab or something.  What a fucking retard to waste so much talent on shit like drugs and alcohol.

http://bleacherreport.com/articles/2341986-josh-gordon-faces-1-year-ban-for-failed-drug-test-latest-details-and-reaction?utm_source=cnn.com&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=cnn-sports-bin

[01101010]

Looks like Josh Gordon has failed yet another drug test, this time for alcohol.  Due to his DUI conviction, he was barred from consuming alcohol. 

I don't know what's wrong with these people.  I haven't had a drink in about 15 years, not because I was a raging alcoholic, but I because just decided not to drink and I've never used drugs.  Its not fucking hard.  If he has a substance abuse problem he should have gone into rehab or something.  What a fucking retard to waste so much talent on shit like drugs and alcohol.

http://bleacherreport.com/articles/2341986-josh-gordon-faces-1-year-ban-for-failed-drug-test-latest-details-and-reaction?utm_source=cnn.com&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=cnn-sports-bin

How do you even test positive for alcohol? I mean FFS...

Browns were going to get rid of him anyway so this seems like the perfect grounds for divorce. Oh well... Browns were going to be drafting a WR anyway, might as well get two this year and a QB next.

[Paelos]

If he'd admitted the problem and gone to rehab, the team wouldn't be able to get rid of him. If he was willing to get help.

But this? It's just easier to fire an unrepentant substance abuser. Nobody likes them.

[HaemishM]

I see based on my turning on Mike and Mike this morning that I should probably just fucking avoid any US sports media in the next week so as to not hear about Tom Brady's balls ad infinitum.

[Paelos]

The week leading up the Super Bowl is the absolute worst in sports. The worst. Nothing else matters. Nevermind that basketball is playing, or that hockey is on, or whatever. It's all just ridiculous shit story lines and dumb questions about the Super Bowl.

And this one is getting blown up even more because so many people hate both teams.

[Trippy]

This year it seems even worse cause it's all about the balls.

[Malakili]

So, what does everyone think about Tom Brady's feelings being hurt because everyone was talking so publicly about his balls?

[Trippy]

I'd he think he'd be more upset that his coach threw him under the bus.

[Paelos]

Or that he got caught. Because I don't care what kind of misdirection the team tries to do, the balls aren't all deflated except one because of external conditions. That's frankly insulting.

And yes, the only guy that would ask for that would be Tom Brady. And you know what? If it was so obvious a guy on defense noticed, you damn well know the QB would. And if he didn't like it he would tell Billy the ball boy to get his shit together and go inflate the ball.

[Malakili]

I'm past the point (well ok, I was pretty much immediately past the point) of taking this seriously.  Now it's just all jokes about balls.

[Rasix]

This has been the worst Super Bowl news cycle I can recall.  Yes, Ray Lewis, please give us your passionate condemnation of the impropriety of Tom Brady's balls, you fucking murderer.  Please, let's get EVERYONE'S perspective on this, including every living soul at the Pro Bowl.

My son: "Dad, aren't you excited for the Pro Bowl??!!!!" (he's 5)
Me: "Not real(wife glare).... Yes, this should be quite the display of skill"