FAQs Regarding ‘DeflateGate’

With seemingly every media outlet turning their attention to the controversy involving the New England Patriots and ‘DeflateGate’ getting all the facts straight can be a bit tough. Here are some of the basic facts about ‘DeflateGate’ in case you are still unsure of exactly what is going on.

When did ‘DeflateGate’ occur?

During the AFC Championship Game between the Indianapolis Colts and New England Patriots, their are claims that the Patriots used footballs that were deflated below the NFL rule book. Indianapolis Colts beat writer Bob Kravitz broke the story late Sunday into Monday morning that the NFL was investigating that the Patriots did this intentionally to gain a better grip on the football.

How did this come out?

According to Kravitz’ initial report, when Tom Brady threw an interception late in the 2nd quarter to D’Qwell Jackson he had brought the ball back to the sidelines and told a coach that the ball seemed flatter. After the coach brought it to the NFL officials at halftime, they determined that the PSI in the football was below the NFL rules.

Why would they want deflated footballs?

Its simple if you think about it, the flatter a football is the better grip you have on it and the more accurate you can be. Couple that with the poor weather conditions in Foxboro on Sunday night, it could have given Brady along with whomever else held the ball a little extra grip when holding the football.

Wouldn’t the officials notice the footballs were flattened?

Before each game an official takes all the balls that will be used in the game and checks if they meet the criteria stated in the NFL rulebook. According to a report by Chris Mortensen on Monday night, all 24 of the Patriots footballs past the pre-game check however when the Colts coaches brought the supposed deflated football to the referees they checked them again and found that 11 out of 24 were below the minimum PSI.

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What did the Chris Mortensen report unveil?

According to a report by ESPN’s Chris Mortensen, during halftime when the officials took a look at the Patriots footballs they found that 11 out of 24 of the balls fell below the minimum PSI level set forth by the NFL. In his report he noted that the 11 footballs were 2 pounds per square inch lighter than the NFL rulebook states. Although Mortensen is one of the more respected reporters in sports, his report has yet to be confirmed by the NFL which may raise some eyebrows especially from those who say the Patriots never intentionally deflated the footballs.

What are the Patriots response?

Up until today the Patriots had yet to respond publicly to the allegations, but on Thursday head Coach Bill Belichick and Tom Brady took to the podium to discuss what they knew about the issue. Belichick took the podium first around 9:30 and he stated that he was shocked when the report came to light Monday morning and that he had “no explanation” for the Patriots footballs being deflated. Belichick noted that in his 40 years coaching that he never has been involved with the football air pressure.

Brady would take the podium later in the day and flat out denied any wrongdoing, “I didn’t alter the ball in anyway.” The New England Patriots quarterback answered questions for over a half hour describing who he chooses his footballs, his pre-game routine, and simply if he played a role in the deflation of the footballs from Sundays game. Brady denied those questions over and over, repeating to the reporters that he had no influence or role in the possible deflation.

Where do we go from here?

After today, the Patriots can do their best to look forward to the Super Bowl (oh yeah, remember they actually have a game in ten days). Answering the questions posed by reporters today was their one time they are going to open up and discuss candidly about the subject, you can now expect that any future questions will be dealt with just as they were in the aftermath of the Aaron Hernandez arrest. Next question.

For the NFL they’re report on what they found should be coming any day as well as a possible punishment for the Patriots, coaches, and/or players. Until then it is unlikely we will get any more new information coming from either the Patriots or the NFL, however it is interesting that in the three days since the Mortensen Report was released the NFL has not come out and supported (or denied) the report. That may or may not be an indication of their findings but it is interesting that so far they have remained silent.