What if the Steelers played with deflated balls?

Aikman thinks the Pats, and BB, should be punished harder than the Saints were.

"This whole comment by Roger Goodell based on the Saints when Sean Payton got suspended for the year, and he says 'ignorance is no excuse,' that's going to come back to haunt him again," Aikman said "That haunted him during the whole Ray Rice situation with he, himself, and now it's going to haunt Roger Goodell in terms of what the punishment is for the New England Patriots and Bill Belichick. If ignorance is no excuse, and it wasn't for Sean Payton."


​

"Now twice, under Bill Belichick and possibly a third time, they've cheated and given themselves an advantage," Aikman said. "To me, the punishment for the Patriots and/or Bill Belichick has to be more severe than what the punishment was for the New Orleans Saints"​

 

I wouldn't put tooo much stock into that. He doesn't come right out and say, "The Ravens or John Harbaugh told me they told the Colts". He presents it as more of a rumor from a Ravens source.

Anyway, the Colts actually knew of it from past experience. They suspected something was up when they played them in November, and reported it to the league then.

 

PR is definitely a growing challenge for the NFL.

 

I'm not a conspiracy theorist, but this is curious.

[tweet]558713759813103616[/tweet]

Notice how New England's percentage dips dramatically at 2007? That's the first year opponents were allowed to bring their own balls. Could be a coincidence, though.

 

Statement issued by the league.

IMMEDIATE RELEASE
1/23/15


NFL Statement


Our office has been conducting an investigation as to whether the footballs used in last Sunday’s
AFC Championship Game complied with the specifications that are set forth in the playing rules. The
investigation began based on information that suggested that the game balls used by the New
England Patriots were not properly inflated to levels required by the playing rules, specifically Playing
Rule 2, Section 1, which requires that the ball be inflated to between 12.5 and 13.5 pounds per
square inch. Prior to the game, the game officials inspect the footballs to be used by each team and
confirm that this standard is satisfied, which was done before last Sunday’s game.


The investigation is being led jointly by NFL Executive Vice President Jeff Pash and Ted Wells of the
law firm of Paul Weiss. Mr. Wells and his firm bring additional expertise and a valuable independent
perspective. The investigation began promptly on Sunday night. Over the past several days, nearly
40 interviews have been conducted, including of Patriots personnel, game officials, and third parties
with relevant information and expertise. We have obtained and are continuing to obtain additional
information, including video and other electronic information and physical evidence. We have retained
Renaissance Associates, an investigatory firm with sophisticated forensic expertise to assist in
reviewing electronic and video information.


The playing rules are intended to protect the fairness and integrity of our games. We take seriously
claims that those rules have been violated and will fully investigate this matter without compromise or
delay. The investigation is ongoing, will be thorough and objective, and is being pursued
expeditiously. In the coming days, we expect to conduct numerous additional interviews, examine
video and other forensic evidence, as well as relevant physical evidence. While the evidence thus far
supports the conclusion that footballs that were under-inflated were used by the Patriots in the first
half, the footballs were properly inflated for the second half and confirmed at the conclusion of the
game to have remained properly inflated. The goals of the investigation will be to determine the
explanation for why footballs used in the game were not in compliance with the playing rules and
specifically whether any noncompliance was the result of deliberate action. We have not made any
judgments on these points and will not do so until we have concluded our investigation and
considered all of the relevant evidence.


Upon being advised of the investigation, the Patriots promptly pledged their full cooperation and have
made their personnel and other information available to us upon request. Our investigation will seek
information from any and all relevant sources and we expect full cooperation from other clubs as well.
As we develop more information and are in a position to reach conclusions, we will share them
publicly.

 

Meanwhile, in Foxboro...

 

This is pretty damning. Of course, certain people will ignore it, or deny anything is amiss.

 

Really? Thought those old NE uni's were so lame, like the new ones better. Didn't care for Denvers orange creamsicle ones either, think their new ones are much better, same goes for logos on both teams.

I think that would be pretty brazen even for NE to attempt with all the cameras today, not to mention fans with cell phones.