Prickly Pete

I think this is one player (Brady) breaking the rules, just like when a player takes PED's. It's his first offense, and he should be given the same kind of suspension. There is no reason to believe that Belichick had anything to do with the balls. The fact that Brady MAY have done this in past games is as irrelevant as if you might have driven drunk in the past, but have only now been caught. No one wants to hear this narrative though, because it's much more gratifying to bitter fans to assume that the entire team conspired to cheat. Where are the bitter EX-Patriots, ready to throw Belichick under the bus. Surely there is a former disgruntled employee, now out of the game, that would know about this, right?

If it has taken If it has taken the officials that long to determine that the balls were deflated EVERY game for 6 years, then the entire officiating department should be fired.

Cool. Would you stop posting on this board too?

In.

Really now, was there ANY way he could have denied the allegations that you wouldn't have found fault with?

Here I am, someone right here to direct your petty vitriol towards.

http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/cheat/news/story?id=2957893 They are all cheating, according to a long list of former players and coaches. Stretching the rules however they can. This transgression normally carries a $25,000 fine ($5,000 more than grabbing your crotch, and that for a player with a history transgressions).

I hope Belichick is fired so the Bills can hire him!

I did....clever.

Nope. Jail time at the very least. Do they have The Death Penalty in Mass.?

This post really shows the bitterness. You are running around with a hard-on for the Pats. You are dreaming if you think they would be stripped if they won. They will have beaten the Seahawks without deflated balls, because it will be well scrutinized. Your are like some religious zealot.

Thanks man. I hate the Pats, but I hate the mob mentality even more.

Gee, Johnson used the term "Bribe", Leinart used the term "tamper"...odd choices for guys that wanted to make it clear that they were within the rules. Can't there be reasonable discussion, without people being disingenuous?

http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2015/01/21/leinart-says-every-quarterback-tampers-with-the-ball-except-one/?ocid=Yahoo&partner=ya5nbcs

I didn't refer to anyone in particular, but I wouldn't expect them to necessarily admit that what they did was illegal. Doesn't mean it wasn't. There are lots of rules broken every game. When detected, they are penalized. This one carries a $25,000 fine, not a year suspension, or any of the other extreme penalties that have been suggested. It's a big leap from, that fine, to a year suspension.

Again, that's jumping to conclusions. I can definitely see a situation where Brady likes the ball softer, Belichick knows about it, and lets Brady do whatever is most comfortable (and in his mind, is common practice, and knows that referees turn a blind eye to it).

Great, but it also tells me that they never considered it that big of a deal. Can we agree that the Patriots didn't invent this ploy? WIth so many conclusions being jumped to, is it reasonable to suggest that there may be many other QB's that have done this?

HOw do you know it was a conspiracy? Tom Brady might be the only one involved. He might have gone over to the ball bin and let air out of them himself. More likely, he has a ball boy do it. Is that conspiracy (it's 2 people, so I'm not sure). There is no proof yet that Belichick had anything to do with it, and I doubt many coaches squeeze the ball, pre-game. He probably leave that part up to Brady's personal preference. OH, but they do.

Yeah, they deserve bigger fine, and penalty. SOme of the extreme penalties dreamed up here are ridiculous though. Losing a 1st rounder would be huge, but within reason. Suspending a coach for a year? I doubt most coaches squeeze the balls before each game. AT this time there is no way to tie it to Belichick. I'm more inclined to say it was Brady that made the arrangements. WHy, you don't have to post, it's not clogging up the board. YOu are just pissed that I disagree with you.

Again, HOLDING is cheating. It gets penalized during the game. It's a matter of degree. Speeding doesn't get you a life sentence, Nope. It's a penalty, if we catch you again, just like Holding, we call it again.

Right. $25,000 fine. Move on, and be extra diligent in measuring their balls from there on out.

I didn't know you were waiting. The call last season, where most felt the Panthers interfered with Gronkowski in the endzone on the last play of the game, killing the Pats comeback.

Great, it's up to the officials, during the game to notice this, and penalize the team. It's obviously not that hard to discern if the ball is indeed underinflated.

I'm not "afraid" to stand by my points. I already have, and this thread is to see if there are others that agree. I think I heard on the radio, that the official fine for this transgression is $25,000, anyone else know if this is true? That should give an idea of the level that this misconduct is considered...not much.

Wrong. Multiple people indicated that they didn't want me posting in that thread. Bring it on.