BillnutinHouston

Brady now hedging about what the investigation will show - per interview with Costas to air on SB Sunday If you are innocent, why squander an opportunity to put the issue to bed unequivocally? The hedging he's doing is not helping the coverup effort one iota. Can't wait to see how the apologists spin this one.

Regardless of where you stand on this matter, one thing that has to be of interest to everyone is the role of Steve Belichick, if any. If it's determined/concluded/deduced that he was involved in deflating the balls, it immediately calls into question the veneer of plausible deniability that Bill has built for himself. This would lead all but the most ardent supporters to determine that not only was Bill involved in the plot, but also the coverup and outright lying about it. I think it would be a career-ender.

I recall reading recently about how after Spygate, Goodell wrote to the owners and expressed a personal interest in lowering the burden of proof needed to discipline rogue teams. I suspect this is a direct acknowledgement from Goodell that he's seen ample evidence (in his mind) of various actors being willing to play in the gray in the pursuit of championships.

Agree. It really is bizarre. I would hope that the apologists at least recognize and lament the fact that the Pats** have forever lost the benefit of the doubt in the court of public opinion based on their history of aggressively pushing the ethical limits of the game. Their "end justifies the means" philosophy may be effective but it certainly isn't attractive to the vast majority of fans. Fact or speculation?

I mentioned Welker because you did. Welker was included in a study of six Pats** fumbling stats done by the Wall Street Journal. Collectively, he, Amendola, Green-Ellis, Woodhead, LaFell and Blount "have lost the ball 8 times in 1,482 touches for the Pats** since 2010, or once every 185.3 times. For their other teams, they fumbled 22 times in 1,701 touches (once every 77.3). Care to explain? WSJ reporting of Pats** curious non-QB fumble stats

Yes, now you're getting it...sort of. Good mention of Welker - he was one of the six who fumbled twice as often when not in a Pats** uniform as he did when in one.

How does this deflection of the topic onto QB sacks address the fact that non-QBs (the six highlighted in the linked article) fumbled half as often while wearing the Pats** uniform as they did for other teams? Analyst: "Patriots Fumble at a 'Nearly Impossible' Rate"

I have this book on my reading list and it seems even more relevant to the Bills now with the hiring of Rex.

I think the Belichick's son thing is way too premature to run with like many of you are. However, his son's involvement would explain why he felt the need to come out with that stupid, laughable pseudo-science lecture the other day.

They were up 17-7 at the half. How is that evidence that it didn't work?

How would you explain the fumble gap - specifically that the six Pats* players studied fumbled half as often in a Pats* uniform than when they played for other teams?

Stunning how Patriot players, when they're not Patriots anymore, fumble twice as often. The circumstantial evidence continues to mount.

Yea but he's great in pass pro....ah never mind.

The case is still circumstantial as of now, but this adds even more weight. Stunning.

From Urban dictionary: nut-cuttin’ time Time to get serious, time to stop messing around

One point and one question: 1) Investigations start at the peripheral actors and work their way in to the primary actor. It's completely expected that Brady would be the last or near-last to be interviewed. 2) Anyone seen reporting on whether or not the Patriots' balls were re-checked AFTER the game? Just because balls were checked and possibly corrected at halftime doesn't mean they weren't re-altered for the second half.

Thank God!

Interesting. I actually learned something in this thread! Who would have thought?

But then you must also check them AFTER the game. Why should it be assumed that a check at halftime assures that the balls used in the 3rd and 4th quarters are inflated within acceptable parameters? It takes maybe 5 seconds a ball using an easily concealable pin to re-deflate a ball that has been pumped up at halftime.

Agreed, but a huge IF. Proving his knowledge is likely impossible and he's too shrewd not to ensure a continual state of plausible deniability for himself. This is also true of proving Brady's knowledge that the pressure was DEFINITIVELY outside of league-approved parameters.

Exactly. I don't understand why anyone is weighing balls or even discussing ball weight, as that's a negligible variable here. It's all about grippability of the ball in cold conditions, and about reducing the chances of your players fumbling - which are huge game-altering variables BTW. And to Barbarian's second statement, it's not about what Brady did on Sunday vs. what he did on previous Sundays, it's about one team's actions to alter game balls outside of acceptable parameters while the other team stayed within the rules, and how those actions gave the patriots an unfair and illegal competitive advantage in that game. Assuming the facts as they've been reported are true, all that's left to decide is who can be shown to have orchestrated this, and what the NFL will do about it.

Nice hyperbole. Keep dismissing the concern, that is your right. But I have to ask, does the integrity of the game mean anything to you?

The article's headline and slant is VERY misleading. Kim was crystal clear in her radio interview that going into the process, in the PREDECISIONAL phase, Rex wasn't seen as a front runner. She made the point clearly that NOBODY was. How does this get spun as Rex not being a first "choice"? You don't make a "choice" before you start the interview process! Hey, I guess it triggers more clicks than the headline "Pegulas Open-minded Going Into Selection Process".

Don't confuse effort with results.

How so? What dots are you connecting that lead you to that conclusion?