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Every one does this. That's been confirmed by every former player or coach that's been asked, and several current players have talked about it. The only reason this blew up is because it's the Patriots and everybody wants reasons to hate them. move along.

This describes Spygate fairly accurately as well.

Spygate is slightly different in that a memo was sent out that year to stop doing it. But yes in much the same way everyone did that, and it only turned in to an issue because Eric Mangini used it as a way to get some kind of pay back on Belichick by ratting him out and making a way bigger deal about it than needed to be made.

You know people give him crap about making it an issue for the Patriots when many teams were doing it, but honestly if you can get your division rival in trouble and cost them draft picks, even for something that you know other teams are doing to, I don't imagine there are many coaches that wouldn't try to get their rival in trouble.

Every one does this.

The NFL tested the balls used by the Colts at halftime of the AFC Championship also. Surprisingly, they were all at regulation.  So at least one team does *not* do it.

All of this calls for another headline from The Onion...

Nation Can’t Wait To Hear Patriots Fans’ Excuses This Time
...
“No, no, by all means, go ahead,” said every single person living outside of Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Vermont, Maine, Rhode Island, and Connecticut before reportedly smiling and adding, “I’m all ears.”
...

The Patriots may have found the culprit that was deflating the game balls. As it turns out, it was the same guy that used a snowplow to set up the Patriots' game-winning field goal against the Dolphins years ago. 

Interestingly, there is speculation that he is the same guy that poured red paint on Curt Shilling's sock.     

The fact is: Even if the patriots cheated, it wouldn't affect the outcome of the game, they creamed them around 45 to 7!

The issue is whether or not they intentionally cheated.

That is going to be hard to figure out, even if they do, what will the consequences be?

For the record, I am extremely disappointed with my Patriots. Clearly someone altered the game balls. Regardless of what effect it would have actually made, written rules and procedures were broken intentionally (it would seem). As a Christian, I cannot condone this type of behavior, just because "everybody's doing it" (except the Colts). Rules are rules, and they must make a difference, otherwise why would the rule even be there?

I drive 5 mph over the speed limit on a regular basis. Everybody around me does the same or more. If a trooper decides to pull me over on any given Sunday, I can't expect the excuses we like to give to prevent me from having to pay a fine. I would expect the Patriots to have some sort of punishment, and deservedly so. Rules are rules. As a Patriots fan, I'm certainly glad they enforced the obscure "Tuck Rule." 

Time for another quick poll...

Which statement do you find *more* believable...

Ndamukong Suh's claim that he didn't know he was stepping on Aaron Rodgers' leg in week 17 because his feet were cold.

-or-

Tom Brady's claim that he felt absolutely no difference between under-inflated and regulation footballs in the AFC championship game.

I have to admit, Suh

I'll take the statement with more weight...

Once the wind dies down and I can reach one of them.

I don't know about where you live but in NY Cops are specifically taught not to pull someone over for anything less than 10 MPH over because anything less can be argued down in court to a parking ticket or less and it's a waste of the state's time

Congratulations! You have met the preliminary qualifications to join Bill Belichick's staff! 

There is no precedence to believe that Brady is lying, as he hasn't really ever been caught in a lie before. The moment we start to doubt why Brady wouldn't notice a difference, you also have to call into question why the officials didn't notice either. No, they don't grip the ball quite as hard, but that's still a discrepancy in the accusation that Brady is lying. Keep in mind that the variance in PSI can be anywhere from 12.5 to 13.5, so it's not even as though there is an absolute standard. In fact, because re-inflating balls is illegal except during half time, the PSI would change even during the game. That also offers an explanation for why the Patriots' balls were under inflated while the Colts' were not: Brady is on-record stating he likes under inflated balls, so he's likely to have them at the bare minimum (12.5 PSI) (this is something that Belichick brought up in his press conference as well). If the Colts started towards the top end of that range, it is possible that while all of the balls deflated due to an external factor, only the Patriots' balls actually ended up under the legal limit. While the initial report was that the Patriots' balls were under inflated by 2 PSI, it's possible that ESPN was using the upper threshold as a comparison, and it was not actually by that much. It really might just be a case of awful reporting that resulted in the story being blown out of proportion. Given that ESPN has been the main engine driving this since then, it really wouldn't surprise me. A week of speculation with no confirmation whatsoever, with almost everyone with any real experience downplaying it (pretty much everyone except Jerry Rice) makes me think ESPN has created a story when there really isn't one.

I would have them redo the whole game!

Absolutely not. Even players on the Colts admit the Patriots would have stomped them on Sunday regardless of the inflation of the balls. The story is disconcerting if the Patriots cheated, and they should be punished for it, but absolutely everyone agrees that it didn't actually have any bearing whatsoever on the game itself. Why specifically do you think Brady is lying? He has absolutely no history of it.

There is no precedence to believe that Brady is lying, as he hasn't really ever been caught in a lie before.

I think the whole point of both Spygate and Deflategate is that they had never been "caught" prior to the incident. I'll be honest. I've been following the Patriots since I was old enough to know what a football was, having been raised in New England by proud Patriots fan parents. Even though I live in Florida now, I still read every pertinent article about them, since I don't get to see the televised games every week. This past year has been quite disturbing in regard to Brady. His expletive-filled rants on the sidelines and in interviews certainly has made me question his character more than ever before, and he was no saint before this year. When I watch the games, I do pay attention to his interactions with opposing players in between plays, and he is almost always jawing at the other team and getting in their face. I can't stand Richard Sherman, but at least he is honest, and he has mentioned Brady's mouth for years. So, frankly, I think there is precedence that Brady has character flaws, which could include lying. I think Bridget Moynahan could shed some light on that claim.