It hasn't been proven at all. What happened to the balls? They still don't know. Was it tampering? Was it weather conditions? If tampering, who tampered, who knew about it? This is still all under investigation.
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Well, maybe it's time to go back to the home team, or maybe even the NFL, providing the footballs for each game. If the QB's don't like it, oh well. At least then there will be the assumption that the balls are standardized.
It's pretty clear, and even conceded by Belichick, that the balls were below the league minimum. That's enough for me to consider it proven. Of course, there is no explanation as to why. But there never will be -again, QB's go for a feel ...they don't give a ^%#} a$& what the PSI is. It's the same ball Brady has used all season without an issue ...but since the Refs never actually check, it would lead me to believe it's a non-issue on most days .....until a team is fed info(by another team) that they could complain and start a controversy before the super bowl. It's funny that Indy would even consider bringing it up, the Patriots could have played them with a bar of soap and still won.
I just feel that The Patriots are always one step ahead pushing the rules.
They are stacked with Talent, and still they push it.
Maybe a year suspension for Bielicheck like the league did with Sean Peyton even though they couldn't prove he was or wasn't involved in any illegal doings regarding the bounty scandal...it starts at the top.
Julie:mickey:
One thing is certain, they are NOT "stacked" with talent. They have a QB they took in the 6th round, they use running backs that either no one has ever heard of( or that no one wants), WR's that were college QB's......
Unless you mean Revis(who is pretty old) and Wilfork (who isnt getting younger).
As an excuse, it's easy to hate Belichick because he is a "cheater" ... Bottom line -people hate him because he's the best darn coach ever. He doesn't need 1st round draft picks to beat other teams ...he TRADES them away! He picks up players(albeit usually talented) that no other teams want, that are from other teams' practice squads. He releases/trades the most talented players on his roster -you go on and on here with a list a mile long! No coach can put together a team and make them work together like he can ..and I don't think in any sport. So for all the other coaches, players, fans ....stop wasting your efforts complaining about the two times you think he cheated, and start building yourself a TEAM!
Depends how you define talent -does he have the physical skills of Rodgers, Manning, Stafford, maybe even Wilson? I don't think so. Thirty-one teams thought he wasn't talented for FIVE rounds! Ever see his combine photo? Ever watch some of his throws(probably due to deflated balls, I'm sure!)? Ask some of the guys who played with him in college -he was a long shot to make a team, let alone be a Hall of Fame QB. Does he have a talent to win? You bet.
When someone refers to a team being "stacked" I think 1st Round All-Pro talent -I think, who are you putting on YOUR fantasy team? Not too many Patriot players make that list. You've seen it before -take some of those players and put them on another team ...yeah, how come they don't look All-Pro caliber anymore? On that team they look good ...out on there own, sometimes not. Just my observation of course.
Yeah, he may have been a 6th round draft pick in 2000, but now we have the benefit of hindsight that the scouts didn't have 14 years ago. Johnny Unitas was a 9th round pick, but nobody can dispute that he is among the best QB's to ever play in the NFL. So is Brady, and he will be in the Hall of Fame the first year the becomes eligible.
Sure, we have hindsight for everything we do. But my point was, Brady didn't have (and may still not have) the skill set that defines a "successful" NFL QB. The fact that he has gotten to where he is today is more an "it" factor than actual pure "talent." "It" could just be a leadership quality that makes everyone around a person better ...and that's what I believe he has.
I define talent as being able to make plays that help your team win. By that definition he easily has/had the same talent as Rodgers and Manning, and way more than Stafford and Wilson.
And those 31 teams that passed on him for 5 rounds included Belichick and the Patriots.