Bill Belichick Believes Science Explains the Patriots Deflategate Scandal
By now, you know the New England Patriots defeated the Indianapolis Colts in the AFC Championship game on Sunday. The Patriots are moving on to Super Bowl XLIX to play the Seattle Seahawks. New England quarterback Tom Brady played exceptionally well in inclement weather at Gillette Stadium. He threw for nearly 300 yards and three touchdowns. But, perhaps Brady played too well because the Patriots manipulated their balls. The NFL found the Patriots purposely under-inflated 11 of their game balls for better grip. NFL officials inspected the Patriots game balls during halftime. The officials found 11 Patriots’ balls were all under-inflated. The media has dubbed the scandal Deflategate. Rather than confess at a Thursday presser, head coach Bill Belichick tried to use weird ‘science’ to explain the latest Patriots Deflategate scandal.
Who Snitched?
Normally, each team prepares a set of 12 balls for it to use on offense. NFL officials check the balls before kickoff. The NFL confirmed the Patriots’ balls were properly inflated before the game. But after catching an interception during the second quarter, Colts linebacker D’Qwell Jackson noticed the ball felt less inflated than usual. Upon inspection at halftime, the Patriots balls were inflated to the proper pressure and the game continued. The Patriots went on to win 45-7.
How did properly inflated balls before kickoff lose one and two psi in a half of an NFL game? Bill Belichick says it’s science and the balls naturally lost pressure in the cold. Tom Brady denied any connection to the maintenance of his balls. Since the denials and bogus excuses, an NFL investigation found that Patriots locker room attendant Jim McNally took the balls into the bathroom and likely released air from them, perhaps acting on Brady’s orders. The investigation uncovered video of McNally taking the balls away from the officials before getting permission (a breach of protocol) and bringing them into a bathroom before the game for a little under two minutes. No one for sure what happened in that bathroom. But in the previous months, McNally exchanged text messages with team equipment assistant John Jastremski that look extremely suspicious.
In a number of those text messages, McNally and Jastremski discussed the air pressure of Patriots game balls, Tom Brady‟s unhappiness with the inflation level of Patriots game balls, Jastremski‟s plan to provide McNally with a “needle” for use by McNally, and McNally‟s requests for “cash” and sneakers together with the “needle” to be provided by Jastremski.
Another Patriots Cheating Scandal
Fantastic, we are in the middle of another Patriots’ cheating scandal. Belichick said he was “shocked” by the accusations of ball-tampering, according to the New York Times. The head coach said, “I had no knowledge whatsoever of this situation until Monday morning.” He added, “I can tell you that in my entire coaching career, I have never talked to any player, staff member about football air pressure. That is not a subject that I have ever brought up.”
Belichick, in his normally combative manner, declined to answer repeated questions about how specifically the ball pressure got so low. He added that the team is fully cooperating with the league and is implementing new procedures to ensure their footballs meet league rules. What a bunch of bull. Let’s review. Bad weather, your playing at home and somehow you magically move the ball up and down the field and score 45 points.
We don’t have to be in MENSA to figure out the Patriots figured out another way to gain a competitive advantage.