Originally Posted by Tyrone Slothrop
I haven't read the report either and don't plan to do so. Here's what I think happened. I think the Patriots staff knew that Brady liked balls at the legal minimum, and did their best to deliver balls to that standard. I think the ref measured them, or most of them, and thought that they met the minimum requirements. I think the guy then took a leak before he brought the balls to the field. When the balls were measured at halftime, they were measured with another gauge that gave lower readings, so that balls that were intentionally deflated to the minimum level on a first gauge were seen to be underinflated. With the exception of that one ball, everything fits.
But that doesn't explain why one ball was significantly less inflated, and I'm not sure what the answer is. I don't think the staffer went into the bathroom and deflated only one ball. On balance, I think it's most likely that the ref did a half-assed job before the game and didn't actually check all the balls, that he missed one that he should have caught. I have to imagine that checking the inflation of footballs is not something most refs enjoy and that maybe they do a half-assed job once in a while. I think it's possible, but less likely, that a Colts staffer, having heard something around the club about the team's issues with the Pats, tried to help their cause by letting a little more air out of a ball that seemed (to him) low to start with. I think it's least likely that the Patriots had a walking conspiracy to illegally deflate balls after they checked by the refs, but could only manage to let a noticeable amount of air out of one of a dozen footballs.
I also think that most people heard the initial, erroneous story that all of the balls were underinflated -- a story that we now know came from the Colts, and formed their views that the Patriots were cheating, big-time, and that -- even if they actually heard this was wrong -- stuck with the narrative and conclusion ("the Patriots cheated!") they had already formed. So, bravo to the Colts.
To my mind, the really weird fact is that only one ball was significantly deflated. If you like conspiracies, then it should be easy to do something with the fact that the only flat ball was the only ball the Colts handled. I generally think that people are more incompetent than evil. But for that one ball, I think the Pats staff was trying to give the refs balls at the legal minimum because that's what Brady liked, that the ref checked them, and that one or both did their job poorly and ended up with footballs that were just below the minimum.
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