2015 NFL Playoff thread

[Flabbibulin]

Originally Posted by Bobblehead

Fox sports is reporting:


http://www.foxsports.com/nfl/story/d...tendant-012615

Regardless of where you stand on this, the NFL having all these leaks is a joke.

As far as the leaked info though, I just have a hard time believing Belichick and Brady would adamantly deny all this if a locker room attendant can sink them. If Brady lied to Belichick though... yikes.

[Senator Clay Davis]

Well it's insanely easy for the ballboy to be paid off to stay quiet. Make him sign a non-disclosure agreement in exchange for whatever compensation he'll get. The ball boy is also likely a huge Pats fan with no intention of sinking the franchise. I think it's way more absurd to suggest this ballboy just went rogue. He was instructed to do what he did without question. By whom? We'll almost certainly never know.

Anyways, a genius has weighed in...

Neil deGrasse TysonVerified account
‏@neiltyson
For the Patriots to blame a change in temperature for 15% lower-pressures, requires balls to be inflated with 125-degree air.

[Flabbibulin]

Originally Posted by Senator Clay Davis

Well it's insanely easy for the ballboy to be paid off to stay quiet. Make him sign a non-disclosure agreement in exchange for whatever compensation he'll get. The ball boy is also likely a huge Pats fan with no intention of sinking the franchise. I think it's way more absurd to suggest this ballboy just went rogue. He was instructed to do what he did without question. By whom? We'll almost certainly never know.

Anyways, a genius has weighed in...

Well, as far as the tweet you quoted, there is no official word on how much the balls were under inflated- only rumors, but the most recent leak was only 1lb PSI. Secondly, one expert will say it isn't possible for temperature or external variables to deflate the ball that much, another will turn around and say it is.

As far as the locker room attendant, I agree. If he is responsible, no way he did it rogue.

[Pagal4321]

http://www.sportsnet.ca/football/nfl...not-air-pumps/

But this kinda thing only happens in Canada....right?!

[transplant99]

Originally Posted by Pagal4321

http://www.sportsnet.ca/football/nfl...not-air-pumps/

But this kinda thing only happens in Canada....right?!

LOL...yep... i suggest everybody read that article....its an excellent reminder that the faux outrage has reached epic proportions over....absolutely nothing of consequence.

[Flabbibulin]

Originally Posted by Senator Clay Davis

Everyone knew a random ball boy would take the fall for this. I'm sure he'll be well compensated for his dismissal. And I'm sure he went rogue and did it all by himself too.

Poor ball boy can't even take a leak without being accused of being Brady's evil ball deflater....

ProFootballTalkVerified account
‏@ProFootballTalk
Source: Gillette Stadium surveillance video shows employee taking 24 footballs into bathroom for roughly 90 seconds http://wp.me/p14QSB-9HaP

[flamesfan6]

Can we focus on the game? Let the investigation go and talk about it when it is over and the facts are all out, instead of just going off leaks and speculation, yes we know everyone hates the patriots. Oh wait.. no we can't.. it's not like a trial where they are innocent until proven guilty.. it's just the Patriots are guilty...

nevermind the fact Brady had better stats in the 2nd half, they outscored the colts 28-0 in the second half ... the result was going to be the same with or without slightly deflated balls, let's just give it a rest it's been over a week of this.

let's just discuss the freakin game already

edit - seriously, I think the last post that was actually about Pats Vs Seahawks was #727 and this is 887 .. I did a quick skim between them, but there has been absolutely 0 substance of the Superbowl itself.

[Flabbibulin]

Sorry, you're right. Maybe a separate thread from here on. Probably should have been one to begin with.

The key for the Pats will be running the ball and short 5 yard throws, trusting their receivers to get big YAC. That said, if Thomas and Sherman are not 100%, the Pats may be able to get some intermediate throws. Forget the long balls either way- the Pats don't do it and the Seahawks apparently only allowed 2 successful long ball throws all year (on 5 attempts).

I don't expect Gronk to go up against Sherman. From what I know, Sherman sticks to the one side? Not sure if Gronk v Sherman will ever happen like people hope. Possibly Edleman, but I see Sherman vs Lafell as the most likely match up. As expected though, a lot of talk will be on whether the better CB is Sherman or Revis, and as often happens, both may end up being non factors- Seahawks don't exactly have a stellar receiving core and Revis should be able to deter them from throwing to the one side. The Seahawks know Browner loves to give away penalty yards, so they might exploit this. Either way, seahawks offence all comes down to Wilson and Lynch running anyway, doesn't it?

[MacDaddy77]

I would love it sooooo much if the first
Play of the game was a 60 yard pass to anyone over top of Sherman. Can't stand that mouthpiece. He's a good corner but just shut up and play ball

[M*A*S*H 4077]

To me the game is going to come down to Gronk vs Chancellor when the Pats are on offence and can the Seahawks group of no name receivers get some separation from what is a very good New England Secondary. I don't think for one second Wilson will play ad poorly as he did last week and his receivers will need to get some separation so he can deliver the ball. The other area to watch for me is if New England can establish a running attack on the Seattle D. Teams that can run on Seattle are the teams that have been able to beat them.

[Displaced Flames fan]

This underinflated ball nonsense is hilarious. Has there ever been a more nothing story that has occupied so much of the consciousness of the sports world??

It plays right into Seattle's hands too. NOBODY is talking about the game. Never seen anything like it.

I like Seattle to win by two TD's or more.

[troutman]

NE will have to pull off some more trick plays - passing to linemen, flea flickers, RBs and receivers throwing the ball.

[corporatejay]

Originally Posted by Flabbibulin

Poor ball boy can't even take a leak without being accused of being Brady's evil ball deflater....

No kidding, 90 seconds to deflate 11 balls is pretty damn fast.

[MacDaddy77]

next rumor is going to be that there was 11 trained monkeys waiting in the bathroom with pressure gauges and needles.

[Flabbibulin]

edit- NFL.com will have media day stream

[MacDaddy77]

patriots.com sent me notification to watch their media day,

[Flabbibulin]

Can't decide if I want to watch the Lynch or Sherman pc. Nothing riveting from the Pats so far- although Gronk apparently sang some Katy Perry.

[Flabbibulin]

Lynch responding to every question with "Im just here so I won't get fined". Can he keep this up for the entire thing, or will the reporters just leave after 10?

edit- and it looks like he is done

[nik-]

I'm glad Lynch does what he does. The athlete interview is typically one of the worst things about sports broadcasts. A bunch of "journalists" asking the same stupid stuff and players with media training giving the same canned answers.

It's awful and they should just abandon it.

[Red John]

Nothing changes with Lynch. Can't believe the media doesn't give up after a few questions.

That said it still is a dick way of dealing with things. You don't like talking to the media? Guess what you're paying paid a lot of money and part of your responsbilities (albeit a tiny part) is to talk to the media from time to time. Why not just be a pro instead of a petulant little child about it?