The NFL says its investigation into whether the New England Patriots used underinflated footballs in the AFC championship game is ongoing after a report Tuesday night claimed the league found 11 balls were not properly inflated.
Troy Vincent, the NFL’s executive vice president for football operations, said the “investigation is currently underway and we’re still awaiting findings.”
Vincent was responding to an ESPN report that cited anonymous league sources saying 11 of the Patriots’ 12 allotted game footballs were underinflated by 2 pounds per square inch of air. ESPN did not say how that occurred.
Vincent said earlier Tuesday he expected the probe to be concluded by the end of the week. The last thing the NFL wants after a difficult season off the field is a potential cheating scandal that disrupts Super Bowl week. New England faces the Seattle Seahawks on Feb. 1 in Glendale, Ariz.
The Patriots, who beat the Indianapolis Colts 45-7 for the AFC title, said they were cooperating with the league, and a Seahawks spokesman said the team would defer to the league on the matter.
The NFL began looking into the issue not only because doctoring the footballs could provide a competitive advantage but because it would compromise the integrity of the game.
Deflating a football can change the way it’s gripped by a player or the way it travels through the air. Some quarterbacks and receivers prefer balls with less air or more air than the standard.
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Under NFL rules, each team provides balls each game for use when its offense is on the field. The balls are inspected before the game by the officiating crew, then handled during the game by personnel provided by the home team.
Social media responses were quick late Tuesday night and into Wednesday.
“11 of 12 balls under-inflated can anyone spell cheating!!! #Just Saying” was the tweet from Hall of Fame receiver Jerry Rice.
“So we get to play the game again or nah? ??” tweeted Colts cornerback Darius Butler.
Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers said on ESPN radio in Milwaukee that he doesn’t like how referees handle the balls. If balls come in overinflated, the referees take some air out.
“I have a major problem with the way it goes down, to be honest with you,” Rodgers said. “The majority of the time, they take air out of the football. I think that, for me, is a disadvantage.”
Rodgers said referees have a set range in which they “like to set game balls,” and that he always liked the higher end of the range because of his grip.
“I just have a hard time throwing a flat football,” Rodgers said. He thought a slight majority of quarterbacks like footballs on the flatter side.
“My belief is that there should be a minimum air-pressure requirement but not a maximum,” Rodgers said. “There’s no advantage, in my opinion. We’re not kicking the football. There’s no advantage in having a pumped-up football.”
Patriots quarterback Tom Brady said the investigation is the least of his worries. And tight end Rob Gronkowski tweeted a photo of himself spiking the ball with the words: “WARNING GRONKING MAY CAUSE DEFLATION.”
Patriots coach Bill Belichick on Tuesday deferred questions about the investigation, saying reporters should ask league officials. Belichick earlier said he wasn’t aware there was an issue until Monday morning and promised to “cooperate fully with whatever the league wants us to, whatever questions they ask.”
Belichick, of course, was fined $500,000 in 2007 for having an assistant spy on the New York Jets’ defensive signals.
Special-teams captain Matthew Slater said the Patriots “try to do things the right way. We work hard at our jobs, our professions, to be successful and it’s unfortunate that things like this come up, but that’s life. That’s the world we live in.”
Colts coach Chuck Pagano said he did not notice issues with the football and didn’t specify when asked whether the Colts had reported the issue to officials.
“We talk just like they talk to officials (before the game),” he said. “We have an opportunity to talk to the officials about a lot of things.”
Playing by the rules … and correct footballs
The NFL is very precise about its game and equipment — including the number of footballs prepared for games, how much each must weigh and who monitors them before kickoff. One rule is very clear: Don’t tamper with a football once it has been inspected for use in a game.
Chain of custody
Footballs are delivered to the officials’ dressing room 2 hours, 15 minutes before kickoff. The referee inspects each one, with a pump provided by the home team to adjust air pressure as needed. Footballs are required to have at least 12.5 psi and no more than 13.5 psi. Releasing air can make the football easier to grip, especially when wet. Some quarterbacks prefer a softer ball to control the spin more, while others like more air. A drop in temperature — from the officials’ dressing room to an outdoor field — also can cause a football to lose pressure.
The ref rules
The referee is the sole judge of whether a ball is fit for play and marks each one approved for the game. The rule says the footballs “shall remain under the supervision of the referee until they are delivered to the ball attendant just prior to the start of the game.” The referee for Sunday’s AFC championship game was Walt Anderson. A key question in the investigation is whether the balls improperly passed inspection or were either switched or tampered with after Anderson’s inspection. As the home team, the Patriots were responsible for having someone handle the footballs on each sideline.
Ball control
Footballs are sent directly to teams. Equipment managers can brush them and even use a damp towel to rub off the oil used to preserve the leather to the preferences of each quarterback. The quarterbacks can even practice with the footballs during a game week as long as the footballs remain in good enough condition to pass the referee’s inspection as a new ball.
Potential punishment
If the NFL finds anyone with the Patriots underinflated the footballs, commissioner Roger Goodell has wide latitude for punishment. This includes a fine that can be as low as $25,000 for anyone deemed responsible for tampering with a football, even if it’s the head coach. Goodell could strip the team of draft picks, suspend people for “unfair acts,” and reverse a game’s result or reschedule a game.
