Saturday, January 24, 2015

The Solution to "Deflategate"


Okay, so I know Luke usually handles all the Patriots stuff, but this whole "deflategate" thing has gotten out of hand. My brother Nick took it upon himself to solve the matter and wrote up a document the other night that pretty much solved the whole thing. He wanted me to post it on Top Cheddar just so even a few people could read it. 

I might be a little late since Bill Belichick already had a press conference today, but I think that miiiiight have just been to talk about balls.

Anyway, here's the email I got from Nick, followed by the document he wrote up.


Explanation of What Happened in Deflategate
-          Equipment manager keeps/maintains team footballs

-          He receives the incoming shipments of footballs, inflates them and the quarterbacks select their preferred footballs (kickers balls come in brand new and are not touched until the game)

-          Tom Brady picks balls, unaware of any air pressure rule (says to equipment manager “hey I like the ones that are squishier” or something to that effect)

-          Equipment manager tests limits with how little air he can put in based on Tom Brady’s comment

-          Refs are lenient with the rule so they half-ass the inspections in that they do not actually pull out a device that measures air pressure or anything

-          The entire league probably doesn’t know the actual rule inside and out

-          Somebody got mad that the Pats were so good and they looked up petty rules that they possibly would be breaking

-          Knowing that everyone messes with the footballs, they tattled about that

-          Members of the Colts fabricated the story knowing full well that the balls were actually deflated

-          There has been no such investigation into any other teams, quarterbacks, equipment managers, or any league referees

-          To compare this to baseball, it is similar to an umpire inspecting a ball that has a nick in it or has gotten “dirty”.  It is a judgment call by the umpire, just like it is a judgment call on the part of the referee

-          In the second half, a judgment call by the referees caused the balls to be exchanged out based on a complaint.  It should’ve ended there because it is always up to the referee’s judgment

-          If a pitcher throws a pitch with a ball that had a nick on it, that doesn’t make him a cheater so if Tom Brady uses a football that the refs deemed fir for play, he is not a cheater.  The rules also say you can’t “hold” but players are called for it all the time

-          He is simply using a ball deemed fit by the officials

-          Nobody on the sideline could have been deflating footballs because there are cameras everywhere.  Any suspicious activity by a guy holding the footballs would surely be caught on a camera from some angle




Looking at the rules for both baseball and football, it is pretty clear the intent of the rules regarding the baseball/football put in play by the umpire/referee

MLB RULES

[Umpires] receive from the home club a supply of regulation baseballs, the number and make to be certified to the home club by the league president. The umpire shall inspect the baseballs and ensure they are regulation baseballs and that they are properly rubbed so that the gloss is removed. The umpire shall be the sole judge of the fitness of the balls to be used in the game;

3.02
No player shall intentionally discolor or damage the ball by rubbing it with soil, rosin, paraffin, licorice, sand-paper, emery-paper or other foreign substance.

The pitcher shall not—
 (1) While in the 18-foot circle surrounding the pitcher’s plate, touch the ball after touching his mouth or lips, or touch his mouth or lips while he is in contact with the pitcher’s plate. The pitcher must clearly wipe the fingers of his pitching hand dry before touching the ball or the pitcher’s plate. EXCEPTION:
Provided it is agreed to by both managers, the umpire prior to the start of a game played in cold weather, may permit the pitcher to blow on his hand.
PENALTY: For violation of this part of this rule the umpires shall immediately remove the ball from play and issue a warning to the pitcher. Any subsequent violation shall be called a ball.  However, if the pitch is made and a batter reaches first base on a hit, an error, a hit batsman or otherwise, and no other runner is put out before advancing at least one base, the play shall proceed without reference to the violation. Repeat offenders shall be subject to a fine by the League President.
(2) expectorate on the ball, either hand or his glove;
(3) rub the ball on his glove, person or clothing;
(4) apply a foreign substance of any kind to the ball;
(5) deface the ball in any manner; or
(6) deliver a ball altered in a manner prescribed by Rule 8.02(a)(2) through (5) or what is called the “shine” ball, “spit” ball, “mud” ball or “emery” ball. The pitcher is allowed to rub the ball between his bare hands.

NFL RULES
The Ball must be a “Wilson,” hand selected, bearing the signature of the Commissioner of the League, Roger Goodell. The ball shall be made up of an inflated (12 1/2 to 13 1/2 pounds) urethane bladder enclosed in a pebble grained, leather case (natural tan color) without corrugations of any kind. It shall have the form of a prolate spheroid and the size and weight shall be: long axis, 11 to 11 1/4 inches; long circumference, 28 to 28 1/2 inches; short circumference, 21 to 21 1/4 inches; weight, 14 to 15 ounces.

The Referee shall be the sole judge as to whether all balls offered for play comply with these specifications. A pump is to be furnished by the home club, and the balls shall remain under the supervision of the Referee until they are delivered to the ball attendant just prior to the start of the game.

In the event a home team ball does not conform to specifications, or its supply is exhausted, the Referee shall secure a proper ball from the visitors and, failing that, use the best available ball. Any such circumstances must be reported to the Commissioner.
In case of rain or a wet, muddy, or slippery field, a playable ball shall be used at the request of the offensive team’s center. The Game Clock shall not stop for such action (unless undue delay occurs).

The Commissioner has the sole authority to investigate and take appropriate disciplinary and/or corrective measures if any club action, non-participant interference, or calamity occurs in an NFL game which he deems so extraordinarily unfair or outside the accepted tactics encountered in professional football that such action has a major effect on the result of the game.






Final Analysis
After reading the rules, it is so obviously clear that it is left up to the referees to determine if the footballs are fit for play.  Just like in baseball, players push the boundaries of the rules until they are either asked to correct the action, or are reported by another team and the game is carried out with minimal interruption.  However, more often than not, these rules are judged so leniently and subjectively that within the grand scope of the game, they are simply petty rules that are only applied in the most severe and blatant cases (ex: Referee or Umpire physically sees an illegal alteration occurring).  The fact that the media and fans don’t understand the ins and outs of these sorts of things is unfortunate, however when your read the rules and think about the situation, it is an easy conclusion to come to.  Nobody actually cares about the balls that much!  So much, that the officials breeze through the inspections and worry about things that matter such as officiating the game, the players go out and play with whatever balls are put out on the field, and the coaches coach the players.  As long as they are official NFL footballs, no other action is taken.  The footballs are an afterthought.  Lastly, let’s think about how often referees go through the monotonous pregame routine where they are supposed to inspect these footballs.  Anybody with a brain can figure it out.  They’re not machines…they walk into their locker room joking around, the footballs are placed neatly on a table awaiting “inspection”.  One of the refs picks one up, makes sure it has the logo, Commissioner’s signature, and then they probably just play catch with it, just carrying on not really caring much about dimensions and air pressure and all that nonsense.  These dudes show up and do the same thing, with the same footballs, for every game they officiate.  If they look and feel inflated enough then they approve them.  It’s as simple as that.  And that is why 11 of the 12 footballs were so negligibly underinflated – their “inspection” was just a little once-over “looks good to me!” kind of thing.  




Some others may have this theory, but Nick just wanted to make it known that he put quite a bit of effort into actually determining what the heck might have happened last weekend. And I honestly think this is exactly what happened. Well done Nick.    


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