{"id":8565,"date":"2015-01-22T17:28:09","date_gmt":"2015-01-22T17:28:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/forumarchives.tmsites.net\/index.php\/2015\/01\/22\/ex-nfl-qb-admits-paying-people-to-tamper-with-2003-super-bowl-balls\/"},"modified":"2015-01-22T17:28:09","modified_gmt":"2015-01-22T17:28:09","slug":"ex-nfl-qb-admits-paying-people-to-tamper-with-2003-super-bowl-balls","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/forumarchives.tmsites.net\/index.php\/2015\/01\/22\/ex-nfl-qb-admits-paying-people-to-tamper-with-2003-super-bowl-balls\/","title":{"rendered":"Ex-NFL QB admits paying people to tamper with 2003 Super Bowl balls"},"content":{"rendered":"


\nVideo
\n\thttp:\/\/www.reviewjournal.com\/sports\/football\/ex-nfl-qb-admits-paying-people-tamper-2003-super-bowl-balls<\/a><\/p>\n

\tBalls under inflated Video
\n\thttp:\/\/www.reviewjournal.com\/sports\/football\/ex-nfl-qb-admits-paying-people-tamper-2003-super-bowl-balls<\/a><\/p>\n

\the Sports Xchange
\n\tNow that the NFL investigation has reportedly found 11 of New England\u2019s 12 allotted game footballs in the AFC Championship Game were underinflated, the topic continues to be the talk around the nation and league whether the Patriots cheated.<\/p>\n

\tReports surfaced after the Patriots advanced to the Super Bowl with a 45-7 rout of the Indianapolis Colts in the AFC Championship Game on Sunday night that they purposely deflated footballs.<\/p>\n

\tESPN reported Tuesday night that the investigation found the footballs were inflated 2 pounds per square inch below what\u2019s required by NFL regulations.<\/p>\n

\t\u201cWe are not commenting at this time,\u201d said Greg Aiello, the NFL\u2019s senior vice president of communications.<\/p>\n

\tThe \u201cDeflateGate\u201d opinions go wide and far.<\/p>\n

\tGreen Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers, for one, takes an opposite viewpoint on the NFL\u2019s rule for inflating footballs. He wants the footballs fully inflated for games.<\/p>\n

\tAnd former Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Brad Johnson has admitted to paying a bribe to have the footballs tampered with before the 2003 Super Bowl.<\/p>\n

\tRodgers said NFL referees take air out of footballs to be used in games and he doesn\u2019t like it one bit.<\/p>\n

\t\u201cI have a major problem with the way it goes down, to be honest with you,\u201d Rodgers said Tuesday on his ESPN Milwaukee radio show. \u201cThe majority of the time, they take air out of the football. I think that, for me, is a disadvantage.\u201d<\/p>\n

\tRodgers said he likes the footballs to be inflated because of his strong grip pressure and large hand size.<\/p>\n

\t\u201cThe majority of quarterbacks, I would say more than half, are maybe on the other end of the spectrum and like it on the flatter side,\u201d he said on his show. \u201cMy belief is that there should be a minimum air-pressure requirement but not a maximum. There\u2019s no advantage, in my opinion \u2014 we\u2019re not kicking the football \u2014 there\u2019s no advantage in having a pumped-up football.<\/p>\n

\t\u201cThere is, if you don\u2019t have strong grip pressure or smaller hands, an advantage to having a flat football, though, because that is easier to throw. So I think that is something they need to look at. There should be a minimum on the air pressure but not a maximum. Every game they\u2019re taking air out of the footballs I\u2019m throwing, and I think that\u2019s a disadvantage for the way that I like them prepped.\u201d<\/p>\n

\tRodgers said he and the team\u2019s equipment staff work together to pick balls they\u2019ve either practiced with or used in previous games. Before each game, officials take balls from each team and approve them for use. They are separate from the designated \u201cK-balls\u201d \u2014 used on special-teams plays, which cannot be manipulated.<\/p>\n

\t\u201cThe majority of people don\u2019t like throwing brand-new footballs, and that\u2019s why the change was made and Peyton (Manning) was big on helping all the quarterbacks out with that,\u201d Rodgers said. \u201cBut if they\u2019re going to let us prep them the way we want them, I don\u2019t believe they should be able to take air out of the footballs.\u201d<\/p>\n

\tAccording to ESPN, during the Nov. 30 game between the Packers and Patriots on CBS, Jim Nantz and Phil Simms discussed the preference by Rodgers for overinflated balls.<\/p>\n

\t\u201cI like to push the limit to how much air we can put in the football, even go over what they allow you to do and see if the officials take air out of it,\u201d Simms said Rodgers told them before the game.<\/p>\n

\tSimms pointed out that Rodgers is the exception.<\/p>\n

\t\u201cEverybody wants it smaller and soft, so they can dig their fingers into,\u201d Simms said. \u201c(Rodgers is) such a feel thrower. You can tell. The one touchdown he threw down the field to the tight end is such feel; then he flicks it. That shows you he just has great control of it, with his fingers and hand.\u201d<\/p>\n

\tJohnson said he paid $7,500 to some people he did not identify so that they would scuff the balls set to be used in Super Bowl XXXVII, making them easier to grip. According to Johnson, there were 100 footballs set aside for the game, and the people he bribed tampered with all 100, to Johnson\u2019s specifications.<\/p>\n

\tJohnson and coach Jon Gruden\u2019s Buccaneers beat the Oakland Raiders 48-21 in the Super Bowl<\/p>\n

\t\u201cI paid some guys off to get the balls right,\u201d Johnson told the Tampa Bay Times. \u201cI went and got all 100 footballs, and they took care of all of them.\u201d<\/p>\n

\tOne huge difference from the Patriots-Colts game: Both teams used the same footballs in the Super Bowl. Raiders quarterback Rich Gannon threw five interceptions.<\/p>\n

\tGruden said on ESPN Radio that he was aware that Johnson was concerned about being able to grip the balls in that game, but Gruden did not say whether he was aware of Johnson breaking the rules to get an advantage.<\/p>\n

\tNFL rules stipulate that footballs must be inflated between 12.5-13.5 pounds per square inch and weigh between 14 and 15 ounces.<\/p>\n

\tNFL vice president of officiating Dean Blandino told NFL AM on Monday that \u201cit\u2019s not unheard of for a ball to be removed from circulation and then tested during the week for whatever issue there was.\u201d<\/p>\n

\tBlandino said once measured and inspected, the footballs are in the possession of designated game ball attendants.<\/p>\n

\tFormer NFL official Jim Daopolous explained to ESPN the process in which footballs are managed. He said that two hours and 15 minutes before each game, officials inspect 12 footballs from each team and put a mark on them to indicate they meet the proper requirements and are good for usage. Then those footballs are given to the ball attendant. There also is a second set of six footballs, used specifically for the kicking game, which are marked appropriately and remain in the possession of officials at all times.<\/p>\n

\t\u201cOfficials check balls as they go into the game, and if the ball doesn\u2019t feel perfect, they can throw it out,\u201d Daopolous told ESPN. \u201cThere is always the possibility that balls can lose air due to the conditions.\u201d<\/p>\n

\tPatriots coach Bill Belichick said Monday that the organization will \u201ccooperate fully with whatever questions they ask us and whatever they want us to do.\u201d<\/p>\n

\tOn Tuesday, Belichick didn\u2019t seem too interested in the topic during his conference call with the New England media.<\/p>\n

\t\u201cAny questions on that you should talk to them about,\u201d Belichick said.<\/p>\n

\tPatriots quarterback Tom Brady seemed amused when asked Monday morning about the report.<\/p>\n

\t\u201cI think I\u2019ve heard it all at this point \u2026 it\u2019s ridiculous,\u201d Brady said during his weekly interview with Boston radio station WEEI. \u201cThat\u2019s the last of my worries. I don\u2019t even respond to stuff like this.\u201d<\/p>\n

\tIn 2008, the Patriots were heavily fined and docked a first-round draft pick for what is now known as \u201cSpyGate.\u201d Belichick was fined $500,000, the team was fined $250,000 and the Patriots lost their first-round draft pick in the 2008 NFL Draft.<\/p>\n

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Replies:<\/h3>\n

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Video http:\/\/www.reviewjournal.com\/sports\/football\/ex-nfl-qb-admits-paying-people-tamper-2003-super-bowl-balls Balls under inflated Video http:\/\/www.reviewjournal.com\/sports\/football\/ex-nfl-qb-admits-paying-people-tamper-2003-super-bowl-balls he Sports Xchange Now that the NFL investigation has reportedly found 11 of New England\u2019s 12 allotted game footballs in the AFC Championship Game were underinflated, the topic continues to be the talk…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":36,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[12],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-8565","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/forumarchives.tmsites.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8565","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/forumarchives.tmsites.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/forumarchives.tmsites.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forumarchives.tmsites.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/36"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forumarchives.tmsites.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=8565"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/forumarchives.tmsites.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8565\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/forumarchives.tmsites.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=8565"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forumarchives.tmsites.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=8565"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/forumarchives.tmsites.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=8565"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}