The New England Patriots are into the Super Bowl against the Seattle Seahawks, but it didn't come without some controversy, as the team is caught up in what is now being called "Deflategate", as reports have the NFL looking into whether the team deflated some of the game balls during the AFC championship game, giving the team an advantage.
The first reports about the deflating issue came out after the game on Sunday and later in the week a report from Chris Mortensen of ESPN.com said that he NFL has found that 11 of the 12 footballs used by New England were deflated. According to the report, the balls were taken out of the game around halftime by the officials and things first came to the attention of the Colts after linebacker D'Qwell Jackson made an interception on Tom Brady.
Brady laughed off the allegations and Belichick said that the team was cooperating with the investigation. This storyline will continue until a punishment is given and the NFL officially announces what happened and according to Peter King at the MMQB, it's likely the punishment will not come until after the Super Bowl. Bob Glauber of Newsday first reported that the balls were taken out at halftime and Pro Football Talk writes that the refs did not notice anything wrong with the balls on their own, despite handling them on every play.
Pro Football Talk also reports that the balls were checked under proper protocols before the game, meaning that they were deflated after the official check two hours before kickoff. This is a big issue, as it could mean the Patriots did do something to the balls after they were checked. According to the NFL rulebook, "the balls must be inflated between 12.5-13.5 pounds per square inch of air pressure." Aaron Rodgers spoke about how he likes a firm ball, while other players have described scuffing up new balls and breaking in new balls to get better grips.
While the Colts game was not a close matchup, it still is a bad look for the NFL and the Patriots and they likely will get fined or lose a draft pick for the issues. The team was docked a first round pick and hit with a huge fine after the spy tape issue years ago and now that likely will come up as a major topic for Super Bowl week. If the Colts game was close, this issue could have a very different feel, as one could argue that the balls gave the Patriots a competitive advantage. While technically if they did do it the same could be said, it's likely that no Colts fan could look in the mirror and say deflated balls were the reason the team lost on Sunday based on the way they played.
The Patriots are a team that many people enjoy hating on and that is for a number of reasons. Many fans are jealous of the success of the Patriots, many dislike the personality of Belichick and many fans also dislike the supposed "bending of the rules" that the Patriots often do. Putting all that with the Spy-gate scandal and now this, it's almost a perfect storm for the NFL and the franchise, especially with the Super Bowl in two weeks. While this may not tarnish the legacy of Brady or Belichick, it surely isn't s positive mark on their resumes.