Quote:
Originally Posted by Cool Beans
With cameras everywhere, if they can't find actual video of someone intentionally letting air out or unless someone admits to it, then it is highly possible the balls were low when the ref "checked" them and said they were ok. I highly doubt they actually stick a needle in each ball using a league approved calibrated gauge to test the pressure of these balls. At best the ref, gives them a squeeze and says, yep, those are fine. Brady will come out and say "Everyone knows I like my balls soft" *smile* "the balls were inflated, the ref checked them and we played with the balls as inspected" *nods head* "I never doubt the pressure or have any reason to check the pressure, once the ref checks them. I have to assume they are good to use".
Soon after that the NFL will come out with no evidence of wrong doing.
It's all about Seattle......
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Actually, they do check them, with a gauge for pressure, and with a scale for weight. After each one is checked, the referee takes a silver sharpie and makes an identifiable mark, unique to him, under the NFL logo on the ball. Only balls with that mark can be put into play. They also take the kicking balls out of the box (they're a case of new balls shipped in by Wilson for that one game), test each one of those, and with the same silver sharpie, the ref makes a K on each.
Both sets of balls stay in the refs' locker room with the back-up official, until a half hour before the game time. At that point, each team sends a representative---usually the ball boy---to the room, and he or she is given the bag of their team's game balls. The kicking balls stay in the custody of the back-up ref for the whole game.
The NFL has a 1 psi window of legality, and a 2 oz weight window. Letting the refs do the old "give 'er a squeeze and see" would be ludicrous. mainly because there isn't an official in the whole league who could tell if a ball was a pound off by squeezing it. People have to understand that they never, ever handle the ball in the same manner, using the same grip, as a QB. No other players do either. Not even the place kick holders who catch and spot the ball. It's totally different. And the refs probably wouldn't notice if they were 2 pounds under inflated. They don't grip the ball when they spot it in the same way that a QB does. It's all about the grip, not squeezing the ball from the sides.