Report: Colts complained Patriots used deflated footballs in November
Deflategate rages on.
By
Jared Dubin
•
1 min read
According to a report from ESPN's Adam Schefter, the Colts reported concerns about the Patriots using under-inflated footballs back in November. During Indianapolis' Week 11 game against New England, safety Mike Adams intercepted Tom Brady twice and gave the intercepted balls to the Colts' equipment manager, feeling that the balls were under-inflated, according to the report.
In Sunday's AFC Championship Game, an intercepted pass was again the source of suspicion for the Colts relating to the Patriots' deflation of footballs. Linebacker D'Qwell Jackson picked off a Tom Brady pass intended for Rob Gronkowski, and he too brought the ball back to the sideline and felt it was under-inflated.
Based on the available evidence, it seems rather clear that the Patriots skirted the rules in some way here, and a punishment would appear to be forthcoming. Back when the Patriots were caught videotaping the practices of opposing teams, Roger Goodell had this to say regarding future punishments for violating league rules:
"Too often, competitive violations have gone unpunished because conclusive proof of the violation was lacking. I believe we should reconsider the standard of proof to be applied in such cases, and make it easier for a competitive violation to be established."
"And where a violation is shown, I intend to impose more stringent penalties on both the club and the responsible individual(s). I will also be prepared to make greater use of draft choice forfeiture in appropriate cases. I believe this will have the effect of deterring violations and making people more willing to report violations on a timely basis."
The Patriots were fined $250,000 and docked their first-round pick in the 2008 NFL Draft as a result of the Spygate controversy, and head coach Bill Belichick was personally fined $500,000 as well. If it is conclusively proven the Patriots doctored the footballs in some way (thus far there only appears to be conclusive proof that the balls were under-inflated, not that they were tampered with, at least based on the most recent reports), harsher penalties may be in store this time around.
