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Inflatagate?

Tyzack

By Tyzack
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Tyzack Grand Master

Tyzack

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Or whatever it's being called?

 

Oh, btw, hi sports fans!

 

I'm not going to surprise anyone by saying I'm a Patriots fan (cheifs by blood and upbringing, but patriots by location and, well, they're better, so, whatever, anyway...) and I don't think it really would have affected the outcome of the game, but what is the general "not new england" opinion on Ballgate?

 

http://www.csnne.com/new-england-patriots/curran-deflategate-deflated-footballs-indianapolis-colts-new-england-patriots

 

 

It’s not a question of how the officials -- with one ref on hand solely to keep track of the footballs -- could have allowed a not-suitable-for-play football into the game. It’s not even a question of how many balls -- if any -- were actually under-inflated.

The conversation is focused on why the Patriots did it. Whether or not it was done at Bill Belichick’s behest. Whether or not the Patriots should be allowed to play in the Super Bowl. How this impacts the legacy of Belichick, Brady and the Patriots. What the penalty should be.

The longer it goes, the more it becomes ingrained that the Patriots did cheat.

When and if the Patriots are exonerated, that result will be explained away as the league office wanting to avoid scandal on the eve of the Super Bowl.

NFL spokesman Greg Aiello told me via e-mail that there was no timetable for the investigation and that it would “take as long as necessary.”

 

 

Is there really that much of an Anti-Patriots vibe amoungst the rest of the NFL fans? I mean, they're a great team, lead by the best (statistically) QB/Coach combination ... ever ... so ...

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Clovdyx Spam Master

Clovdyx

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It's being called DeflateGate.  I'm a Pats fan and my opinion is that this is a non-story.  Colts should try covering receivers and tackling ball-carriers instead of complaining about the condition of the ball in inclement weather.

 

Basically this.  If there is evidence that they deliberately deflated footballs, I do think they should be punished, but I'm pretty sure that's not going to happen.  I also don't understand why people are putting much credit into this accusation.  The theory is deflated balls help you control it when passing.  

 

So Belichick decided to deflate balls in a game where his plan was a heavy rushing attacks, and when Brady DID throw, he wasn't particularly amazing?  His three passes of note were severe underthrows to Vereen and Edelman, and the intercepted pass to Gronkowski.  

 

I can't prove they DIDN'T deflate them, of course, but logic suggests that wasn't the case.

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Tyzack Grand Master

Tyzack

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NFL rules state a ball must be inflated to 13.0 pounds per square inch (psi), plus or minus 0.5. That means pressure relative to the atmosphere. The air inside the ball must be at 12.5-13.5 psi *greater* than the atmosphere around the ball.

 

"Standard" atmospheric pressure is ~14.7 psi although it fluctuates with weather and stuff. Foxborough MA is essentially at sea level so there's no pressure reduction due to altitude.

 

Suppose a football was inflated to 13.0 psi as the rules state. Actually, let's pretend the Patriots like it on the flatter side so they supply balls at 12.5 psi. (Later you can redo this math with the different assumption that the referees use a pump to bring everything back up to about 13.0.) So a ball at a relative 12.5 psi means its absolute pressure is 12.5 + 14.7 = 27.2 psi.

 

Now suppose the ball is prepared indoors. That's certainly where the referees check it before the game, in their room. Gillette Stadium's indoor areas are a comfortable 70°F.

 

Now here's the only physics you need to know for this: Absolute pressure in a rigid container varies linearly with absolute temperature. Like, if you double the temperature of a sealed can, something that can't stretch to change its size, then you'll have doubled the pressure inside it.

 

Absolute temperature, by the way, doesn't mean degrees above 0°C or 0°F, it means degrees above absolute zero. Which is about -460°F - I just looked it up. (Science folks, I apologize for doing the math in F° instead of C°, but it's simpler just this once.) So 70°F is 530 F° above absolute zero.

 

But then if you take the balls out in the cold January rain of an AFC Championship game, you'll bring them down to about 35°F. So you've decreased the absolute temperature by a factor of 35/530.

A football does stretch slightly in response to air pressure, but not much. Let's treat its size as remaining constant.

 

So we fill the footballs with 27.2 absolute psi, and then we decrease the temperature by a factor of 35/530. Which means the pressure also decreases by a factor of 35/530. And guess what? We just deflated the balls by 1.80 psi, simply by taking them out in the cold.

 

We haven't yet heard the exact measurements that the NFL investigators took, or what temperature they were taken at, but "reports" from Twitter-enabled journalists are saying the deficit was about "two psi."

 

Well, 1.80 sounds pretty close. And remember, if the balls started at the minimum allowable 12.5 instead of the preferred 13.0, then you could say our 1.80 is actually 2.30 below the preferred pressure.

 

That Bill Belichick will stop at nothing, even enlisting the weather and physics for his nefarious cheating schemes.

 

 

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SinisterDeath Spam Master

SinisterDeath

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I had a hunch this is what it would come out to be..

 

You know.. just owning a bike and living in a region where the temperature can drop 60 degrees within 24 hours..

Also, where's your source on that article Tyz?

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dicetosser1 Spam Master

dicetosser1

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Why doesn't the league just provide the balls and make sure they are in spec? The other leagues don't let teams use just the balls they want to. 

 

I assumed thats what they did. I was all like "how could they do it? the league supplies the balls and the balls handed to the ref as often as it is to BOTH QBs. theyd notice wouldn't they?

 

 

Why doesn't the league just provide the balls and make sure they are in spec? The other leagues don't let teams use just the balls they want to. 

 

Because it'll be too hard to tailor them to the individual team's liking.

 

 

 

AFAIK, most other sports have a standard prep method for balls and tell anyone who doesn't like it to just suck it up.

 

 

Great answer to Clov! +1

 

 

also if it was underinflated? both teams had to use it the same way! Usually key players dont like flat balls. in RL they will call the refs attention to it and get it swapped out. The pats kickers would HATE a flatter ball.

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Turin Turambar Spam Master

Turin Turambar

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Actually dice, each team uses just the balls they provide for play. There are also separate balls used for kicking plays.

 

I think it would be,very interesting to see the league take over the provision of the balls for play. Including balls for kicking game. Make longer field goals more challenging I think.

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