Now that a report has surfaced indicating that 11 of the 12 balls that were tested from the New England Patriots sideline during the AFC Championship Game did not have enough air in them, you knew it was only a matter of time before other teams starting screaming “I thought something was up!” Naturally, the Baltimore Ravens are one of those teams.
According to Jason La Canfora of CBS Sports, members of the Ravens believe some of the kicking balls Baltimore used during the divisional round of the playoffs in Foxboro were under-inflated and irregular.
As La Canfora notes, the Ravens’ kicking teams were not getting their usual depth and distance on kicks and punts. The Ravens have not filed an official complaint.
Of course, it was about 20 degrees at kickoff during the Patriots-Ravens game. The temperature dropped to well below 20 as the game went on. The temperature outside in itself would be enough to cause kickers and punters to lose distance and effectiveness. It might also be enough to cause balls to deflate on their own, whereas it was unseasonably warm (closer to 50 degrees) during the AFC Championship Game.
Just like with Spygate, everyone will want to jump on the bandwagon now and say they got cheated out of a win. The Ravens have been particularly outspoken when it comes to accusing the Patriots of skirting around the rules, so we’re not surprised they would insert themselves into the Deflategate conversation.
