Very few people are surprised that the New England Patriots may have been caught intentionally deflating footballs to give themselves an advantage in the AFC Championship Game. Why? Because Bill Belichick has already been labeled a “cheater” as a result of the Spygate scandal. But what if it was — gasp — Tom Brady who knew about the balls being under-inflated and not the Patriots head coach?
To be clear, the NFL has not released any official word yet on the Deflategate investigation. But on Wednesday, former NFL quarterback and current ESPN analyst Tim Hasselbeck explained that any funny business with the game balls would be done at the quarterback’s request.
QB's are picky about fb's and could tell you everything about their game balls. broken in to their liking. how it works. period.
— tim hasselbeck (@tthasselbeck) January 21, 2015
coaches, refs, average fan wouldn't be able to tell the difference by holding them.
— tim hasselbeck (@tthasselbeck) January 21, 2015
@rocky_mac no he wouldn't
— tim hasselbeck (@tthasselbeck) January 21, 2015
@StatsNBCSports HC would never have any knowledge…nor would any other coach. all QB and equipment staff.
— tim hasselbeck (@tthasselbeck) January 21, 2015
To make matters more interesting, ESPN’s Chris Mortensen dug up a Brady quote from several years ago when the Pats quarterback admitted he likes a ball with less air in it.
“When Gronk scores … he spikes the ball and he deflates the ball. I love that, because I like the deflated ball,” Brady told WEEI in 2011. “But I feel bad for that football, because he puts everything he can into those spikes.”
Of course, the head coach is responsible for everything that goes on underneath him. But if by some chance it was Brady who pulled the strings that led to Deflategate, would this reporter toss him into the fire pit along with Belichick? It’s worth wondering.
