Deflate-Gate: Jaguars Claim Colts Utilized Needles on Sidelines

Stew Milne-USA TODAY Sports

In case you stepped away from planet Earth today, this happened:

So then, you also know by now that the Patriots have published a rebuttal to the Wells Report. This document refutes many of the claims from the original Deflate-Gate investigation – citing logical, or alternative explanations for any and all of Tom Brady’s so-called “wrongdoing” and “involvement” in the matter.

One of the juicier nuggets within the Pats’ rebuttal is this: “Evidence was also provided that Indianapolis balls boys, in a prior season, had been seen by Jacksonville personnel with ball needles hidden under their long sleeves.”

Well, that’s weird. Heck, some folks might even consider that tampering, or dare I say it…cheating. At the very least, it’s odd and suspicious. But while this new information is certainly interesting, it is but a simple claim. No hard evidence, just finger-pointing. Sound familiar?

The Wells Report also references, “Colts equipment personnel used a pressure gauge to measure the inflation level of the ball, determined that it was below the minimum 12.5 psi level and informed a game official and other NFL personnel.”

The Patriots however, were keen to counter this point by stating, “once the game starts, neither team is allowed to gauge the footballs, pump them, or the like. That is solely the province of the referee, who is to be the ‘sole judge’ of whether footballs comply. The Colts, with advance concerns about psi, did not take the issue to the referee. They took the matter into their own hands and had an intern gauge the football. (pg. 63) This conduct was in violation of Rule 2. Nowhere does the Report identify this conduct as a violation of the Rule.”

Clearly, the rebuttal against the Wells Report does not paint the Colts as an angelic franchise. So why no hate toward them? Why is it that negative accusations against New England are automatically held in a higher court of public disgust than for other teams?

Maybe it’s just me, but it sure seems that is the case. Yeah, yeah…they hate us ’cause they ain’t us. But seriously, it makes no sense to deliberately hold one team against a seperate set of rules than another. It’s a double-standard. And it ticks me off.  Here you have the Colts being implicated in not one, but two isolated incidents, yet the Patriots are the ones playing all the Deflate-Gate defense.

Heads are spinning in an attempt to wrap them around this ever-blooming scandal, and there does not appear to be a final destination in the immediate future. All we can do is buckle in and ride the storm out.