I'm not convinced that Belichick even knew anything about this. "IF" the deflation didn't happen naturally which although it might seem unlikely, is still somewhat possible. I read somewhere that 7 of the Colts balls were also deflated and then I read somewhere else that none of them were. Depending on which one is real will indicate if the Pats truly tampered with the balls. If they did, I think it has Brady's paw prints all over it, not necessarily Belichicks.
If thats true, I don't think Tommy ever imagined the magnitude of what he was doing and I'm still not convinced that there even should be a "magnitude" to any of this. If QB's have the ability to scuff the balls to their specification to get a better grip, is there really a significant difference in letting a little air out to accomplish the same thing? Regardless, the public perception and media/opposing fan driven agendas against our team pretty much leaves us all alone in this.
I have little confidence that Goodell has the wisdom to assess this situation in the proper context. I also fear that Belichick might try to cover for Brady and allow himself to be the fall guy even if he knew nothing about it. In some ways, Coach is like Batman….the tragic hero who's grossly misunderstood by the public (i.e.…when they thought he killed Harvey).
The NFL has always been a league where the envelope gets pushed in certain ways. Its just how it was but in today's media dominated world, every little thing becomes huge. The rule on air pressure in footballs has never been scrutinized like this and in reality it probably serves the league better to allow a little bit of tinkering by all the QBs. Some guys have bigger/smaller hands than others and getting a comfortable grip on the ball is better for the game. I feel bad for Brady…He ****ed up here and there doesn't appear to be any way out of this mess. What should be a misdemeanor offense has grown like wild fire with our enemies demanding our heads and I suspect Goodell will probably give them what they want. At this point, nothing would surprise me. All over a bunch of nonsense but then again….so was spygate.