Are the New England Patriots cheating again? Sources are claiming that the NFL is investigating claims that the Patriots cheated during the recent AFC Championship Game agains the Indianapolis Colts. If those claims turn out to be true, some fans claim the NFL team should forfeit the right to compete at Super Bowl 2015.
In a related report by the Inquisitr , the Super Bowl 2015 half time show had its performers announced and even the Super Bowl commercials are getting previews this year around.
Claims about the Patriots cheating have been flying fast and furious these past several weeks, and according to NBC , even the “Patriots have filed formal tampering charges against the Jets due to owner Woody Johnson’s public comments about New England cornerback Darrelle Revis.” According to Boston.com , Baltimore Ravens head coach John Harbaugh was furious a week ago when the Patriots pulled what he called a substitution trick.
“It was clearly deception,” Harbaugh said after the game was already over. “That’s why I had to take the penalty, to get their attention so they would understand what was going on because [the Ravens’ defense] didn’t understand what was going on. That’s why guys were open, because we didn’t ID where the eligible receivers were at. The league will look at that type of thing, and I’m sure that they’ll make some adjustments and things like that.”
In response, Patriots quarterback Tom Brady glibly responded, “Maybe those guys gotta study the rulebook and figure it out.” But these new charges probably will not be taken so lightly since the case of cheating allegedly involves deliberately tampering with the main piece of equipment used in the game.
According to WTHR , a source within the NFL claims the league is investigating the Patriots purposefully deflated footballs in order to help win against the Colts. It’s claimed that a “deflated football would be easier to throw and catch in poor weather conditions than a properly inflated ball,” which may have contributed to the 45-7 win by the Patriots.
The NFL source claims that officials caught the Patriots cheating because they took a ball out of play and measured it for weight. If the investigation confirms that the Patriots cheated, then the team would lose future draft picks.
This punishment is not enough for some football fans. For example, Diana Bastin-Miller claims, “That should be a automatic forfeit and give the Colts the win.” Other fans note the game stats and the lopsided score, with Miguel Alejandro saying, “Quit looking for excuses and just admit the better team won.”
Do you think the New England Patriots should be allowed to continue on to Super Bowl 2015 with this looming scandal in the wings?