FOXBOROUGH, Mass. (MyFoxBoston.com) - We are learning an interception is what sparked "deflate gate." According to Newsday's Bob Glauber after Colts' D'Qwell Jackson picked off Tom Brady's pass in the second quarter, a member of the equipment staff noticed the ball wasn't inflated properly.
From there, the equipment manager brought it to the attention the Colts head coach and boom, we have ourselves the start of an investigation that is now making headlines across the country.
The NFL hasn't indicated how long its investigation will last, which raises the possibility it could extend into next week when the Patriots and Seattle Seahawks will be in Arizona preparing for the Super Bowl.
Patriots coach Bill Belichick said he will cooperate with the investigation during a Monday afternoon news conference. "We'll cooperate fully with whatever the league wants us to, whatever questions they ask," Belichick said.
Quarterback Tom Brady called the claim ridiculous. “I think I've heard it all at this point,” Brady said on a morning radio appearance on WEEI.
No matter what happens at the conclusion of the investigation, the outcome of Sunday's AFC Championship game will remain official. The Patriots trounced the Colts 45-7. They will play Seattle in the Super Bowl on Feb. 1.
Deflating a football makes it easier to throw and catch, especially in the rain which was falling heavily at times Sunday night.
The game operations manual notes people who alter footballs or allow an unapproved football to be used in a game can be disciplined with fines or other punishments.
According to the NFL rulebook, the home team is required to send 12 official game balls to referees more than two hours prior to kick off. The balls are tested for pressure. The rulebook also says The balls then remain under a referee's supervision until they are delivered to a ball attendant just before kickoff.
Here's the actual rule from the NFL rulebook: The home club shall have 36 balls for outdoor games and 24 for indoor games available for testing with a pressure gauge by the referee two hours prior to the starting time of the game to meet with League requirements. Twelve (12) new footballs, sealed in a special box and shipped by the manufacturer, will be opened in the officials' locker room two hours prior to the starting time of the game. These balls are to be specially marked with the letter "k" and used exclusively for the kicking game.
