FOXBORO, Mass. (
MyFoxBoston.com) -- The NFL has found that 11 of the 12 footballs the New England Patriots provided for Sunday's AFC Championship game against the Indianapolis Colts were under-inflated, according to an ESPN report.
The controversy sparked from these allegations has players, media personalities and fans talking. Here's what some players are saying about the alleged scandal:
NFL star Brandon Browner took to Twitter Wednesday, saying, "For my 2cents Blount scored 3 rushing touchdowns. He could've carried a beach ball. Also doesn't hurt we only gave up 7 points #inflatethis."
Player Torrey Smith, also on Twitter, said, "Those footballs don't make the biggest impact on the game folks are going crazy because of the ethics behind it.
"This is just an issue because it's the Patriots. They won by 38. This doesn't change the outcome of the game," Giants player Geoff Schwartz said.
Another Giants player, Spencer Paysinger, said, "Inflated or deflated. The Colts scored 7 points...................7 points."
Even Colts player Dwayne Allen commented on the issue via social media, saying, "They could have played with soap for balls and beat us. Simply the better team. We have to continue to build!"
Colts kicker Adam Vinatieri said he didn't know what to believe, but said that everybody deserves an even playing field. "It was done, it wasn't done. I'm not sure," the former New England player said. ""If it seems like something that needs to be addressed and punished accordingly, it needs to be done. At the end of the day, everybody just wants an even playing field, everything fair for everybody and just go from there."
Nick Mangold of the New York Jets thought it was fair to label the Patriots as cheaters. "It's fair. I mean, they've done it," Mangold said. "They have to deal with 'spygate' and everything since then," he added, referencing the 2007 discovery that the Patriots videotaped the New York Jets' signals during a 2007 game. Mangold said he didn't think it was unfair to label the Pats cheaters, but said it "kind of comes with the territory." Mangold also said that he didn't know what advantage deflating a football would have for a quarterback.
Aquib Talib, Denver cornerback, laughed off the deflate-gate accusations. "I don't think them deflated balls had nothing to do with LeGarett Blount running for 150 (yard) and three touch(downs)," Talib said.
The Patriots head to Arizona to play the Seahawks in the Super Bowl Feb. 1.
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