Like many sequels that will spawn even more sequels, DeflateGate II left a few loose ends. Which sets the stage for DeflateGate III.
Yes, there could be a DeflateGate III. Undoubtedly, there won’t be. But there could be.
At a select cold-weather game (possibly on Sunday in Denver, where the high temperature will be 31 degrees), the Patriots could do what the Giants apparently didn’t do in DeflateGate II: File a “formal complaint” during, not after, the game regarding the air pressure in the opponents’ footballs.
To properly lay the foundation, the Patriots would need to get their hands on a Broncos football, via interception or fumble recovery. The Patriots could then alert the league that the football seems underinflated, which would put the NFL in a box.
Based on what happened in the Colts-Patriots postseason game 23 months ago and what didn’t happen 12 days ago during the Giants-Steelers game (because, apparently, the Giants didn’t raise the issue during the game), the league may feel compelled to gather all balls for both teams and test them.
Depending on the timing of the complaint, the testing would happen at halftime or at the end of the game (the latter would be more ideal, given that there would be more time for the testing and likewise more exposure of the balls to the elements). Quite possibly, the final numbers of all footballs for both teams would be in the same range as the New England footballs in January 2015.
And that would operate as a de facto exoneration of the Patriots from DeflateGate I.
Of course, there’s no guarantee that the league would disclose the numbers. Over the past two seasons, the NFL stubbornly has refused to release the measurements obtained during PSI spot checks.
The reason for the silence is simple: Air pressure drops on cold days, and a comparison of PSI readings obtained in a different game to those from the game that spawned DeflateGate I would potentially confirm that the league presumed guilt and clumsily worked backward.
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