The NFL declined additional comment or clarification on all items.
It's essentially allowing the speculation from Glazer's report to continue, no matter how bad it makes the league look. And, it's worth noting, at this point Glazer's reporting carries more credibility among many football fans than an official NFL statement.
Still, this would be so absurd, so over-the-top that it's a challenge to believe even an NFL prone to bumbling would stoop to it.
The Patriots led 17-7 at halftime, after using some of the deflated footballs. This wasn't a prohibitive deficit but it was a significant advantage. New England has won 74 consecutive regular-season home games when leading at the half.
It actually played better offensively in the second half with properly inflated footballs (the Patriots wound up winning 45-7). Patriots fans point out that it proves the pounds per square inch inside footballs isn't a big deal. Perhaps, but the NFL believes this rule, and the reasoning behind it, is a big deal or else the Super Bowl wouldn't be consumed with a) the original investigation and b) a leak to ESPN that 11 footballs failed the PSI test, which blew this entire thing into a huge story by implying the Patriots were guilty.
As for letting New England walk into a trap, what if the Pats led 35-0 at the half? What if the game was out of hand and Indy was left all but hopeless? Or what if it ended close and every play, including first-quarter scores, mattered?
All that to catch a deflated football scheme? Could the NFL have cared more about that than the Colts' chances?
This is a review that may yield nothing more than a fine or a lost draft pick, and one that is so slow moving that Tom Brady said he doesn't expect to speak to investigators until after the Super Bowl.
Again, it's almost unfathomable. Almost.
