Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers has been shooting from the hip this season in the media.
Rodgers, who is not known for holding back or speaking up as a player, confronted Tom Brady and his former team, the New England Patriots, in an interview with Sportsnet. (Note: AR comments occur at the 1:15 mark)
“This is too firm for the Patriots,” Rodgers joked as he held up a football, obviously referencing Tom Brady and the ‘Deflategate’ scandal.
His comments were certainly tongue-in-cheek, joking with his ‘The Match’ counterpart.
In case you don’t remember, this is what Rodgers was referring to.
The Deflategate Controversy
The Patriots were involved in multiple controversies during the height of their 19-year tenure with Brady as the starting quarterback, including “Spygate” in 2007, when New England was disciplined for videotaping the signs of the Patriots’ defensive coaches. Jets in a regular season game.
“Deflategate” occurred during the Patriots’ 2014 Super Bowl run in the AFC Championship Game against the Colts. In that game, Brady threw an interception to Colts linebacker D’Qwell Jackson, who gave the ball to the Colts’ team manager as a souvenir.
After that selection, the Colts notified NFL Gameday Operations that they “understood there was an issue with the level of inflation on a Patriots football.” In 2006, the NFL instituted a rule for each team to use its own ball while on offense.
The league requires soccer balls to be inflated to a gauge pressure of between 12.5 and 13.5 pounds per square inch, as measured by game officials. It was later revealed that in NFL official Clete Blakeman’s measurements of Patriots footballs, five of his 11 measured under 11.0 pounds, thus falling two pounds short of the original stated inflation target. .
According to NFL senior vice president of officiating Dean Blandino, umpires don’t record the pressure of balls before the game, nor do they check during the game, and they didn’t in this case. Walt Anderson, the referee, timed the soccer balls. Patriots game balls were re-inflated at halftime to meet specifications and reintroduced to the game.
After an investigation into the matter, the NFL announced that Brady was suspended four games without pay during the 2015 season for his involvement, based on “substantial and credible evidence” that he knew Patriots employees were deflating footballs. and that he did not cooperate with investigators.
The Patriots were also fined $1 million and had to forfeit their first-round pick in the 2016 NFL Draft, as well as their fourth-round pick in the 2017 NFL Draft.
It probably won’t be bulletin board material should the two meet in the NFC Championship, but Rodgers’ comments will definitely give them something to talk about before the game.