“Deflategate” is swirling around coach Bill Belichick as he prepares his Patriots for Super Bowl XLIX on Feb. 1, but a former NFL coach says somebody else should be to blame.
Former NFL coach John Madden, who won Super Bowl XI with the Raiders, said quarterback Tom Brady should be held responsible in the case of the deflated footballs.
“[Deflating the footballs] would have to be driven by the quarterback,” he told The Sports Xchange on Wednesday. “That’s something that wouldn’t be driven by a coach or just the equipment guy. Nobody, not even the head coach, would do anything to the football unilaterally, such as adjust the amount of pressure in a ball, without the quarterback not knowing. It would have to be the quarterback’s idea.”
Though many are blaming Belichick for the subterfuge that resulted in 11 out of 12 footballs being deflated to two pounds per square inch below the standard level, Madden — who serves as a consultant to commissioner Roger Goodell — said Belichick should not be blamed.
“Yeah, I believe him,” Madden said. “I can see — you hate to make examples of what you can see because that sounds like you are accusing someone — but I can see that being between the quarterback and the equipment guy.”
According to NFL rules, all non-kicking game balls — there are at least 24 in circulation, with 12 provided by each team — must have between 12.5 and 13.5 pounds per square inch of pressure.
Madden also said Brady is the only player that would be affected by a deflated football.
“I heard some of the pundits saying the ball is easier to catch, but that would never, ever, ever be done for that unless the quarterback wanted it,” Madden said. “You wouldn’t do something for a receiver to catch the ball if the quarterback couldn’t throw it. So it’s going to be done for the quarterback.”