Tom Brady says he knows nothing about what happened
Tom Brady spoke to the press for nearly 30 minutes today. Well over what he was expected to.
Tom Brady: "Obviously I'd much rather be up here talking about the Seahawks...I'll do my best to provide the answers I have, if any"
— Tim Whelan Jr. (@thattimwhelan) January 22, 2015
The topic, of course, was exclusively Deflategate. With the team swimming in controversy, everyone in the organization seems to be denying any involvement.
Brady: "I didn't alter the ball in any way."
— Jeff Howe (@jeffphowe) January 22, 2015
Coach Bill Belichick gave an earnest presser this morning, saying that he is never involved in the ref's assessment of footballs on gameday. Tom Brady echoed the same sentiments, saying that once he's given the ball on game day he doesn't think anything of it.
Brady: "Once I'm out on the field, I have no thought of the football at that point." Says he first heard about deflation topic on Monday.
— Phil Perry (@PhilAPerry) January 22, 2015
When Brady was asked if he noticed anything different between the first half (when the footballs were apparently deflated below regulation) and the second half, Brady said that he did not.
Brady: "I did not feel a difference from the first half to the second half where they were supposedly inflated to the original."
— Mark Daniels (@MarkDanielsPJ) January 22, 2015
The Patriots quarterback reiterated that on game day he is more concerned about reading defenses and focusing on the game at hand rather than air pressure in the balls. It is not something he ven thinks about, he said.
Brady says he doesn't squeeze footballs as part of pregame football-selection process. Says he might not know if balls were deflated then.
— Phil Perry (@PhilAPerry) January 22, 2015
"It's not like I squeeze the football. I grip the footballs." Brady...
— Mike Petraglia (@Trags) January 22, 2015
Brady says he asked team equipment staff if they did anything to footballs; they said no, he believes them
— shalise manza young (@shalisemyoung) January 22, 2015
The NFL is currently investigating the situation. A report from ESPN's Chris Mortenson on Tuesday said that the 11 of the 12 balls the Patriots used in the first half were found to be deflated. Surprisingly, Brady has not yet been contacted by the league.
Brady said NFL has not talked to him as part of the investigation into #DeflateGate.
— Doug Kyed (@DougKyedNESN) January 22, 2015
Brady did go on to say that sometimes the most challenging things in life are the most rewarding. He implied that something like this can create even more solidarity in the locker room.
Is this a big deal? Was Tom Brady lying? Those are questions you'll have to ponder yourself.
As for if the air pressure in balls is blown out of proportion? Brady's response is pretty telling of what he really thinks.
Is this blown out of proportion? "I think the integrity of the game is very important." Pregnant pause. Then reiterates that statement
— Jason La Canfora (@JasonLaCanfora) January 22, 2015
