New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady may have some evidence on his side when his Deflategate appeal begins later this month. A new study from the American Enterprise Institute has concluded that the NFL-appointed Wells Report regarding the air pressure of the Patriots’ footballs in the AFC Championship Game is “deeply flawed.”
AEI, which claims to have “no financial stake in the outcome of Deflategate”, calls into question the findings and methods of the Wells Report. The Wells Report concluded it was “more probable than not” that the Patriots violated air pressure rules. Additionally, the Wells Report believed Brady was “generally aware” of what was going on. Brady was suspended four games for his role in Deflategate.
A summary of the AEI study can be found courtesy of the New York Times below, but you can read the full report HERE:
The Wells report’s main finding is that the Patriots balls declined in pressure more than the Colts balls did in the first half of their game, and that the decline is highly statistically significant. For the sake of argument, let’s grant this finding for now. Even still, it alone does not prove misconduct. There are, after all, two possibilities. The first is that the Patriots balls declined too much. The second — overlooked by the Wells report — is that the Colts balls declined too little…
But when we analyzed the data provided in the Wells report, we found that the Patriots balls declined by about the expected amount, while the Colts balls declined by less. In fact, the pressure of the Colts balls was statistically significantly higher than expected. Contrary to the report, the significant difference between the changes in pressure of the two teams’ balls was not because the pressure of the Patriots balls was too low, but because that of the Colts balls was too high.
So, now we have a study that calls into question a previous study about deflated footballs. Peak offseason will have been reached if someone else can cram another study contradicting the AEI report before Brady’s hearing on June 23. High five, bro!
(Via CSNNE.com)
