Jonathan Kraft On DeflateGate II: 'Glad The League Has Learned What The Ideal Gas Law Is'
BOSTON (CBS) -- Patriots president Jonathan Kraft is happy the NFL is learning.
When news broke on Sunday that the New York Giants suspected the Pittsburgh Steelers were up to something with their footballs last weekend, the league was quick to dismiss it. You would think that would irk the Patriots, who had to go through 18 months of DeflateGate investigations, court appeals and, ultimately, a four-game suspension for quarterback Tom Brady (not to mention a hefty fine and loss of draft picks).
While the Patriots are probably screaming on the inside, they aren't going that route on the outside. Asked about the new DeflateGate controversy on 98.5 The Sports Hub's Patriots Preview ahead of Monday night's game against the Ravens, Kraft said it's clear the league now knows what the Ideal Gas Law is, one positive to come from the original DeflateGate controversy.
"I haven't followed it that closely, and you can probably figure out what my personal feelings are on it. In all of our business, we tell our managers that you can make mistakes, you can make errors. But if the same mistakes become a pattern, that's a problem. I haven't seen the temperature in that game; I understand it was cold, with a windchill below freezing, and the balls measured somewhere in the low to mid-11s. If the balls were set to that mid-range, that would make a lot of sense given the atmospherics," said Kraft. "If that was the case, the league learned what the Ideal Gas Law is, and also learned that when situations like that come up, it's good to get the correct information out.
"I'm glad the league has learned," he said. "How I feel personally is a different issue. ... It doesn't do any good to talk about."
Asked if the league's response was a bit of a shot at the Patriots, with their statement mentioning that there were no violations with the "Chain of Custody" of the balls prior to the game, Kraft requested to move on.
"I don't know what that means," he said. "Let's move on."
Patriots quarterback Tom Brady also stiff-armed any DeflateGate II talk on Monday night, saying the matter was "inconsequential" to him.