Cheating or gamesmanship? NFL naughtiness through the years

With the New England Patriots' "deflate-gate" saga unfolding, the reactions have been swift and varied. Some pundits have called the Patriots cheaters, worthy of the team being disqualified from the Super Bowl or their coach being fired.

But others have dismissed the apparent tampering of footballs as mere gamesmanship. Former NFL MVP quarterback Rich Gannon told CBSSports.com's Jason La Canfora that "this kind of stuff has been going on forever" and "everybody does it." Steve Beuerlein, another former NFL QB, said the current system - which allows each team to prepare balls in the manner they want (within the rules) -- almost "encourages teams to push the envelope to see what they can get away with."

Tweeted former quarterback Matt Leinart:

It's not just former players downplaying the alleged shenanigans. Current Colts tight end Brandon Allen, whose team was throttled by the Pats in the title game, simply said: "They could have played with soap for balls and beat us." And Torrey Smith, whose Ravens lost to the Patriots in the AFC divisional playoffs, tweeted:

Tampering with balls is nothing new in baseball. Big league pitchers have been doctoring baseballs for decades - some with foreign substances, others with nail files. Even team employees have gotten into the act: In 2003, a former superintendent at the Metrodome admitted that he manipulated the ventilation system in a bid to get baseballs to carry farther.

The history of scuffing balls isn't confined to American sports. Cricket has a long tradition of ball tampering and allegations of illegal ball switching have even been leveled against the English rugby team.

But American football has its own unique history of incidents straddling the line of cheating and gamesmanship. From suspicious grounds crew activity to questionable sideline roaming, here is a look at some of the more notable incidents that preceded "deflate-gate."

1976: AFC Championship game

The Pittsburgh Steelers hosted the Oakland Raiders in bitter cold conditions with the AFC title on the line. The night before the game, the tarp protecting the field apparently ripped, causing nasty conditions on the field. But did Steelers head groundskeeper Dirt Dinardo make matters worse by hosing down the turf?

"There was a suggestion that maybe the Steelers had iced the field," football historian Joe Horrigna told the NFL Network.

Raiders owner Al Davis complained that the ice had been strategically placed on the edges of the field, which would hinder Oakland's deep passing game. Commissioner Pete Rozelle disagreed. The game featured 12 turnovers and the Steelers prevailed 16-10.

1982: The "Snowplow" Game

December 12, 1982. It's a cold, snowy day in Foxboro, Mass. The Patriots are playing the divisional rival Miami Dolphins. With the snow falling, neither team can score in the first three quarters.

Enter Mark Henderson, the stadium snowplow operator (and a convicted burglar). He conveniently clears a spot on the field for Pats' kicker Josh Smith, who boots the game-winning field goal in the fourth quarter. According to USA Today, Dolphins coach Don Shula later called the incident the "most unfair act" ever in the history of the NFL.

1980s -- 2000s: Windy Meadowlands

The old Meadowlands -- home to the New York Giants and New York Jets - was notorious for gusty winds that seemed to blow in circular patterns, giving quarterbacks and kickers nightmares. The wind was bad enough on its own, but as the New York Times reported, some opponents accused the home teams of opening the stadium's tunnel doors to make the wild gusts even worse on the field at strategic times.

Noted the Times: "The home teams routinely denied such gamesmanship, but did not mind the speculation."

2003: 100 balls and a $7,500 bribe

Brad Johnson, who led the Buccaneers to the NFL championship over the Raiders in 2003, told the Tampa Bay Times in 2012 that he had difficulty gripping brand new footballs. Johnson said the NFL provided 100 footballs for the big game and he wanted to be sure the balls were scuffed before kickoff.

"I paid some guys off to get the balls right," Johnson said. "I went and got all 100 footballs, and they took care of all of them."

The former quarterback, now 46, says he forked over $7,500 to get the job done.

2007: Fake noise?

The same year the Patriots were facing the wrath of the league for "SpyGate," another mini-controversy was brewing in Indianapolis. The Colts became yet another domed team accused of piping in fake crowd noise to make it harder for the visiting teams to hear their quarterback's signals.

When the Patriots lost to the Colts in a November 2007 game at the RCA Dome, New England complained that Indy was blaring fake crowd noise through the stadium speakers. (The Colts and the Vikings had been accused of this scheme before). Indeed, as the Washington Post reported, the CBS telecast of the game seemed abnormally loud.

But CBS later said a technical glitch had amplified the noise and the Colts followed with a statement: "We trust this will put an end to the ridiculous and unfounded accusations that the Colts artificially enhanced crowd noise at the RCA Dome in any way."

2013: Sideline roaming

When former Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver Hines Ward was asked about his team's rivalry with the Baltimore Ravens, he replied: "The coaches hate each other, the players hate each other."

So it should come as no surprise that one of the most notorious instances of gamesmanship in the rivalry pitted a coach versus a player. During the Ravens 22-20 win over Pittsburgh on Thanksgiving Day in 2013, Steelers coach Mike Tomlin stepped in front of the Ravens' Jacoby Jones during a kickoff return. It appeared that Jones might have scored a touchdown if Tomlin hadn't gotten in the way but he was tackled on the Steelers 27-yard line.

As CBSSports.com reported, Tomlin said he was watching the JumboTron during the return and his interference with Jones was unintentional. However, a video taken by CBS station KDKA-TV made it look like Tomlin timed his jump towards Jones.

The NFL fined Tomlin $100,000 for interfering with the play.