Esiason On DeflateGate: Coordinated Effort By Ravens & Colts To Embarrass Tom Brady
BOSTON (CBS) - CBS Sports football analyst and WFAN radio host Boomer Esiason joined Toucher & Rich Wednesday morning on 98.5 The Sports Hub for the final time of the 2014 NFL season.
NFL football operations chief Troy Vincent confirmed in an interview with 60 Minutes Sports on Showtime that Colts general manager Ryan Grigson notified the league about a potential issue with the footballs in the AFC Championship game.
Ironically enough, and contrary to the initial report, only one of the footballs was found to be two pounds per square inch under the required 12.5 PSI threshold, with the rest being "just a tick under" the limit.
People can draw their own conclusions, but the Colts were only in possession of a Patriots football one time, and that came after a D'Qwell Jackson interception of Tom Brady midway through the second quarter. Is it possible the Colts may have leaked the football and handed it to the referees for investigation, while the other 11 balls naturally deflated from atmospheric conditions?
READ: Harbaugh Says Belichick's Formations 'Clearly Deception'; Brady Says 'Figure It Out'
It sure sounds that way, and Boomer Esiason wouldn't be surprised given the nature of the NFL.
"If you notice, Harbaugh never went after Bill Belichick and never said anything negative about him as a coach for the previous two weeks leading up to the Super Bowl. Next week the Patriots are playing the Colts, and their head coach is Chuck Pagano, who was once defensive coordinator under John Harbaugh and the Ravens. They're all close and they're all tight," explained Esiason.
"This is what I believe happened: they all wanted to embarrass Tom Brady, and they wanted to put him on the spit if you will. They wanted to make him answer questions about said rule book."
"You can say whatever you want about DeflateGate, and who said what, but to me this is about how the NFL operates: it's back stabbing, it's insecure and it's childish. 'You want to call me out? I'm going to call you out. You want to embarrass me? Guess what I'm going to embarrass you.' I'm telling you, this is the way the NFL works. At the end of the day, Tom Brady is the one who's got the last laugh. He's got his third Super Bowl MVP trophy and his fourth Super Bowl."
Esiason also talked about the great Super Bowl, Pete Carroll's late game decision making, Tom Brady's legacy and a whole lot more.
Listen below:
