While former NFL quarterback Brad Johnson's revelation early Wednesday that he paid to have footballs doctored prior to Super Bowl XXXVII continues to resonate, another interesting nugget pertaining to the New England Patriots' confirmed use of deflated footballs has emerged.
It was revealed to Adam Schefter of ESPN by inside NFL sources that the Indianapolis Colts first suspected something was amiss with the balls used by Tom Brady and the Patriots' offense not during the AFC Championship Game as initially reported, but actually during a game on Nov. 16.
"During that game, Colts safety Mike Adams twice intercepted Tom Brady and gave the balls to the Colts' equipment manager to save -- and both times there were concerns about the balls feeling underinflated, sources told Schefter," Chris Mortensen of ESPN reports.
"Those sources said the Colts raised concerns to the league, which was aware of the issue going into this weekend's AFC title game."
The league has been described as "disappointed...angry...distraught" after discovering the Pats' alleged treachery, Mortensen revealed. It remains to be seen what their punishment will be.
A number of coaches around the league take the issue very seriously and believe the Patriots should be stripped of a draft pick as penalty, according to Jason Cole of Bleacher Report.
"The reaction from most coaches who I've talked to has been pretty substantial concern over what the Patriots are doing and belief that the Patriots should be penalized at least a draft pick, and something in the order of a third or a fourth-round draft pick if this is true," Cole said.
The sources Cole spoke with did caution that altering - not deflating - footballs prior to games is a commonplace practice around the league. They suggest that the referees should be given more control of the balls, perhaps by taking away the ball boys who represent each team.
