Call it an over-inflated story, but news broke today that the head of NFL officiating Dean Blandino stated that the NFL did not log the PSI of each football. Blandino said that referees often do not weigh the balls, but rather just approve them and move on. This coming hot off the heels of an ongoing NFL investigation into the New England Patriots use of the footballs in the AFC Championship game against the Indianapolis Colts. Colts linebacker D'Qwell Jackson intercepted a pass from Tom Brady during the AFC Championship game, and it was the Colts equipment manager who decided to weigh the ball and report to his superiors.
The NFL, while they would like to get to the bottom of the investigation, might find themselves looking more strongly at the officials than anyone else. It's been a tough year for the league and it's referees, and if it's found these officials didn't actually weigh the balls before sending them out onto the field, it's going to tarnish the league image more so. It's important for the NFL to be as thorough with this investigation as possible, even calling in help from a Columbia University science professor, possibly to help figure how much of an impact the weather had on the evening that the AFC Championship was played in a cold and rainy Foxboro, MA. The story has been followed through numerous media networks, including ESPN, MSNBC, Fox News, and CNN as it has dominated discussion for over the past week while the Patriots get ready to face the defending champion Seattle Seahawks in Super Bowl XLIX on February 1st.