Bob Griese: Let quarterbacks decide how much air to put in the ball

[Prime Time]

As one commentator put it, "Sure, once defensive backs get to decide what is and isn't pass interference."
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http://www.patriots.com/news/2017/05/11/snap-judgments-ota-time-year-nfl

Count Hall of Fame Dolphins quarterback Bob Griese as among those who are mystified about all the fuss over the inflation level of NFL footballs, as it relates to the guys who throw them for a living.

I spoke with Griese last month for a retrospective I did on the 1967 draft, and at one point in the interview he came out staunchly in favor of letting quarterbacks manipulate the air pressure in balls to their liking. Are you listening, Roger Goodell and Tom Brady?

“You know all this business about Deflategate and all that other stuff, what’s wrong with taking a little bit of air out of the ball and still making it legal?’’ Griese said. “It’s a passing league any way. You want quarterbacks to be able to throw the ball in December when it gets colder and the ball gets slick, which it does, or in the rain when it gets slippery.

“Why not take a little air out of the ball? Lower the amount of air you can have in the ball, and if some quarterbacks like it harder, then you can pump it up a little. Change the degrees of error a little bit. It’s just a comfort level thing. The balls back when I played were a lot different than they are today, and I had small hands, so it was really a problem for me at times.’’

http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.co...backs-decide-how-much-air-to-put-in-the-ball/

Posted by Michael David Smith

Griese’s view is quite a bit different from that of his old coach, Don Shula, who calls Bill Belichick “Beli-cheat” and who said in comparing his Dolphins to the Patriots, “Always done the right way. We didn’t deflate any balls.”

But while Shula may not agree, Griese raises an interesting point: Why is it in the NFL’s interests to force quarterbacks to use footballs that they think are too hard or too soft? If a quarterback thinks he’ll play better with a football that has a little more air or a little less air, the NFL should let him do so.

 

[Dodgersrf]

Ok.....except it's not just about the QB's throwing the ball. It's also about fumbling the ball. A ball with less air pressure is easier to grip and hold on to.
Cheats fumble rates were incredibly low until deflategate.

 

[Mackeyser]

Ok.....except it's not just about the QB's throwing the ball. It's also about fumbling the ball. A ball with less air pressure is easier to grip and hold on to.
Cheats fumble rates were incredibly low until deflategate.

This.

Turnovers are a major factor in determining who wins games in a league where the season is only 16 games long. Each game counts immensely.

There is solid statistical evidence that relates air pressure to turnover rate, both in fumbling as well as incomplete and drops by WRs.

One of the reason Favre didn't have the best completion ratio wasn't just his high velocity, but the hardness of the ball especially in the later months of the season. Aaron Rodgers needs his receivers to outperform in order to handle his rockets (easy, now...) and when they don't like in the first half of last season, Rodgers goes from otherworldly to quite ordinary.

Moreover, the game MUST be standardized. It must have as much be the same from team to team and from contest to contest, otherwise the records of the team as well as personal records mean nothing.

A 50 yd FG in Denver with a super inflated ball on a warm September day isn't nearly comparable to a late season 50 yd FG with an under inflated ball in Buffalo. An RB who has a low fumble rate should be able to be judged on his retention skills, not have his rate be a result of a ball that's easier to hold on to.

You wouldn't allow pitchers in baseball to change the ball.

Dunno why they even allow the 1lb range. There should be ONE ball at whatever they decide and that's it. We have machines that can measure pressure rates down to incredibly small levels. Surely, they can invest in relatively accurate meters that get the ball to within a tenth of a pound at a certain temperature. There was still be variations due to temperature and slight differences in ball/material construction, but especially because the ball is inflated, that seems more reasonable.

 

[Mikey Ram]

As one commentator put it, "Sure, once defensive backs get to decide what is and isn't pass interference."
*************************************************************************************
http://www.patriots.com/news/2017/05/11/snap-judgments-ota-time-year-nfl

Count Hall of Fame Dolphins quarterback Bob Griese as among those who are mystified about all the fuss over the inflation level of NFL footballs, as it relates to the guys who throw them for a living.

I spoke with Griese last month for a retrospective I did on the 1967 draft, and at one point in the interview he came out staunchly in favor of letting quarterbacks manipulate the air pressure in balls to their liking. Are you listening, Roger Goodell and Tom Brady?

“You know all this business about Deflategate and all that other stuff, what’s wrong with taking a little bit of air out of the ball and still making it legal?’’ Griese said. “It’s a passing league any way. You want quarterbacks to be able to throw the ball in December when it gets colder and the ball gets slick, which it does, or in the rain when it gets slippery.

“Why not take a little air out of the ball? Lower the amount of air you can have in the ball, and if some quarterbacks like it harder, then you can pump it up a little. Change the degrees of error a little bit. It’s just a comfort level thing. The balls back when I played were a lot different than they are today, and I had small hands, so it was really a problem for me at times.’’

http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.co...backs-decide-how-much-air-to-put-in-the-ball/

Posted by Michael David Smith

Griese’s view is quite a bit different from that of his old coach, Don Shula, who calls Bill Belichick “Beli-cheat” and who said in comparing his Dolphins to the Patriots, “Always done the right way. We didn’t deflate any balls.”

But while Shula may not agree, Griese raises an interesting point: Why is it in the NFL’s interests to force quarterbacks to use footballs that they think are too hard or too soft? If a quarterback thinks he’ll play better with a football that has a little more air or a little less air, the NFL should let him do so.

Then why have any guidelines, tell them to do whatever the hell you want to...

 

[DaveFan'51]

Then why have any guidelines, tell them to do whatever the hell you want to...

Throw the Rule book out, and let them "Play Football" the way they did in the 50's-60's and early 70's!! No-holds-barred, stomp your opponent into submission!!! But I love OldSckool Football!

 

[RAMblin Man]

You could start with having the league and not the teams control the balls after they're tested. 1 pool of balls for both sides.