It's funny because there have been plenty of people that have been saying for years that the Patriots are cheaters. Not only because of Spygate, but because of their actual play. Anyone that watches a ton of football can tell you that the Patriots win so many games because they do almost everything better than every other team in the league. So much so that it defies logic. It simply didn't make sense for a team(even with Tom Brady) to be that consistently good for so many years in every little category that every other team struggles with. Every single team's passing game struggles in bad weather, except the Patriots. Every other team struggles with turnovers at some point, except the Patriots. Injuries to key players devastate every other team in the league, but not the Patriots. They lose half their starters and don't miss a beat. Lots of little things.
Yes, some of that can be attributed to Tom Brady being so good and Bill Bellichick being so smart. But not all of it. People that have been claiming the Patriots must be cheating, even before this deflation crap came out, said so because it's impossible to do what the Patriots do. It transcends having an amazing QB or coach.
Who knows how long they were filming opposing coaches' signals during games before they got caught in 2007? people also forget that they got busted for using weird radio signals during that same investigation. The league could never pin the exact reason, but it was most likely to listen to calls opposing teams were making. The official report says the Patriots "were found using several strange radio frequencies that the team could not properly give an excuse for." Who knows how many years they were using slightly under-inflated balls to make it easier for their offense to throw and catch, and making it easier for their ball carriers to not fumble? People saying this deflategate scandal isn't a big deal need to realize just how big an advantage something like that would give you over a period of time. Consider this:
The Patriots are the only team in the league that average MORE yards per pass in bad weather games than they do in fair weather games. Here's a breakdown of some of the top passing teams over 2010-2014:
And what about fumbles? Surely a huge game-changing event in any game. A deflated ball is much easier for a runner or WR to grip onto and not be stripped of. How have the Patriots' fumble stats stacked up over the past few years compared to the rest of the league?
2014: 2nd least fumbles lost
2013: t5th least fumbles lost
2012: t4th least fumbles lost
2011: t1st least fumbles lost
2010: 1st least fumbles lost
2009: t4th least fumbles lost
Am I to believe that every player on the Patriots roster over the past 5 years, even though they've gone through so many different RBs and WRs during that time, just happen to have some of the best hands in the league? No. The chances of that are slim to none. Ex Patriots players have also accused Bellichick of having players listed on the injury list practice during the week(which is illegal). if true it's no wonder his players never seem to come in "cold" after missing games due to injury. They come back and pick up right where they left off.
All of these things might seem minor, but when you add them all together, combined with god knows what other rules he's bending or breaking, it adds up to a distinct advantage that explains the Patriots' unexplainable consistent success over the past 15 years.
And now you know why I hate the Patriots.