An Indianapolis Colts cornerback weighed in on the debate about whether the New England Patriots' offense benefited from its reported use of deflated footballs by tweeting, "They could have played with soap for balls and beat us."
"Simply the better team," Dwayne Allen tweeted. "We have to continue to build!"
His comments came as the NFL continues its investigation into reports that 11 of the 12 game balls originally supplied by the Patriots for use on offense were found to be under-inflated by 2 pounds per square inch.
NFL rules state clearly that any team found to have tampered with the balls to gain a competitive advantage after inspection and approval by the game officials can be fined at least $25,000, though the rule does allow for stricter penalties to be imposed.
The Patriots have so far denied any knowledge of deflated footballs. Bill Belichick, the team's head coach, said at a Thursday press conference that he never talked to any player or staff member about football air pressure. Tom Brady, the team's quarterback, is set to hold a press conference at 4 p.m. ET.
Fox Sports reported Tuesday that the Baltimore Ravens tipped off the Indianapolis Colts that balls used by the Patriots might be under-inflated. The Ravens lost to New England 35-31 Jan. 10 in the AFC Divisional playoffs, while Indianapolis fell to the Patriots 45-7 in the AFC Championship game Jan. 18.
Richard Sherman, the outspoken cornerback on the Seattle Seahawks, who is set to face off with the Patriots at the Super Bowl, said Wednesday that the deflated football allegations do little to change his approach to his next game.
"Whatever they did -- the risk reward was greater," he said. "They were trying to suspend Marshawn [Lynch] for gold shoes -- that really affects the game if you suspend Marshawn for gold shoes, but then you got balls being deflated and that's an issue."
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