Patriots quarterback Tom Brady dubs deflate-gate accusations 'ridiculous'

Another Super Bowl featuring the Patriots, another sensational scandal surrounding them.

If you hadn't heard by now, the NFL is allegedly investigating whether the footballs were properly inflated during New England's 45-7 victory against the Colts, as first reported by Indianapolis-based WTHR-TV columnist Bob Kravitz and since confirmed by New York Newsday's Bob Glauber. You can read all about the fallout from Yahoo's Dan Wetzel here and Shutdown Corner's own Eric Edholm here.

Tom Brady has heard the report, too, and he's laughing all the way to Arizona. Making his weekly Monday morning appearance on Boston-based WEEI's Dennis and Callahan Morning Show, the Patriots quarterback called the accusations "ridiculous." Now in his sixth title game, Brady is no stranger to controversy this time of year, having dealt with the Spygate scandal leading up to Super Bowl XLII in Glendale, Ariz.

Tom Brady on the accusations of the Patriots deflating balls: "(laughter) I think I have heard it all at this point. That's ridiculous."
— Dennis and Callahan (@DandCShow) January 19, 2015

While a deflated football might help explain how Brady completed two-thirds of his passes for 226 yards and a trio of touchdowns in a driving rain while Colts QB Andrew Luck finished 12-of-33 for half as many yards and a pair of picks, so too could the two-time NFL MVP's 15 years of experience in the Northeast.

There was an awkward moment to start the third quarter involving a ball being switched just prior to the Patriots' first play, although retired ref Mike Carey — serving as an analyst for CBS — suggested officials were customarily swapping one used for the kickoff with another designated for game action. On the ensuing three possessions, New England scored 21 points in 19 plays over the next 12:40.

A potentially under-inflated ball also does not offer an explanation for New England's 177 yards and three scores on the ground, and — as Wetzel notes — it would require intricate orchestration and over-inflated cajones of their own for any team to mess with game-used footballs in plain sight following the officiating crew's pregame approval. That much, everybody should know by know, the Patriots have in spades.