National Football League roundup

[June 15, 2015]  June 14 (The Sports Xchange) - New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady, who will have the appeal of his four-game suspension heard on June 23 for his alleged role in Deflategate, may have received some help without even asking.

The American Enterprise Institute (AEI) has examined the 243-page Ted Wells Report and finds it "deeply flawed" and "unreliable."

An AEI report posted on its website and summarized in a New York Times article, headlined "Deflating Deflategate," released Friday, calls into question the findings of the NFL-ordered Wells Report scandal that led to Brady's four-game suspension by the league.

The American Enterprise Institute is a Washington, D.C.-based conservative-leaning think tank.

AEI's independent analysis rejects the finding that the footballs used by the Patriots in first half of the AFC Championship Game had a more significant drop in air pressure than those used by the Indianapolis Colts in the first half.
 

AEI advances theories that officials only had time to test four of the 12 Colts footballs at halftime and those game balls likely increased in air pressure while in a warmer environment than the 11 Patriots footballs that were tested with two different gauges and then re-inflated.

AEI's analysis on NFL injury data in the New Orleans Saints' Bountygate scandal helped New Orleans players have their league-imposed suspensions vacated in 2012.

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Indianapolis Colts wide receiver T.Y. Hilton, who is entering the final year of his rookie contract, wants a new deal that would allow the Pro Bowler to earn his market value.

"If they want to pay me, they'll pay me," Hilton told the Indianapolis Star. "It takes both sides to come to an agreement. I leave that up to my agent and just go out there and have fun."

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Pittsburgh Steelers linebacker James Harrison, who has already retired once, understands his reduced role with the team this season.

The Steelers are planning to keep Harrison limited to 15-20 plays per game this season.

"Nobody wants to be in a backup role," Harrison told the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review.

"If that's your mentality, then you're not in the right sport. Everybody wants to start, but we all have roles to play. I think I can play more than 25 snaps a game when I'm 50." (Editing by Andrew Both)

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