Bill Belichick on Deflategate: Patriots 'followed every rule to the letter'

New England Patriots coach Bill Belichick said Saturday he believes the Patriots "followed every rule, to the letter" in regards to the inflation of their footballs in last week's AFC Championship Game.

Belichick, who called an impromptu press conference Saturday afternoon, revealed details of an internal study aimed at finding answers for underinflated footballs used in a 45-7 win against the Indianapolis Colts. He said the Patriots conducted their own internal investigation in which they replicated their game-day procedures -- including what would have happened last Sunday evening before their 45-7 win against the Indianapolis Colts.

"I'm embarrassed to talk about the amount of time I've put into this compared to the other important challenge in front of us," Belichick said. "I'm not a scientist, not an expert in footballs … I'm just telling you what I know. At no time was there any intent whatsoever to try to compromise the integrity of the game. Quite the opposite. We feel we followed the rules of the game to the letter in our preparation."

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The Patriot's internal investigation included multiple recreations of the process that occurs during games, from the point in which quarterback Tom Brady and the equipment staff begin working on a set of brand new footballs. Belichick said the Patriots' footballs were prepared according to quarterback Tom Brady's preferred texture before the game -- a process that included what Belichick described as "vigorous rubbing" that resulted in the balls' PSI being raised by one pound.

The balls were then delivered to the game's officiating crew with the request that they be inflated to 12.5 pounds per square inch. Game balls are required to be within 12.5-13.5 PSI, per NFL rules.

"That's at the discretion of the officials. Regardless of what we ask for, it's discretion of the official to do what he wants," Belichick said. "We have no way of touching the footballs. Once the officials have them, we don't touch them until we play with them."

Belichick said all of the footballs were prepared either in or nearby the Patriots' locker room, and not in a heated environment.

Belichick suggested it was a combination of atmospheric conditions and the pregame inflation by the officials that contributed to the discovery that the Patriots' footballs were underinflated. He said that he believed the balls returned to their "equilibrium" in the hours between when they were weighed pregame by the officials, and when they were checked at halftime.

A deflated football would be easier to grip, throw and catch, particularly in adverse weather conditions, as was the case Sunday night in Foxborough, where heavy rains pounded Gillette Stadium throughout the game.

The NFL's initial investigation into Deflategate found that the Patriots played the first half of the championship game with underflated footballs. The Patriots' footballs were at proper inflation levels in the second half.

The league on Friday said it would continue to investigate how and why the footballs came to be deflated after passing a pregame inspection. The NFL has hired attorney Ted Wells and an investigative firm specializing in forensic evidence to conduct the investigation along with NFL executive vice president Jeff Pash. Wells was tapped by the NFL last year to conduct an investigation into the Miami Dolphins' locker room culture after its bullying scandal.

The league said Friday it has already conducted "nearly 40" interviews, including meeting with Patriots' personnel, game officials who worked the AFC Championship Game at Gillette Stadium, and other third parties with relevant information.

"We did everything as right as we could do it. We welcome the league's investigation into the matter," Belichick said Saturday.

Patriots owner Robert Kraft released his own statement Friday.

"I instructed our staff to be completely cooperative and transparent with the league's investigators. During the three days they were here, we provided access to every full- and part-time employee the league's representatives requested to speak with and produced every communication device that they requested to search. It is an ongoing process that the league and our team are taking very seriously," said Kraft.

"I very much support the league's desire to conduct a complete investigation and welcome the appointment of Ted Wells to lead the process. Competitive balance and the integrity of the game are the foundation of what makes our league so special and I have the utmost respect for those principles. Our organization will continue to cooperate throughout the league's investigation."

The Deflategate scandal placed scrutiny back on the Patriots, who have previously been at the center of cheating allegations following the Spygate incident in 2007, when New England was accused of illegally taping opponents' signals.

Belichick was fined $500,000, and the Patriots fined $250,000 and the franchise was docked their 2008 first-round pick.

Belichick referenced that incident in his remarks on Saturday, saying that the team has more than adhered to all NFL rules in the years since.

"It was wrong, we were disciplined for it. Never did it again," Belichick said. "Anything that's remotely close, we're on the side of caution."

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