Bill Belichick held an impromptu press conference on Saturday to explain the New England Patriots' investigation into deflate-gate.
Patriots coach Belichick wanted to share the information he and the team found during the study they have conducted over the last week. The NFL is still investigating the matter, but he felt it was necessary for the team to investigate on its own. His finding: the team did nothing wrong.
"I believe 100 per cent we have followed every rule to the letter," he said during the press conference.
The Super Bowl-winning coach did his best to explain why 11 of the 12 balls examined by the NFL were under-inflated.
"We all know that air pressure is a function of the atmospheric conditions," he said. "So once the balls reached the equilibrium state, they were probably closer to 11 and a half [pressure]. The atmospheric conditions, as well as the true equilibrium of the ball, are critical to the measurement."
The key, Belichick pointed out, was getting the best feel for the football.
"As Tom [Brady] explained on Thursday, the most important part of the football for the quarterback is the feel of the ball," he said.
Part of the process of getting the right feel of the ball, according to Belichick, involves rubbing the football. When a reporter asked how vigorously the footballs were rubbed, the coach became slightly irritated saying, "We're not polishing fine china".
He continued: "At no time were any of our footballs prepared anywhere other than our locker room, or similar conditions. To our knowledge."