The New England Patriots “deflategate” controversy has caught the sports-curious eye of Erik Kubik, assistant professor of physics at Quinnipiac University in Hamden.
“The act of reducing air pressure in a football physically would improve a quarterback’s ability to grip the football,” said Kubik, an astrophysicist and sports science buff.
The Patriots are accused of using deflated footballs against the Indianapolis Colts in their AFC Championship game victory. The two teams played with different sets of balls on offense and reports have indicated the Colts’ balls remained inflated.
“With a better grip, a quarterback can drive the football down the field and control the rate of its rotation; hence greater range and accuracy,” Kubik said. “Wide receivers benefit from a more elastic projectile which is easier to control.
“With that said, this entire controversy is not new to football and has been overblown, no pun intended, by the media and amounts to little more than gamesmanship.”
