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New report says only one Patriots football was seriously deflated

PHOENIX – By now the new developments in deflate-gate won't matter much in the court of public opinion. People have made up their minds.

But in case details matter to you, there's a new report that would significantly change what we think of the controversy involving the New England Patriots' deflated footballs in the AFC championship game.

NFL Network's Ian Rapoport said only one of the Patriots' 12 game footballs was two pounds under the minimum of 12.5 pounds per square inch (PSI). The report said 11 were under 12.5 PSI but many were "just a few ticks under the minimum."

That would change things, but there are two conflicting reports by respected writers on the matter. One of the reports that shaped the public opinion of deflate-gate came from ESPN.com's Chris Mortensen on Jan. 21. He said 11 of the 12 footballs were "significantly" under the 12.5 level, and that "the footballs were inflated 2 pounds per square inch below what's required by NFL regulations."

The NFL has made a pretty significant misstep in this controversy. it would not be too much for the league to reveal what the PSI of the footballs were. It's irresponsible for the NFL to not divulge that information over these past two weeks. NFL commissioner Roger Goodell said he's available every day to the media (here's a tip: he's not), but all the league has done is put out an empty statement and had a press conference with Goodell that revealed next to nothing.

So we don't know if the Patriots had one ball that was significantly under the inflation range or 11. That's a massive difference for how we view the Patriots and their role in this controversy. If most of the deflated footballs were just a "few ticks" under 12.5, then Patriots coach Bill Belichick's press conference explaining the temperature drop outside makes more sense. It's easier to buy a controversy if it's 11 deflated footballs.

The controversy is probably never going to be fully sorted out, and even if the NFL finds the Patriots innocent of any wrongdoing there will be plenty of fans who will never buy it. But it would be nice to hear the facts the NFL has instead of relying on conflicting leaks of information.

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Frank Schwab is the editor of Shutdown Corner on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at shutdowncorner@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter!