New England Patriots head coach Bill Belichick addressed the media on Thursday with an 11 minute conference devoted solely to addressing the deflated ball controversy that has been the subject of much analysis since the Patriots victory over the Indianapolis Colts last Sunday in the AFC Championship game.

Stemming from that game were the allegations that the game balls the Patriots were using had been deflated out of NFL rule guidelines, which could have provided the Patriots with a competitive advantage during the game to decide who would represent the AFC in Super Bowl XLIX.

The allegations launched a probe by the NFL which discovered that 11 of the 12 game balls that were being used by the New England Patriots during the game had in fact been deflated to outside the NFL guidelines after being inspected by officials 2 hours and 15 minutes before the game.

After a statement that lasted approximately 8 minutes, Belichick fielded questions from reporters, emphasizing that he has told the reporters everything he knew about the situation.

“In my entire coaching career, I have never talked to any player or staff member about football air pressure,” Belichick said. “The footballs are approved by the league and officials pregame, and we play with what’s out there. That’s the only way that I have ever thought about that.”

While the investigation is still ongoing to determine, if possible, who is responsible for the deflation of the balls, the NFL will still  be faced with an unprecedented case of this kind of tampering occurring in a playoff game.

Punishments for this offense typically include fines of some sort, but it seems as though something further ought to be done in order to ensure that this kind of ting doesn’t happen in the future.

Patriots quarterback Tom Brady is set to address the media Thursday at 3:45 in regard to this same controversy.