Former Steelers QB Mark Malone: Deflated Footballs Can Give You An Advantage

[Lady Steel]

PITTSBURGH (93-7 The Fan) – Former Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Mark Malone sat down with The Cook and Poni Show Live from radio row at the Super Bowl in Phoenix on Wednesday.

Malone told the guys that deflating footballs can give you an edge.

“Sure, of course there is,” Malone said. “If you can compress that ball ever so slightly with your finger you can control it more.”

Malone said that he never played in a time where quarterbacks were not able to fix footballs prior to a game to their liking.

He also doesn’t know if there will ever be enough evidence to fully explain how those 11 balls supplied by the Patriots were deflated, but the Colts balls were not.

“I don’t know if we will ever get to the bottom of it,” Malone said.

However, he knows what should happen if they do find enough to prove the Patriots were involved.

“Even if you don’t find a smoking gun as a league and as a commissioner, you’ve got to hand down some sort of sanctions given the history of this franchise,” Malone said.



Listen here: http://pittsburgh.cbslocal.com/2015/...-an-advantage/

[fansince'76]

Malone told the guys that deflating footballs can give you an edge.

“Sure, of course there is,” Malone said. “If you can compress that ball ever so slightly with your finger you can control it more.”

LOL. The only thing this fool was ever good at was throwing picks.

[Dwinsgames]

LOL. The only thing this fool was ever good at was throwing picks.
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and handing the 49ers a L in Candlestick the year they went 15-1 ...other than that he didnt do much ( that was his 1 and only Super Bowl ) oh wait ....

[86WARD]

For the longest time he was part of the longest touchdown pass in Steelers History...so he had that going for him...lol.

[zulater]

For the longest time he was part of the longest touchdown pass in Steelers History...so he had that going for him...lol.

He tore up his knee on that play, and that was before they had the surgical technique's they have today. Before the injury he had 4.5 speed and elusiveness when that sort of speed wasn't commonplace in the NFL.

I've always wondered if he wouldn't have been a better qb if that never happened? Because after that injury he was a sitting duck in the pocket, and the Steelers offensive line of the time wasn't especially good at pass blocking. It's like a boxer in a sense, the more you get hit the more you start to anticipate contact, the less effective you become projecting your own offensive thrust.

Anyway if he hadn't been used as a receiver on that play ( because of his exceptional athleticism) his whole history may have been different. If defenses had had to account for his exceptional athletic ability I think chances are more than fair that his success as an NFL qb would have been a lot greater.

And let's not forget he did help advance a team to the AFC championship game. And they lost that game not because of insuffecient offense, but becuse the defense was overwhelmed by Dan Marino.

[tube517]

He tore up his knee on that play, and that was before they had the surgical technique's they have today. Before the injury he had 4.5 speed and elusiveness when that sort of speed wasn't commonplace in the NFL.

I've always wondered if he wouldn't have been a better qb if that never happened? Because after that injury he was a sitting duck in the pocket, and the Steelers offensive line of the time wasn't especially good at pass blocking. It's like a boxer in a sense, the more you get hit the more you start to anticipate contact, the less effective you become projecting your own offensive thrust.

Anyway if he hadn't been used as a receiver on that play ( because of his exceptional athleticism) his whole history may have been different. If defenses had had to account for his exceptional athletic ability I think chances are more than fair that his success as an NFL qb would have been a lot greater.

And let's not forget he did help advance a team to the AFC championship game. And they lost that game not because of insuffecient offense, but becuse the defense was overwhelmed by Dan Marino.

4 turnovers (3 Malone picks) given up to Dan Marino didn't help either.

I didn't know he injured his knee on that pass.

[zulater]

4 turnovers (3 Malone picks) given up to Dan Marino didn't help either.

I didn't know he injured his knee on that pass.

On the first part. I would never suggest he was a good qb. Or that he didn't have some complicity in that loss. Just he wasn't the only or even main reason for that loss. The Steelers offense showed up that day and had a lot of productive drives. But the Steelers defense had no answer for Marino from start to finish. Malone could have been flawless that game and it wouldn't have made any difference.

On the second part. Yep. Non contact injury as I remember. I think he did it pulling up in the end zone, kind of a fluke thing. Blew the knee apart. Played with a huge brace afterwards and had zero mobility.

I remember Noll marveled at Mark's athletic ability prior to his injury, and with Bradshaw still seemingly having several years left, Noll really wanted to get him on the field and take advantage of his exceptional speed. I think at the time he was the fastest player on the Steelers roster.

[Godfather]

I don't think he would have been that good anyway. He couldn't beat Cliff Stoudt on the depth chart in '83 and that was his fourth pro season.

[zulater]

I don't think he would have been that good anyway. He couldn't beat Cliff Stoudt on the depth chart in '83 and that was his fourth pro season.

Ironically Stoudt's stock around the league was very high. Until he got on the field and proved he couldn't play.