NFL teams
Mike Triplett, ESPN Staff Writer 9y

Brees: 'Just programmed' in game

NFL, New Orleans Saints, New England Patriots

Drew Brees and Conan O'Brien had some fun with "Deflategate" during the New Orleans Saints quarterback's appearance Wednesday on O'Brien's talk show.

Brees correctly guessed the inflation level of two footballs exactly (13 and 11 pounds per square inch, respectively), although he said he wouldn't be able to do so throughout the course of a game and passed no judgment on the New England Patriots.

"You know what, I have no idea," Brees said when asked whether he thinks the Patriots did anything intentionally illegal. "I know that it seems the NFL has been on this one now for the last few weeks obviously. There always seems to be some topic going into Super Bowl week, and this one just happens to be it. So, yes, I will be asked this a thousand times.

"And to be honest with you, I just kind of chuckle because I'm just glad it has nothing to do with us."

Asked whether he could tell the difference between an overinflated and underinflated ball, Brees said, "Throughout the course of a game, no. Because a ball will come up and you don't even think about how it feels. You're just programmed to go through your read, throw the ball, no excuses. But if we just sat here and kind of gripped one, I could probably tell the difference."

O'Brien then took Brees up on that offer, handing him two balls that Brees correctly gauged after squeezing them (although Brees referred to them in ounces instead of psi -- obviously not as brushed up on his science as others have become over the past week).

Brees threw the first ball to a group of Saints fans in the audience. But his first attempt bounced off a set of lights hanging from the ceiling, and his second attempt was dropped.

O'Brien then handed Brees a fully deflated ball, which Brees completed to a Saints fan in the audience -- leading the host to joke that Brees demonstrated it's easier to throw and catch an underinflated football.

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