So Kurt Warner didn't tamper with the balls, he got all the help he needed from the gloves. So one form of "tampering" or another, yeah?
That is not tampering. Google tampering and the first thing you see is:
1. interfere with (something) in order to cause damage or make unauthorized alterations.
2. exert a secret or corrupt influence upon (someone).
Gloves or even legal alterations & ball wear are not tempering. Altering the ball outside of spec is tampering. This is all very, very simple. There are rules.
Rules say
you can wear gloves. Rules say
you cannot wear stickum.
Rules say
you can "condition" the ball before use within certain parameters. Rules say
you cannot underinflate the ball.
This is not a hard concept. Anyone who has played with new "game balls" knows that they can be as hard as a rock and even in some cases slightly rigid and not smoothly round. Some people prefer that, others don't. I didn't. And from this perspective I agree that the home team AND road team should have their own balls. That prevents home team chicanery.
Personally, I don't think the underinflated balls affected the Colts game. The Ravens game? Hmmm Overlooked in this is that a deflated ball allows RUSHERS to get their fingers into the ball more to prevent fumbles. New England was exceptional in 2014 and ranked
#2 in fumbles (not fumbles lost, but fumbles). In 2013 they were # 24. They improved over 1/2 a fumble per game. That in itself doesn't say much. Seattle was # 22 (1.5/game) in 2014, # 26 (1.6) in 2013, and # 8 (1.1) in 2012 so it is possible for big variance. But a variance in conjunction with deflated balls indicates skirting the rules.
It was cheating in a small rule. Probably not hugely significant but nonetheless not right. If guys will get dinged for stupid stuff like wrong gloves, shoes, talking to the press, taking adderal with a script but not approved by the NFL, etc. then so should the Patriots.