Mike Florio: David Letterman Didn’t Press Bill Belichick Enough On DeflateGate

Bill Belichick’s appearance on “The Late Show With David Letterman” on Wednesday night was entertaining, but it didn’t offer any insight on the DeflateGate controversy surrounding the New England Patriots. And Mike Florio simply won’t stand for that.

Host David Letterman, an Indianapolis native and Colts fan, briefly quizzed Belichick about his team using deflated footballs during the AFC Championship Game. The two-minute bit was fairly mild, as Letterman ran down the list of conspiracy theories — including the possibility that his beloved Colts were behind it all — while Belichick just smiled and nodded his head.

According to Pro Football Talk’s Florio, Letterman missed a crucial opportunity.

“Belichick smiled a lot during the interview. And he should have; it’s a comedy show,” Florio wrote. “But it was still Belichick’s first (and probably only) one-on-one interview, and it gave Letterman a prime opportunity to ask at least one or two meaningful questions under the guise of cracking wise.

“His efforts, however, weren’t focused at all on advancing the ball, moving the needle, or getting to the truth, with sarcasm or wit driving the bus.  Letterman operated under the premise that the entire situation is a joke, that nothing improper happened, and that if it did it doesn’t matter because even though the difference between a properly inflated ball and a deflated ball is ‘palpable,’ using deflated footballs ‘wouldn’t make any difference in a game.'”

Way to go, David. Instead of putting on your hard hat and grilling Belichick in an effort to “get to the truth” of this extremely important matter, you decided to do your job and have an engaging, lighthearted conversation with a guest on your comedy show. What a shame.

The offseason is still young, however, so maybe Conan O’Brien or Jimmy Kimmel can break Belichick down the line.

Thumbnail photo via Twitter/@ZEROFiltered