Tarkenton 'guarantees' Brady knew all about deflated footballs

So you're Tom Brady or Bill Belichick. Would you rather …

A, Go to U.S. Airways Center and sit for an hour as reporters and freak shows — sometimes one in the same, mind you — badger you with even more questions about deflated footballs and your suspected roles in said deflation during the annual Super Bowl Media Day lunacy.

Or …

B, Move kickoff up five days, drive out to Glendale and face what could go down in history as one of the best, if not the best, defenses the league has ever seen.

Option B isn't available, so the Patriots quarterback and coach — barring last-minute advice from Marshawn Lynch — will face the media. Again.

Before the Access Vikings blog heads down the street, probably wearing shorts, although it could be a tad chilly at 60 or so, we thought we'd share the thoughts of a fairly prominent ex-Viking who was known to throw a few passes in his day.

And, yes, add Hall of Fame quarterback Fran Tarkenton to the list of people who don't believe pretty much anything Brady or Belichick has been saying as they've categorically denied any involvement or knowledge of the Patriots using deflated footballs in the first half of their AFC Championship game win over the Colts.

A: "This has been going on for a lot of years. We always rubbed the balls down and got them ready when I played. But we didn't, in my era, deflate the balls. When you deflate the balls, it's easier to throw it and easier to catch it. And you don't fumble as much.

"It is wrong. And the NFL has said nothing. Nothing."

Q: Do you think Brady ordered the code red! had anything to do with it?

A: "The thing that I know is that when we would get the slickness off the footballs, I touched every ball before the game. I was in charge of that. They didn't rub the footballs more than I wanted or less than I wanted. I took charge of that. Today, Tom Brady, Aaron Rodgers, all those guys, I guarantee they make sure those footballs are exactly how they want them.

"Nobody put a needle in that ball to reduce the air out of it without Tom Brady telling them what he wants. Without him instructing it. Impossible to do. Not going to happen."

A: "I think it was a typical NFL press conference. They had coached him and coached him what to say. And I would say the league office was involved with that press conference. They haven't addressed the issue. Nobody has identified who was responsible. This is a typical NFL coverup. And they aren't going to say anything about it until after the Super Bowl because how will the Super Bowl be with Belichick and Brady being suspended. I don't think it would be too good."

Q: Are you surprised?