these new tires do deform with the ground
They aren't saying they don't. The foam and gel tires they mentioned also deform with the ground. Like you said, the rings only compress a bit at the site of the impact. Person you're replying to is pointing out that pneumatic tires disperse this impact across the whole tire
Joseph Smith has all kinds wacky zany stories that provide excellent proof that his claims are all totally 100% legit
I like the one where he "translated" some "ancient texts" but his wife didn't believe him so she threw away the "translations" and told him to do it again, if he was the real deal he'd translate it exactly the same way no problem. But God was upset at this trial so he changed the translation, making poor Joseph Smith redo it with the new and thus slightly different translation.
This of course proves that there was no way at all Joey could've made everything up