American Football (NFL)
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rant incoming….
I didn't have a dog in this hunt, but the Bengals were tasked with overcoming both a one-legged QB and the zebras--that was such an egregious skew in officiating. I hate to sound conspiratorial, but it seems that they aren't even trying to hide their manipulation of outcomes anymore: the league seems to want Mahomes in the SB. Is the worsening officiating due to the legitimization and mainstreaming of gambling? I dunno... It's hard for me not to believe the league manipulated the NFC championship in 2018, when it was similarly lopsided and seemed similarly obvious that the league wanted an LA Rams team (that was not ready) in the Super Bowl, resulting in the worst, most unwatchable Super Bowl in history instead of Brady vs Brees.
Nothing has changed at Arrowhead to create all the confusion (BTW, KC fans--you're not supposed to make a ruckus when your team is lined up on offense).
A few examples I can remember:
The retroactive dead ball foul called when they let a Bengals play run and then called a false start.
The mulligan extra 3rd down awarded to the Chiefs. Wound up inconsequential, but that is a gigantic, unprecedented gift and I'm not satisfied with any of the explanations for it.
Missed late hit / RTP on Burrow that resulted in a punt from deep in their own territory. Not the most egregious example, but I am sure they'd have called it if it had been Mahomes, and it was absolutely consequential.
Perfectly defended pass by Hilton called PI.
Missed block in the back that sprung the big return that set up the field goal--gave the Chiefs 40 yards over where they should have been, given the game situation, this was HUGE.
Missed holds, one of which directly opened a path, on Mahomes' run to get close to FG range. This and the prior call were the most consequential blown calls in the game.
Consistent inconsistency to the Bengals' disadvantage on offensive holding calls especially in the second half.
The one accurate call that was consequential was Ossai's late hit out of bounds, but they shouldn't have been so close to make that penalty set up a chip shot FG.
Most unwatchable conference finals weekend in my history of watching them every year since the mid-1980s, and the blame is squarely on the officials.
I guess I should stop thinking of the NFL as a game and regard it more like something like the WWE, because the athletes and coaches are so often overridden by the pathetic--and worsening--officiating and rulebook, and it feels like it's driven by an agenda and a script.
Final side-note: Greg Olson is an outstanding color guy, always tuned in and with immediate, great takes. He has really impressed me especially the last two games he's called. I think part of it is his dad was a coach so he really has football in his bones. Brady will probably be a step down, just because Olson is that good (I bet Brady will still be great too).
Romo is about as bad as Olson is great, and sounded like a Chiefs homer to me.
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@mclaincausey so did the league not want Mahomes in the SB last year?
Also I agree on some of your observations but if a ref is actively “no calling” an infraction (liked the missed block in the back) on Moore’s return that set up the field goal, why not call it straight there and set up an overtime game that probably generates more revenue and drama? I’m in agreement that the constant flags and reviews and bad calls ruin the game’s flow but I truly don’t think there is an agenda to push a team forward…maybe that’s just me being naive.
Anyway, I always enjoy your posts about this subject. I just don’t see how the league could manage telling the refs to “help” one team over another.
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Hanlon's razor is an adage or rule of thumb that states "never attribute to malice that which is adequately explained by stupidity."
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So, going back to the script, we have Andy Reid against his former team where he’s the winningest coach they’ve had and Kelce v Kelce. So it’s not that they wouldn’t have wanted him in last year, it’s that they love these stories and bias towards actualizing them, deliberately or not.
Incompetence isn’t enough to explain the outrageous skew between these calls.
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I’ve said on a couple of occasions,in this thread, that sometimes it feels like the refs used to be in the WWE. I know that untold millions are bet on football,but I can’t imagine doing it. Moving forward I don’t know what the answer is. A friend of mine has similar semi conspiracy theories,and I said to him that Godell recently announced that the NFL was on its way to reaching their goal of 25 billion in revenue a year,and in light of that they don’t give a fuck about who’s playing who,as they’re making money faster than if they were printing it themselves.
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@mclaincausey Are you aware of the UFC fight fixing investigation that's going on right now?
No way in the world would the NFL fix games. A lot of money is wagered on these games and anything like that would mean serious jail time and consequences across the league.
A rogue referee is more possible, but still very unlikely with how easily monitorable everyone is. These refs get paid embarrassingly well as it is.
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I’ve never reffed but I don’t take for granted how much easier it is for me to spot fouls from above that it is for someone on the field amongst the action in real time. Human error maybe. At the very least, maybe a desire to either let the game play out in playoff situations or enhanced focus on specific injury related rules.
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@Jett129 The worst part about it, is that the NFL is tax exempt while it is a for profit organization. One of the reasons the US government is going broke. Like my twin says " the players are multimillionaires, the owners are billionaires. They can pay ME to watch them" It's not about competition, its entertainment now.
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Let’s not make excuses—the NFL has a whole team of refs for each game. The NFL doesn’t release what their compensation is, but it isn’t a full-time job. No way it’s much more than a typical upper middle class salary.
Fixing a game deliberately or due to unrecognized bias is really easy in the NFL where there are so few plays and each play is of such consequence. We know that it’s happened in basketball BECAUSE of, not in spite of, gambling interests, so there’s no reason to assume it couldn’t elsewhere. In fact, if historical precedent has shown anything, it’s that sports betting is the main reason games are fixed, as opposed to the main reason they aren’t.
@twin is spot on. Tax exempt, corrupt, taxpayer funded stadiums for billionaires and then they charge a dollar per ounce of beer.
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So as a relatively new transplant to the us and a complete incompetent at fully understanding nfl who are the neutrals supporting in the Super Bowl and why?
I’m astounded the nfl is tax exempt by the way!
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@mclaincausey Totally agree. A weekend never goes by without some questionable calls. And the Patriots comeback in SB 51 flies in the face of credability. Goodell's remarks a few days ago were totally tone deaf.
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I think I would be classed as neutral - a UK-based, long-standing Jets fan
The betting is extremely close - the spread is about 1.5 pts, but I think Philadelphia will have the smarts to get the job done. For some reason, not convinced by the Chiefs. Jalen Hurts to be MVP seems a no brainier at close to evens.
All this from someone who has been to Philly, and seen them dump majorly on the Mets. I know, I know, who hasn’t in recent years…? I bear a grudge…
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Finally we get a good game, because the refs are letting the players play. It’s setting up to be an all-time classic. And for the second year in the row, they ruin the game by denying a team the opportunity for a dramatic game winning drive with a garbage call. The NFL just sucks. I’m out.
Didn’t even have a dog in the fight, and Philly made enough mistakes to lose. Their D was exposed and they were outcoached. But they deserved a chance for Hurts to write his name into the history books.
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I agree that was a bullshit call. That was a moment I won't soon forget. Such a ticky tack penalty on what ended up being the game decider. It leaves a really bad taste in my mouth, and puts a bit of an asterisk on what was an otherwise fun game to watch (save the fact that KC D/ST couldn't stop Jalen Hurts from running 17 plays and taking up the entire 3rd quarter).
As a Vikings fan, I detest the Eagles but i can admit they deserved a chance at the end there. The ref's took too much control.
On the other hand, I do think that Miles Sanders caught that ball and made a football move, which would have been a fumble 6 for KC and made this a mostly moot point.
One thing the NFL got right was keeping the camera off Brittany Mahomes and Jackson Mahomes. They are annoying.
lastly, the halftime show was absolute trash.
