Anyone else on here tired of the way these officials are influencing the outcome of games.

[Tano]

I think the league steers outcomes. If the team that they want to win is getting pounded then there is nothing they can do about it. But in a close game, ball placement, an imaginary pass interference call or holding call can tip the scales in the favor of the team that they want to win.

It is subtle enough that it cannot be proven. It’s a foolproof plan.

This is what I think MIGHT (and I stress MIGHT) be happening. The refs are so terrible nowadays and I just can't imagine them being this bad. TV being huge and all - the NFL "might" be leaning towards getting teams that will have a bigger TV market into the playoffs.

Of course - that brings into the question - why do the Dallas Cowboys keep losing when the NFL should be helping them.

 

[Elmgrovegnome]

This is what I think MIGHT (and I stress MIGHT) be happening. The refs are so terrible nowadays and I just can't imagine them being this bad. TV being huge and all - the NFL "might" be leaning towards getting teams that will have a bigger TV market into the playoffs.

Of course - that brings into the question - why do the Dallas Cowboys keep losing when the NFL should be helping them.

They can only do so much without being too obvious about it. Sometimes the refs cross that line, like with the Colts recently. Sometimes it’s actually just missed calls. But they cannot make a team win if that team is blowing it. The last time I remember that happening so blatantly to the Rams was the 2019 Rams /Steelers game. I’m in pA and many of my Steelers friends said that the game was fixed.

 

[Elmgrovegnome]

This is what I think MIGHT (and I stress MIGHT) be happening. The refs are so terrible nowadays and I just can't imagine them being this bad. TV being huge and all - the NFL "might" be leaning towards getting teams that will have a bigger TV market into the playoffs.

Of course - that brings into the question - why do the Dallas Cowboys keep losing when the NFL should be helping them.

I’ll add that the TV deal was $110 billion. Do networks pay that much, with such a huge stake in the games with no say in how it plays out? This last contract is more than double the contract from 2012-2022. I believe they have more of a say than many think.

 

[Tumak61]

They've been blowing calls since like forever. Nothing new. NFL has entered into a very strange relationship with sports betting, but, the good news is they will probably force the NFL to adopt the College replay system which should improve the situation.

 

[Elmgrovegnome]

They've been blowing calls since like forever. Nothing new. NFL has entered into a very strange relationship with sports betting, but, the good news is they will probably force the NFL to adopt the College replay system which should improve the situation.

I hope that you are right. It is strange that a sport where whichever college can buy the most players is more concerned about playing fair games than the NFL.

We are getting the Diamondbacks vs the Rangers in the World Series. That is equivalent to the Lions vs the Jaguars in the NFL. But I don’t think we will ever get such a Super Bowl match up. It won’t draw enough viewers.

 

[AvengerRam]

I hope that you are right. It is strange that a sport where whichever college can buy the most players is more concerned about playing fair games than the NFL.

We are getting the Diamondbacks vs the Rangers in the World Series. That is equivalent to the Lions vs the Jaguars in the NFL. But I don’t think we will ever get such a Super Bowl match up. It won’t draw enough viewers.

I'm trying to wrap my head around this comment...

So how does the league decide which teams will make the Super Bowl to ensure ratings?

Can't be by the size of each NFL city's TV market. If that were the case, Kansas City, Cincinnati, Tampa and Charlotte wouldn't have been allowed to send teams to the Super Bowl in the past 10 years.

Team popularity? That's a tough metric to measure, no? And isn't it a chicken/egg sort of thing... does success create popularity, or does popularity (under your theory) create success?

Star power, maybe? Funny... I didn't realize that guys like Nick Foles and Joe Flacco were that popular. Go figure.

I think a Jaguars/Lions Super Bowl would be pretty darn intriguing, actually.

 

[Mackeyser]

I think the league steers outcomes. If the team that they want to win is getting pounded then there is nothing they can do about it. But in a close game, ball placement, an imaginary pass interference call or holding call can tip the scales in the favor of the team that they want to win.

It is subtle enough that it cannot be proven. It’s a foolproof plan.

 

[Mackeyser]

They've been blowing calls since like forever. Nothing new. NFL has entered into a very strange relationship with sports betting, but, the good news is they will probably force the NFL to adopt the College replay system which should improve the situation.

Yeah, the gamblers absolutely HATE to be on the wrong end of a fixed game and they’re getting louder. That vid about the latest Rams game was just the beginning. And there’s zero chance the bettors get quieter. Like a vampire, they were invited in and they aren’t gonna leave without feasting.

 

[ReekofRams]

Yes they’ve been blowing calls forever, this is true. But with today’s technology there is simply no need to let those calls go uncorrected! It makes the NFL look like it’s run by idiotic bungling fools; which right now it is.

 

[Tano]

Yes they’ve been blowing calls forever, this is true. But with today’s technology there is simply no need to let those calls go uncorrected! It makes the NFL look like it’s run by idiotic bungling fools; which right now it is.

Yeah they blow calls but not like this in the last 5 years. They are almost as bad as the replacement refs.

Did they include in their contract after the strike that they can make whatever calls they want and not get fired.

 

[oldnotdead]

They been blowing calls forever, no one is saying they haven't been. But its worse now than it's ever been and with TV instant replay it's more obvious. They have the technology but refuse to use it correctly. It doesn't explain how replay said Tutu's foot was irrefutably out of bounds when it was clear that wasn't the case. That cost the Rams a game.

The fact that NY clearly is shaving points can't be explained away by it's always been blown. The fact this became an issue only after the NFL embraced gambling is no coincidence. I know exactly how dirty Vegas money is as someone who worked on a casino gaming commission and got fired for refusing to lie about a slot mega jackpot win. My refusal cost them $100M. So having a point shaving deal with the NFL isn't even a question of maybe or if. Vegas hates "chance", they love certainty.

 

[Tano]

I know exactly how dirty Vegas money is as someone who worked on a casino gaming commission and got fired for refusing to lie about a slot mega jackpot win. My refusal cost them $100M. So having a point shaving deal with the NFL isn't even a question of maybe or if. Vegas hates "chance", they love certainty.

I am surprised you left Vegas alive.

 

[AvengerRam]

I am surprised you left Vegas alive.