Hekker First Down

[Ellard80]

Holy Fuck I just watched it again on the DVR downstairs.

It wasn't even close guys... he got it by a mile.

JFC... Kind of wished I didn't watch that it made me mad.

 

[bluecoconuts]

All I know is even the nfl game replay/highlights show the announcers saying it was the wrong call and the NFL could have edited that out.

 

[ramfan46]

If I was McVay I'd send a picture of that play and politely ask that the league not to assign that crew to officiate their games. That was awful and helped flip the game.

 

[XXXIVwin]

I'll stop watching football if they continue with this "narrative steering" which is going on whether anyone wants to acknowledge it or not..

But hey, people enjoy wrestling, too.

A coupla things...

1. If the NFL were “steering the narrative,” they’d have to know they were risking alienating millions of fans. One huge appeal of the sport is the undetermined outcome.

2. All it would take is one ref to squeal—and admit he was being “pressured” to make calls a certain way— for the whole house to come crumbling down.

3. I don’t agree that the NFL would have a stake in “steering” a win for NO over LA. If anything, the NFL would have a stake in the opposite. LA is a brand new market, MUCH bigger than NO, that MUST be successful, with a flagship stadium on the way.

Lastly: I don’t think the NFL avoids “steering” games because they’re nice ethical people. I believe they don’t make efforts to influence refs because if they ever got caught, they’d be SCREWED. Millions of fans (like you, Mac) would be disillusioned and stop watching.

My point: the risk of getting caught at “steering” outweighs the benefits.

(As a separate point— I do think Spygate was real and the NFL covered that up. I think individual teams cheat— but I don’t think the NFL “as a whole” predetermines outcomes.)

For the NFL, trying to “steer” outcomes would be a bad business decision.

 

[kmramsfan]

As much as I see the controversy on this call, if we erase the mental lapses of missed tackles and poor coverage, we win this game. That is what Superbowl champions do.

Yeah this play becomes irrelevant when we make the tackle consistently. Or even HALF the time. That was the worst tackling I've seen in two years.
Multiple missed tackles on the same play really killed us on key 3rd downs.
If this D throws another turd on the field against the effin' chickens, we have serious issues to address. I'm very underwhelmed with our D line, sans one guy lately.

 

[VegasRam]

To me, it was just a bad call. And maybe their super-slo-mo replay showed the exact instance where Hekker's knee first hit the turf and where his arm was at the time, and it didn't match up with the marker. I dunno. But if this was 'rigged' to favor the Saints, then I'll need to know why the refs let our DBs get away with so much pass interference. Because, in my opinion, there was a lot of it.

On both sides.
You’re being a bit disingenuous.
We’re not talking rigged....
We are talking about what we all saw with our own eyes.

Same reason they let the Saints get away with it.

Do you really believe, after watching the game, Donald and or Suh were never held one time.

 

[RocknRam29]

View: https://twitter.com/JHekker/status/1059559859933323265?s=19

 

[Rabid Ram]

Guys it happens all the time and has for a long time and been worse.. One just has to look back to the Titans in 2009 Chris Johnson prime to break the single season rushing record just broke a 62 yard TD to which Ed hocculi calls Ahmed hall for holding that no one sees but him costing Johnson the record. Hocculi then proceeds after the season to admit it was not a good call only after he got graded super low and missed out on any big playoff games .

 

[Elmgrovegnome]

Usually, Mike Pereira tries to cover for the refs when he disagrees with their call. He'll state his opinion, and if it goes the opposite direction, he explains why they differed and why it is acceptable for them to see it that way. This time, he had nothing. It was an unjustifiable call. The man literally said he couldn't explain how they let it stand. I warned y'all that crew would screw us if they were given an opportunity.

Vinovich is the worst. I believe all refs are instructed to control an outcome now and then. Voinovich is just terrible at hiding it.

You guys are hilarious. The refs and the NFL are out to get us

No, they are out to sell football. They started controlling outcomes in big games 20 years ago. At first it was an occasional Superbowl. Maybe overly 4-5 years. But just like a criminal they have gotten comfortable with it and are doing it more and more. It's all about maximising profits.

In this game, they are setting up a huge playoff rematch. Having the Saints be the team to halt the Rams undefeated streak allows them to Bill that playoff rematch as the Rams wanting revenge. Pay attention to the narratives. They play up certain storylines to build interest.

 

[Elmgrovegnome]

Yeah, this has been getting to me in recent years. The NFL is looking more and more like it is staged and it breaks my heart. To be clear, the NFL lists itself as "Sports Entertainment", as opposed to a genuinely contested sport. Click this link at your peril and don't attack me for googling "NFL Sports entertainment", lol.....

https://www.mediapost.com/publicati...heories-is-the-nfl-broken-because-its-fi.html

Thanks for posting this. It's pretty dampening if you ask me. I used to be the type to say that it was impossible for them to get away with cheating but since 2001, I have continued to see multiple questionable calls deciding games. I became more convinced the outcomes were fixed with each season.

Goodell burning the tapes was a huge red flag. The Patriots flippant cheating on several accounts. It's arrogance because they knew they could do it. Then Goodell getting pissed about it eventually. That was either staged or he was angry because the Patriots are too sloppy about it. But the real eye opener has been the big dramatic storyline that the media pushes. They create a darling team and then that team wins. The media is controlled by the league. The outcomes are scripted, the refs are just like WWE refs looking the wrong way at the wrong time, or like NASCAR engine inspectors being told to pass engines, that later are sold to other teams only to mysteriously fail inspections after a nobody buys it.

That Chris Borland quote is very telling. He looked like a very good player with a long career ahead of him. But he quits after a year and basically says it's all fake. He was disgusted that the NFL isn't what he thought it was.

The NFL is pushing me to watch more baseball and hockey.

 

[XXXIVwin]

Pay attention to the narratives. They play up certain storylines to build interest.

Oh, come on, you give them far too much credit... fixing a game in order to hype a re-match which might not even happen?

For that matter, having an undefeated team in LA would be a HUGE storyline...every week would be a “1972 Dolphins watch.” From a purely business standpoint, if the NFL wanted to “fix” all the outcomes, they’d have big winners in all the big cities. The Jets and Bears would be perennial winners... and quite obviously they’re not.

Also, New Orleans is (comparatively) tiny, it’s got 370k people, it’s like the 48th largest city in the USA. Los Angeles at 4 million is about ten times bigger than little old N.O.

The NFL would have every reason in the world to hype up LA instead of NO... to suggest a conspiracy in favor of N.O. seems illogical. IMHO.

Edit: As I’ve said before, yes, I do believe individual teams cheat. Patriots deflate footballs, steal playbooks, videotape practices, and so on. And yes, I do believe the NFL downplayed or even covered up some of the Patriots cheating because they didn’t want the bad publicity. And yes, individual players cheat and take steroids and HGH and so on.

But systematic game-fixing? I see no evidence of that. The NFL wants parity and close games, but I don’t think they are stupid enough to try to predetermine games. If they got caught match-fixing, they’d stand to lose billions.

 

[-X-]

On both sides.
You’re being a bit disingenuous.
We’re not talking rigged....
We are talking about what we all saw with our own eyes.

Same reason they let the Saints get away with it.

Do you really believe, after watching the game, Donald and or Suh were never held one time.

I don't know the other half of your "we" is, but there absolutely is talk about games being rigged in favor of a specific outcome (in this thread). Which prompted me to question why we were given so many breaks along the way.

I didn't comment on the holding because I didn't quote anyone who brought it up. But also because you'd be hard pressed to find a fan, of any team, on any given day, who doesn't think the other team gets away with it all game.

 

[CGI_Ram]

I believe they don’t make efforts to influence refs because if they ever got caught, they’d be SCREWED. Millions of fans (like you, Mac) would be disillusioned and stop watching.

My point: the risk of getting caught at “steering” outweighs the benefits.

(As a separate point— I do think Spygate was real and the NFL covered that up. I think individual teams cheat— but I don’t think the NFL “as a whole” predetermines outcomes.)

For the NFL, trying to “steer” outcomes would be a bad business decision.

This is pretty much my take. I can’t imagine the league being able to keep a lid on such a scheme.

I feel like there are just bad calls and this was probably one.

This year, as a general rule, I feel we’ve got fewer bad calls. That also just so happens to coincide with being a good team. I think that might be related.

 

[kurtfaulk]

.



actually, i watched the 1st half again and the refs weren't that bad. i think i'll lose my mind when i watch the 2nd half.

here are the plays that stand out. just press play the video will start when the ball is snapped.





faulk was tackled 5 yards out of bounds. should have been 15 yards added. who knows what would have happened because if you keep the video running the next play is the pick 6. would they have called the same play if the ball was 15 yards further down the field? we'll never know. anyway warner got clunked in the facemask with a forearm as he threw the ball. hard to believe they didn't call roughing the passer. those two bad decisions gave the cheats 7 points.





in this play torry holt just barely puts his foot out of bounds. they say it's a game of inches and those inches went against the rams so a td went begging. luck was not with the rams that day. could have taken the lead.





this one really hurt, the proehl fumble. gave the ball to the cheats at the rams 40. which led to this.





a great route by the wr. gotta give them credit.



so my review of the half. the cheats came to play. they hit hard and tackled well. those back to back horrible non calls screwed the rams and may have been a 10 to 14 point turnaround. the fumble really put the rams behind the 8 ball.

.

 

[kurtfaulk]

.

you know if the rams tackled the saints with purpose like the cheats in that superbowl, the saints wouldn't have scored more than 2 tds. as it was they were flopping and falling all over the place, giving the saints 5 to 10 extra yards almost every time.

.

 

[Mackeyser]

A coupla things...

1. If the NFL were “steering the narrative,” they’d have to know they were risking alienating millions of fans. One huge appeal of the sport is the undetermined outcome.

2. All it would take is one ref to squeal—and admit he was being “pressured” to make calls a certain way— for the whole house to come crumbling down.

3. I don’t agree that the NFL would have a stake in “steering” a win for NO over LA. If anything, the NFL would have a stake in the opposite. LA is a brand new market, MUCH bigger than NO, that MUST be successful, with a flagship stadium on the way.

Lastly: I don’t think the NFL avoids “steering” games because they’re nice ethical people. I believe they don’t make efforts to influence refs because if they ever got caught, they’d be SCREWED. Millions of fans (like you, Mac) would be disillusioned and stop watching.

My point: the risk of getting caught at “steering” outweighs the benefits.

(As a separate point— I do think Spygate was real and the NFL covered that up. I think individual teams cheat— but I don’t think the NFL “as a whole” predetermines outcomes.)

For the NFL, trying to “steer” outcomes would be a bad business decision.

Well, that was sorta my point. However, after 9/11 I said in October that there was no way in hell that ANY team not named the Patriots would win the Super Bowl. The amount of “help” the Pats got that year once they were 4-4 was ridiculous.

What the NFL found was that people loved the narrative and the close game and the advertisers LOVED it because late game ads became even more valuable than early game ads which was the exact opposite of how it was before.

We will NEVER see a 55-10 shellacking like we saw before in a Super Bowl. Every game from here on out will be close.

And guys retiring with rings is becoming common place. If they’d started this mess in the 80s, guarantee you that Marino would have a ring.

People are under the misapprehension that it takes a lot to do this. It doesn’t.

But it really doesn’t matter.

There will be a scandal worse than Spygate which was already much bigger than most are willing to admit and we’ll have to decide then if the NFL is worth watching.

But rest assured I think the narrative I said will play out.

NO v Pats with Brees getting a second ring before the new kids start banging in the door.

Hope I’m wrong because I want the Rams to win it all, but the cynical side of me has a hard time believing that the Rams will be allowed to even play in the Super Bowl unless a number of teams have major injuries.

 

[RamsSince1969]

Holy freak I just watched it again on the DVR downstairs.

It wasn't even close guys... he got it by a mile.

JFC... Kind of wished I didn't watch that it made me mad.

I just rewatched it too. Horrible call. Water under the bridge now, but we sure get lubed screwed and tattooed up the wazooo by the zebras week after week.

 

[Ken]

But systematic game-fixing? I see no evidence of that. The NFL wants parity and close games, but I don’t think they are stupid enough to try to predetermine games. If they got caught match-fixing, they’d stand to lose billions.

They don't fix games but they do parity policing, I am convinced. They'll often, not always, give the losing team or underdogs the benefit of the doubt on critical calls, spots, non-calls etc. to try to create a closer game. At some point, when it's looking like the outcome is not in doubt, they more than likely swallow their whistles for both teams to speed up the game. What the NFL does, and is totally frustrating, is only enforce the rules they want, and to lessen the enforcement, or almost eliminate, other rules (e.g. OL holding during pass plays). That's what enables the parity policing. So it's true that in many cases the Rams, et. al., not only have to play well enough to defeat the opponent, but to overcome the ref's parity policing. It seems obvious to me. And although it's not game fixing, it's equally as unfair. And the NFL has no problem with it, apparently. Close, 'exciting' games helps the profits keep rolling in, until, possibly, they start losing fans that can't stand watching the shit show they are producing.

 

[LesBaker]

For fucks sake can we just drop this "the refs screwed us" and "the games are fixed" and "the league has it all rigged" and all the related shit. Maybe the mods can create a single thread for it, or a separate section, and it can contain all the complaints and make believe conspiracies into one area. That way it won't pollute good discussion.

It gets old hearing it every singe day. And it is especially annoying after wins.

Watch the Rams OL..........they hold too. All the time, and they get away with it. Every team the Rams beat has fans all over the internet complaining about how the refs screwed them over. The Rams beat the shit out of the Cardianls and AZ fans were saying they skewed the game to the Rams to help them get established in LA.

And if you read Saints boards (I don't) I bet they are complaining about having to beat the Rams and the refs, and how Brees would have thrown for even more if the Rams DB's were grabbing the WR's and how they would have gotten 4-5 sacks on Goff if the Rams OL wasn't holding all the time.

If there was even the slightest speck of truth to this stuff the recently fired ref would have a 25MIL book deal signed and he would be on a media tour across the entire nation.

Complain about bad calls all day, I'm good with that and I can do that too. But the "it's fixed" stuff comes across way, way more as whining versus complaining.

 

[Ken]

Watch the Rams OL..........they hold too. All the time, and they get away with it.

Except when they don't.