Bad Officiating vs. Rigged NFL

[SWAdude]

This game moves so damn fast and has so many moving parts. Players know how to push limits which a human factor comes in of what an individual ref thinks is too much or not enough.

If it is rigged they are doing an epic job of hiding it which leads me to believe it is not. One voice is all that would be needed to tumble that house of cards.

Seems like every game there are calls that can be made to bring out that the game is rigged.

I have no answers on how to fix it. More technology may take some of the fun out of the experience. Like changing the shape of the ball to predict its bounce.

Sometimes calls go your way, sometimes they don't. We have all been on either side of that bounce.

 

[snackdaddy]

I still think it should be mandatory for refs to answer media questions after the game like coaches and players do. I guarantee they would try a helluva lot harder to get it right if they had to explain why they got it wrong.

 

[Giles]

I still think it should be mandatory for refs to answer media questions after the game like coaches and players do. I guarantee they would try a helluva lot harder to get it right if they had to explain why they got it wrong.

This. It's highly suspicious they're not available to the media and coaches/players can't call them out on poor performance without being hit with a fine.

 

[Mackeyser]

Not this again...
This was thrown out of court at every level because it was an absurd claim that had no basis. The suit was filed by an attorney who is quite infamous for creating self serving law suits which are merely an avenue for him to claim celebrity.
The entertainment clause was irrelevant, but tin foil hat wearers took the bait and ran rampant with it as if it were some sort of smoking gun. The purpose of that clause is due to some anti trust definition

The NFL has used this justification multiple times specifically to avoid allowing anyone to challenge cheating claims.

Yeah, in large part it's an anti-trust dodge AND it's a way to prevent lawsuits and discovery which was critical to fending off lawsuits during Spygate. That's what I was referring to and no, those suits weren't discarded as you suggest.

If the NFL were a sport under anti-trust, Goodell couldn't have unilaterally decided to destroy the evidence.

The entertainment designation is critical because it shields the NFL from levels of investigative scrutiny that exist in baseball, for example.

I take offense to being labelled as some tin foil hat wearer. Cheating has and does happen and we actually have proof of some. Dislike the argument all you like, but as hominems don't make your case any stronger

 

[AvengerRam]

I’ll say this…

The day I believe the league rigs games is the day I stop watching football. I’m not interested in scripted “sports” like pro wrestling.

 

[Elmgrovegnome]

If the NFL was rigging games, players from both sides would be in on it. QBs missing throws, defenders missing tackles or taking the wrong gap, deliberately committing fouls if need be.

No. They can totally do it through the refs. No player involvement needed.

 

[Jorgeh0605]

I don't think there is one solid, coordinated effort to rig a game to match a pre-determined outcome. Goodell doesn't pencil in the Chiefs to the superbowl like he's Vince McMahon. But a ref being paid under the table, or a coach being paid to lose, sure that happens. Cheating happens. Pre-determined outcomes do not happen.

 

[Allen2McVay]

But a ref being paid under the table, or a coach being paid to lose, sure that happens. C

You think THAT happens in the NFL?

 

[AppeasFBlGods]

It's extremely easy for an NFL referee to put his thumb on the scale. All they need to do is make a few 3rd down illegal contact calls, or maybe a bad offensive holding on 2nd and 10 to basically kill a drive. It can even look pretty even in the stat sheet at the end. Add in a ridiculous replay and boom you get your result most of the time. Donaghy from the NBA said something that stuck with me. He said if they cared about fairness and an equal playing field then why was he constantly ranked as a top ref? He got finals games. Why? They liked that he always made games closer.. and he focused on giving stars calls.. which made the league look good regardless of the complaints from fans. And btw isn't putting your thumb down on purpose rigging a game regardless of a true winner / loser?

 

[Allen2McVay]

It's extremely easy for an NFL referee to put his thumb on the scale. All they need to do is make a few 3rd down illegal contact calls, or maybe a bad offensive holding on 2nd and 10 to basically kill a drive. It can even look pretty even in the stat sheet at the end. Add in a ridiculous replay and boom you get your result most of the time.

Asking you the same question ... You think THAT happens in the NFL?

 

[HE WITH HORNS]

The average margin of victory in the NFL is less than a TD.

One ref COULD swing any game by 7 points in either direction if he really wanted to.

It's the people that blindly think that's not possible that I worry about their critical thinking skills.

 

[dieterbrock]

The NFL has used this justification multiple times specifically to avoid allowing anyone to challenge cheating claims.

Yeah, in large part it's an anti-trust dodge AND it's a way to prevent lawsuits and discovery which was critical to fending off lawsuits during Spygate. That's what I was referring to and no, those suits weren't discarded as you suggest.

If the NFL were a sport under anti-trust, Goodell couldn't have unilaterally decided to destroy the evidence.

The entertainment designation is critical because it shields the NFL from levels of investigative scrutiny that exist in baseball, for example.

I take offense to being labelled as some tin foil hat wearer. Cheating has and does happen and we actually have proof of some. Dislike the argument all you like, but as hominems don't make your case any stronger

The "Entertainment purposes" angle is purely tin foil hat. It does not allow the NFL to fix games.
The antitrust purposes have nothing to do with what Goodell chose to do with the "evidence"

 

[AvengerRam]

The average margin of victory in the NFL is less than a TD.

One ref COULD swing any game by 7 points in either direction if he really wanted to.

It's the people that blindly think that's not possible that I worry about their critical thinking skills.

A lot of things are “possible.”

It’s “possible” that the NFL paid me to start this thread.

That’s not the issue.

 

[GoodBadUgly]

My $0.02:

• The NFL does NOT script game outcomes (impossible for so many reasons)
• Players are not paid off to throw games like is possible for other sports (many reasons also)
• There is a slight possibility a very few number of refs have been compensated to tip the scales, but it's not at a level the NFL manages/initiates
• The refs are asked to do an impossible job, and they make understandable mistakes. Fans view these as rigged because they are fans
• The NFL is slow to react to obvious changes that could help with the accuracy of calls. This is due to those who feel any dialog is good for their product, and inertia of the old white men owners

On that last note, I would like to point out the craziness associated with "was that a catch?" This went from the Keystone Cops trying to get a solution in place, and it got worse every year. Until now. They finally worked it out, where replay can have the announcers, fans, expert official on broadcast, etc all agreeing before the ref uses his mic whether a pass was completed or not.

With this success, I ask: "Why can't they do the same thing for OPI/DPI?" They tried to fix this after the Saints debacle, but basically instructed every ref to let the call stand. Again, Keystone Cops time. Ridiculous. So I think if they come up with clear rules like the "...retain possession thru ground contact", we can get past this.

Do the same for other calls that infuriate us all and problem will be 90% solved. I can live with that.

 

[RAMSinLA]

When I first started watching the NFL bad calls happened all the time. There wasn't any reviewing of plays and you could get 20 questionable calls a game half of them you didn't even see because the camera work wasn't what it is today. So in my opinion the Zebras are way better than they used to be and we don't have nearly the bad calls we had 25 years ago.

 

[dang]

So do you think the league rigs outcomes? That’s the topic here…not whether the league tries to cover mistakes after the fact.

Agreed. Rigging is pre-meditated control. Cover up is damage control. Both are devious but very Different. Also as much as I hate the cheaters I don’t buy into conspiracy theories. It’s dangerous and lazy. So please point us to evidence (not heresay) of the NFL burning the Cheaters spy tapes and subsequently covering that up.

 

[SWAdude]

I thought the NFL admitted to the cheaters............cheating with filming the walk thru.

 

[tempests]

No. They can totally do it through the refs. No player involvement needed.

Too many athletes in the NFL with pride to participate in a scheme like that.

An officiating only conspiracy depends on the players being completely oblivious.

 

[LARAMSinFeb.]

That's 100% not how this works.

The league has enough parity that literally one ref in a game could change the outcome... Typically they are offensive holding or PI.

Ask a Lions fan... I heard about this a few years ago and watched some of their games... Holy shit... Makes the bad calls we got when we sucked seem like grace in comparison. And they lost so many close games, ESPECIALLY to the Packers...

Do I think there's an outright fix? No.

Do I think about week 8 or so the league starts building narratives? Yep. Do I think the NFL tries to steer things to generate the biggest money making narratives? Oh yeah.

Also, when confronted with a fan suing seeking redress as they had bought a ticket to a sporting event where cheating had occurred (there are legal requirements as such), the NFL argued the fan had no standing as the NFL isn't a sport, it's entertainment and no refund should be given in the event of cheating because the ticket only entitles the bearer the seat to the show.

So the NFL doesn't see itself as a sport. Are the narratives as prescribed as in Wrestling, the other “sport” that in lieu of litigation had to declare itself as entertainment? No... not remotely close.

And it's not fool proof, since with injuries, they have to move off of things... and in the Cowboys case, they've choked even with help...

I think the biggest fuel to this is the league’s intransigence to standardize crew calls. With disparate crews calling games differently, it's way more difficult to debate their massaging the calls and different calls are left to interpretation or “human error”

They've gotten better since SB36, which was so ham-handedly managed that folks just shook their heads, but if you look pre and post SB36, it's pretty clear that they are massaging the outcomes.

Outright game fixing? No. Steering? I 100% believe that.

Yeah the Lions and Stafford definitely got the short end of the stick sometimes. That Cowboys (2014?) playoff game comes to mind.

 

[bubbaramfan]

Whenever huge sums of money are involved, the criminal element will raise its ugly head and try to manipulate outcomes. (See Las Vegas, horse racing, stock market, ROD Sportsbook).