Brick-By-Brick, the NFL Losing Me As A Fan

[Billz4ever]

4 minutes ago, MJS said:

It clearly stopped his momentum.

It didn't stop him momentum.  What stopped his momentum was the receiver himself since he was going to turn it up field. 

 

The spilt second grab of the jersey never impeded the receiver from getting up field.  How could it?  The pull is in the direction he was going to be going.

[MJS]

Just now, Billz4ever said:

It didn't stop him momentum.  What stopped his momentum was the receiver himself since he was going to turn it up field. 

 

The spilt second grab of the jersey never impeded the receiver from getting up field.  How could it?  The pull is in the direction he was going to be going.

It was a ticky tack call. It did affect the route, though. The initial hold does impede the receiver somewhat. I'm not sure why you and others don't want to admit that. It's obvious when you watch the play.

 

I think they shouldn't have called it, but there were technically still grounds to call it, including an obvious jersey tug.

[Royale with Cheese]

2 hours ago, thenorthremembers said:

You had me until you said underpaid.    NFL referees make around 200,000 per season.   Not bad for a part time gig.

 

I think the more senior officials make something like $45,000 per game and over the course of a 17 week season....

[Billz4ever]

Just now, MJS said:

It was a ticky tack call. It did affect the route, though. The initial hold does impede the receiver somewhat. I'm not sure why you and others don't want to admit that. It's obvious when you watch the play.

 

I think they shouldn't have called it, but there were technically still grounds to call it, including an obvious jersey tug.

And they had let those same type of plays slide literally the entire game until then. That's the point.  You're either going to call a tight game, or you're going to let them play.

 

If you're not going to call it the rest of the game, you certainly shouldn't be calling it when it will literally decide the game. Refs must be consistent.  It was a very weak call.

[C.Biscuit97]

Damn, league is probably going to fold now!

 

”a lot” of fans quit after Kaepernick. “A lot” of fans quit after the concussion stuff. Guess what? It doesn’t matter. Nfl prints money. A monkey could run the league and it would make a ton of money.

 

so with all due respect, the nfl doesn’t care. 

[MJS]

Just now, Billz4ever said:

And they had let those same type of plays slide literally the entire game until then. That's the point.  You're either going to call a tight game, or you're going to let them play.

 

If you're not going to call it the rest of the game, you certainly shouldn't be calling it when it will literally decide the game. Refs must be consistent.  It was a very weak call.

I agree, which is why I said they shouldn't have called it.

 

But some fans are claiming the hold didn't happen and when they see it did, they claim it didn't affect anything (even though it clearly did).

 

The level of outrage is ridiculous. You know what really lost the Eagles the game? Hurts fumbling and spotting the Chiefs 7 free points. Or how about getting zero pressure on Mahomes the entire game, with a historic sack defense?

[Ridgewaycynic2013]

8 minutes ago, Royale with Cheese said:

 

I think the more senior officials make something like $45,000 per game and over the course of a 17 week season....

Hell, in Cleveland the fans will even give you a beer!

Edited February 13, 2023 by Ridgewaycynic2013

[BFLO]

2 hours ago, Beast said:

Let’s also be honest. If that was a Bills defender and it was called this place would go worse than nuts.

 

I thought it was a ticky-tack penalty AT BEST and one you certainly don’t want a league championship game decided on. I felt it was an awful look for the NFL for that to happen.

It's an awful look that a $17.2 billion in revenue a year league lets obvious penalties like that slide 9 times out of 10 because of the "let 'em play" mindset, so the 1 time out of 10 they do call it, people get upset.  

 

Right now it's expected that every O-lineman holds on every single play and it's only called a penalty if the ref thinks it crossed some nebulous and inconsistent threshold.

 

And the secondary holds/interferes with the receivers every single play, and it's only a penalty if the refs think it crossed some nebulous and inconsistent threshold. 

 

Fans get upset because the refs thresholds are never consistent game to game, or even from one play to the next.  

 

 

 

 

[Billz4ever]

3 minutes ago, MJS said:

I agree, which is why I said they shouldn't have called it.

 

But some fans are claiming the hold didn't happen and when they see it did, they claim it didn't affect anything (even though it clearly did).

 

The level of outrage is ridiculous. You know what really lost the Eagles the game? Hurts fumbling and spotting the Chiefs 7 free points. Or how about getting zero pressure on Mahomes the entire game, with a historic sack defense?

Philly only allowed the Chiefs 7 offensive points in the first half, so they were doing a decent job. 

 

It fell apart in the second half.  Reid made adjustments and Mahomes was getting rid of the ball quickly, so sacks weren't going to happen.

 

With the points and the offense we saw in this game, it should be crystal clear that no matter how good the defense, the great offenses of today are going to score.

 

Which brings us to the Hurts fumble.  While not obvious when it happened, was a huge factor.

 

But regardless, refs should not be injecting themselves into a play like that unless they've been calling a tight game from the start. 

 

 

[\GoBillsInDallas/]

3 hours ago, pocoboy said:

I hate to say it, but I don't feel that they want guys like me as consumers anymore

 

 

[Dancing Fool]

16 minutes ago, C.Biscuit97 said:

Damn, league is probably going to fold now!

 

”a lot” of fans quit after Kaepernick. “A lot” of fans quit after the concussion stuff. Guess what? It doesn’t matter. Nfl prints money. A monkey could run the league and it would make a ton of money.

 

so with all due respect, the nfl doesn’t care. 

I agree that the NFL does not care.

 

Conversely, I do not care that the NFL does not care. Quite frankly it is cathartic to discuss what so many of us have been thinking.

 

Remember that we would not be here if we did not appreciate the Bills. It is not our fault that the NFL has been providing a dubious product.

[BADOLBILZ]

2 hours ago, pocoboy said:

I hate to say it, but I don't feel that they want guys like me as consumers anymore. I don't tune in for theatrics, politics, or the type of pop music that litters this "spectacle."

 

And then, we finally get to the true reason that those who are their loyal, week-in and week-out customers tune in, and then they have systems in place which allow for 1 of 7 underpaid, part-time officials to ruin our primary focus. They take the game and turn it into a mockery.

 

All of this thrown together, and it gives me the feeling I have better ways to waste my Sunday afternoons. Goodell & the NFL are ruining something I've loved since childhood.

 

And I even wanted (ever so slightly) for the Chiefs to win.

 

 

Your confusion is that you think the NFL is changing.

 

You are changing.

 

Officiating always has been and always will be bad............Goodell wasn't wrong when he said it's never been better...........so your complaint sounds contrived.

 

Maybe you just have less tolerance for it because the rest of the content is no longer directed at entertaining you.........and instead at the demographics that pay the bills and will-be paying the bills in the near future.    That's the circle of life.  

 

You can be mad about it or have fun with it.........last year we had an 18 year old at the party who didn't know who 50 Cent was and thought he was wearing the "50" medallion on his chain because he was 50 years old.     This year we had kids who had no idea who Terry Bradshaw or Paul McCartney were.   

 

It's a kids game played by men in their 20's........if we can't play along they got Doug Flutie selling us Nugenix to help with that.........I'm actually pleasantly surprised when the NFL and advertisers still throw the 60+ crowd a few bones with guest appearances and references in commercials etc..

 

 

 

 

[Ridgewaycynic2013]

3 hours ago, pocoboy said:

I hate to say it, but I don't feel that they want guys like me as consumers anymore.

 

12 minutes ago, \GoBillsInDallas/ said:

 

 

Be quiet about your disinterest, and your age.  You might find yourself in their next batch of Soylent Green Burgers.  (Endorsed by Pat Mahomes!)

[Bills!Win!]

I used to watch every possible game. Now I only watch the bills and if one of the primetime games features 2 good teams 

[NoSaint]

39 minutes ago, Billz4ever said:

And they had let those same type of plays slide literally the entire game until then. That's the point.  You're either going to call a tight game, or you're going to let them play.

 

If you're not going to call it the rest of the game, you certainly shouldn't be calling it when it will literally decide the game. Refs must be consistent.  It was a very weak call.

In the time you’ve spent typing it you could’ve found examples of all the other holds ignored to put this to bed 

[BillsFanSD]

38 minutes ago, C.Biscuit97 said:

so with all due respect, the nfl doesn’t care. 

The NFL doesn't care right up to the point that fan dissatisfaction starts reducing the value of television contracts.  Then they care a lot.

 

So no, obviously Goodell is not going to lose sleep over one guy on one forum complaining about one call in one game.  I don't know if you've noticed this recently, but there are lots of people out there who either agree with OP or who are vaguely sympathetic to OP.  I'm fairly confident that some of us have been complaining about part-time officials for years.  We know the league won't care until there are more of us.  That's why we're seeking to bring more attention to the issue.

[NoSaint]

12 minutes ago, BADOLBILZ said:

 

 

Your confusion is that you think the NFL is changing.

 

You are changing.

 

Officiating always has been and always will be bad............Goodell wasn't wrong when he said it's never been better...........so your complaint sounds contrived.

 

Maybe you just have less tolerance for it because the rest of the content is no longer directed at entertaining you.........and instead at the demographics that pay the bills and will-be paying the bills in the near future.    That's the circle of life.  

 

You can be mad about it or have fun with it.........last year we had an 18 year old at the party who didn't know who 50 Cent was and thought he was wearing the "50" medallion on his chain because he was 50 years old.     This year we had kids who had no idea who Terry Bradshaw or Paul McCartney were.   

 

It's a kids game played by men in their 20's........if we can't play along they got Doug Flutie selling us Nugenix to help with that.........I'm actually pleasantly surprised when the NFL and advertisers still throw the 60+ crowd a few bones with guest appearances and references in commercials etc..

 

 

 

 

Generally fair. And frankly, if getting everything perfect is priority number 1– gosh, get off the message boards dissecting every minute detail, trade in the hi def tv for something a little fuzzier and look away from the ultra zoomed in frame by frame replays and you’ll find it’s likely not that it’s worse but that you recently started seeking out mistakes on a level you’d never dream of in 1982

[Billz4ever]

10 minutes ago, NoSaint said:

In the time you’ve spent typing it you could’ve found examples of all the other holds ignored to put this to bed 

I'm not a video editor.  I'll let the people who are do that.

Edited February 13, 2023 by Billz4ever

[pocoboy]

49 minutes ago, Dancing Fool said:

I agree that the NFL does not care.

 

Conversely, I do not care that the NFL does not care. Quite frankly it is cathartic to discuss what so many of us have been thinking.

 

Remember that we would not be here if we did not appreciate the Bills. It is not our fault that the NFL has been providing a dubious product.

 

Yeah I get tired of the Beane hatred, and others get tired of the complaining about the refs & the seemingly impossible task of improving it all. It's understandable. Sometimes one might post something to get talked down off the ledge, or to be reinforced. Oh well, another day goes by and we still haven't gotten a Lombardi.

 

Dammit.

[pocoboy]

29 minutes ago, NoSaint said:

Generally fair. And frankly, if getting everything perfect is priority number 1– gosh, get off the message boards dissecting every minute detail, trade in the hi def tv for something a little fuzzier and look away from the ultra zoomed in frame by frame replays and you’ll find it’s likely not that it’s worse but that you recently started seeking out mistakes on a level you’d never dream of in 1982

 

Getting everything perfect isn't priority number 1. But that defensive holding call was egregiously terrible.

 

But I suppose if anyone should really ride the Blame Train today? Nick Sirianni should be standing in front of his players, the GM, and the Owner explaining why it was worth spending a timeout to make a 38 yard field goal into a 33 yard field goal. How'd you like to be that guy, after getting lauded for your forward-thinking strategy, only to cost your team 40 seconds at the end of the game where they could have answered?