Do you wonder if the league is fixed?

[The Red King]

(Please don't merge this with the thread complaining about the Bills/Eagles officiating.  This is different, with wider scope, and not limited to the Bills.)

 

There have always been suspicions that the NFL is fixed, but this year seems almost blatent.  There have been a ton, a ton of badly officiated games this season, and not just involving the Bills.  The NFL is in bed with Vegas and the gambling apps, that much is fact.

 

So, my question is, what do you believe?  I don't believe the league is outright scripted.  But I do believe they have preferences, and are not afraid to unleash the officials to get the outcomes they want, based on trends.

 

I hate to be that guy.  I hate to think about conspiracy theories.  But the officiating all around the league has been laughably bad/questionable the whole season.

[Buffalo_Stampede]

You can’t do it. Too many people involved. But you can have 1-2 bad apples and they can do enough damage.

 

But no, I don’t believe the NFL is fixed. Officiating isnt getting worse, it’s always been bad. We just have more rules and more cameras now. Rules complicate an already difficult job. Cameras show every mistake they make in 4k ultra slow motion.

Edited November 27, 2023 by Buffalo_Stampede

[Billever76]

3 minutes ago, The Red King said:

(Please don't merge this with the thread complaining about the Bills/Eagles officiating.  This is different, with wider scope, and not limited to the Bills.)

 

There have always been suspicions that the NFL is fixed, but this year seems almost blatent.  There have been a ton, a ton of badly officiated games this season, and not just involving the Bills.  The NFL is in bed with Vegas and the gambling apps, that much is fact.

 

So, my question is, what do you believe?  I don't believe the league is outright scripted.  But I do believe they have preferences, and are not afraid to unleash the officials to get the outcomes they want, based on trends.

 

I hate to be that guy.  I hate to think about conspiracy theories.  But the officiating all around the league has been laughably bad/questionable the whole season.

Once vegas got involved it's absolutely a certainty it's skewed and teams are being guided by the refs and its being masqueraded as human error ....the refs are swaying games big time and it's obvious

1 minute ago, Buffalo_Stampede said:

You can’t do it. Too many people involved. But you can have 1-2 bad apples and they can do enough damage.

How can't it be done? A few bad officials being paid $$$$ absolutely can make it happen....you get 6 or so refs throw a boatload of hush money at them and instruct them what to do....in the nfl a few key bad calls no calls are usually enough to change outcomes

Edited November 27, 2023 by Billever76

[Ralonzo]

I don’t wonder.

Edited November 27, 2023 by Ralonzo

[Nelius]

Agreed that it would be way too complex. Way too many moving pieces. These people prove themselves to be regularly incompetent, you can't then assume that they're such maniacal geniuses that they could pull something like that off in front of millions. I think that's largely what you're seeing with the refs - just regular every day incompetence and stupidity.

 

Although with the extreme rise in gambling you could get a few more bad apples Tim Donagy style. Not enough to fix anything, but lone wolf enough to do some weird damage to a game's outcome.

[Bferra13]

Remember the replacement refs in 2013 or whatever? Everyone made fun of those guys. Then when the union signed a deal I remember the first game where smug Steratore made the first call with the "real" refs back. He got a standing ovation. I puked in my mouth a bit at that moment. Those replacement refs would have been fine long term and drained the scum from the pond at the same time. Now Steratore is a schill for cbs and he still sickens me. Fixed or general incompetence, the NFL sees no reason to fix it or acknowledge it is a problem.

[Mikie2times]

I think it’s possible that officials ref games in such a way to make sure they stay close for long enough. Which really wouldn’t take some sort of conspiracy theory. You can call penalties on nearly every play and in doing so you can stop drives or start them with very little indication outside of “they’re only human”. It was certainly in the NFL’s interest for this to be a showcase event. It’s entertainment after all. As far as a literal attempt to work the calls towards one side, I don’t see the purpose. In this case the side that got the help was the side that needed it to stay close until they no longer did and magically the whistles slowed down. 

Edited November 27, 2023 by Mikie2times

[loyal2dagame]

4 minutes ago, Buffalo_Stampede said:

You can’t do it. Too many people involved. But you can have 1-2 bad apples and they can do enough damage.

 

But no, I don’t believe the NFL is fixed. Officiating isnt getting worse, it’s always been bad. We just have more rules and cameras now. Rules complicate an already difficult job. Cameras show every mistake they make in 4k ultra slow motion.

Like my guy says, "You can do it!"

 

NFL is not classified as sport,  but rather entrainment. Like pro wrestling. And we all know that's real.....

[Dr.Sack]

Games have odds for a reason. 

[Buffalo_Stampede]

2 minutes ago, loyal2dagame said:

Like my guy says, "You can do it!"

 

NFL is not classified as sport,  but rather entrainment. Like pro wrestling. And we all know that's real.....

Do you ever watch high school football or lower level college football? The craziest calls and plays happen in high school football. Just like players make mistakes in live action games so do refs.

 

I do believe there are refs that have cheated the game and made money on their calls. But I don’t believe it’s widespread.

Edited November 27, 2023 by Buffalo_Stampede

[CincyBillsFan]

I don't know but I buy into the idea that you don't blame this kind of stuff on malice or conspiracy when pure incompetence will usually suffice.  And NFL officiating is getting worse and worse.

 

[LABILLBACKER]

It wouldn't take much effort on the leagues part to gently infer that its crews "take care" of our big market blue blood teams.  

Edited November 27, 2023 by LABILLBACKER

[loyal2dagame]

Just now, Buffalo_Stampede said:

Do you ever watch high school football or lower level college football? The craziest calls and plays happen in high school football. Just like players make mistakes in live action games so do refs.

High school ball is still classified as sports.  Not sure about college.

But NFL is under the entertainment umbrella.

[The Red King]

7 minutes ago, Mikie2times said:

I think it’s possible that officials ref games in such a way to make sure they stay close for long enough. Which really wouldn’t take some sort of conspiracy theory. You can call penalties on nearly every play and in doing so you can stop drives or start them with very little indication outside of “they’re only human”. It was certainly in the NFL’s interest for this to be a showcase event. It’s entertainment after all. As far as a literal attempt to work the calls towards one side, I don’t see the purpose. In this case the side that got the help was the side that needed it to stay close until they no longer did and magically the whistles slowed down. 

 

That's a good point.  The closer the game, the longer people watch.  Close games are more compelling then blowouts, better entertainment.

[LeGOATski]

Yeah, Vegas is ruining pro football like it did boxing. Just watch it for entertainment, but have low expectations regarding the season's outcome. Support the USFL/XFL to at least pressure the NFL's monopoly.

[paulmm3]

I will never bet on the NFL again after tonight. Seriously. That is by far the most biased officiating I have ever seen in 20 years. There's not much other explanation for how it could be so bad. I obviously can't prove games are fixed, but I'm also not going to bet on a league where I think they might be.

[BuffaloButt]

Probs, but what can we do?!!

[thewookie1]

I don't think its fixed but rather has an agenda.

 

There are certain teams week to week/season to season they want to see succeed and the refs are given the tools to manipulate.

 

This year they want KC and Philly to have a Kelce Rematch with Taylor Swift there. Now if KC or Philly fails even with friendly officiating they'll likely move to different narrative to play with but there's certainly some bias.

 

 

[SCBills]

I’m going to say no, not on a macro level.  
 

However, it’s a really bad look to have Shawn Hochuli’s crew go into a game where a HC is 4-0 in their games, then proceed to call a game that draws national attention to the one side officiating. 
 

Nevermind that there is zero consistency.   Keenan Allen had the same fumble we had in OT.  His was ruled a fumble.  In our game, incomplete pass. 

[Buffalo_Stampede]

Just now, loyal2dagame said:

High school ball is still classified as sports.  Not sure about college.

But NFL is under the entertainment umbrella.

The problem with fixing anything is keeping people quiet. You’d need thousands of people to stay quiet. It’s not happening. Thats why I don’t believe it’s possible. 
 

Heck, look what happened to Michigan. When too many people know about something it’ll always get out.