Do you wonder if the league is fixed?

[LittleSammy]

13 hours ago, PromoTheRobot said:

Just remember we live in a time where what's true is getting harder to know, and that's by design. No area is exempt.

You are correct. It finally dawned on me this site and all of us don't really exist. It is run by an NFL AI bot using Chat Gpt.

[Old Coot]

We......are.......not........an.........AI........bot.

[Inigo Montoya]

I don't think the league is fixed but I do think the refs are told to put their thumb on the scale at times to create a more competitive and entertaining contest.  If one team is losing by a bunch I think the refs are more likely to "help" out the trailing team to make the game closer by throwing a few flags or not throwing them.

 

People have always gambled on NFL football, but with the league now formally embracing it, and the amount of money being wagered skyrocketing, it's only a matter of time before someone gets bribed or blackmailed to throw a game.  A ref, a player, a coach.  It's inevitable. 

 

It will be a sad day for all of us, not if, but when that happens.

[Billy Claude]

There might be individual refs/players who might throw a game.  As many has pointed out, that probably has happened though I think it is much rarer than many implied.

 

However, to believe that there is the NFL office decides winners beforehand is frankly ridiculous.  It makes zero sense for the owners to accept it -- unless you think only Goodell and a small cabal of owners are in on it.

 

Ask yourself these questions. Why would David Tepper throw a drink on a fan if everything is fixed? Why would he fire his coach and GM so he has to pay multiple coaches/GM if everything is pre-ordained.  Why was Pegula paying three coaches at once?  Why is Haslam guaranteeing Watson $230M if it doesn't matter.

 

Everybody knows Jerry Jones is one of the most powerful owners in the NFL and the Cowboys are one of the most popular teams. Why don't the Cowboys do better in the playoffs?   When do they tell new owners or potential owners that the games are fixed?  Why don't any of these owners sue when they find out?  Why do the NYC/Chi teams stink so much?  Why are many of the top teams in the league from tiny markets like KC, Buffalo, Cincinnati, and Baltimore.

 

It makes zero sense for these multi-billionaires to accept the level of ridicule they get from their fans when their teams stink (see Johnson, Woody).  If I was Tepper and found out I run a scorched earth policy and sue the NFL (and any owners in the know) for every penny they have.

 

 

Edited January 4 by Billy Claude

[Dr.Sack]

When Mahomes has 5-10 turnovers overturned by phantom penalties / 50/50 calls one has to wonder. Run the Mahomes tape it’s egregious. 

[Not at the table Karlos]

3 hours ago, Old Coot said:

We......are.......not........an.........AI........bot.

Sounds like something an AI bot would say.

[SageAgainstTheMachine]

9 hours ago, wagon127 said:

I think penalties are too costly. They often severly impact the outcome of the game. No other sport does that. Its rather annoying. Once the bills win the superbowl, i will be taking a step back from football for sure. 

Defensive holding and illegal contact being automatic first downs is so bad.

[1onemangang7]

https://awfulannouncing.com/fanduel/genius-sports-live-stream-games.html

 

So the game is on peacock or you don't want to pay for Sunday ticket. A 1 dollar bet gets you any game on the "official betting partner of the NFL"

[1onemangang7]

11 hours ago, Orlando Tim said:

After the Lion game I am more convinced then ever, that while the NFL is not fixed, they do not discourage the refs from being incompetent, so they can get the headlines. 

Yeah, refs are a good distraction. I always thought they just had to manipulate momentum and Brady would win. Now the hits are gone and you can spot poor effort in action easily. That Cowboys game they threw forearms at Cook. Cook moved a pile of about 12 guys 9 or 10 yards or whatever it was.. Like the globetrotters the refs are just some fool standing out there these days. It's evolving.

 

And my theory is draft kings and fanduel were pioneer fantasy hubs that were always meant as books. The fantasy Era hooked a lot of people and the bet the stats now in parlays for the hope of big scores. ...that Dallas game as an example they bust em all out with Allen, what? Under 100 yards? Then all you hear on every show is Cook is coming to stardom. 

 

It's comedy, and drama, but it used to be the greatest suspense movie you'd ever see. They're too obvious.

Edited January 4 by 1onemangang7

[stuvian]

Fixing football would be too complex to outright control games compared to a sole performer sport like boxing. After watching the documentary on the effect one corrupt referee had on important NBA games, I don't think we can rule out "interested parties" who could influence outcomes. There is so much money sloshing around the gambling world that someone will eventually be compromised. The fact that Kraft and Jones own major gambling operations just reinforces the institutional level of greed at work here. 

 

Even the league office plays favourites in ways that hurt some teams at the expense of others. I just read Ron Wolf's The Packer Way. In it, he describes how the league office screwed the Packers out of a first round draft pick. When the Packers acquired then OC Mike Holmgren as their head coach from SF, a league bigshot called Ron Wolf and told him that Holmgren's contract called for compensation to the 49ers in the form of a first round pick. Wolf took the league official at their word and awarded the 49ers Green Bay's first round pick as asked. He later learned that the league official was blowing smoke up his ass. Holmgren's contract never contained a clause calling for any such compensation. Wolf was livid and took his case to the commish (Tagliabue) and other owners who promptly shut him down.

 

By falsely claiming that GB owed the 49ers a first round pick, they did grievous harm to the Packers' fortunes. It is quite clear that the league will undermine the only community owned franchise any chance they get in the hope that by weakening it, they can bring and end to it in favour of ownership only by the super rich. As the Packers are community owned, they publish financials that the league does not want in the public domain. When cities and other parties sue the NFL, they can point to these figures as proof of ability to pay when contracts are not honoured (Rams relocation, etc.). We would be naive to think similar dynamics aren't playing out elsewhere. 

 

The fact that Jerry Jones owns a stadium building firm means that he automatically is in favour of teams relocating. He profited heavily by the Rams/Chargers relocations. In my mind, this screams conflict of interest when voting on team matters. Does the league encourage the Jaguars to be marginalized so that they can more easily move to London? 

[DrDawkinstein]

10 hours ago, Inigo Montoya said:

I don't think the league is fixed but I do think the refs are told to put their thumb on the scale at times to create a more competitive and entertaining contest.  If one team is losing by a bunch I think the refs are more likely to "help" out the trailing team to make the game closer by throwing a few flags or not throwing them.

 

People have always gambled on NFL football, but with the league now formally embracing it, and the amount of money being wagered skyrocketing, it's only a matter of time before someone gets bribed or blackmailed to throw a game.  A ref, a player, a coach.  It's inevitable. 

 

It will be a sad day for all of us, not if, but when that happens.

 

There have been too many times this season where sometime in the game I've mentioned "the other team needs a TD to cover so watch the refs hand them one before we get much farther". And then sure enough, the flags start flying and the other team is handed a touchdown drive.

 

The Tampa game for sure.

 

The line was Bills -8. Late in the 4th quarter the Bills were up 24-10. Called that the refs were about to give them a TD. As Tampa's drive stalled they're handed a penalty on a failed 4th down attempt of a ticky-tack Def Holding call, 1st down Tampa. Stalled again on 4th down, refs fail to blow the whistle for forward progress, instead call a penalty, 1st down Tampa.

 

They get their TD and 2pt conversion to cover, and then the game went right back to the "regularly scheduled program" of the Bills holding on to win.

 

It was all so obvious.

 

Edited January 4 by DrDawkinstein

[Gman10]

I believe there can be fixed games, or players/refs in deep with some wrong people. 

[Royale with Cheese]

9 hours ago, Billy Claude said:

There might be individual refs/players who might throw a game.  As many has pointed out, that probably has happened though I think it is much rarer than many implied.

 

However, to believe that there is the NFL office decides winners beforehand is frankly ridiculous.  It makes zero sense for the owners to accept it -- unless you think only Goodell and a small cabal of owners are in on it.

 

Ask yourself these questions. Why would David Tepper throw a drink on a fan if everything is fixed? Why would he fire his coach and GM so he has to pay multiple coaches/GM if everything is pre-ordained.  Why was Pegula paying three coaches at once?  Why is Haslam guaranteeing Watson $230M if it doesn't matter.

 

Everybody knows Jerry Jones is one of the most powerful owners in the NFL and the Cowboys are one of the most popular teams. Why don't the Cowboys do better in the playoffs?   When do they tell new owners or potential owners that the games are fixed?  Why don't any of these owners sue when they find out?  Why do the NYC/Chi teams stink so much?  Why are many of the top teams in the league from tiny markets like KC, Buffalo, Cincinnati, and Baltimore.

 

It makes zero sense for these multi-billionaires to accept the level of ridicule they get from their fans when their teams stink (see Johnson, Woody).  If I was Tepper and found out I run a scorched earth policy and sue the NFL (and any owners in the know) for every penny they have.

 

 

 

It is ridiculous but you will still have people gripping on any kind of conspiracy.  I mean we have flat earthers.

Edited January 4 by Royale with Cheese

[finn]

14 hours ago, wagon127 said:

I think penalties are too costly. They often severly impact the outcome of the game. No other sport does that. Its rather annoying. Once the bills win the superbowl, i will be taking a step back from football for sure. 

Agree. I wonder if the league will look at that in the offseason, since defenses seem to have caught up with offenses. I'd start with reducing offensive holding to five yards but maybe enforce it more rigorously. 

[1onemangang7]

2 minutes ago, Royale with Cheese said:

 

It is ridiculous but you will still have people gripping on any kind of conspiracy.  I mean we have flat earthers.

And we have Michael strahan in outer space. Lmao.

 

Youll believe anything and you tell everyone youre a sucka 

[Royale with Cheese]

3 minutes ago, 1onemangang7 said:

And we have Michael strahan in outer space. Lmao.

 

Youll believe anything and you tell everyone youre a sucka 

 

It's not a surprise you're a flat earther.

[1onemangang7]

2 minutes ago, Royale with Cheese said:

 

It's not a surprise you're a flat earther.

I don't know. I don't really subscribe to Christopher Columbus. Ask Strahan. He saw the sphere?

[DisplacedBillsFan]

On 11/27/2023 at 12:27 AM, 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.

Are you one of those people who believe we live in the Matrix?

 

Ohhhhh…or are any of us actually “people”?

 

You think that’s air you’re breathing right now?

[OrangeBills]

9 hours ago, Billy Claude said:

There might be individual refs/players who might throw a game.  As many has pointed out, that probably has happened though I think it is much rarer than many implied.

 

However, to believe that there is the NFL office decides winners beforehand is frankly ridiculous.  It makes zero sense for the owners to accept it -- unless you think only Goodell and a small cabal of owners are in on it.

 

Ask yourself these questions. Why would David Tepper throw a drink on a fan if everything is fixed? Why would he fire his coach and GM so he has to pay multiple coaches/GM if everything is pre-ordained.  Why was Pegula paying three coaches at once?  Why is Haslam guaranteeing Watson $230M if it doesn't matter.

 

Everybody knows Jerry Jones is one of the most powerful owners in the NFL and the Cowboys are one of the most popular teams. Why don't the Cowboys do better in the playoffs?   When do they tell new owners or potential owners that the games are fixed?  Why don't any of these owners sue when they find out?  Why do the NYC/Chi teams stink so much?  Why are many of the top teams in the league from tiny markets like KC, Buffalo, Cincinnati, and Baltimore.

 

It makes zero sense for these multi-billionaires to accept the level of ridicule they get from their fans when their teams stink (see Johnson, Woody).  If I was Tepper and found out I run a scorched earth policy and sue the NFL (and any owners in the know) for every penny they have.

 

 

 

This is not as far-fetched as you would make it out to be.  It could be very simply about Franchise-values...simply put, if you bought something for $300m in 2000, and they came to you and noted that it will be worth $2-$3 BILLION in several years if you play along, I suspect owners will go along with it...

 

It could have been communicated very innocently.  "hey, owners, we know there is no more money, really, in in-stadium Revenue or value.  The tickets and seats aren't getting more expensive and the stadiums can't get bigger.  Instead, we are signing this MEGA contract with these Cable/Television networks (back then) that have gobs of money because idiot Americans just pay for cable bundles, but that's our ticket.   The ONLY thing they ask for is that we have appropriate, exciting matchups on TV at the right time.  This may mean we'll have to endeavor to ensure the "right" teams are on at the "right times" and the right teams are good, most of the time.  We'll give you a bone every so often, but by and large your job will be keep the masses appeased and collect huge dividends and see your franchise values erupt well above the debt used to purchase the Team"

 

Whether implicit or explicit the League could then orchestrate through various mechanisms outcomes they desired. 

 

Just spit-ballin' here 

[Royale with Cheese]

8 minutes ago, 1onemangang7 said:

I don't know. I don't really subscribe to Christopher Columbus. Ask Strahan. He saw the sphere?

 

Columbus didn't circumnavigate the globe Professor...that was Magellan.

Because I am kind.

  https://dictionary.cambridge.org/us/dictionary/english/circumnavigate