Legitimate Concern With Officiating This Weekend?

[Ya Digg?]

2 minutes ago, NORWOODS FOOT said:

I’m NOT arguing that there is a “huge conspiracy” for the Chiefs to win.

 

Here is what I am arguing: to help raise the Chiefs probability of winning it would take ONE person. 
 

This isn’t hard to understand nor is it unreasonable when human greed is factored into the equation. 
 

But no, the land of pro sports and sports betting is the one place in human society where human greed plays no role. Aren’t we lucky.

Ok so then 2 questions-who is this one person? Is it 1 ref each game who does this? Someone from the NFL office?

 

Also, why KC? If it’s a greed/money thing why wouldn’t someone choose Dallas/Chicago/either NY team/LA (you get the point) a bigger market team that would make a lot more money for someone? And before you mention Taylor Swift, people were calling conspiracy before her and Kelce started dating 

[Big Blitz]

22 hours ago, DJB said:

 

 

 

[Billsfanatic8989]

20 hours ago, mjt328 said:

Hope not.  The NFL really needs to be careful here.

I know they seem invincible when it comes to ratings, but they won't get unlimited grace with sports fans.

 

After the nauseating New England/Tom Brady show that lasted almost two decades, most football fans I talk with are already SICK of the Chiefs (and I live in St. Louis, which is generally considered KC territory).  They would rather have ANYONE ELSE go to the Super Bowl than watch another unending dynasty.

 

Since Taylor Swift joined their team, most people are pretty suspicious of the NFL skewing things in their favor.  The last thing they need is yet another officiating debacle that sends the most hated team in the league back to the big game.  Especially if it's against another heavily disliked franchise like the Eagles.

 

This is the biggest thing.

 

Without Swift, KC is a small market Without much fan fare. The league would want larger markets in the game. 

 

With Swift...the Chiefs have the appeal they otherwise would not have. 

[JTown]

11 minutes ago, Ya Digg? said:

 

Here’s the thing with all of these conspiracy theories. You would need all 32 teams in on the conspiracy. So 31 out of 32 teams would have to sign off on not winning the Super Bowl. 15 AFC teams would have to be fine with never even going to the Super Bowl. The amount of people who would know and never go public with the information would be huge. 
 

But sure, there’s a huge conspiracy just to get the Chiefs there 

Here is the thing:  why do 31 of 32 teams have to conspire a bad call ?  The two have nothing to do with each other.  Why were the Texans players and coaches so vocal about the penalties against them last week?

A:  the officials made obvious mistakes. 

 

Because the officials are directly impacting the outcome of games does not mean 31 of 32 teams have to conspire.  

There is no doubt that the Patriots got favorable call for 20 years.   Did the other 31 teams conspire with the league? 

No,  the league allowed it and there was nothing the other 31 teams could do.   

There is no better example of it than the Tuck rule.

 

Me eyes did not lie to me for 20 years of that BS.  

Does anyone remember Jerry Hughes unsportsmanlike penalty for slapping a Bills DB or S on the helmet?  

 

I am certain that the officials dictate who win certain games.   I have been watching since 1972.  It was never as evident as the Brady era and I am not interested in the league creating the same level of BS to assist Mahomes in creating another dynasty

[NORWOODS FOOT]

26 minutes ago, Ya Digg? said:

Ok so then 2 questions-who is this one person? Is it 1 ref each game who does this? Someone from the NFL office?

 

Also, why KC? If it’s a greed/money thing why wouldn’t someone choose Dallas/Chicago/either NY team/LA (you get the point) a bigger market team that would make a lot more money for someone? And before you mention Taylor Swift, people were calling conspiracy before her and Kelce started dating 

You asked fair questions and I will take the time later today to give you a more extensive answer. I’ll put it on the “Off The Wall” page and let you know. 
 

The short of it is that where there is an opportunity to make yourself wealthy by exploiting an unfair advantage you get plenty of intelligent and ruthless people trying to do just that. The NFL churns huge amounts of money and is directly in the crosshairs of such people. It’s a huge challenge for the league.

[ChronicAndKnuckles]

22 hours ago, boyst said:

belinda

Yes. Every time we play the Chiefs, officiating should be a serious concern. If I knew for a fact the game was going to be called fairly, I give Buffalo about a 75% chance of winning. Since it probably won’t be bc it’s the Chiefs on the road, I’m going with a 50/50 chance. To the people saying “don’t let the game get close enough for the referees to decide,” that’s going to be a tall task. The officials have the ability to extend a Chiefs 3rd and 20 to a 1st down with a little BS 5 yard defensive holding call. Also, it won’t be the amount of penalties which I’m sure their fans will point out. It will be the time & circumstances in which the flag is thrown. How many times have we seen ticky tack flags thrown to extend stalled out Chiefs drives that directly resulted in points ? I saw 2 alone against the Texans.

 

This is a serious, serious concern. Buffalo might have to convert a ton of 3rd & longs on offense along w/ causing multiple 3 & outs on the same drive w/ their defense. It’s going to be the Buffalo Bills vs the Chiefs, the refs, and the home crowd. It’s a tall task. The only good thing is the NFLs entire fan base knows this so maybe the refs won’t be as inclined to throw BS flags. Their integrity is already being questioned enough along w/ the gambling. 

Edited yesterday at 05:27 PM by ChronicAndKnuckles

[JP51]

22 hours ago, Billsfanatic8989 said:

I can just see it now. Chiefs have the ball. Down 30-28. 4th and 3 at midfield. 20 secobds left.

 

Mahomes throws a 30 yard pass for Kelce that ends up out of his reach. During this time, Kelce throws the CB down. Both the CB and Kelce fall. Ref calls PI on Bills. Chiefs run it down to two seconds. Kicker hits both uprights somehow. The ball falls through.

 

Chiefs 31-Bills 28

A LB could destroy him with a huge hit so he doesn't try it again. Would be worth the flag if it's early enough.

One of those... blast him over the bench... run to the official grab their flag... throw it on the ground and start pointing to yourself kinda plays... LOL 

17 hours ago, HOUSE said:

Taylor must be at the Superbowl, it's a given 

I am betting she is going to start asking for appearance fees...  LOL 

[All_Pro_Bills]

2 hours ago, Billsfanatic8989 said:

This is the biggest thing.

 

Without Swift, KC is a small market Without much fan fare. The league would want larger markets in the game. 

 

With Swift...the Chiefs have the appeal they otherwise would not have. 

Not sure how many Swifties watch the NFL just to get a glimpse of their idol. Or know much about the NFL or football. But the one's that do watch the Chiefs games are always excited to see Taylor's sweetheart Travis score all those home runs he gets during the season. On last week's episode of Taylor and Travis they added a new character, Caitlin Clark.

[Fleezoid]

3 hours ago, ChronicAndKnuckles said:

Yes. Every time we play the Chiefs, officiating should be a serious concern. If I knew for a fact the game was going to be called fairly, I give Buffalo about a 75% chance of winning. Since it probably won’t be bc it’s the Chiefs on the road, I’m going with a 50/50 chance. To the people saying “don’t let the game get close enough for the referees to decide,” that’s going to be a tall task. The officials have the ability to extend a Chiefs 3rd and 20 to a 1st down with a little BS 5 yard defensive holding call. Also, it won’t be the amount of penalties which I’m sure their fans will point out. It will be the time & circumstances in which the flag is thrown. How many times have we seen ticky tack flags thrown to extend stalled out Chiefs drives that directly resulted in points ? I saw 2 alone against the Texans.

 

This is a serious, serious concern. Buffalo might have to convert a ton of 3rd & longs on offense along w/ causing multiple 3 & outs on the same drive w/ their defense. It’s going to be the Buffalo Bills vs the Chiefs, the refs, and the home crowd. It’s a tall task. The only good thing is the NFLs entire fan base knows this so maybe the refs won’t be as inclined to throw BS flags. Their integrity is already being questioned enough along w/ the gambling. 

 

Exactly! I've been watching this for some time now. It's kinda how they justify it.  Sometimes the numbers are similar, but it's the timing.

[Ya Digg?]

4 hours ago, NORWOODS FOOT said:

You asked fair questions and I will take the time later today to give you a more extensive answer. I’ll put it on the “Off The Wall” page and let you know. 
 

The short of it is that where there is an opportunity to make yourself wealthy by exploiting an unfair advantage you get plenty of intelligent and ruthless people trying to do just that. The NFL churns huge amounts of money and is directly in the crosshairs of such people. It’s a huge challenge for the league.

So after reading this response, I believe that we are looking at things from 2 different directions.  I was looking at it as a league driven problem, which clearly I don't think it is.  You're looking at it from an outsider influence problem, which I will certainly agree that can be an issue.  With the amount of money that's being bet, it is certainly plausible that an outside influence can get to a ref (for example) to try and influence plays and games in a "favorable" way.  We saw it happen in the NBA with that ref several years ago, and I wouldn't be surprised if at the very least there have been NFL refs who have explored that route.  

[NewEra]

I employ several Hs and College age girls.  They are ALL chiefs fans-  only because of Swift

[NORWOODS FOOT]

15 minutes ago, Ya Digg? said:

So after reading this response, I believe that we are looking at things from 2 different directions.  I was looking at it as a league driven problem, which clearly I don't think it is.  You're looking at it from an outsider influence problem, which I will certainly agree that can be an issue.  With the amount of money that's being bet, it is certainly plausible that an outside influence can get to a ref (for example) to try and influence plays and games in a "favorable" way.  We saw it happen in the NBA with that ref several years ago, and I wouldn't be surprised if at the very least there have been NFL refs who have explored that route.  

I put my response on the Off The Wall board.

 

Thanks for having a deep and rational discussion about it. 
 

Not exactly pleasant, but somehow enjoyable. Lol

[Big Blitz]

 

[Philly McButterpants]

CBS Sports follow-on to the Warren Sharp Story (linked earlier in this thread): https://www.cbssports.com/nfl/news/chiefs-absurd-penalty-streak-in-playoffs-does-little-to-dispel-notion-that-referees-favor-kansas-city/

 

From the article:  The only teams with longer streaks in playoff history were the 1970-82 Dolphins (18) and 1984-91 Broncos (12).

 

Those that were around recall that Don Shula was head of the NFL Competition Committee during that time frame and calls always went the Phins way. 

 

Really happy to see this being called out in the week leading up to the AFCCG.

[Warriorspikes51]

There has been a very high level of scrutiny this week.  Even ESPN showing how KC has received officiating help in the playoffs

I suspect the league is aware that it will be extremely bad for them going forward if there is clear nonsense in this game 

 

 

[CoudyBills]

On 1/21/2025 at 3:13 PM, The Cincinnati Kid said:

I think they need to eliminate QB protections on slides that are late and/or in traffic. And stopping just inside the chalk is absolutely bush league from Mahomes. I get it because he gets that call, but it is such a stain on the NFL that he does it and is rewarded for it.

People need to start hitting him like Bledsoe got on the sideline.  Police the game themselves, he will stop.  

22 hours ago, stevewin said:

Also include interceptions that get wiped out by penalty

That one we know Mahomes leads by a very large margin.

[BuffaloBillyG]

I absolutely love that this has been a talking point during the week on the shows and articles. This will be the week that the refs have to reel it in. They cannot afford to give KC easy first downs on ticky tack penalties. They know they are under the microscope so to speak.

 

Now I'm not saying they will go into the game with any direction not to throw flags or with that goal in mind. But it's human nature to be on your best behavior when you know you're being watched. 

 

On the flip side of I'm coaching the Bills defense, I make darn sure they realize they will possibly be flagged for hitting Mahomes....so if you are going to make contact....make it worth the 15 yards. I'm not saying set out to injure. But give him a physical shot. Bumps bruises. Our defense is going to likely get sliced a bit. So I'll trade a 15 yard penalty and getting a shot on Mahomes over a 15 yard pass that has the opportunity to turn into something more. We know he's soft mentally. Hit him hard a few times and make him see ghosts. Make any penalties worth it.

 

 

[Amorgus]

16 hours ago, NewEra said:

I employ several Hs and College age girls.  They are ALL chiefs fans-  only because of Swift

I know at least one wife who is in the same boat. Man I can't wait for Travis to get dumped. He's not Travis Kelce, football player to most of the world, he's just "Taylor's boyfriend". 

[Warriorspikes51]

23 minutes ago, BuffaloBillyG said:

On the flip side of I'm coaching the Bills defense, I make darn sure they realize they will possibly be flagged for hitting Mahomes....so if you are going to make contact....make it worth the 15 yards. I'm not saying set out to injure. But give him a physical shot. Bumps bruises. Our defense is going to likely get sliced a bit. So I'll trade a 15 yard penalty and getting a shot on Mahomes over a 15 yard pass that has the opportunity to turn into something more. We know he's soft mentally. Hit him hard a few times and make him see ghosts. Make any penalties worth it.

 

 

uhhhhh what?  No. 

[BuffaloBillyG]

5 minutes ago, Warriorspikes51 said:

uhhhhh what?  No. 

Uhhhhh..he proved that last year after the Kelce no play. And he gets very whiny and upset when things don't go his way. It's very possible to get in his head.