Hatchet Job: Part II

KontradictioN said:

Yeah, I don't think it's fixed. I've said this maybe 100 times now: when I get visual confirmation that it is, I'm done. I don't give a damn if the Pats overcome it and move on to the Super Bowl. That will be the last second of my life that I waste on professional football. The one exception I will make is if Goodell steps down after that but, since I doubt that will happen, my Sunday afternoons will probably be freed up.

Click to expand...

I can never tell if the 'fixed' theory arises from the transition from flag happy regular season, when the non-call raises ire given the fact everything has been called, to the flag reluctant post-season, where officials tend to let the teams play and don't want flags to determine the season so blatant non-calls are not a huge surprise (e.g. the holding on the helmet catch and failure to call Manning in the grasp). The Ravens play much better in the post-season because they, more than any other team, push those limits and get away with it.

My primary answer to the tinfoil hat club is you are a fan of the most reviled team in the NFL, which is also the most successful team in the NFL. It takes one or two bad calls to change a game from a win to a loss (regardless of how good the team may be). If the winners and losers are preordained, then exactly how does one explain that result? People don't like to see the bad guys win all the time.

KontradictioN said:

Yeah, I don't think it's fixed. I've said this maybe 100 times now: when I get visual confirmation that it is, I'm done. I don't give a damn if the Pats overcome it and move on to the Super Bowl. That will be the last second of my life that I waste on professional football. The one exception I will make is if Goodell steps down after that but, since I doubt that will happen, my Sunday afternoons will probably be freed up.

Click to expand...

Fixed is strong. Biased/slanted is probably a more accurate way to describe people's take on officiating.

And by people's, I mean the fan bases of all 32 teams thinking their teams are getting screwed.

I don't think it's fixed, sure they'll probably get more favorable calls but, if they wanted to fix it they could have easily stopped us flagging Butler or Browner for a BS penalty in the Super Bowl.

I also don't think it's fixed.

If there was ever a time when "The Cesspool" was going to screw us royally this season, it was during the Jet's game in NJ, when Fitz was strip-sacked for a fumble (or incomplete pass). The play was extremely close. The ref went under the hood (with audio communication to the Cesspool), came back onto the field, and ruled in the Pats favor. It was a game changer. It was razor-thin. It was Pats/Jets. We got the call. This game helped end the Jets season.

For me, the communication from the field to the Cesspool is troublesome. But, for now, unless Blandino was on the can or something, I think we're going to be okay. I sure hope I'm right!

A Defiant Goose said:

My answer is, because they only "think" it's fixed, nobody really "knows." So you watch with a sliver of hope that maybe you're wrong.

Click to expand...

Also, there's fixed and there's fixed.

I don't think anyone other than the true tinfoilers thinks the NFL is setting things up to guarantee that NE can't win.

The NFL is doing "thumb on the scale" stuff, not guarantees. Examples: noting the things that NE does better than other teams and making those "points of emphasis"; using NE players in videos given to officials to illustrate penalties; downgrading refs on close calls correctly called in favor of NE; upgrading refs on close calls incorrectly called against NE; Blandino leading the ref when he communicates with the ref; etc.

None of that requires scores of people to have to keep quiet. The only people who need to keep quiet to hide it is Roger and Blandino.

Let's say that in a fair contest NE's chance of winning is 60%. But because of NFL machinations NE's chance of winning is reduced to 40%. Is that fixed? Yeah. Is it still worth watching? Yeah, because they still have a 40% chance of winning which is quite non-trivial. Plus, if they do win it's that much more sweet.

XLIX said:

Yeah. If Brady wins, no one will watch the Super Bowl. Probably won't even sell out.
The officiating in the last Denver game was terrible, but if that was as bad as you've ever seen, then you must watch very, very little football.

Click to expand...

Manning endorses a lot of products that are endorsed by the NFL. And, incase you haven't noticed, I don't think the NFL likes Brady or BB that much. . But that's just a hunch. If you don't believe that, then you haven't read many Wells reports.

KontradictioN said:

I've asked that a few times. The most common answer is "Belichick and Brady". I still don't understand the point. If the fix is in, the NFL is going to make sure they don't win another one. The conclusion I've come to is that people don't actually believe it's fixed despite what they say.

Click to expand...

You could argue if the fix is in then the only reason the Patriots have won 4 SBs is because it was fixed.

Silver Blue&Red said:

Manning endorses a lot of products that are endorsed by the NFL. And, incase you haven't noticed, I don't think the NFL likes Brady or BB that much. . But that's just a hunch. If you don't believe that, then you haven't read many Wells reports.

Click to expand...

You have a point but that's a whole separate matter.

Fact is the Super Bowl is going to get incredible ratings no matter what. If bet that the people who care about ratings would prefer the Patriots. You have equal star power at QB but Boston is a much larger market. Also, while the media would play up Manning's last hurrah storyline, fact is that nothing drives ratings more than having a villain that everyone can root against. Patriots got that role down pat.

I waste time reading other teams fan forums and nothing says the Pats get all the calls more then sore losers of other teams. They all do it.

I start to believe them too!

Following up on my previous post in this thread...

Here's another way/example the NFL "fixes" things...

Hochuli's record doing playoff games indicates that home teams do better with him than they do with other refs.

So guess which road team's game the NFL assigns Hochuli too?

I look at it more as in the officials changing the natural outcomes of games. I break it down into normal gameplay, acts of God and officiating. Fumbles, dropped passes, interceptions, sacks etc are all gameplay. More recently the Edleman catch in the KC game was an act of God.

Officiating bias cannot overcome the last one. However it can help to impede the former categories as we saw firsthand in the Denver game to great detriment.

I love talking about the NFL conspiracy!

XLIX said:

If you think it is fixed, then why are you watching?

Click to expand...

Same reason I watch everything else on TV. It's all about the compelling storylines. duh.

QuantumMechanic said:

Also, there's fixed and there's fixed.

I don't think anyone other than the true tinfoilers thinks the NFL is setting things up to guarantee that NE can't win.

Click to expand...

It has nothing to do with NE, they are just another clog in the system. The NFL will do anything, I mean ANYTHING to maximize profit. See the Tebow's last season in Denver. Are we going to pretend that "Tebow-time" was not invented and carried out by the league, marketed by the media, and therefore stuck in the minds of millions. Are we really convinced that an average defense, like Denver was that season, really held down all those teams, for Tebow to pull of the ultimate comeback, every time. Are we really going to fall for the fact that Osweiler goes down, just before the playoffs? Think about it.

The game against KC and the Seahawks vs Carolina game, was one of the more obvious examples of how the league fixes games for ratings, money, and entertainment purposes. KC is a more aggressive defense, they made no attempt to get at Brady, last week and Smith, who has an average of 27 passing attempts a game, throws 50 times. They showed no commitment to the running game, which has been the ultimate weapon for KC all season. Time management was suspect too. They wanted Brady vs Manning.

There is a system to fixing these games, the refs are the last resort. The owners are well aware of this situation, so are the coaches, I'm still unsure of the players though. Coaches get paid big bucks, to call suspect plays, knowing the outcome. In some cases they succeed, in some cases the players get lucky and score. Do you think that it was by chance, the Pats were facing Seattle in the SB last year? Brady was supposed to lose to the Ravens, but he didn't. No amount of fixing was going to help Indy beat NE. So GB ended up throwing the game against Seattle, though personally, I believe GB vs NE would've been a better match up. The NFL went out of its way to make that sorry Seahawks team, look like one of the greatest defenses ever. They embarrassed Manning and they were supposed to beat Tom Brady. Brady (or McDaniels) did his part in keeping the score close. Butler, the rookie off the bench, didn't get the memo about making Wilson look strong or like the "hero."

Brady would have to spend the aftermath getting tanked by the national media, a humiliation tactic, I'm sure, designed by the league. Brady has become an even bigger icon, because of it. So what will they do now? Use Brady to create, new stars or use Brady to maximize profit before their ish hits the fan?

One story the league capitalizes on is the Brady and Manning rivalry. The question is, are they ready to crown Tom Brady as the best QB that ever played the game, or do they want to return balance to the rivalry, by giving Manning another ring.

AndyJohnson said:

You could argue if the fix is in then the only reason the Patriots have won 4 SBs is because it was fixed.

Click to expand...

I have accepted the notion that the NFL built the dynasty and now they are tearing it down. The Pats were not supposed to beat Indy last season. The league wanted their Wilson vs Luck rivalry, after all their stories mirror that of Manning vs Brady. That's why they tried to torch Brady with Deflategate, while shoving Luck's alleged "greatness" down our throats.

In exchange for helping Goodell recclaim his authority and look like a hero with the owners, he has promised Kraft that his team of game fixers to let the Patriots win SB50.

LivinLovin&Breathin_Brady said:

I love talking about the NFL conspiracy!


Same reason I watch everything else on TV. It's all about the compelling storylines. duh.

Click to expand...

That makes no sense. Where is the satisfaction when your team wins if it's all just fixed?

LivinLovin&Breathin_Brady said:

I have accepted the notion that the NFL built the dynasty and now they are tearing it down. The Pats were not supposed to beat Indy last season. The league wanted their Wilson vs Luck rivalry, after all their stories mirror that of Manning vs Brady. That's why they tried to torch Brady with Deflategate, while shoving Luck's alleged "greatness" down our throats.

Click to expand...

So you think there is a wide ranging conspiracy in the NFL and the predetermine who will win? And that the Patriots didn't earn their wins, they were scripted?
Nah, but keep your tin foil hat on just in case.

IMO, Super Champions win on the road against good teams in adverse conditions.

Our 2015 New England Patriots will go to Denver, play against a good team, overcome any incompetent referee calls / non-calls, and advance to Super Bowl 50. They will take care of business. Our Defense will pressure the Broncos into mistakes. Our Offense will score enough points to overcome "a Fix".

Coloradans will wring their hands and gnash their teeth.

The "Other 31" will quake.

"The Cesspool" at 345 Park Ave. will writhe in agony.

I must confess I had my tin foil hat all made and ready for the start of the season. There were the increased OPI calls against Gronk which Belichick said that he thought the OPI calls were more consistent this year. The only game I thought was one sided and biased was the Denver game. The other games, I thought were all fairly officiated.

I think our chances of winning is 50/50. Manning is healthy. Even though his physical abilities have diminished he is still pretty good at picking apart defenses and getting the offense into the right calls.
They are the #1 seed, playing at home. With the advantage of crowd noise and the effects of the altitude, they have a built in advantage that the Patriots must over come. Almost half the players on the Patriots that will be playing have injuries of one kind or another. The injuries to our LB's is my main concern. If the Pat's can't stop the run, it's going to be hard to win. Even with all that, the Patriots are considered slight favorites.

Excuse me, while I put my tin foil hat on for this next part. I do not trust the League. I firmly believe they do not want the Patriots to repeat as SB champions and will do everything in their power to keep that from happening. They have their referees of choice in place. I imagine they have hand picked the people who can haul players off the field if they think they concussed. Edelman beware, make sure you don't stagger after a big hit. I thought when they said they were going to take PSI reading during the regular season, that the doctored results would be leaked during the post season. Hard to say what the League and their media favorites have in store. Hopefully I am wrong and can use my tin foil hat as a party hat to celebrate the Pats winning the SB again.

Todd Bradley said:

Jeeze, take the tin foil hat off.

Corrente isn't even reffing these Championship Games. It's either Vinovich or Hochuli and each crew will be an All-Star crew so to speak, mixed together.

Click to expand...

The Broncos haven't lost a game with Ed Hochuli officiating in this millennium. You could make a not-entirely-crazy case that just assigning him to this game at all is a form of the league trying to create its desired outcome.