Defending the Zebras?

[Pats_AZ]

Has there been any comments/apologies issued for the disgusting excuse of officiating we all witness this past Sunday from the NFL or the Commish? I'm curious what they say/think.

 

[ironwasp]

Has there been any comments/apologies issued for the disgusting excuse of officiating we all witness this past Sunday from the NFL or the Commish? I'm curious what they say/think.

From the NFL: We humbly apologise to all fans for the poor quality of the officiating last weekend. Our officials went out with clear orders and an understanding of their duties and responsibilities towards the game. And although we appreciate they gave it everything. It was not enough and the Patriots still won.

We here at the NFL believe we, and our officials, have learned the lessons from last weekend, and will endeavour not to make the same errors again in late January. We are also investigating the implementation as soon as possible of certain rule changes we believe will assist in our effort to ensure that the forces of goodness and light win out this season.

 

[psychoPat]

From the NFL: We humbly apologise to all fans for the poor quality of the officiating last weekend. Our officials went out with clear orders and an understanding of their duties and responsibilities towards the game. And although we appreciate they gave it everything. It was not enough and the Patriots still won.

....

I do hope that whenever someone finds out when supervisor of officials Mike Pereira schedules his "question time" on NFLN
... they'll alert us here.

Should be a good one!

 

[Patsfanin Philly]

I do hope that whenever someone finds out when supervisor of officials Mike Pereira schedules his "question time" on NFLN
... they'll alert us here.

Should be a good one!

Ask and yee shall receive...

http://www.nfl.com/nflnetwork/shows.../programs/totalaccess&subjectType=totalaccess

NFL Vice President of Officiating Mike Pereira contributes each Wednesday during the season his "Official Review" segment, providing viewers insight into the close calls from the preceding weekend action.

7:00PM EST

I'm just going by the NFL Network schedule... The Commish might be too embarrassed to let him come on and spin disinformation like Baghdad Bob..... though if he were going to admit a mistake, it's more likely since the Patriots won the game.

 

[BB_dynasty]

I don't understand anything these days. The game was so hyped it was crazy, every other story on ESPN was about the pats/colts game. I haven't seen more than 30 seconds of material on the game after it was over. No comments on the officials. Had the officials been in the pats favor we would hear nothing else.

This shows how good the pats really are. Somone tried to fix the game and the pats still won.

 

[chrisfx811]

I'm sure they'll spin every replay sand point to something irrelevant, saying that the call's were tough but justified.

 

[Patters]

I'm not a gambler, but the one thing that makes those calls suspicious is that the refs seemed to do all they could to prevent the Pats from beating the spread. Once they accomplished that, late in the fourth quarter, they stopped making calls against the Pats. One wonders what would have happened if, with 2 minutes left, Brady had tried to throw downfield to get into FG range (not that he should have).

 

[JoeSixPat]

I'll defend them to a point... I mean, it can't be easy working at Footlocker all week and then being at one's best for an NFL game on Sunday.

 

[FrontSeven]

Had the officials been in the pats favor we would hear nothing else.

That tells you how defeated the rest of the NFL is. When the league or fans turn their back on bad officiating in a game of this caliber it's because they knew they NEEDED it and they don't want to admit that they got it, and still got their asses whipped.

 

[NEPat]

I'm not a gambler, but the one thing that makes those calls suspicious is that the refs seemed to do all they could to prevent the Pats from beating the spread. Once they accomplished that, late in the fourth quarter, they stopped making calls against the Pats. One wonders what would have happened if, with 2 minutes left, Brady had tried to throw downfield to get into FG range (not that he should have).

I think the officials woud've tackled Gostkowski to prevent him from beating the spread

Seriously, all these conspiracy theories about the officials are ridiculous. They made some horrible calls and were generally just bad. Not because of Vegas, or hatred of the Patiots, or Goodell twirling his evil moustache...just bad.

 

[Water Boy]

I'm not a gambler, but the one thing that makes those calls suspicious is that the refs seemed to do all they could to prevent the Pats from beating the spread. Once they accomplished that, late in the fourth quarter, they stopped making calls against the Pats. One wonders what would have happened if, with 2 minutes left, Brady had tried to throw downfield to get into FG range (not that he should have).

I believe it is very plausible that the refs were involved in a gambling fix. What makes this more interesting that a vast majority of the money was on the Patriots. On Sportsbook.com 90% of bettors took the Patriots, but the line never moved from -5.5.

Its happened in the NBA and there's every reason to believe it happend here.

 

[PatsFanInVa]

I will say that even Colts fans at work (as well as the usual Skins and other fans) all agree the officiating was heinous, and all biased toward the Colts.

 

[ATippett56]

Seriously, all these conspiracy theories about the officials are ridiculous.

Oh really? How do you know for certain?

 

[Bill Belichick]

it is amusing how none of the supposed controversial sports talk shows commented on the refs- at all. this was one of the most horrendously officiated games in recent history. the media in this country has a shady agenda... watch out..

 

[emoney_33]

I believe it is very plausible that the refs were involved in a gambling fix. What makes this more interesting that a vast majority of the money was on the Patriots. On Sportsbook.com 90% of bettors took the Patriots, but the line never moved from -5.5.

Its happened in the NBA and there's every reason to believe it happend here.

90%!? hmmmm

 

[NEPat]

Oh really? How do you know for certain?

Which conspiracy theory do you believe? That the refs called the game the way they did because of Vegas? Or that it was NFL mandated because they hate the Pats? Yes, I believe both are completely ridiculous.

It's not like bad officiating doesn't happen on a weekly basis in the NFL. Especially with regard to pass interference, especially when we're talking about the Colts who have kicked and screamed about pass intereference by the Pats for so long that I'm sure the officials are hyper aware of it. Plus, didn't Simms and Nantz say that the crew on Sunday was known for being ticky tacky with calling PI? Put that all together and you get some bad calls.

But sure, it's much easier to believe that everyone is out to screw the Pats. Please.

 

[ATippett56]

Which conspiracy theory do you believe? That the refs called the game the way they did because of Vegas?

Tell that to the NBA referees who were busted THIS YEAR for gambling on NBA games.

 

[PatsSteve1]

FWIW, I believe the NFL reviews every game for ref calls. Maybe every play whether a call was made or not. They often issue an apology for bad calls like Hobbs got last year. I don't expect anything major to happen, like a public whipping in Times Square, but I expect apologies and these refs to get bad enoug grades that they don't do playoff games this year.

 

[NEPat]

Tell that to the NBA referees who were busted THIS YEAR for gambling on NBA games.

What "referees"? It was one ref, Donaghy, who was busted. It wasn't like they uncovered a gambling ring.

Of course can anyone ever say with 100% certainty that it never happens in the NFL? Of course not. I can't say with 100% certainty that we landed on the moon either since I wasn't on the moon to witness the event, but I'll still call the people who think we didn't a bunch of conspiracy theorists.

There were some bad calls that went against the Patriots. That sucked. Instead of blaming the officials who are known to call PI, who are officiating the Pats against the Colts when we know how much Polian likes to whine about PI, and just laying the blame on their bad job, we have to make ourselves look like idiots by crying about larger forces aligned against us? Just move on.

 

[ATippett56]

There were some bad calls that went against the Patriots.

Some .... No! Numerous ... Yes!