When you say “the fix is in” what do you mean?

[SHOWTIME15]

seriously, for anyone who thinks the league office has no pats agenda, think back to when ray anderson high-fived a jets official after they beat us in the playoffs in 2012. also, why didn't pash release the correct PSI data as soon as they got it? it's because they wanted deflategate to be an issue heading into the super bowl so NE would be distracted and lose.

 

[JarOfMayo51]

I don't think Goodell is competent enough in his job to pull off something like this.

Like everything else he does, he'd probably find a way to screw this up too.

The one thing that Goodell is good at doing in his job is screwing over the Patriots

 

[ViperGTS]

seriously, for anyone who thinks the league office has no pats agenda, think back to when ray anderson high-fived a jets official after they beat us in the playoffs in 2012. also, why didn't pash release the correct PSI data as soon as they got it? it's because they wanted deflategate to be an issue heading into the super bowl so NE would be distracted and lose.

It's funny. The evidence, some strongly circumstantial other just circumstantial, is acknowledged but never fully seen as the proof. It's what they say, what they do, and how they do it that tells you what the deal is.

 

[Gwedd]

When I say "the Fix Is In" I mean this:

Someone (I'm looking at you, Roger) passed down the word that it would be "a good thing" if New England lost to Denver, and had troubles the rest of the season. Now, Goodell isn't going to leave any trace of his involvement in this. He's going to have a face-to-face with someone from the front office, and that someone is going to have words with Blandino regarding the referees and Blandino, or someone HE speaks to, is going to have a sit down with the head of the crew that's reffing the Denver game.

The word will be passed along that "it would be appreciated, and remembered" if the refs could "shade" the calls so that New England got calls often while Denver, perhaps, could see a few calls NOT get called. If you catch my drift.

That's the way these things work. There is never ANYTHING put down in writing, or on tape, or in any way remembered so that the top guys can get snagged up in all of it. It's just "passed along" and those lower down on the ladder understand the nuance. They get what is implied in the conversation(s), and know what needs to be done. They also know what happens to snitches.

This is the way the mob works, and it's the way that big organizations work when they desire a specific result. You make certain that those who need to know something understand what that something is, and you very publicly see that they are rewarded for their following orders. Oh, not right away, but down the line. You never make it too obvious, or over the top, but you see that everyone understands what happens when things go the way you want then to, and what happens when they don't.

So I'll be watching VERY carefully to see how the refs do during the Philly game. They were demoted because of "bad" calls during the 49's game. You'd be pretty darned naive to think that they haven't been told how they could redeem themselves, you know? Philly needs a win. Let's see what happens.

 

[Saint Pat]

"When officials make suspiciously egregiously incorrect calls at important moments of the game that if not directly then indirectly leads to an outcome of a game favored by those in the nfl league office."

-Saint Pat, first day of December 2015

With all the injuries and the inclement weathers, the Patriots were not at the best. Nevertheless, we were clearly the superior team and did enough to win the game. There was a mistake by the special team and defense couldn't stop the run. The offense struggled to move the ball late in the game because receivers and they couldn't run the ball. But the Patriots made enough plays to win the game:

1. Getting a first down with less than 3 minutes left in regulation--> only to be nullified by a terrible OPI penalty against Gronk.
2. Sacking Osweiler on first down and moving the Broncos offense back when they needed TD to win--> only to be nullified by a phantom holding call.
3. Getting to O.T. with terrible clock management by the officials--> only to have them swallow their whistles on holding penalty by Talib.

 

[ThatllMoveTheChains!!!]

That there was bias against the Patriots. I don't know how or why but it was there.

Most likely the NFL's internal communications match the external ones. Something along the lines of "Watch out for those cheaty New Cheatland Cheatriots and their cheaty cheating!!!".

 

[tuckeverlasting]

all this talk about the refs bias towards the pats brings me back to that phoney baloney interview by kravitz and that ref from indy.... baltz talking about mcnally like he had seen him a hundred times. come to find out, baltz had only come in contact with mcnally a couple of times. that, combined with the officiating in other important games for the pats, i just can't ignore that there is something there.

 

[TheBostonStraggler]

We're in litigation with the league. Goodell has proven to be an egomaniac that enjoys abusing his authority.

You really think these questionable calls taking over the games are just coincidental and not league shenanigans?

When this was discussed in a thread just before week 1, there were some posters who scoffed at the suggestion. Some of them openly ridiculed people for believing it. 'The refs are a union. They are independent and the league can't control them', 'the NFL would never do that, never risk something like this', 'it is sad some fans believe this kind of conspiracy nonsense' (these comments are not verbatim, it is paraphrasing).
Me and many others posted, sorta, what QM precisely posted here.
The league wasn't going to explicitly say "get the Patriots", it would be much less explicit and by other means. Here is an example I suspect: League tells refs to watch TE OPI. They provide video examples (let's say 6 examples). They use Gronkowski in 3 or 4 of the examples. They probably do a reminder of the point of empahsis for crews before Patriot games. Now, bottom line, they have specifically put Gronkowski in the mind of the ref crews. They have also sent an unwritten, unspoken, untraceable message about what player/team they are eyeing.

Anyone watching Gronk's OPIs (and seeing other TEs) and thinks 'the league would never do something like that' is plainly out in left field. Anyone watching what the league did with deflategate and think they are not capable of outcome 'coaxing' is out in left field. Anyone watching how the league has operated the last few years and thinks 'they wouldn't do that just because they don't like what X is doing' is plainly out in left field.
The things in their control will be used by them to show the tail doesn't wag the dog. That you fall in line or you fall far back from the line. And because they have carte blanche from a just as slimy MSM, full support of a majority of owners, and undoubtedly a sense of entitlement within their echo chamber, they do not need to fear using these unspoken/subtleties/not so subtle actions to give 'chop chop' to the Patriots. From ref points of emphasis and crew assignments etc, to NFL artwork/promos, to whatever. I can't even conceive of why there are those who would doubt the league isn't capable of this....

 

[Joker]

DO YOUR OWN BALL PRESSURE EXPERIMENTS!!!!

If you are too broke to afford an official NFL ball, an official/unofficial gauge and an outdoor thermometer, PM me. I will YOU what you need if you PROMISE to SHOW the results after EVERY game this month.

It's time to decapitate this goddamned moron at 345 Park avenue.

 

[Gwedd]

What Joker Says. Goes double for me. I will personally buy a steak dinner for the man or woman who posts the evidence that brings down Goodell and his band of thug monkeys.

 

[Observer]

Deflategate itself shows that there is extraordinary bias against the patriots from the NFL.

 

[RayClay]

What Joker Says. Goes double for me. I will personally buy a steak dinner for the man or woman who posts the evidence that brings down Goodell and his band of thug monkeys.

Or just buy Goodell a stake dinner.

 

[Joker]

well done...

 

[Mike the Brit]

Deflategate itself shows that there is extraordinary bias against the patriots from the NFL.

No doubt.

It's the route from the League Office to the refs' decisions that is the open question.

Pretty much everything that comes out of psychological research these days is about how bias affects decisions. And it does that particularly when decisions are made instantaneously, as they obviously have to be on the football field.

There are two ways to explain the atrocious refereeing that don't involve a direct "fix". There's the bias that comes from a home crowd. It's well attested in sports. Then there's a "bias for the underdog" -- that goes easy when a team is coming from behind (the non-holding calls in the Game That Must Not Be Mentioned).

But I think that there must have been a fix when Manning and Na-Polian were together in Indy. The bias in the reffing made the games un-watchable, even when the Patriots weren't playing.

Here's how it can happen.

Referees make decisions instantly, but they know that they are subject to review. What's more, teams are able to give feedback to the League after games. It's rumoured that Polian did that constantly and aggressively -- and he had a lot of power. We all know about the "emphasis" change after the Pats handed the Colts their tails.

We resent the awkward, complaining, in-your-face person we work with, but it's clear that they get their way much more often than the "good soldier".

And, beyond that, there surely can't be a doubt that the refs have been told to "look out for" OPI from "large and aggressive receivers and tight ends".

 

[Clonamery]

And, beyond that, there surely can't be a doubt that the refs have been told to "look out for" OPI from "large dancing Caucasian tight ends who do a lot of commercials for Dunkin Donuts and JetBlue".

Fixed it for you (direct from the League Office).

 

[RobertWeathers]

What Joker Says. Goes double for me. I will personally buy a steak dinner for the man or woman who posts the evidence that brings down Goodell and his band of thug monkeys.

I'll make the Ex-Lax brownie sundae

 

[Seacoast Fan]

If a year ago at this time you had summarized Framegate in three or four succint paragraphs and then asked me if it could happen in the NFL I would have said, no way.
And yet.
So yeah, I believe the fix is in.
Asking me exactly how it works is like asking me how a brood of flea-ridden, diseased-infested rats spend their days when they are not scurrying around looking for carrion to eat. I can't answer that question with any specificity, either.

 

[Seacoast Fan]

DO YOUR OWN BALL PRESSURE EXPERIMENTS!!!!

If you are too broke to afford an official NFL ball, an official/unofficial gauge and an outdoor thermometer, PM me. I will YOU what you need if you PROMISE to SHOW the results after EVERY game this month.

It's time to decapitate this goddamned moron at 345 Park avenue.

As i said in another thread, Joker , before Framegate I didnt believe your conspiracy theory.
Now?
You should change your screen name to Nostradamus.

 

[QuantumMechanic]

As i said in another thread, Joker , before Framegate I didnt believe your conspiracy theory.
Now?
You should change your screen name to Nostradamus.

That's another reason I hate Goodell. For forcing me to take Joker seriously.

 

[sb1]

Im not that concerned about bias to be honest.

Probably in the minority but I think if the perception is out there among general NFL fans and the media that there is a bias against NE - and we are seeing some evidence that perception is starting to form- then the NFL will put a stop to whatever is driving it really quickly. They don't want any sympathy for a team and QB they're still trying to get in court.

And they do care about perception and the narrative as we saw with the 11 of 12 thing...