Defending the Zebras?

[Patriotic Fervor]

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.

No, they don't. The fact that that apology was news because it happens so infrequently. It's very infrequency was why it was considered newsworthy.

That blown call, and the Polamalu one involving the Steelers, elicited numerous comments from the pundits because it hardly ever happens. I can remember one wag stating it must've killed the league office to issue the Polamalu mea culpa, and the only reason it was done and made public was because the Steelers won.

But, yes, the officials are reviewed and graded on each game's effort. Who knows how far back this pushed Parry and his crew?

 

[ironwasp]

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.

I agree with you. I'm only a conspiracy theorist while watching re-runs of the X-Files, but the officiating on Sunday tested my belief in the fairness of the league to the limit it was so poor and so one-sidedly poor.

Tom Curran makes the point in a link someone posted on here last night in his column, that when things get as bad as they did on Sunday there are bound to be people questioning the integrity of the officials as the incompetence excuse really only explains Sunday's debacle so far, and certainly not to the satisfaction of everyone.

 

[PatsFanInVa]

I'm this close to believing the "League wants the Pats to lose" theory, myself, but just step back from the ledge and put it in the category of "unsolved mysteries."

I can't get away from the fact that it's not coincidence to have that many bad calls, all against the "evil" visitors.

Of course, if it's primarily Donaghy, and he's got a bad track record or is new, I could see pure incompetence and being cowed by the crowd (real or artificial), as explanations. Not good explanations, but explanations. In which case, they need to put his ass back in college or high school ball.

Truth? In my gut, I think this is turning into a WWE style scripting of matchups. You don't determine the winner, but you try to affect the outcome at the edges, at least as far as the Pats are concerned.

My brain knows there's not enough evidence to support that contention 100%. Wouldn't hold up in court.

But I think it's just as hard to defend the premise that nothing's going on as the premise that there's a conspiracy.

PFnV

 

[sdaniels7114]

I don't see why the league would want the Pats to lose. I'd buy it maybe if they were still perceived as the goody two shoes who just put the team first and win each week in boring fashion; but the gangsta image is new and fresh, and lets face it, people love to hate more than they love to love. The NFL got more miles out of everyone hatin' on the Cowboys in the 90's than they did from everyone loving the Niners in the 80's. So I can see the league nudging the Pat's image towards the dark side when possible; but they'd risk everything if they fixed games.