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Please post your gripes, complaints, conspiracy theories, accusations, praise (ha!), etc. about NFL officials here. Let's have a thread for most of that talk rather than have it in threads all over the board.

Mothman wrote:Please post your gripes, complaints, conspiracy theories, accusations, praise (ha!), etc. about NFL officials here. Let's have a thread for most of that talk rather than have it in threads all over the board.

Every successful team is only successful on account of the refs, every unsuccessful team is only unsuccessful on account of the refs. Next question.

Jordysghost wrote: Every successful team is only successful on account of the refs, every unsuccessful team is only unsuccessful on account of the refs. Next question.

The inconsistency of calling certain plays in the NFL is getting bad. There are so many plays were things happen that are not called on for one player but not another. Take the game the other night. If Rodgers, Brady or Manning had been hit in the head like Bridgewater was the other team would have been called for a blow to the head. But Bridgewater........nah.........it's fine. But I expect that. Having Cam say the ref told him he hadn't earned the call yet does not really surprise me. I think it totally plausible from a ref.

Raptorman wrote: The inconsistency of calling certain plays in the NFL is getting bad. There are so many plays were things happen that are not called on for one player but not another. Take the game the other night. If Rodgers, Brady or Manning had been hit in the head like Bridgewater was the other team would have been called for a blow to the head. But Bridgewater........nah.........it's fine. But I expect that. Having Cam say the ref told him he hadn't earned the call yet does not really surprise me. I think it totally plausible from a ref.

Go look back at any game we played against the AFC East last year and get back to me on the whole 'It would have been called for Rodgers'. Seriously.

There is inconsistancy for sure, some crews have certain tendencies to call certain penalties, and some calls are iffy or sketchy at best, for EVERYBODY. Bad calls go in favor and against every team in the league, the refs are humans not robots, bad calls are made but trying to connect it to a conspiracy is just a cheap cop out to absolve on field responsibility.

For instance, I thought my own team was subject to an inordinate amount of agregious no calls on PI (Among others) against Detroit, time and time again our WRs for mugged and in most cases practically tackled half way down the field, did I come out crying foul about how the Refs were not going to let my team win or that it was all some pro lions conspiracy theory? No. Not even close, the refs had made it up in their mind that they were going to let the DBs and WRs fight it out, and no matter how imbalanced it seemed (very) I have the ability to keep in mind that human error is all but balanced.

Iffy calls go against 'premier' teams as well as smaller market teams, in some cases it is imbalanced in the favor of the latter, it is the nature of human error. It doesn't change the fact that WEEK IN, WEEK OUT fans from nearly EVERY fanbase in the league (yes, every single one) have fans that nitpick calls and ignore calls in their own favor in a desperate attempt to sate their own ego. Every single team.

You can almost always guarantee without fail, that every set of mental gymnastics that one fanbase will play to feel like a victim, the opposing fanbase will have a similarly large set of excuses and rationalizations. Believing what one simply wants to believe is a slippery slope.

I've said it before and I will say it again, every team that wins their division with any consistancy at all, has to deal with accusations of "The refs love the _____!" Is it really any wonder why?

Whatever the reason, in all sports, calls tend to go to premier players and their teams. Jordan got every call, Brady/Rodgers get more calls than guys like McCown, great pitchers are more likely to get the benefit of the doubt, and maybe a couple extra inches or strike zone. By and large, I think its just human nature. The only time it was so egregious that I thought it might be a conspiracy was with Jordan and the Bulls. that whole era turned out to have some sketchy things going on with the refs, but the NBA has scrambled to shovel as much mulch on it as they can. Imagine what it would do to the league if it came out that gamblers had shaped their "greatest of all time" getting his rings. Personally I believe that's what happened.

fiestavike wrote:Whatever the reason, in all sports, calls tend to go to premier players and their teams. Jordan got every call, Brady/Rodgers get more calls than guys like McCown, great pitchers are more likely to get the benefit of the doubt, and maybe a couple extra inches or strike zone. By and large, I think its just human nature. The only time it was so egregious that I thought it might be a conspiracy was with Jordan and the Bulls. that whole era turned out to have some sketchy things going on with the refs, but the NBA has scrambled to shovel as much mulch on it as they can. Imagine what it would do to the league if it came out that gamblers had shaped their "greatest of all time" getting his rings. Personally I believe that's what happened.

While their is a sliver of truth to your first statement (and this includes premier players on small market teams as well) it doesn't come into play nearly as much as many try there hardest to think. Iffy calls occur for and against every team in the league, but any time a 'premier' team wins a game, you can be damn sure the other fanbase is busy doing mental gymnastics to make sense of something that hurts them, losing. Hell scratch that, any time ANY team wins the other fanbase does that, it is the ultimate loser excuse that unfortunately everyone seems to enjoy taking part of.

There are a large amount of Packers fans that cry foul on some of the penalties incurred during our SB loss, are they on point and it was all a big conspiracy to 'win one for John'? Or are they wrong and delusional and silly and everything that fans of small market fanbases doing the same thing aren't?

I don't think it is either, I think iffy calls happen due to human error, and there is simply nothing that can be done about it, what I can't stand are fans that ignore favorable calls, nitpick unfavorable calls and generally see whatever the #### they want to see, and then cry and stamp there feet and claim the refs were on the opposing teams side.

Even the fail mary, which I challenge anybody to find a drive/game so chock full of non sensical calls as that final one, I don't believe to have been 'The refs just wanted the Packers to lose, the game is rigged.' It was iffy call after iffy call etc. followed by a insanity laden pile of crap, that chose to for some reason ignore the INITIAL call on the field, made by the ref assigned to that area of the field, in leau of a nonsensical logic defying lie perpetrated by a ref from 10 yards down the field, that they decided was inexplicably worthy of being ruled the 'initial call on the field' despite the fact that it WASN'T the initial call on the field, and yet claiming it was all some pro Seahawk anti Packers plot set in motion by the NFL would be asinine, silly, and from a sportsman view, absolutely pathetic.

fiestavike wrote:Whatever the reason, in all sports, calls tend to go to premier players and their teams. Jordan got every call, Brady/Rodgers get more calls than guys like McCown, great pitchers are more likely to get the benefit of the doubt, and maybe a couple extra inches or strike zone. By and large, I think its just human nature. The only time it was so egregious that I thought it might be a conspiracy was with Jordan and the Bulls. that whole era turned out to have some sketchy things going on with the refs, but the NBA has scrambled to shovel as much mulch on it as they can. Imagine what it would do to the league if it came out that gamblers had shaped their "greatest of all time" getting his rings. Personally I believe that's what happened.

Jordon traveled so much he had his own frequent traveling card.

Packers/ Bears game the Bears are getting hosed. Pretty much gave Packers 7 points.
10 penalties againest the Bears 2 againest Packers .

halfgiz wrote:Packers/ Bears game the Bears are getting hosed. Pretty much gave Packers 7 points.
10 penalties againest the Bears 2 againest Packers .

Yea, a terrible penalty that costed us a trip to the one. Bad spots, blah blah Its all to easy to make these excuses.

halfgiz wrote:Packers/ Bears game the Bears are getting hosed. Pretty much gave Packers 7 points.
10 penalties againest the Bears 2 againest Packers .

I saw that too. It was eerily reminiscent of the Vikings-Packers game the week before.... Even the commentators (the best in the business: Collinsworth and Michaels) were pointing out how lopsided it was. At one point they stated that 8 of 9 penalties gave them first downs when it was 3rd down. I am paraphrasing, so the precision of that may be off a bit, but the fact that the NBC commentators are underlining just how uneven the officiating is on a national holiday sure doesn't look good for the Pack or the league. Al Michaels made a joke about just making "guttural noises" when he thought a call was poor, which they did over and over. I was glad to see the Pack still lose.

Texas Vike wrote:
I saw that too. It was eerily reminiscent of the Vikings-Packers game the week before.... Even the commentators (the best in the business: Collinsworth and Michaels) were pointing out how lopsided it was. At one point they stated that 8 of 9 penalties gave them first downs when it was 3rd down. I am paraphrasing, so the precision of that may be off a bit, but the fact that the NBC commentators are underlining just how uneven the officiating is on a national holiday sure doesn't look good for the Pack or the league. Al Michaels made a joke about just making "guttural noises" when he thought a call was poor, which they did over and over. I was glad to see the Pack still lose.

I agree
final tally was 12 againest the Bears and 3 againest the Packers and I seen a LOT of holds that was never called.
Bears & Vikes season high penalties againest the Packers.

Texas Vike wrote:
I saw that too. It was eerily reminiscent of the Vikings-Packers game the week before.... Even the commentators (the best in the business: Collinsworth and Michaels) were pointing out how lopsided it was. At one point they stated that 8 of 9 penalties gave them first downs when it was 3rd down. I am paraphrasing, so the precision of that may be off a bit, but the fact that the NBC commentators are underlining just how uneven the officiating is on a national holiday sure doesn't look good for the Pack or the league. Al Michaels made a joke about just making "guttural noises" when he thought a call was poor, which they did over and over. I was glad to see the Pack still lose.

They also pointed out the two non sensical calls that costed us two TDs, but im sure you ignored that.

halfgiz wrote:
I agree
final tally was 12 againest the Bears and 3 againest the Packers and I seen a LOT of holds that was never called.
Bears & Vikes season high penalties againest the Packers.

I saw alot of holds against the Bears uncalled, oh wait, im just wrong and you guys arent, right?


LOL at the idea that every team on equal footing commit the same amount of penalties.

So is it just a given that no one from the blame the refs crew is going to have a legitimate debate and back up their beliefs under scrutiny? It sure appears that way, id love to hear what calls one believes to be incorrect and why, especially from the Vikes game, but it is starting to look like a fair balanced debate on the matter is a pipe dream and most would rather use this stance as a coping mechanism.

Personally, I'll take being free over being right any day~