[Spedizzo]

Just my opinion the league has no "absolute" power in who moves on. Just think they do have strings pulled at times to "influence" outcomes to get what they want. Personally I'm not saying Detroit didn't blow it on their own and had definitely had a shot to win. But it just takes a couple moves in a game to tilt things enough. They have to be somewhat subtle about it. However there was zero justification in picking up that flag.

Exactly

A couple of holding or illegal contact calls (which every play has to some extent) here and there can COMPLETELY influence a game and kill a team's momentum

When a team has a 40 yard run or completion that becomes a 10 yard loss and repeat of down, it fukks with you... or in this game, a blatant pass interference where the defender is not playing the ball and essentially tackles the receiver, and the flag is PICKED UP??? that ref must have not gotten the memo

then on the following drive, what was there like 4 penalties on the Lions, most of which gave the Cowboys a first down when it was third down and incomplete?

and this is coming from someone who would love to see the Cowboys beat the Packers... but I do not like that ending at all and I know a lot of other people who watched the game from an unbiased perspective and felt the same

[Booya711]

And if you do not think the NFL didn't want the Cowboys to make a deep run in the playoffs with all the buzz around them this year then you are nuts

Refs cannot rig or fix a game, but they sure as fukkk can influence one and they did

been proven that refs can fix a game. See Tim Donaghy in NBA

[jizay]

I'm still with the guys against it being PI. On the left, just say that the refs missed a hold earlier in the play. Shirt grabs happen 10-15 times a game. On the right, yeah he put his hand on the left shoulder. He also took it back off. Show a picture at the moment the ball hit the defender and the case for picking the flag up looks much better. If that's enough contact for you to say it's a crucial PI against the D (and basically give Detroit the game), then that's where we disagree.

Then again, you can argue that the refs have made crucial calls in the secondary all year to decide games, so maybe it's consistent to do so now. I just think that's been completely ruining the game.

[Spedizzo]

been proven that refs can fix a game. See Tim Donaghy in NBA

that is true, I meant moreso that I don't fully believe the Lions/Cowboys game was rigged in this instance, just moreso influenced by the calls, but who the hell knows

NBA is a completely different animal. Every drive to the rim can be called or not called. Who knows anything anymore

[Booya711]

that is true, I meant moreso that I don't fully believe the Lions/Cowboys game was rigged in this instance, just moreso influenced by the calls, but who the hell knows

NBA is a completely different animal

you either get the calls or you don't. Every drive to the rim can be called or not called. sports is sports entertainment

Quality post dizzo...agreed 100%

[jizay]

I'm still with the guys against it being PI. On the left, just say that the refs missed a hold earlier in the play. Shirt grabs happen 10-15 times a game. On the right, yeah he put his hand on the left shoulder. He also took it back off. Show a picture at the moment the ball hit the defender and the case for picking the flag up looks much better. If that's enough contact for you to say it's a crucial PI against the D (and basically give Detroit the game), then that's where we disagree.

Then again, you can argue that the refs have made crucial calls in the secondary all year to decide games, so maybe it's consistent to do so now. I just think that's been completely ruining the game.

Actually, here, I'll do it for you:


Totally OK with no PI here. I agree with everyone, however, that it was bizarre to pick up the flag that late and without really an explanation.

[jizay]

I'm still with the guys against it being PI. On the left, just say that the refs missed a hold earlier in the play. Shirt grabs happen 10-15 times a game. On the right, yeah he put his hand on the left shoulder. He also took it back off. Show a picture at the moment the ball hit the defender and the case for picking the flag up looks much better. If that's enough contact for you to say it's a crucial PI against the D (and basically give Detroit the game), then that's where we disagree.

Then again, you can argue that the refs have made crucial calls in the secondary all year to decide games, so maybe it's consistent to do so now. I just think that's been completely ruining the game.

Here's the best gif:


Sorry boys, that's not enough contact to call PI there. You can't cry if the refs don't hand Detroit by flagging that.

[opie1988]

Here's the best gif:


Sorry boys, that's not enough contact to call PI there. You can't cry if the refs don't hand Detroit by flagging that.

Not even close.

Bunch of sore losing whiners here.

We're talking about a Detroit team that scored 3 fukkin points the entire 2nd half, being led by a guy that's fukkin 0-18 all time on the road against winning teams.

Do you honestly feel like the NFL needed to rig this game to help Detroit lose??

0-18!! Unreal.

[Big Bear]

opie i think your boys will beat Green Bay.

No Chance Aaron Rodgers is 100% for this game. He could barely walk last week.

[TheMoneyShot]

Here's the best gif:


Sorry boys, that's not enough contact to call PI there. You can't cry if the refs don't hand Detroit by flagging that.

This comes from NFL.com rule book. Call it by the book for 60 minutes. Not whenever you feel like it. (a) sums it up

Actions that constitute defensive pass interference include but are not limited to:

(a) Contact by a defender who is not playing the ball and such contact restricts the receiver’s opportunity to make the catch.

(b) Playing through the back of a receiver in an attempt to make a play on the ball.

(c) Grabbing a receiver’s arm(s) in such a manner that restricts his opportunity to catch a pass.

(d) Extending an arm across the body of a receiver thus restricting his ability to catch a pass, regardless of whether the defender is playing the ball.

(e) Cutting off the path of a receiver by making contact with him without playing the ball.

(f) Hooking a receiver in an attempt to get to the ball in such a manner that it causes the receiver’s body to turn prior to the ball arriving.

Actions that do not constitute pass interference include but are not limited to:

(a) Incidental contact by a defender’s hands, arms, or body when both players are competing for the ball, or neither player is looking for the ball. If there is any question whether contact is incidental, the ruling shall be no interference.

(b) Inadvertent tangling of feet when both players are playing the ball or neither player is playing the ball.

(c) Contact that would normally be considered pass interference, but the pass is clearly uncatchable by the involved players.

(d) Laying a hand on a receiver that does not restrict the receiver in an attempt to make a play on the ball.

(e) Contact by a defender who has gained position on a receiver in an attempt to catch the ball.

[opie1988]

Hitchens couldn't turn his head to play the ball. The WR had ahold of his face mask.

No PI was 1000% the right call.

Good to see the refs get together and get it right.

Well done.

[boomer62]

It's a disgrace. All the hard work the Lions did this year. All for a GD spread.

I can't even enjoy my home team product anymore as a fan. It's a GD business!!!

That's why I don't care to go to the games. Pay for a seat?? For what??? A rig job?

STF up then. Stop posting and gambling on fixed games....want some KLEENEX.??

[boomer62]

Refs were told Dallas has to win the game. They helped Dallas in their go ahead TD drive and killed Detroit's potential go ahead drive. If you are a ref and make $1000 per game and Roger Goodell who makes $20 million dollars a year tells you what to call what will you do?

How old are you?? Yeah, it was all planned out and practiced all week so the game comes down to that play and worked to perfection. Man I wish I had your insight and intelligence.

[mcdonae101]

Not even close.

Bunch of sore losing whiners here.

We're talking about a Detroit team that scored 3 fukkin points the entire 2nd half, being led by a guy that's fukkin 0-18 all time on the road against winning teams.

Do you honestly feel like the NFL needed to rig this game to help Detroit lose??

0-18!! Unreal.

and we r talking about a dallas team that was held scoreless for 28 minutes, and a qb who is 2-6 or 3-6 in win or go home games. I hope Dallas beats greenbay just cuz I have a lot of cowboy fan friends(I would b a fan if Jerry didn't own the team) who claim they will beat Seattle again in Seattle, and I consider that an impossibility(plus I am a huge Seahawks fan). And on the pass interference call, that is clear textbook pass interference, and Mike Pereira agrees.

[brooks85]

lol the logic in this thread is hilarious, clear evidence of PI. Truly clear as day.

[Eddy Munny]

I bet the Lions with the points this weekend, so I have no complaints as a gambler. But in all honesty, the one thing that did give me pause all week about the Lions, was I felt that if the game was tight in the fourth quarter, Dallas would get the benefit of the calls because the NFL would rather have the Cowboys advance. In the end, I figured +7 should be enough for the cover so I pulled the trigger... but I innately knew that if the Lions were going to win the game, they would have to do so with a bit of room to spare, because the zebras were not going to allow a Lions victory in a nip/tuck type game.

That's the thing about officials' influence in a game... naysayers can say "yeah, well Lions only scored three 2nd half points and blah, blah, blah" and while that may be true, it doesn't change the fact that they were still in the game late. Had either team been up decisively at that point, the officiating crew would have been inconsequential, but being as the game was virtually a dead heat, the 50/50 calls were going to go Dallas's way, and that's what happened.

The league can pretend that it's completely impartial to outcomes, but there's always a business angle to things, and the bottom line is that a Lions victory would have not been a lucrative endeavor for the league. That's not to say there was a "script" or that the Lions had no opportunity to win the game, it's just to say that if the game was so close that the officials were the ones to ultimately tilt the balance, then there was certainly an agenda to be mindful of.

[Sam Odom]

NFL officials' influence affect all 1 score games

[boomer62]

Yeah ok the league controls the outcomes...if anything the home team gets the benefit of certain calls....this is so FUKING comical and typical of gamblers to think this shit up.

[44 Mag]

Hitchens couldn't turn his head to play the ball. The WR had ahold of his face mask.

No PI was 1000% the right call.

Good to see the refs get together and get it right.

Well done.

Agreed. They did get together after the fact and discuss it. They also DID explain it to the HC of Detroit, who of course was not satisfied. Besides as I posted earlier: 0-18 vs. teams with a winning record pretty much sums up the Lions with Stafford.

[Eddy Munny]

NFL officials' influence affect all 1 score games

Sure, but that doesn't mean they have an agenda to fulfill in all one score games.

I'm not one to play the "rig" card often. In fact, I think SBR members in general are way to quick to play that card, even against all reason in some cases... but it's naive to deny that ulterior motives ever play a role in outcomes of games. You might as well believe in the tooth fairy if you think it's on the up and up 100% of the time.

[BriGuy]

Dude that was way early in the game.. If they didn't call any penalties on cowboys it would look way to obvious. I'm not saying the refs fixed the game but the calls were pretty fawkin bad in the 4th.

Ohhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh so the game was rigged, but not until the 4th quarter.

See here's the thing that morons who believe games are rigged don't realize: If the game was rigged, it would have never gotten to the point it did..!! A key holding call here, pass interference there. The refs called Dallas for running into the punter but didn't call Detroit for the same penalty. I think they were both good calls, but if the game was rigged no one would have thought twice if they didn't call the first but did call the 2nd.

Dallas had a touchdown taken back because of a penalty. So instead of a touchdown, it's 1st and goal from the 17. If the game was rigged, that flag is never thrown.

If it was rigged, why throw the flag in the first place? Oh wait, the back judge and referee were in on the fix but not the side judge, right?

[mjerni12]

I still don't understand why they picked up the flag.it was obvious the call was right.I might be a cowboy fan but I want them to win without any help.

[R.P. McMurphy]

You guys can just flush your face mask debate right down the toilet. Head of officiating was asked after the gm what happened and why the flag was picked up. His reasoning was one of the officials made a judgement call that not enough contact was made to warrant PI. Now that's all horseshit but that's their story. If face mask was an issue why wasn't a 2nd flag thrown and have them offset? And Why wasnt Dez flagged for blatant unsportsmanlike conduct? I get it most Cowboy fans in full denial/defense mode but if shoe were on other foot the fit would hit the shan.

[R.P. McMurphy]

Some of you like Briguy just are not listening or don't have good reading comprehension skills. Neither myself or most "conspiracy" guys are claiming a predetermined outcome WWE style. Just saying and note to irrelevant teams. You will have to go the extra mile and win more decisive to advance in postseason. In a close gm where a crucial play can put a way the gm you might see some shady business late to sway momentum. Everyone says Lions didn't do enough in 2h but isn't kinda what they were trying to do when that convenient timed call ripped it from them?

[Seaweed]

Get over it

[Brooks]

tim donaghy must have been smiling when the flag was picked up

[Booya711]

Some of you like Briguy just are not listening or don't have good reading comprehension skills. Neither myself or most "conspiracy" guys are claiming a predetermined outcome WWE style. Just saying and note to irrelevant teams. You will have to go the extra mile and win more decisive to advance in postseason. In a close gm where a crucial play can put a way the gm you might see some shady business late to sway momentum. Everyone says Lions didn't do enough in 2h but isn't kinda what they were trying to do when that convenient timed call ripped it from them?

RP gets it

[BriGuy]

Some of you like Briguy just are not listening or don't have good reading comprehension skills. Neither myself or most "conspiracy" guys are claiming a predetermined outcome WWE style.

I do not know what, specifically, you are claiming but you're wrong about "most conspiracy" guys. They are indeed claiming a predetermined outcome based on the (perceived) financial gain to the league from having the Cowboys advance instead of the Lions.

Of course refs make bad calls and of course refs are biased. Superstars get the benefit of the doubt all the time. There have been studies showing that home teams also get penalized less than visitors. Also, we see officials in all sports less likely to call fouls/penalties in big moments of big games. But when someone says a game is rigged, they aren't talking about a ref being subconsciously influenced by the home team. They are talking about predetermined outcomes.

Don't point to a thread called "The NFL is rigged shit hole" or "The NFL Clearly Didn't Want Detroit To Go To The Next Round" and tell me that person is just talking about the subtle biases that impact officials in sports.

[stevenash]

I always get a kick out of guys who claim the games are rigged yet continue to wager them week in, week out.
Or that onlne poker is fixed, but play nightly.

If you think the games are rigged and play them never the less, you have no right to bitch.
Zero.

[slacker00]

Figure out how the fix angle works and use it. I'll admit, I was on the right side of these more often than not.

[boomer62]

I always get a kick out of guys who claim the games are rigged yet continue to wager them week in, week out.
Or that onlne poker is fixed, but play nightly.

If you think the games are rigged and play them never the less, you have no right to bitch.
Zero.

EXACTLY....cry babies!! I have no respect for the STUPIDITY and yet they forget that they won some games on bad calls, works both ways. STF UP or don't gamble.

[ilovelady]

Hitchens couldn't turn his head to play the ball. The WR had ahold of his face mask.

No PI was 1000% the right call.

Good to see the refs get together and get it right.

Well done.

you're full of shit homer

[Booya711]

I always get a kick out of guys who claim the games are rigged yet continue to wager them week in, week out.
Or that onlne poker is fixed, but play nightly.

If you think the games are rigged and play them never the less, you have no right to bitch.
Zero.

Your opinion nasher and I have reason to believe otherwise. All that matters is money making however you do it .

[ilovelady]

EXACTLY....cry babies!! I have no respect for the STUPIDITY and yet they forget that they won some games on bad calls, works both ways. STF UP or don't gamble.

go suck a dick. that win would have been huge for the lions fanchise and what pisses me off most is that it wont even matter because the cowboys are going to get their shit pushed in vs the pack, but i guess the nfl makes their money in that game so they dont give a penetrate

[stevenash]

Your opinion nasher and I have reason to believe otherwise. All that matters is money making however you do it .

My opinion is some games are 'controlled' but every game is not fixed.