Do the refs really favor Packers/Steelers & scrutinize Cowboys?

[AmishCowboy]

Absolutely true story….

I worked on American Ninja Warrior for three years and we had a woman producer who was constantly on the Steelers message boards all the time. She was obsessed. One day I asked her if she was from Pittsburgh.

This was the conversation.

“Oh yeah, my whole family are generational fans with season tickets and I’ve traveled the country, been to Super Bowls and even a Pro Bowl.”

“Wow,” I said. “Must get pretty expensive.”

“Oh we don’t pay for seats my dad has been an NFL official for 20 years.”

“Of course he has.”

And I left it at that.

Gene Steratore's Kid?

 

[Mannix]

Every teams fans think the Refs suck and they are biased against their team. When they make a call that favors their team, they just shrug and say it was payback from the bad calls. No team gets favorable calls from the refs. They get incompetent calls from the refs. And depending on what team that incompetent call favored, then the other teams fans get their panties in a wad. I can show you plenty of examples of calls that favored the Cowboys and plenty of calls that favored any other team in the league. Go over any game played yesterday and go thru the teams forums. Every team complains about the refs. Every one. It isnt bias, Its incompetence. So no, the refs dont favore the packers, steelers or Cowboys more than any other team.

-------No team gets favorable calls from the refs. They get incompetent calls from the refs.

You must not watch many Packer games!!!

 

[CowboyFrog]

I dont know about any bias from the league...I do know I will call out bad calls VS MY TEAM more than the team we are playing...I mean, that doesn't have to be called anything other than me wanting my team to win.....crazy reasons and all...

 

[FloridaRob]

-------No team gets favorable calls from the refs. They get incompetent calls from the refs.

You must not watch many Packer games!!!

LOL, i have watched every Packer game since 1988 when I got my first satellite dish. Were the refs biased when Jerry Rice fumbled in the Championship game against the 49ers? Were the refs biased when the Cardinals defense jerked Rodgers face mask and caused a fumble that allowed the Cardinals to win a playoff game against them? Were teh refs biased when they allowed the Seahawks WR to push off the defensive back during the fail mary game and then gave the ball to the offense when the defense interecepted it? Were the refs biased last year in the playoff game against the Bucs when the defensive back held the Packers receiver enough to get leverage to intercept Rodgers? Were the refs biased when they let the questionable calls or lack of calls go on the entire game but in the final minute called pass intereference on a Packer player that was nowhere near as egrigious as what they had allowed the whole game previously. Yea, the refs are totally biased for the Packers.

 

[glimmerman]

And the pats and they like brady also.

 

[Diehardblues]

Personally I think that some teams are favorites of the League and I think the teams in gold are favs. Especially the Stealers. I think the Rooney family swings a big NFL stick especially so in the 1970's. If Jack Lambert can body slam Cliff Harris after a play without repercussion and then some of the DPI calls were definitely eye opening. That's OK though but don't piss on my leg and then tell me it's raining.

2014 NFC Divisional Playoff:

Not flagged. Gene Steratore the ref responsible for making the call and not a friend of our Cowboys if you listen to his penalty breakdowns on the TV broadcasts.

I also thing games are somewhat "controlled and steered" by officiating. Doesn't take a whole crew but just 1 or 2 of the crew to influence momentum through making timely calls. Some games are unimportant to the League and are not affected but for sure the game last week (Dal vs NE) was the highest rated in 5 years (reg season). 2, 3, 4 timely/untimely calls in a game can change the outcome or the flow of a game. It was in the League's interest that the Dal vs NE game be competitive. Without the flaky calls it wouldn't have been from early on.

Cowboy success is tied to the League's success? So years when the Cowboys suck the league has an unsuccessful year? Your claim is correct for last year but none of the "bad" years as the League has a steady incline of revenue while some years our team does not have good success each year, and definitely not steady increases in success.. Each vertical Y axis bar represents a year with 2020 being the anomaly as shown by the drop in revenue. All other years show a rise from the previous year(s). Steady rise despite how the Cowboys are doing.

2001 thru 2020:

So, do you think it’s a league wide conspiracy against the Cowboys or just a few officials ?

 

[Diehardblues]

Just imagine the collusion that must occur if there was a conspiracy . Mind boggling with today’s technology. And the fact there’d be no whistleblowers. Totally unsubstantiated by anyone.

What is more likely is the bigger named talented stars get the more favorable calls. Much like in other sports because you assume there must be an infraction in order to deter them.

 

[Diehardblues]

The Refs were biased against the SAints last night. Or so says all their fans on their website today...

Why would we listen to fans of these teams? Of course they’re going to feel there is bias against them.

There’s simply no evidence of any kind to substantiate these claims. Imagine the collusion either league side or even on a smaller scale that would need to occur. All while never having a whistleblower come forward.

What’s more likely is the bigger named more talented stars receive favorable calls much like they do in all sports.

 

[kskboys]

Refs make calls to keep games close. This has been wildly apparent for some time now.

 

[IceBowler]

If you will recall, the year of the "DEZ non-catch at Lambeau, the Packers went 14 straight quarters WITHOUT a holding call on the OL. FOURTEEN QUARTERS!
Does ANYONE in their right mind consider that even remotely possible?

I'll wait.

 

[Point-of-the-Star]

So, do you think it’s a league wide conspiracy against the Cowboys or just a few officials ?

I have no evidence of either other than some teams seem to get a lot of breaks. Especially 2 of the originals.

Since the early days of the NFL (1920's) the NFL was put together for a bunch of rich guys(owners) to wager on. The original Mara was a bookie. Later on, after the merger, ownership became more of a lucrative business and more so for some franchises. Recent history shows us that with the TV monies all franchises are profitable but this was not the case early post merger. Coincidentally about the time the Stealers (Rooney) blossomed AND became profitable. Before the 1970's the Pittsburg team sucked as far as quality play. GB has been a good franchise since the late 1950's. For these somewhat smaller markets success on the field obviously increases worth. (Dallas escapes this M.O. due to Jerrah's innovative marketing . . . he's a much better business person at this pro football marketing than the others). Both of these teams get favorable officiating more routinely than do others IMO. I'd be willing to add Kraft to the list. He's a more new member though. Kinda makes one wonder if the massage parlor was a setup . . . hmmmm. Gotta pay your dues to get in the Good ol boys club!

Conversely the Cowboys seem to, on the whole, get less favorable treatment. It's what I see but I have no real explanations . Maybe you don't but there are unexplainable happenings frequently. With offensive holding literally available to be called on essentially every offensive play the Cowboys didn't benefit from an opposition offensive holding in 2017 for 8 games stretch and in 2018 either 10 or 11 straight, I forget.
The 2 goal line QB sneaks this year which were essentially ignored. I don't know but I don't see this as an issue with the 2 gold teams. Pitt did get a TD taken away a couple of years ago on a pass to the goal line (TE I think).

I am not responding to "argue" with you. Each of us is welcome to our opinions.

You can chew on this however you want to :

" If the NFL was classed as a sport, with individual teams competing against each other, they could be charged under antitrust laws for fixing games. But being classed as a form of entertainment, the teams are technically working in unison for entertainment purposes, so it's perfectly legal for the NFL to fix a game. "

I hear all the talk about "Why would the League want to punish their cash cow (Dallas)". Punish??? They just want to keep their knee on Dallas' neck maybe. I don't know but so far it hasn't affected cash flow. There are plenty of other teams that get no "favors" from the League. Raiders come to mind. It's OK by me. If we win we really earned it.

So, do I need a tinfoil hat?

 

[Diehardblues]

I have no evidence of either other than some teams seem to get a lot of breaks. Especially 2 of the originals.

Since the early days of the NFL (1920's) the NFL was put together for a bunch of rich guys(owners) to wager on. The original Mara was a bookie. Later on, after the merger, ownership became more of a lucrative business and more so for some franchises. Recent history shows us that with the TV monies all franchises are profitable but this was not the case early post merger. Coincidentally about the time the Stealers (Rooney) blossomed AND became profitable. Before the 1970's the Pittsburg team sucked as far as quality play. GB has been a good franchise since the late 1950's. For these somewhat smaller markets success on the field obviously increases worth. (Dallas escapes this M.O. due to Jerrah's innovative marketing . . . he's a much better business person at this pro football marketing than the others). Both of these teams get favorable officiating more routinely than do others IMO. I'd be willing to add Kraft to the list. He's a more new member though. Kinda makes one wonder if the massage parlor was a setup . . . hmmmm. Gotta pay your dues to get in the Good ol boys club!

Conversely the Cowboys seem to, on the whole, get less favorable treatment. It's what I see but I have no real explanations . Maybe you don't but there are unexplainable happenings frequently. With offensive holding literally available to be called on essentially every offensive play the Cowboys didn't benefit from an opposition offensive holding in 2017 for 8 games stretch and in 2018 either 10 or 11 straight, I forget.
The 2 goal line QB sneaks this year which were essentially ignored. I don't know but I don't see this as an issue with the 2 gold teams. Pitt did get a TD taken away a couple of years ago on a pass to the goal line (TE I think).

I am not responding to "argue" with you. Each of us is welcome to our opinions.

You can chew on this however you want to :

" If the NFL was classed as a sport, with individual teams competing against each other, they could be charged under antitrust laws for fixing games. But being classed as a form of entertainment, the teams are technically working in unison for entertainment purposes, so it's perfectly legal for the NFL to fix a game. "

I hear all the talk about "Why would the League want to punish their cash cow (Dallas)". Punish??? They just want to keep their knee on Dallas' neck maybe. I don't know but so far it hasn't affected cash flow. There are plenty of other teams that get no "favors" from the League. Raiders come to mind. It's OK by me. If we win we really earned it.

So, do I need a tinfoil hat?

Conspiracy theories are more than just opinions. They are intentional propaganda created to distract from the facts.

 

[Point-of-the-Star]

Conspiracy theories are more than just opinions. They are intentional propaganda created to distract from the facts.

I presented a bunch of facts. Some opinion. I put forth no theories.

But in the interest of knowledge do you think all conspiracy theories are false?

 

[ryanbabs]

And most importantly, it’s more about the timing of phantom penalties rather than the quantity

Spot on! I’ve always said it’s the situational penalties where we get screwed.

 

[America's Cowboy]

Get ready for scoffing and scolding from the forum know-it-all “realist”! His priority isn’t Cowboy wins, but defining reality, disproving conspiracy theories, and supporting everyone EXCEPT the Cowboys.

While Dallas is largely responsible for their own failures, anyone without an agenda has likely noticed SOMETHING odd. I always point to what SEEMS like an unusual amount of holding penalties at the worst possible, game changing moments. Remember that stretch of eight consecutive games without ONE holding penalty against our opponents? Of course, the incidents you cite here only add to the list that makes one wonder.

They don't have the guts to admit what they are seeing. It breaks their hearts to actually believe officials can be biased (which some are). In their world, the NFL, its Commissioner and its officials are squeaky clean representatives who do no wrong, nor try to help or hurt certain teams. Reminds me of a time back in the late 90s, I ran into an old official that used to officiate a lot of my high school games. He always was a fair and evenly officiated football games official. I treated him to lunch one day, and he admitted to me that there were 2 officials who used to also officiate my high schools games in the 80s who always called bogus fouls upon my team. Those 2 officials admitted behind closed doors more than once over the years that they personally hated the teams representing the high school I went to and played for. That's when I knew my teammates and my suspicions were correct.

 

[CalPolyTechnique]

Conspiracy theorists always make the connections (unsubstantiated claims) but never the dots (actual proof).

 

[ESisback]

They don't have the guts to admit what they are seeing. It breaks their hearts to actually believe officials can be biased (which some are). In their world, the NFL, its Commissioner and its officials are squeaky clean representatives who do no wrong, nor try to help or hurt certain teams. Reminds me of a time back in the late 90s, I ran into an old official that used to officiate a lot of my high school games. He always was a fair and evenly officiated football games official. I treated him to lunch one day, and he admitted to me that there were 2 officials who used to also officiate my high schools games in the 80s who always called bogus fouls upon my team. Those 2 officials admitted behind closed doors more than once over the years that they personally hated the teams representing the high school I went to and played for. That's when I knew my teammates and my suspicions were correct.

Because we’re skeptical about the many inconsistencies and odd coincidences, certain “fans” label us liars and stalkers and conspiracy nuts. They can’t handle living in a grey world that they can’t control. They fear not knowing everything.

 

[MarcusRock]

Conspiracy theorists always make the connections (unsubstantiated claims) but never the dots (actual proof).

That's the beauty of a conspiracy theorist. You never have to back up anything, ever. Just throw poop at a wall that could happen like the Seahawks employing Bigfoot to simulate opposing DEs in practice and using frequency jammers to prevent video from capturing him in action.

Theorist: "Some officials are biased"
Rational Person: "Oh really? Which ones?"
Theorist: "Some of them are"
Rational Person: "Yes, but what are their names?"
Theorist: "Some officials are biased"
Rational Person: "Yes, but if they are to be rooted out of the game, you'd need to know which ones."
Theorist: "The ones that work Cowboys games"
Rational Person: "Officials have crews. So is it 1 or 2 on a crew or the whole crews?"
Theorist: "Yes"
Rational Person: "But these crews rotate. So is it partial members of crews or every single crew?"
Theorist: "Yes"
Rational Person:
Theorist:

 

[Diehardblues]

I presented a bunch of facts. Some opinion. I put forth no theories.

But in the interest of knowledge do you think all conspiracy theories are false?

I wasn’t referring to you but generally.

 

[nalam]

If you will recall, the year of the "DEZ non-catch at Lambeau, the Packers went 14 straight quarters WITHOUT a holding call on the OL. FOURTEEN QUARTERS!
Does ANYONE in their right mind consider that even remotely possible?

I'll wait.

It will be a long wait , matey !

LOL, some don’t believe the bias , but if you ask Holmgren ( Seattle ) in the superbowl , Pittsburg wouldn’t have won without the Zebras. Remember the Tom Brady “ Tuck “ rule invented to prevent NE losing , one could go on