Bad Calls and NFL Ad Revenue

[Stash]

Here's the percentage of games that went into the half with an 8-point margin or less. It's been steady since the merger.

2010-18 78.3%
2000-09 78.8%
1990-99 78.9%
1980-89 78.7%
1970-79 78.8%
1960-69 77.4%
1950-59 77.3%
1940-49 76.9%

Uh oh! There goes that conspiracy theory!

 

[Stash]

Yup, the NFL is pretty much a Buddhist Monastary. They would never get a video tape of Ray Rice cold cocking his wife and then dragging her unconcious out of an elevator and then "lose the tape" before giving him the minimum suspension.

They would never have their own security guys pull Giants PK Josh Brown off of beating his wife and never mention it.

They would never minimize CTE injuries until they lost their shirt in a lawsuit.

Sure, the NFL is run by the highest ethical standards with the efficiency of a swiss watch.

I'm so glad that you see their incompetence as reason for yet another crazy conspiracy theory. Have fun!

 

[MarcusRock]

Uh oh! There goes that conspiracy theory!

No, it just means it's ALWAYS been going on. The New World Order isn't as new as we think. LOL.

 

[percyhoward]

In any conspiracy theory, first ask yourself two questions. 1) how many different people would have to be in on it and 2) how could they keep it quiet over any period of time?

1) Who benefited? 2) Who has the power to cover it up?

 

[Kaiser]

Especially if the guy in the booth disagrees with it, it should be changed.

Refereeing is never going to be perfect IMO. Too much ground to cover and the game action happens too fast. Half of the hand check techniques from DBs and WRs are taught precisely because there are blind spots where a CB can tug a WRs jersey to throw him off balance out of the refs line of sight, or a WR can push off a DB because he is shielded from view.

The point is that there will always be judgement calls, you can't call every little ticky tack thing (like this Markus guy claims) because games would be six hours long and no one would watch. There will always be a level of judgement on OL holding and the contact between WRs & DBs. That's why the announcers will say in every game that the game is being called tight or losely.

 

[Runwildboys]

Given the touchy nature of this subject, you ought to switch to Dewey, Cheatham & Howe.

BING!

 

[Kaiser]

Here's the percentage of games that went into the half with an 8-point margin or less. It's been steady since the merger.

The game changed in the last era to make it a passing league with higher scores, they completely changed OL Holding rules and protected QBs infinitely more. If scoring increased dramatically but the margins didn't, it backs my argument.

Also 8 Points is two scores, not to put work on your plate but do you have it for one score or less?

 

[CouchCoach]

Most football fans I talk to, doesn’t matter the team they like just fans in general are saying it’s becoming more difficult to watch the games because of the bad calls. Most are saying blatant.

I've seen some long time fans, guys I started fantasy with in the beginning, either cutting back or all out together.

There's another element to this if one doesn't record the games for playback. It's not just the stop downs but the same ******* commercials with that Chevy awesome person or the Verizon dork and I have counted as many as 6 of the same spot in an hour. That is fatiguing on an audience and can end up pissing off a large % of them. They need a limit on the same ads and need to expand the number of advertisers so that overexposure and fatigue doesn't become a problem. Add to this on the local side, this ambulance chasing slimeball lawyer has just about driven me off the games. It is a chore to watch some games.

 

[Doomsday101]

It would likely be a crime
I don’t really believe in conspiracies
I think the league has made it clear they want more penalties called plus the constant changing of rules make it hard on officials

I think the league is concerned with law suites like they dealt with in the concussion cases. They are putting an emphasis on protecting players and while I understand that I also understand football is a physical game and once you remove the physical nature of the game it is no longer football as many of us know it.

 

[Jipper]

sorry....i don't buy into the conspiracy theory....but i will buy into the refs suck theory

 

[CouchCoach]

Given the touchy nature of this subject, you ought to switch to Dewey, Cheatham & Howe.

LMAO. Calling Dr. Howard, Dr. Fine, Dr. Howard.

 

[Doomsday101]

Refereeing is never going to be perfect IMO. Too much ground to cover and the game action happens too fast. Half of the hand check techniques from DBs and WRs are taught precisely because there are blind spots where a CB can tug a WRs jersey to throw him off balance out of the refs line of sight, or a WR can push off a DB because he is shielded from view.

The point is that there will always be judgement calls, you can't call every little ticky tack thing (like this Markus guy claims) because games would be six hours long and no one would watch. There will always be a level of judgement on OL holding and the contact between WRs & DBs. That's why the announcers will say in every game that the game is being called tight or losely.

True, All I have ever asked of refs is call it both way. if you are calling it tight on PI calls then call it both ways. It is like in baseball I don't care if you are calling the high fast ball a strike as long as the strike zone is the same for both teams.

 

[Don Corleone]

Could have used a few in the colts game, I guess they did not need the extra revenue from that game?

That was more about leaving the playoff picture wide open. What incentive do they have for teams to seal the deal 3 weeks before the season ends? Draft kings and Fan Duel would suffer!

 

[Don Corleone]

They’re jeopardizing the integrity of an entire sport. If it ever got out from anybody that they were influencing the outcome as you claim, the sport is finished. That’s why it would never happen. Too much to be lost and so little to gain.

IMO, the sport is already finished. In my family, we LOL at the stupid calls and missed calls. We even guess the next penalty. The league is already a joke!

 

[Doomsday101]

That was more about leaving the playoff picture wide open. What incentive do they have for teams to seal the deal 3 weeks before the season ends? Draft kings and Fan Duel would suffer!

The did not mind others wrapping it up early for several other teams. As I said I don't think refs really care who wins a game or not, they do the best they can and sometimes that best is not great. I will say there are many times in a game I will see a play they call and holler at the TV and then see it in slow motion and from a different view that they were right. I think it is a harder job than people give credit for. Coaches and players are not beyond mistakes why anyone would think the refs are?

 

[percyhoward]

The game changed in the last era to make it a passing league with higher scores, they completely changed OL Holding rules and protected QBs infinitely more. If scoring increased dramatically but the margins didn't, it backs my argument.

Also 8 Points is two scores, not to put work on your plate but do you have it for one score or less?

Takes about 30 seconds per time period with PFR's game finder. Here's margin 3 points or less through 3 quarters.

2000-18 61.3%
1980-99 60.6%
1960-79 59.6%
1940-59 58.9%

 

[Kaiser]

True, All I have ever asked of refs is call it both way. if you are calling it tight on PI calls then call it both ways. It is like in baseball I don't care if you are calling the high fast ball a strike as long as the strike zone is the same for both teams.

Good analogy. The strikezone in MLB is always going to vary and the stars are always going to get a wider strike zone - or the Clayton Kershaws are going to get the benefit of the doubt with balls on the corners.

And you will always have calls that are completely missed and others that the Refs are shielded from. On the hit by Xavier Woods I mentioned in the OP it was a bang bang play where the WRs head snapped back, the Ref may have assumed it was helmet to helmet contact just from that.

But if you look at the bad calls over time, you will definitely see the pattern I'm taking about. They will almost always pop up at the exact time needed to keep a game close early on, which is a driving factor in the 5 Billion dollars in Ad Revenue the NFL made last year.

 

[Shake_Tiller]

Conspiracy is merely a secret plan made by a group of people to accomplish an illegal or immoral goal. Conspiracy happens all the time, and it often involves big, sophisticated businesses or political interests. That doesn't mean that conspiracy abounds in every event. I think Oswald acted alone. There was a moon landing. New Coke was a poor attempt to modernize a product people loved.

On the other hand, the Enron scandal resulted from conspiracy as have other events instigated by big business interests one would have thought would have seen the danger and the likely outcome. Often conspiracy has been proven. Tinfoil hates aren't required. Greed is an extreme motivator.

Sport hasn't been immune to conspiracy, and not all "conspiracy" is organized or results from a written memo or verbal instruction. Often mid-level players know what actions are desired by those above them and respond to such desire in what effectively functions as if it were an organized conspiracy.

I don't know whether on-field officials place a thumb on the scale. I doubt seriously they have received explicit instructions to do so. Have they ascertained such desire from the league and acted more or less independently to implement? I don't know, but I don't see how such a scenario can be ruled out. It happens in many big business scenarios. Why should the NFL be exempt?

I do think the NFL has set itself up for a future scandal, and I don't think it requires tinfoil to hold this view. The rules have become so interpretive that it would not be difficult for an official or officials to "interpret" a play or plays in a manner to influence the point spread or the over/under.

The NFL once eschewed full-time officials because many of the best worked in professions they were unlikely to leave. Every year some of those veteran officials retire. Younger officials arguably could be more vulnerable to temptation. But we shall see.

In any case, the NFL is big business and can become tainted as easily as any such entity. Gambling interests make such an event more likely. I do not understand why anyone finds this in any way unbelievable or unlikely. The ticking time bomb is always a few foolish decisions from being activated.

 

[Doomsday101]

Conspiracy is merely a secret plan made by a group of people to accomplish an illegal or immoral goal. Conspiracy happens all the time, and it often involves big, sophisticated businesses or political interests. That doesn't mean that conspiracy abounds in every event. I think Oswald acted alone. There was a moon landing. New Coke was a poor attempt to modernize a product people loved.

On the other hand, the Enron scandal resulted from conspiracy as have other events instigated by big business interests one would have thought would have seen the danger and the likely outcome. Often conspiracy has been proven. Tinfoil hates aren't required. Greed is an extreme motivator.

Sport hasn't been immune to conspiracy, and not all "conspiracy" is organized or results from a written memo or verbal instruction. Often mid-level players know what actions are desired by those above them and respond to such desire in what effectively functions as if it were an organized conspiracy.

I don't know whether on-field officials place a thumb on the scale. I doubt seriously they have received explicit instructions to do so. Have they ascertained such desire from the league and acted more or less independently to implement? I don't know, but I don't see how such a scenario can be ruled out. It happens in many big business scenarios. Why should the NFL be exempt?

I do think the NFL has set itself up for a future scandal, and I don't think it requires tinfoil to hold this view. The rules have become so interpretive that it would not be difficult for an official or officials to "interpret" a play or plays in a manner to influence the point spread or the over/under.

The NFL once eschewed full-time officials because many of the best worked in professions they were unlikely to leave. Every year some of those veteran officials retire. Younger officials arguably could be more vulnerable to temptation. But we shall see.

In any case, the NFL is big business and can become tainted as easily as any such entity. Gambling interests make such an event more likely. I do not understand why anyone finds this in any way unbelievable or unlikely. The ticking time bomb is always a few foolish decisions from being activated.

Could the NFL become corrupt? sure, could it be now? Maybe but like Enron if found to be guilty of what some are accusing them of they will lose a lot of business. In the end win or lose, blow out game or close game football fans want to watch football and if ever proven games were being altered on purpose they would lose a lot of fans.

 

[Kaiser]

I don't know whether on-field officials place a thumb on the scale. I doubt seriously they have received explicit instructions to do so. Have they ascertained such desire from the league and acted more or less independently to implement? I don't know, but I don't see how such a scenario can be ruled out. It happens in many big business scenarios. Why should the NFL be exempt?

Great post, Hitler never signed an order directing the Holocaust in his "Final Solution". He gave speeches about it and then put people in high positions that he knew would do it. People who had every incentive to do it and would have been punished (executed) if they didn't. The ***** held formal conferences to plan the logistics, but there was never a paper trail that Hitler ordered it directly.