Bad Calls and NFL Ad Revenue

[Cowboys22]

If that day come about and someone with an ax to grind does a tell all then it will be very costly to the NFL as many fans such as myself will no longer bother watching it. What I don't get are those who think this is true, why are you watching a game that you believe to be fixed? I could not do it. Then again WWF seems to stay in business which shows me some will watch anything. lol

You are using the word fixed as if the league is determining the outcomes. That is not really what is being put forth, at least by me. I am saying that the refs are manipulating the games to keep them close, not necessarily determining the outcome at the end, by making or not making calls based on things other that what they see and what players have or have not done. The score of the game, the down and distance, and other game situations seem to be influencing whether or not the officials call or don’t call penalties. I don’t contend that this is mandated by the league but I do think many if not all the crews have an understanding that close games and close playoff races all the way to week 17 are best for the league and ratings and this is affecting how they call penalties. You just can’t explain some calls any other way and it’s been like clockwork if you are paying attention.

 

[Shake_Tiller]

if you are altering the game in my view that is a fix since it is no longer the players determining the outcome. As for the emphasis often it is player safety and this year a change into what is and what is not a catch. Kickoff rules changed but again because of what they feel is a safety measure. I don't agree with it but that is much different than claiming flags and calls are made for the sole reason of altering a game.

Oh I agree with you. It is much different. But it is on the continuum, and my position is that the league has created a circumstance that could result in an embarrassing and damaging scandal. If fans cannot see plays and know for certain what the proper call should have been; if former officials can sit in a booth and disagree about the propriety of a call or non-call; if rules can be emphasized or de-emphasized in the course of a season; if interpretations can be changed based on a controversial outcome; etc... at what point has officiating become nearly impossible to police? And if the league intercedes to exert its will on the way the rule book is interpreted, what is the governing principle that prevents an official or officials from calling a game in a way that is most satisfying to that same league?

 

[Doomsday]

When teams fall down by multiple scores, they do tend to get more calls going their way in my opinion.

You see it happen pretty much every week.

 

[Doomsday101]

You are using the word fixed as if the league is determining the outcomes. That is not really what is being put forth, at least by me. I am saying that the refs are manipulating the games to keep them close, not necessarily determining the outcome at the end, by making or not making calls based on things other that what they see and what players have or have not done. The score of the game, the down and distance, and other game situations seem to be influencing whether or not the officials call or don’t call penalties. I don’t contend that this is mandated by the league but I do think many if not all the crews have an understanding that close games and close playoff races all the way to week 17 are best for the league and ratings and this is affecting how they call penalties. You just can’t explain some calls any other way and it’s been like clockwork if you are paying attention.

You can spin it how you choose but if refs are making calls ensure games remain tight then it is altering the outcome of the game. I would also ask why would the top money making team for the NFL and the networks has not been in the SB since 1996? Seems to me if this is about money then NFL would be doing all in it's power to have their biggest money maker in the big game. They don't

 

[john van brocklin]

Lets look at officiating in key points of the first half of the last two Dallas games. I’ve said for years that bad calls “mysteriously” happen in the NFL at the exact points needed to keep the games close so fans keep watching. That is purely because of TV ad revenue, which depends on fans watching – and they don’t watch the second half of blowouts. Last year the NFL made 13 Billion in revenue with 5 Billion coming from the TV contracts.


I accidently deleted the tape of the Colts game but when they were up 7 and about to go up 14 to take control the game, the refs made several bad calls to stop the Colts (helping Dallas) and keep the game close. If Indy is up 14 at the half, the fans turn the channel, ad revenue goes down and the NFL loses money. No question they were terrible calls and they benefited Dallas.


In the Bucs game, look at the last drive of the half. Two minutes left, Dallas is up by 11. A three and out and Dallas is up by 11 or 14 at the half and fans change the channel. Lets look at consecutive plays on that drive:


2&10 at TB 25 – Winston hits Jackson at 24 yards but the refs add 15 yards for Gregory roughing the passer even though he hits Winston a half step after his release - well within the rules. Ball at the Dallas 36 followed by a 5 yard pass.

2nd & 5 at Dallas 31. 11 yard pass to Evans on a play where several TB OL are holding. Holding was called on both teams on similar plays throughout the game but not here.

1st & 10 at Dallas 20 – Winston throws to Evans in the End Zone, who flagrantly pushes off in the End Zone, directly in front of the refs. The announcers call it a blatant push off. No call.

2nd & 10 at the Dallas 20 – Winston throws 8 yards to Humphries. Xavier Woods makes a text book shoulder to shoulder tackle to knock the ball lose, making it a fumble or an incompletion.

Nope, the refs call Unnecessary Roughness, giving the Bucs a 1st and Goal at the 6. They score two plays later, the score is 4 points at halftime instead of 11 or 14.

Four out of five consecutive plays are bad calls. Fans keep watching, ad revenue comes into the networks and those Billions of dollars continue to roll into the NFL.

Interesting theory

 

[Rockport]

Lets look at officiating in key points of the first half of the last two Dallas games. I’ve said for years that bad calls “mysteriously” happen in the NFL at the exact points needed to keep the games close so fans keep watching. That is purely because of TV ad revenue, which depends on fans watching – and they don’t watch the second half of blowouts. Last year the NFL made 13 Billion in revenue with 5 Billion coming from the TV contracts.


I accidently deleted the tape of the Colts game but when they were up 7 and about to go up 14 to take control the game, the refs made several bad calls to stop the Colts (helping Dallas) and keep the game close. If Indy is up 14 at the half, the fans turn the channel, ad revenue goes down and the NFL loses money. No question they were terrible calls and they benefited Dallas.


In the Bucs game, look at the last drive of the half. Two minutes left, Dallas is up by 11. A three and out and Dallas is up by 11 or 14 at the half and fans change the channel. Lets look at consecutive plays on that drive:


2&10 at TB 25 – Winston hits Jackson at 24 yards but the refs add 15 yards for Gregory roughing the passer even though he hits Winston a half step after his release - well within the rules. Ball at the Dallas 36 followed by a 5 yard pass.

2nd & 5 at Dallas 31. 11 yard pass to Evans on a play where several TB OL are holding. Holding was called on both teams on similar plays throughout the game but not here.

1st & 10 at Dallas 20 – Winston throws to Evans in the End Zone, who flagrantly pushes off in the End Zone, directly in front of the refs. The announcers call it a blatant push off. No call.

2nd & 10 at the Dallas 20 – Winston throws 8 yards to Humphries. Xavier Woods makes a text book shoulder to shoulder tackle to knock the ball lose, making it a fumble or an incompletion.

Nope, the refs call Unnecessary Roughness, giving the Bucs a 1st and Goal at the 6. They score two plays later, the score is 4 points at halftime instead of 11 or 14.

Four out of five consecutive plays are bad calls. Fans keep watching, ad revenue comes into the networks and those Billions of dollars continue to roll into the NFL.

Sorry but I don’t buy it for the simple fact of human nature. If the refs (a separate entity) were in collusion with the NFL someone would spill the beans. For this reason it holds no water.

 

[Shake_Tiller]

You can spin it how you choose but if refs are making calls ensure games remain tight then it is altering the outcome of the game. I would also ask why would the top money making team for the NFL and the networks has not been in the SB since 1996? Seems to me if this is about money then NFL would be doing all in it's power to have their biggest money maker in the big game. They don't

I don't think there has been an effort to deprive the Cowboys. That said, I think their popularity is wrongly cited as a factor that would prevent such a thing. We could turn the argument this way -- the Cowboys are already popular and draw a large TV audience. The NFL doesn't need them to appear in a Super Bowl to make that a fact. On the other hand, another team can become more popular as a result of such success.

Again, I don't think the Cowboys are being intentionally deprived of success. I just don't see their popularity as an impediment to such a circumstance.

 

[Doomsday101]

I don't think there has been an effort to deprive the Cowboys. That said, I think their popularity is wrongly cited as a factor that would prevent such a thing. We could turn the argument this way -- the Cowboys are already popular and draw a large TV audience. The NFL doesn't need them to appear in a Super Bowl to make that a fact. On the other hand, another team can become more popular as a result of such success.

Again, I don't think the Cowboys are being intentionally deprived of success. I just don't see their popularity as an impediment to such a circumstance.

why not the biggest rating and advertisement is greatest in post season and Super Bowl yet we have seen the blow outs in post season and in SB.

 

[Shake_Tiller]

why not the biggest rating and advertisement is greatest in post season and Super Bowl yet we have seen the blow outs in post season and in SB.

Could you clarify the point?

 

[Doomsday101]

Could you clarify the point?

The point is if the league is altering games to keep them close then we would not see blow outs in Playoffs or Super Bowls yet it happens. Advertisers pay the largest amounts for these games yet there no guarantee it will be a close game.

 

[Shake_Tiller]

The point is if the league is altering games to keep them close then we would not see blow outs in Playoffs or Super Bowls yet it happens. Advertisers pay the largest amounts for these games yet there no guarantee it will be a close game.

Thanks. I don't disagree. I don't see think the league or its officials have set out a scheme, and I don't think every game or every outcome is tainted. I am more inclined toward believing there is a subtle bias in favor of giving the league what it wants. I don't think the bias is by any means strong or pervasive enough to prevent there being blowouts. I will point out that the Super Bowl was once characterized by blowouts. Most recent Super Bowls have been close games. I don't pretend to know whether that is simply coincidence. I'm inclined to thing it is coincidence.

 

[Shake_Tiller]

And apparently I am drinking as I seem to have created a blizzard of typos.

 

[CalPolyTechnique]

No, I served in Desert Storm and Bosnia because I have a DD214 to prove it. Great analogy, Cow Plop.

Oh, sweet. Here’s a better analogy:

You’re sorta like a janitor claiming he attends Harvard because he’s in the hallways and classes all the time.

Let me try!

He guys, I visited the National Air & Space Museum...I’m an astronaut!

 

[conner01]

My issue with it is the game is not safe, people will get injured and sometimes serious injury but in my view it is the nature of the sport. No one is being forced to play in the NFL. Unlike the league who has gone above and beyond to protect QB because people go to watch them? Sorry I go to watch a football game not just a QB.

I get the concussion part
I think they’ve gone overboard protecting QB
Some parts of the game will always lead to injury, that part of a contact sport

 

[Doomsday101]

I get the concussion part
I think they’ve gone overboard protecting QB
Some parts of the game will always lead to injury, that part of a contact sport

I agree. Highest paid and most protected position. Human body was never designed to play football, joints only bend one way and subjecting the body to high impacts can't be good. However players choose to play the game, no one has ever been forced to do it.

 

[HowardC]

Sorry but I don’t buy it for the simple fact of human nature. If the refs (a separate entity) were in collusion with the NFL someone would spill the beans. For this reason it holds no water.

Not if they were forced to sign a nondisclosure agreement. I wouldn't say **** if it meant my job and severe financial repercussions for doing so. Human nature is to do whatever is required to protect one's self. These refs aren't stupid they know that if they don't do what they are told then they will be replaced.

 

[CalPolyTechnique]

Not if they were forced to sign a nondisclosure agreement. I wouldn't say **** if it meant my job and severe financial repercussions for doing so. Human nature is to do whatever is required to protect one's self. These refs aren't stupid they know that if they don't do what they are told then they will be replaced.

And human nature says as soon as one of these refs is let go or feels jilted or was pressed they’d sing willingly like a bird.

 

[Runwildboys]

Not if they were forced to sign a nondisclosure agreement. I wouldn't say **** if it meant my job and severe financial repercussions for doing so. Human nature is to do whatever is required to protect one's self. These refs aren't stupid they know that if they don't do what they are told then they will be replaced.

I don't think a nondisclosure agreement would apply in a situation like this....and they'd make a lot more money with paid interviews and book deals.

 

[HowardC]

And human nature says as soon as one of these refs is let go or feels jilted or was pressed they’d sing willingly like a bird.

Again. Not if they signed a nondisclosure agreement. The NFL would do everything in their multi-billion dollar power to discredit them and/or financially ruin them.

 

[HowardC]

I don't think a nondisclosure agreement would apply in a situation like this....and they'd make a lot more money with paid interviews and book deals.

Why would it not?