[dieterbrock]

It's the "this could be their last hoorah" mentality. Frankly it's time to move on from Brady, but we can't as long as he keeps getting to the show. A good start is the rest of the AFCE needs to get better and make them play on the road more often in the PO's.

But yeah, most everyone I know is sick to death of the Patriots. A KC Rams or NE Rams scenario is more palatable for sure but Brees is that other "last horrah" QB. Sort of like LA and KC can wait another year til those other 2 fade off into the sunset.

Of course, what the public want's is irrelevant unless the outcomes of the games are being manipulated. That would be intollerable.

Brees vs Brady would be sold as a battle of veterans, but that's the tail wagging the dog. They have to sell something. Frankly, I don't see the sizzle of that to a younger audience.
But conspiracy theorists can surmise its altered based on any outcome.
Rams vs Patriots? Clearly they wanted a revenge game and a changing of the guard
Rams vs KC? Clearly they wanted a rematch of the highest scoring game in history
Saints vs KC? Clearly they wanted the guy with all the career records facing off against the new record setter....

[Hacksaw]

Brees vs Brady would be sold as a battle of veterans, but that's the tail wagging the dog. They have to sell something. Frankly, I don't see the sizzle of that to a younger audience.
But conspiracy theorists can surmise its altered based on any outcome.
Rams vs Patriots? Clearly they wanted a revenge game and a changing of the guard
Rams vs KC? Clearly they wanted a rematch of the highest scoring game in history
Saints vs KC? Clearly they wanted the guy with all the career records facing off against the new record setter....

All good headline scenarios. We don't really know what they want, but again I hope they aren't doing anything to manipulate it.
Either way, the Rams need to come out aggressive. Then gauge how the refs are calling the game and adjust if need be.

[aeneas1]

All good headline scenarios. We don't really know what they want, but again I hope they aren't doing anything to manipulate it.
Either way, the Rams need to come out aggressive. Then gauge how the refs are calling the game and adjust if need be.

wait, what?

the league's four best teams are in the final four, and we're wondering what "they" might be doing under the cover of darkness to manipulate the outcomes? really?

could it be that maybe, just maybe, the league is thrilled that these four teams managed to reach the championship round and is looking forward to seeing, like all nfl fans, how the games will play out?

[Hacksaw]

wait, what?

the league's four best teams are in the final four, and we're wondering what "they" might be doing under the cover of darkness to manipulate the outcomes? really?

could it be that maybe, just maybe, the league is thrilled that these four teams managed to reach the championship round and is looking forward to seeing, like all nfl fans, how the games will play out?

A yeah,, I don't quite get your response from what I wrote.

[aeneas1]

A yeah,, I don't quite get your response from what I wrote.

i was responding to this line:

"We don't really know what they want, but again I hope they aren't doing anything to manipulate it".

i guess i missed your take?

who are "they" and what do you hope "they" don't manipulate?

[Hacksaw]

i was responding to this line:

"We don't really know what they want, but again I hope they aren't doing anything to manipulate it".

i guess i missed your take?

who are "they" and what do you hope "they" don't manipulate?

db and I were discussing the referee thing. He came up with reasoning and phrases for how outcomes could be perceived (and perhaps contrived).
'They' would be the league and their pet zebras .
Manipulation of outcomes would be perpetrated by them which would wreck it all for me if true. I am not (nor was db) expressing an opinion of whether or not that occurs, , , just how it could spin.

[Elmgrovegnome]

I think the refs can be influenced by player reputations, coaches in their ear, and even the crowd.

I don't think refs are biased against one team or another and deliberately skew the outcomes of games.

I guess we'll just have to agree to disagree on this one.

Well, I did admit that reading pre game reports, about which players to watch for the most, could have made some refs biased against certain players, and could explain some of the calls. Peter's has that reputation and got flags early, for no good reason. Plus they let Thomas push off, against him.

And the Rams had some players with bad reputations on the team in the past. Greg Robinson was always getting flags and didn't deserve every one of them. Plus they had Greg Williams on his return from suspension and may have been told to watch his defense closely. For some refs like Vinovich, that may cause them to overreact. Others weren't so influenced by it.

It's still not a good excuse, if that's the case. A ref shouldn't use a pre game report as motivation against anyone that didn't commit a foul, like Peters first two calls in the game.

I do still the are instructed to keep games close and we found out the NFL changes rules midseason, like calling more offensive holding, so who knows what else they do.

[Elmgrovegnome]

the whole thing is such nonsense... first, the rams are 2-10 in games vinovich has crewed, not 0-8, imo the cbs hack intentionally used the 2012-forward 0-8 window to make it look juicy, and it apparently worked, ha ha...

here's how teams have fared with vinovich crewing since 2004 - the blue column to the far right shows where these team rank in actual win percentage (win/loss records) for the 2004-2018 stretch... the rams rank 29th, is it really shocking that a crew's record for them would be shitty as well?

look at the saints, they rank 9th in win% for the 2004-2018, is it really shocking that a crew's record for them would be high?

VirtualBox_2019-01-17_09-52-45.png

Conversely, how much of preference could have to do with it. I know the Pats have a reputation of getting the majority of calls in there favor, and I've seen it with the Seahawks in Rams games. Even if it's because some coaches bitch more, that's not a good reason. NFL preferences seem to play a role too, like protecting Brady when he's breathed on.

The odds of being 2-10 with one ref and never once winning the penalty yardage battle against opponents don't seem to be very good when it is one specific ref.

[Elmgrovegnome]

db and I were discussing the referee thing. He came up with reasoning and phrases for how outcomes could be perceived (and perhaps contrived).
'They' would be the league and their pet zebras .
Manipulation of outcomes would be perpetrated by them which would wreck it all for me if true. I am not (nor was db) expressing an opinion of whether or not that occurs, , , just how it could spin.

There would be benefits for the NFL to do this if they can get away with it. Having parity in the league is a perfect cover. Any team can lose any week. The benefits suggested by Arthur Blank was being rewarded for deeds that helped bring the league more money. Another one is to accelerate the building of a new fanbase. I doubt they would do it with a really bad team, but the Giants barely made it into the Superbowl, yet they go all the way to the big game and knock off the juggernaut Pats team. Seems unlikely. That is the game that Blank said his comment about those two owners deserve it.

Also the idea that holding could be called on every play, allows them to toss a flag whenever they feel like it. The main fixes for me are some Super bowls. One that sticks out to me the most was Seattle vs Pittsburgh. Seattle was driving and had the momentum late. They were getting near the red zone and a hold was called, but there wasn't even a semblance of a hold. It stopped the drive and kept Seattle from getting the lead.

Then you have a guy like Chris Borland, who looked like he'd have a good career, retire after one year and saying the NFL is make believe. If he doesn't say that and Blank doesn't say what he did then it wouldn't seem like some people are hinting about it being fixed and aren't happy about it.

[aeneas1]

The odds of being 2-10 with one ref and never once winning the penalty yardage battle against opponents don't seem to be very good when it is one specific ref.

one specific ref?

the rams posted crappy records under the watch a lot of different zebra crews from 2004-forward, not just vinovich, i suppose they were all "in on it"? the rams sucked for a long time, and their record under different zebras reflected that.