Do You Fully Trust NFL Outcomes ?

[Ky Fried Redleg]

Let me preface this by saying that I am the furthest thing from being a receptacle for conspiracy theories. Kennedy assassination, 9/11, faked moon landing, vaccines , etc... I don't give credence to that kind of stuff. Never have. But I am bothered by the NFL and Goodell. I think it was West of You that stated awhile back that he was akin to a mob boss. I feel the same way. I also know there are billions wagered on games and the NFL now pushes sports gambling heavily. We all know that the NFL is all about money. Also, we clearly saw how Goodell and his goons screwed the Bengals in the way it handled the No Contest game and subsequent playoff scenarios.

Now, in no way am I saying that game are scripted(that'a ludicrous) or that the fix is in for every NFL game. But I maintain that it wouldn't be that difficult for the NFL to have it's dirty little fingers on the scale to try to sway an outcome that it sees as favorable to the league and its bottomline. It really just takes a few questionable calls or non-calls at key points in a game to influence an outcome. I'm not stating that I definitely believe this occurs but I fear that it might. Maybe my unbridled contempt for Goodell has allowed me to consider this possibility when, in fact, the NFL is 100% honest in everything it does.

I have only posted this topic here because I feel like this board consists of very open-minded, thoughtful, critical thinking individuals who are not likely to pass negative judgement on anyone who would consider this a possibility. Again, I am, for the most part, very anti- conspiracy theory. But I don't trust the people who lead this NFL goliath. We've all seen things that maybe looked suspicious in games and we have read accounts by former players who claim that some games are "rigged." That doesn't make it so but there is an awful lot of money that is comes into play with the outcomes of NFL games.

What I would like to ask my friends on here is "Do you think it's possible that the NFL has tried to "influence" the outcomes of some games for monetary reasons or to get a preferred matchup for a future game(playoff) ? Not scripted, not outright throw the game, necessarily, but encourage calls or non-calls at strategic times to increase the chances of the preferred outcome. If I knew for sure that this occurs, I wouldn't want to watch any more NFL. Maybe that's why we don't want to even consider this possibility. It would ruin our love for the sport. Nevertheles, I worry that some shady things may take place.

What do you folks, think? Is it possible, or maybe even likely that the NFL attempts to influence certain outcomes?

Thanks , in advance, for your honest and valued input on this topic.

[medford]

No, No I don't. If they wanted preferred outcomes, the Patriots would have never won the super bowl the season that Brady got suspended for 4 games for deflate gate.

If they wanted preferred outcomes, the Bengals would not have made the super bowl last season.

In order for it to work, even on a small scale they would need a decent number of people to "play along" and once you start doing that loose lips start sinking ships. Its a highly competitive league with a lot of Type A personally owners with big egos; few of them are willing to play patsy just for the money (most already had a ton of money before buying their team). Further more, a lot of players have huge egos and are highly competitive; I doubt they'd put their body at risk to play for an organization they knew were playing the patsy.

[Ky Fried Redleg]

No, No I don't. If they wanted preferred outcomes, the Patriots would have never won the super bowl the season that Brady got suspended for 4 games for deflate gate.

If they wanted preferred outcomes, the Bengals would not have made the super bowl last season.

In order for it to work, even on a small scale they would need a decent number of people to "play along" and once you start doing that loose lips start sinking ships. Its a highly competitive league with a lot of Type A personally owners with big egos; few of them are willing to play patsy just for the money (most already had a ton of money before buying their team). Further more, a lot of players have huge egos and are highly competitive; I doubt they'd put their body at risk to play for an organization they knew were playing the patsy.

Appreciate your input.

[Ky Fried Redleg]

Do you think there are officials who have ever tried to influence a game for nefarious reasons, without the support of the league bosses?

[Roy Tucker]

Hard to tell. There are some blatant calls missed and some phantom calls made. Sometimes they seem to be called at very convenient times that make me go hmmm.

And does the NFL have full time refs yet? I’ve always found it very odd that they have jobs outside of refereeing. MLB and the NBA don’t do that.

[bucksfan2]

No, No I don't. If they wanted preferred outcomes, the Patriots would have never won the super bowl the season that Brady got suspended for 4 games for deflate gate.

If they wanted preferred outcomes, the Bengals would not have made the super bowl last season.

In order for it to work, even on a small scale they would need a decent number of people to "play along" and once you start doing that loose lips start sinking ships. Its a highly competitive league with a lot of Type A personally owners with big egos; few of them are willing to play patsy just for the money (most already had a ton of money before buying their team). Further more, a lot of players have huge egos and are highly competitive; I doubt they'd put their body at risk to play for an organization they knew were playing the patsy.

I have little doubt that the NFL has an oversized impact in the games. I think the Brady suspension, 4 games, the league had to do. He destroyed evidence when the league came looking for it. They had to punish him, gave the Pats an easy start to the season, and on they went.

I made mention in the Bengals thread, but the Refs on the field have a direct link to NFL headquarters. In a game in which one call can drastically impact the final score, its hard to ignore the impact the refs and the league can have.

I think some teams have always gotten the benefit of the doubt because of their popularity.

[Ky Fried Redleg]

I think the dream matchup for the league in the divisional round in the AFC is Bengals-Bills for obvious reasons. No doubt they wanted a Bengals-Bills matchup in Buffalo next week. I think most here would agree with that. The Ravens got two calls to go against them at a pivotal time last night. It looked like Huntley was closer to the pylon in his run prior to his catastrophic fumble. Looked like he was closer to the goal line than 2.5 yards out, which is about where they marked it. NGS showed that the ball came within 0.6 yds. of the goal line on his fumble. Had the ball been previously placed just a bit closer to the goal line, he would have scored and there would have been no fumble return.

Also, on the Hubbard return, a pretty questionable no-call on the block in the back to Andrews, who would likely have prevented Hubbard from reaching the endzone. Obviously, officials can miss calls(and do) all the time and this is not evidence of anything nefarious, but if an official wanted to influence a game, he could certainly do so with a couple of key calls or no-calls in situations like that. I just wonder if this actually does occur. I certainly hope not but, as Roy pointed out, there are many instances of calls or non-calls that make you go , hmmm.

[Ky Fried Redleg]

Hard to tell. There are some blatant calls missed and some phantom calls made. Sometimes they seem to be called at very convenient times that make me go hmmm.

And does the NFL have full time refs yet? I’ve always found it very odd that they have jobs outside of refereeing. MLB and the NBA don’t do that.

I concur with both points you made here.

[Ky Fried Redleg]

I have little doubt that the NFL has an oversized impact in the games. I think the Brady suspension, 4 games, the league had to do. He destroyed evidence when the league came looking for it. They had to punish him, gave the Pats an easy start to the season, and on they went.

I made mention in the Bengals thread, but the Refs on the field have a direct link to NFL headquarters. In a game in which one call can drastically impact the final score, its hard to ignore the impact the refs and the league can have.

I think some teams have always gotten the benefit of the doubt because of their popularity.

I appreciate your thoughts.

- - - Updated - - -

I have little doubt that the NFL has an oversized impact in the games. I think the Brady suspension, 4 games, the league had to do. He destroyed evidence when the league came looking for it. They had to punish him, gave the Pats an easy start to the season, and on they went.

I made mention in the Bengals thread, but the Refs on the field have a direct link to NFL headquarters. In a game in which one call can drastically impact the final score, its hard to ignore the impact the refs and the league can have.

I think some teams have always gotten the benefit of the doubt because of their popularity.

It is. And that's what worries me.

[Bob Sheed]

There's too much money involved with NFL games for them to not be compromised, at the very least, at the individual level.

It's obviously not covertly scripted. No way that could stay a secret with so many actors involved.

Here's an example scenario, that I could see being played out 1000 different ways.

Person A offers to pay NFL Player A 3 million dollars to drop the 1st pass thrown to him. Deposited into whatever offshore account. Or however that sort of thing is done. Then, because Person A knows this will happen, Person A makes way more than 3 million on the result. Hell, there doesn't even need to be a Person A doing the asking. NFL Player A could do all of it through a trusted proxy.

I suspect this sort of thing happens in NCAA, at the pro level, basketball, football, anything where insane amounts of money are at stake. To think otherwise just seems naïve.

[Ky Fried Redleg]

There's too much money involved with NFL games for them to not be compromised, at the very least, at the individual level.

It's obviously not covertly scripted. No way that could stay a secret with so many actors involved.

Here's an example scenario, that I could see being played out 1000 different ways.

Person A offers to pay NFL Player A 3 million dollars to drop the 1st pass thrown to him. Deposited into whatever offshore account. Or however that sort of thing is done. Then, because Person A knows this will happen, Person A makes way more than 3 million on the result. Hell, there doesn't even need to be a Person A doing the asking. NFL Player A could do all of it through a trusted proxy.

I suspect this sort of thing happens in NCAA, at the pro level, basketball, football, anything where insane amounts of money are at stake. To think otherwise just seems naïve.

Anywhere there is huge money, there is almost certainly some sort of corruption. Agree, Bob.

[traderumor]

My dad used to refer to "the fix of the week," which usually was just a "any given Sunday" result.

However, while I honestly think the communication with the league for quick clean up of a bad initial call on the field that is easily reversed by a video review is to speed up the process, the refs having an earpiece wired in to the men/women behind the curtain certainly could give the appearance and opportunity for nefarious activity. A late flag for PI, or holding, or a face mask, could easily come from eyes off the field communicated through these ear pieces. So, each team should have a rep who is listening to these feeds to make sure there are no off line calls being made other than rules allow.

[JCM11]

It's pretty obvious what went down at the Super Bowl last year with the LA team playing in LA in the new fancy 5 billion dollar stadium. The NFL desperately wanted their own Lakers in LA. They would've thrown 15 flags if that's what it took to get the Rams in the endzone on their last drive. Yeah I'm one of those "conspiracy theorists" and I think you have to have you're head buried pretty far in the sand at this point not to be questioning the things happening in the world.

[KoryMac5]

As kids we are fans of certain teams and root for these teams...I have always wondered how referees/umpires in any sport take out that bias that is instilled in us as kids...

I know I could never call a Reds game or a Bengals game.

[RedTeamGo!]

Influenced is doing some heavy lifting here, but yeah, I think it’s somewhat rigged. Not like professional wrestling rigged. But, I think the league can and does use the officials in a way to push certain results.