Are NFL Officials Cheating? ... (LONG)

[Chief skin]

I like to think the incorrect calls are due to incompetence rather then the refs involved in fixing games for Vegas

[Burgold]

Yes, they are cheating. There have been games that have been called so insanely one-sided as to make that the only possibility. There have been instant replay overviews that have shown absolute desperation to get the play called wrong. I don't know that it is rampant, but it happens.

[SkinsFTW]

Spread was Broncos -6.5.

The Skins covered with or without the call.

The game was already safely over at that point as well. Really really doubtful.

The game wasn't over. Brunell wouldn't have had to go for 2 later to tie it since we would have won the game. Also Novak had a 54 yard FG called back earlier in the game because of a false start call. Hmmmm. Maybe somebody was betting win-lose so we had to lose.

I can't find a list of all the penalties in that game but the Redskins had 10 called on them. The ESPN article just mentions the Novak kick though.

Between that game, the Alstott 2pter, and the non fumble call against the Raiders which allowed them to win we could have had home field advantage in 05 or close to it. I remember thinking there were bad calls in the KC game as well but I can't remember what it was.

[taylorcoreskin]

Yes, they are cheating. There have been games that have been called so insanely one-sided as to make that the only possibility. There have been instant replay overviews that have shown absolute desperation to get the play called wrong. I don't know that it is rampant, but it happens.

The refs can easily affect the outcome of the game discretely, you know?

[CrabR]

I would think instant replay tends to keep them honest

[NoCalMike]

Honestly, if the refs were cheating, I would say it would be happening later in the season because that is when the betting lines are safer and more secure, once it is more established who the better teams are and who is usually "supposed" to win.

I don't think there is a ref bias against the Redskins, but I do think there is an obvious bias against "poor" teams, "poor" meaning, teams with bad records that are "supposed to lose" according to spreads, they often seem to get more of the last minute flags that halt big gains or reverse big yardage plays. It's as if the refs watch a bad team outplay a good team and think "hey that isn't supposed to happen" and make sure it won't happen.

[Commander Adama]

I would think instant replay tends to keep them honest

Not on Penalties. Replay only affects calls, though I have seen them during one of our games, not call it our way and assess a penalty after the fact. Too bad it does not work both ways.

[sideshow24]

Considering that NFL officials are part-time and have other gigs in the offseason, I would lean towards incompetence.

That being said, since they probably don't make as much money as their counterparts in the NBA and MLB, I could see a referee being tempted in a situation that went down in the NBA. However, there are way more officials in a game than in the other sports, so the checks and balances is there.

You can do a part time job and not suck at it. They get paid for what they do or they wouldn't take the job. They need to shut it and stop botching calls.

[SkinsNoles21]

Such as the Mike Alscott two-point convert. One of the refs must have had money on the bucs! :mad:

I was at that game...it was like they were scared to make the right call because the Bucs were at home. I saw the replay...

He didnt get in and it wasnt even close.

[Lombardi's_kid_brother]

The game wasn't over. Brunell wouldn't have had to go for 2 later to tie it since we would have won the game. Also Novak had a 54 yard FG called back earlier in the game because of a false start call. Hmmmm. Maybe somebody was betting win-lose so we had to lose.

I can't find a list of all the penalties in that game but the Redskins had 10 called on them. The ESPN article just mentions the Novak kick though.

Between that game, the Alstott 2pter, and the non fumble call against the Raiders which allowed them to win we could have had home field advantage in 05 or close to it. I remember thinking there were bad calls in the KC game as well but I can't remember what it was.

Oy vey.

The game was safely "Over" as in the Over/Under.

[spidernat]

I remember that and I saw the exact same thing. I've seen that happen over and over again, especially in College Football. One incident that stands out in my recollection happened in the Super Bowl played between Pittsburgh and Seattle.

[Troy Fakeman]

Nero...is totally on point here. To think that NFL Refs (or NHL officials / refs for that matter) have never affected the outcome of a game b/c of insider gambling...is infantile. I'm sure it has happened...despite the existence of instant reply...and the constant video footage from multiple angles.

I remember that play...in fact...I was sitting right next to Nero when it happened (shocker). It could have been a botch...BUT...that play (and other plays like this one)add to the conspiracy speculation(s)...

[terpfan]

I'm 90% sure that ref wanted us to lose that game. What a terrible ****ing call. It took me the rest of the season to get over that, and it still gets me when I think back to it. I had never, and have not to this day, seen that penalty EVER called in a critical time, if at all. He was looking for something.

[heatman28]

Don't even get me started on this topic...the refs are a bunch of dirty ****s! :mad:

[wysknz1]

Broncos/Redskins a few years ago in the rain. Safety taken away by that stupid ass tuck rule.

I was at that game and even the Denver fans (most of them) thought it was a BS call. But of course it went in thier favor, so they didn't complain.

[Aireskoi]

Not only am I convinced the ref's make calls to purposely affect the outcome of games, I do not think the announcers are allowed to criticize the refs like they could when I watched football in the 80's and 90's. Now, when they see a bad call they don't even always show us the replay or when they do they will just explain it away and move on.

I think the refs jumped on the feel good story of the Saints last year. I do not remember specific plays, but I remember it was obvious when I watched them.

[hail2skins]

What about the Polumanu interception in the Steelers-Colts playoff game a few years ago that was ruled an incomplete pass? That was the worst!

[Warhead36]

Probably the worst call I've ever seen in my life. You strike up a good point though SSF Nero. I'm not saying there was cheating that game(I think ultimately it was just sheer incompetence), but it is a lot easier to affect outgames of games in the NFL by shady officiating then it is in the NBA because one call(or no call)can literally change the entire scope of a game.

[whatmeworry]

I think I heard that a lot of refs were lawyers in their day jobs so it wouldn't surprise me a bit.

[ThomasRoane]

Anyone who watched the Steelers-Seahawks super bowl would have to be scratching their heads. I'm afraid to say it probably happens.

NFL needs full time, younger Refs. And they should sign up to have everything in their personal lives open to inspection. Course, that would mean they make a lotta money. But the integrity of the game is priceless.

[diesel22]

Such as the Mike Alscott two-point convert. One of the refs must have had money on the bucs! :mad:

The Alstott call wasn't even the worst one of that game! There was a heinous interference call which bailed TB out and gave them a 1st and goal earlier in the game. I was watching it @ a BWs in Kansas City, MO and I was so incensed they told me I was gonna have to leave if I couldn't calm down. That game still makes my blood boil every time I think of it -- it helped that we got our revenge in the playoffs but I am still pissed.

:rant: :bucsuck:

[ParcellsWearsDiapers]

The NFL has set up the league so that there are as many evenly matched teams as possible. Harder schedules for last years' first place teams, bad teams drafting first, and the salary cap all have a hand in evening the playing field enough to make more and more games evenly matched. If you are an unscrupulous mob bookmaker, you obviously know that most games are evenly matched, so if you could be assured that a team would get an extra two pass interference calls during a game or an extra holding call, that could easily sway the advantage one way or another.

Over the course of time, a ref who was making calls favoring one side or the other for a particular game would definitely improve the odds for a particular bookmaker. One official can't cause one team to win over another team, but an extra 3 calls against one side over 16 games would definitely affect the odds for a bookmaker and allow them to profit off of a referee's actions.

[CamLwalk]

Yes, the Green Bay call was a horrible call. As were the Tampa Bay 2 pointer and awful DPI call. I'd even agree that overall, for whatever reason, Skins have gotten more than their share of hurtful bad calls. But I just don't see it in the NFL. Read this article...

NFL refs face layers of scrutiny

[Santana_Fan]

Kind of off topic, but it always seems weird to me how, Roy Williams seems to slide with horse-collaring, when the whole damn rule was created because of him. There was one player in 05' (on the Cowboys), besides Williams to horse-collar Portis (with two hands inside the pads). I'll go back and try to find the clip of it, it's crazy. But then it seems they call penalties on the Redskins alot of the time.

[robotfire]

Here we go.

October 31' date=' 2004

With 2 minutes to go, score is:

Green Bay 20

Washington 14

Spread, Packers -2

Over Under 40.5

The Redskins TD went have hurt anyone who had the Packers.

However, there is a problem here in that the Packers scored another TD after the call. So, the game went Over regardless of the call.[/quote']The defense, for the first and only time that entire year, completely gave up after that phantom call. I never saw anything like it. They just didn't care, they were CLEARLY in shock from the terrible call. I guarantee they would have stopped Green Bay if that touchdown had counted.

If I had to guess, I think the game had more to do with politics than gambling. Somebody wanted the Packers to win really badly because of that stupid "When Washington wins, so does the incumbent" idea.