NFL 2016 - <whatever Tony is doing>

NFL needs to take a look at what the NHL does with the War Room for reviewing calls. That shit at the end of the 1st half was just pants on head retarded. I don't understand how officiating just seems to get worse and worse.

Wife went on a mini-rant last night about how the Thursday and Monday games are predetermined and you can tell by how the officials call the game. I'm hard pressed to argue against that after what the refs did last night, even though I know it's more likely complete and total ineptitude as opposed to some grand conspiracy.

Also, Dallas opened as underdogs against the Steelers. I'd not normally pay attention to that except a bookie actually said this with a straight face:

"I don’t like this spot at all for the Cowboys," he said. "This team is very fat and happy, winning seven straight and off their most dominating win of the year. This is their second of back-to-back road games, going into Steel Country, playing a very upset Steelers team. No question, the Steelers will bring 100 percent focus and effort against the Cowboys. I’m not that sure you can say the same about the Cowboys."

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Look, they had six in a row going in against an 0-8 team. The set up was there for them to not take the contest seriously but instead they showed up and did what they've done all year. Except this time they felt good about easing off the pedal early in the 4th.

So if Dallas took Cleveland seriously, they sure as hell are going to take the Steelers seriously and not rest on their laurels. It's a tough contest because Ben, Brown, and Bell are all capable of killing you, and the defense isn't a pushover. If they lose it won't be because they got complacent.

Merrith said:

NFL needs to take a look at what the NHL does with the War Room for reviewing calls. That shit at the end of the 1st half was just pants on head retarded. I don't understand how officiating just seems to get worse and worse.

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Or, what people have been saying for a decade, do what the NCAA does. It's fucking pathetic that the NCAA has higher quality refs than the professional league.

The refs have been getting worse and worse every year, but this season is on a whole new level of terrible. And it's being noticed everywhere, not just here.

Chanur said:

Can someone recommend a good football podcast?

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The Ringer NFL Podcast has people that do not sound like "radio announcer" people. Which is grating to me.

Really Moon, all they had to do was show up against the Browns. Don't get Steelers being favored at all over Dallas, though. Pittsburgh might be decent against the run, but Packers were #1 and we saw how that turned out. Unless they think Ben is going to miraculously heal up from where he was on Sunday (pretty much terrible), I don't get it.

Good game last night..didn't win the 100 bucks for the week, some jackhole had the same record as me, but picked the tiebreaker game 28-21 thus only off by 3 pts total to my 4..........oh well....4th place overall "wins" total tied with about 10 others, 10th place in listing

Yea the officiating is going to be overhauled within the next 2 to 3 years, mark my words. There is going to be too much heat on the NFL to increase training and usher in a new era of quality and consistency from their officiating crew, instead of this current good ol' boy network of refs who are either elderly, institutionalized, or just fucking inept.

Its starting to hurt the game, and if it isnt fixed soon the fans are going to tune out. They also have the CTE problem which is the real grim reaper for them. There needs to be a drastic leap in helmet technology or something in order to curb concussions and lingering mental health effects. This also goes back to the refs though, as better officiating can help lessen the amount of dangerous hits if shit is flagged appropriately.

Merrith said:

Really Moon, all they had to do was show up against the Browns. Don't get Steelers being favored at all over Dallas, though. Pittsburgh might be decent against the run, but Packers were #1 and we saw how that turned out. Unless they think Ben is going to miraculously heal up from where he was on Sunday (pretty much terrible), I don't get it.

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I'd agree with you on the Browns comment but that goes against what JG has been preaching for years. All NFL teams have some talent and at least two or three impact players, even the Browns. They may be going through a roster upheavel but Haden and Thomas played extremely well in their respective positions. The problem they have is the dropoff along their roster from one player to the next is pretty significant. I don't necessarily subscribe to the trap game narrative but bad teams have surprised good teams before and Cleveland was in more games than not out of their 9 losses.

I don't necessarily disagree with that betting line, I just think the reasoning was suspect. I think it'll be a good game regardless, though I imagine the Dallas defense's streak of games not allowing either a 100 yard receiver or rusher is going to come to and end.

Chanur said:

The NFL is blaming the elections. If the ratings continue to be down after today there will be NFL panic.

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Ratings are down because the games suck and nobody almost dies anymore. Football is a goddamn bloodsport. Not a PG pussy Wakandan shit like the WWE is now.

a_skeleton_06 said:

What fan honestly gives a flying fuck about CTE?

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They are paid millions of dollars to make hits that you can hear in the upper deck. Nobody except ESPN gives a flying fuck about concussions and protocol. Nobody except fantasy football nerds and degenerate gamblers care about stats.

And Will Smith. Tell da troof!

CTE is pretty fucking serious. 90% of deceased football players who lent their brains for study showed signs of CTE. Thats pretty fucking alarming.

Not only that but with the new revelation that CTE can be linked to ALS, there are going to be people who fly the flag that the NFL is a doomed product as parents will steer their children away from the sport because their kid might end up a non-ambulatory, half-vegetable by the time they are 50. There are opponents of this sentiment, the NFL mostly, but there is no denying repeated violent blows to the head has a lasting effect.

Yea fans want to see people get jacked-up, crushing hits, and fast and brutal contact, so maybe it will live on regardless, but there is more and more evidence that certain players ( LB's RB's. DL, OL, S's etc) are undoubtedly going to retire with an increased chance of contracting degenerative brain function. This will ultimately lead to more early retirements and less young players, which if not curbed will lead to its death knell. Look at how many young players have retired recently citing these concerns. Not only that but veterans too, Calvin Johnson decided he had enough at age 30, Foster just hung up his cleats, I think this is going to be more common going forward.

radditsu said:

Ratings are down because the games suck and nobody almost dies anymore. Football is a goddamn bloodsport. Not a PG pussy Wakandan shit like the WWE is now.

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In reading opinions of people who are also becoming disillusioned, this is a big issue. The NFL built up to this level on stuff like the "Jacked Up" segment.

The two biggest complaints I see are:
- Too many stoppages. Kickoff, commercial, run a play, flag, commercial, run 2 more plays, punt, commercial, scoring drive, commercial, extra point, commercial, kick off, commercial, etc.
- Refs are inserting themselves into the games. It feels like every other play has a flag thrown, and not in a hyperbolic way. Worse, no one apparently knows the fucking rules anymore. What's a catch? What draws holding? What's excessive celebration? What's pass interference? Shit, in the last Redskins game John Lynch, who played for fucking ever, was watching a replay of Pierre Garcon where he made 3 steps and asked "Well, was that actually possession and a catch?"

Gravel said:

In reading opinions of people who are also becoming disillusioned, this is a big issue. The NFL built up to this level on stuff like the "Jacked Up" segment.

The two biggest complaints I see are:
- Too many stoppages. Kickoff, commercial, run a play, flag, commercial, run 2 more plays, punt, commercial, scoring drive, commercial, extra point, commercial, kick off, commercial, etc.
- Refs are inserting themselves into the games. It feels like every other play has a flag thrown, and not in a hyperbolic way. Worse, no one apparently knows the fucking rules anymore. What's a catch? What draws holding? What's excessive celebration? What's pass interference? Shit, in the last Redskins game John Lynch, who played for fucking ever, was watching a replay of Pierre Garcon where he made 3 steps and asked "Well, was that actually possession and a catch?"

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Those are two huge complaints as well. If the ball doesn't hit the goddamn ground its a catch. fuck these rules. I get so friggin aggro on these announcers because they are intentionally obtuse. It's like being the opposite of a political pundit.