SaulGoodman

Lol. They're showing that on ESPN now? People are sure bent out of shape over a few calls that were defended by rules experts. I think they were soft calls too, but it's a soft league now and that first one's going to be called every time. Has been all year. As for that graph, it looks bad on the surface, but a few things: 1) It's a blatant cherrypick. If they went back one more game, it would include the SB vs Tampa, which had a massive disparity in favor of the Bucs. During that full playoff run, KC's opponents were penalized 11 times to 21 for the Chiefs. Convenient of them to leave that out, among others. No one felt sorry for the Chiefs when they were hosed vs Brady twice in massive games. 11 penalties for 120 yds vs 4 for 39. One TD drive was basically all penalty yards. Where was the outrage? Now we're supposed to feel sorry for the Texans due to a couple supposedly bad calls that resulted in a total of 3 pts? They'd have lost anyway. 2) The average penalty disparity in that stretch is only a couple fouls, and the margin in most of those games is between 5-20 yds. In a few of them, the teams were either tied in total penalties or KC had more penalty yds. Without looking at each penalty individually, it really doesn't tell us much. 3) In Sharp's Twitter thread, he implied that KC got a lot of the "significant" calls in those games. He failed to mention that they were the only team to have a TD wiped off the board last postseason (and it happened twice). Or that there were two TDs negated the previous postseason, and also a negated INT. Opponents had zero of either. So, 0-5. Just a few off the top of my head from the last two years. There were plenty of other big calls against KC too, like the defensive hold on 3rd and 13 that gave SF a new set of downs in OT. I guess Sharp doesn't consider those significant? Disingenuous nonsense pushed by people w/ agendas.

Don’t you guys think the ref stuff is a little overdone? That roughing call is going to be made 99% of the time. That’s the way they call it now for all QBs. Allen draws roughing the passer at a far higher rate than Mahomes (and flops for a lot of calls) but I’m betting it would get annoying to hear “the refs will give him a first down,” rather than giving him credit for what he accomplishes. He doesn’t seem hindered, although he didn’t have a big impact in the Texans game. Should’ve had that deep ball though. I’m still not quite sure that wasn’t a reception. Didn’t get a very good angle of it. I hate that Andy is so reluctant to challenge.

I don’t think doubling Kelce is a good strategy these days. Maybe when he was faster/more dominant and their top WRs were Smith-Schuster, MVS and Toney. But not with Brown, Worthy and Hopkins out there.

Lol. You're right, I completely missed the word "rush." Probably because I was in a rush. 😄

Ravens and Broncos defenses on a whole other level? No. Neither are as good, especially with Watson and Omenihu back in the fold. Not counting Week 18 against the Chiefs' backups, Denver's D allowed almost 30 ppg over their last 5, and were lucky it wasn't worse (Jonathan Taylor's blunder while jogging into the endzone and some other flukery). They allowed 500 yds or just under several times in that stretch. Saying they're on another level from KC's D is an insult.

PPG doesn't necessarily tell the story. Not to mention, sitting starters and losing 38-0 dropped them several places. KC's offense ranked highly in success rate, EPA/play, dropback EPA, and others. At one point, they had the highest 3rd down conversion rate in the NFL in years. It hasn't been a very explosive offense, but that doesn't mean it's ineffective. Adding Hollywood Brown and making a change at LT has made a big difference too. Not to mention the emergence of Worthy. At one point early in the year, their best WR was Smith-Schuster, who was like the 5th option in a bad NE offense last year. And they were really hindered by Kingsley/Morris at LT. I know I'd much rather go to battle w/ Hollywood/Hopkins/Worthy/Kelce/Smith-Schuster than Smith-Schuster/MVS/Kelce/Toney/Watson.

I don't think anybody is going to be able to prove anything either way. If his record with one official was 50-0, and 10-40 with another, that would be an indicator that something's fishy. But 4-0? For all we know that's 4 games vs bad teams.

I don't think sample sizes of 4 or 5 tell you much.

I'd say this year's roster is definitely better than '22 or '23. Much better receiving corps than either team, and much better defense than '22.

Not sure where you’re seeing this. I have seen a lot of overconfident Bills fans though.

And there it is…rules expert Anderson explains that both were called correctly. The rules might suck, but calling it by the books isn’t evidence of a fix or favoritism.

KC had 131 return yds, plus 20ish yds subtracted on an intentional safety. Both teams had 9 possessions, but only 6 of KC's were actually "drives." One was the safety, another was a kneel-down at the end of the 1st half, and the first possession started at the 13 after the long kick return. So the Chiefs basically scored 3.3 points per drive and averaged around 40 yds per drive. Texans averaged 1.5 points per drive and slightly over 40 yds per drive.

I’d say I’m pretty respectful. Even when I’m insulted by someone, I generally don’t respond with an insult. Again, if it agitates you for someone to disagree with a very subjective and conspiratorial narrative, maybe I’m not the problem.

No, I didn’t say that. If it agitates you for someone to offer a factual counter argument to “NFL’s fixing every Chiefs game,” then maybe your KC hatred is reaching unhealthy levels.

I’m explaining what happened. I don’t care what Collinsworth says. I’m a weird freak for bringing some facts into the hate party. Lol. Okay. Hate on.

You could argue that almost every minute spent on any message board is a waste of time. But if it’s interesting or entertaining to you, I’d argue it’s not a waste of time. I wouldn’t expect fans of 31 fanbases to change their minds. At least you admit that bias plays a huge part in the perception. That’s enough for me.

No, what makes sense is that there was a national uproar from fans/media after Collinsworth bitched about Taylor in game 1 last year. This led to the NFL relentlessly targeting him beginning in week 2.

But it’s not “loser stuff” to blame every single KC win on officiating? Lol. Wow.

Again, he’s been penalized MUCH more than in Jacksonville, and it started immediately after he joined the Chiefs. Somehow, in haters’ minds, an immediate dramatic increase in penalty rate indicates favoritism for KC. Please make it make sense. Your own Dion Dawkins is known for the same kick step. Let me guess…he never gets away with a penalty? Or just 80% less than Taylor? And you know this because you study every snap of both payers. If we’re being honest, we all know there are numerous penalties that go uncalled in every.single.game. Technically there’s holding on almost every snap. To expect imperfect/inconsistent refs to be perfect when officiating KC is ridiculous. We also know that armchair refs aren’t as knowledgeable about rules as trained officials and rules experts.

Of course, and it’s not hard to fathom why. Difference is, I have facts to support my takes. The other side can only point to the occasional call or missed call, which can be done for any team. But the microscope isn’t pointed toward other teams, is it? Um…if one literally thought that NFL games were scripted and rigged, and it enraged them to the point of continual blowups…why would that person continue to religiously support and fork over money for a “fake” and illegitimate product? That’s no different than following WWE. Actually worse, because people only follow WWE for the entertainment value of goofy promotions and trash talk.

No, they weren’t warned. Reid specifically mentioned that. "Very disappointed that it ended the way it did," Reid said. "Normally I'll get -- I never use any of this as excuses, but normally I get a warning before something like that happens in a big game. (It's) a bit embarrassing in the National Football League for that to take place… "I've been in the league a long time and I haven't had one like that. So, not where, at least in that kind of position there where it is not given a heads up to."

Who’s denying that KC benefits from questionable calls now and then? Definitely not me. But you realize that an iffy call here and there isn’t proof of a conspiracy, right? Yep. How many of them rage about it being scripted, but keep coming back? Lol.

So we’re only talking about alleged bad calls? Then why did people freak out in 22 after a late hit two yds out of bounds and a defensive hold in which the defender grabbed a handful of jersey? Which was defended by rules experts. Aside from a few iffy personal fouls yesterday (which led to a grand total of three points), what are all the blatantly bad calls that have helped KC in big games? I’m not the one claiming conspiracy. I’m saying that plenty of impactful calls go against KC. I’m not looking for sympathy. But you’re kind of helping to prove my point. Every team can complain about calls/no-calls. Was there a conspiracy to help every team that held Jerry Hughes? No, just KC. There are questionable or missed calls in every single NFL game, and everyone knows this. But if KC benefits from a call, there’s an undeniable conspiracy. Come on, people.

The “record with such and such officials” stuff is silly. He has a great record with pretty much any ref. I think it’s ridiculous to claim that if a b2b champ and winners of 22 of the last 23 (not including the game in which starters sat) wins again, it’s proof of a fix. But people need a reason to justify their KC hate and they found one. Is what it is. Of course, when questionable or game-changing calls go their team’s way, those calls were obvious and correct and “nothing to see here.”

Yep. And what really pisses people off about this is that they thought they were finally done with a team dominating the NFL (NE), then another team immediately replaced them. I get it. But KC fans were very loyal and supportive through decades of heartbreak and frustration. To hear people talk incessantly about “Chiefs fatigue” after they finally broke through for a 5-6 year stretch is kinda annoying. Just like it would be to Bills fans if everybody were whining about Bills fatigue after they finally broke through and won a few SBs.