MattM

Looks like there are refs with competing betting interests in the Pats*-Ravens game. There's been a flag like 5 plays in a row now, going each way

Doesn't have to be the League (although it could be)--just takes a few greedy officials, and some cooperation from the folks who manage them, kind of like the Serie A scandal in Italian soccer a few years back. In that case, the guy in charge of assigning the refs to games was involved. It was a widespread scandal that rocked that League. Here, I just know what I see--over and over and over again....

So amazing that it defies logic, unless there are other factors at work than meet the eye....

Nice win!

What's wrong with Dareus--hVen't seen him playing yet

Just off the top of my head, the ones I recall include: Bills (multiple, the worst being the JP game a few years back that TMQ wrote about), Ravens Monday nighter, the Giants game the last game of the undefeated season, Dolphins Monday nighter, Houston game about ten years ago (late, late penalty away from the play wipes a Brady game-ending pick off the board, allowing the Cheats to go on to win--even the announcers weren't sure of the call), the Tuck Rule, the AFCCG vs. the Colts, the Saints game this year, all to go with the Browns. Feel free to add your own....

This--just look at the media firestorm when the Pats* lose a game that a call had a part in. They go bonkers. Yet when the Pats* shtupp someone on a late call or no call it gets little to no press. Only problem is, what the Pats* did on the FG in the Jets game was a textbook example of the penalty in question, unlike on Sunday vs the Browns. Let's not play false equivalence here, please.

That's ticky tack hand checking that goes on on every long pass play--go to ProFootballTalk.com and read the comments section there--plenty of Pats* fans there have admitted just that, but go ahead and believe what you want to believe. BTW, did you even notice the title of the GIF? What's your response on the BS defenseless receiver call that gave them an extra 125 yards on the kickoff, or the Patriot* falling out of bounds on his knees when the timeoutless Pats* needed the clock stopped and the refs doing just that for them? That was another great one where the refs (including the guy looking right at the line play) missed an obvious hold the Saints DE on the game winning TD. You really can't make this stuff up, it happens so often with that team....

No, we saw the same replay--you're just used to getting calls that no one else gets, particularly at that stage of a game, over and over again until it seems like second nature to you....

Completely agree--they bring in Pereira to simply whitewash whatever the call was, good or bad. Folks should also remember that Mike Pereira actually wanted the League to allow refs to be hired by individual teams upon their retirement from reffing, possibly the single worst idea in the history of the sport ("why thank you, Ref A, for your years of hard work calling games in our favor, here's your gold watch and 500k a year sweetheart deal"). That told me all I needed to know about good, ole Mike P..... Sorry, dude, but you're missing the point here--that was not PI at all and that call only gets made in favor of the Pats* when they're down at crunch time

Wow--hats off to Prater, as that's been an amazingly long-standing record!

It wasn't just the PI--there was also a play on the second to last drive when the Pats* receiver was clearly stopped in bounds (he leaned from his knees to put the ball out of bounds!) and the refs still stopped the clock for the timeoutless Cheats*, quickly followed by a ridiculous 15 yarder on the Browns DB on the second to last TD. WWF and its "black hatting" and "white hatting" of wrestlers can't help but come to mind....

What a complete and utter joke....

I wasn't even talking PI--first off, they stopped the clock earlier when the Pat* was clearly stopped in bounds and second the garbage unnecessary toughness call to give them an extra 15 yards. Complete and utter BS I'm really starting to think this league is fixed

Unreal what the Cheats* are getting away with in this game

Refs trying their best to give the Cheats* a win....

People shouldn't give it a rest until we get an answer. The League and the relevant officials should be held accountable. End of story, particularly on something as blatantly bad as that call.

O'Leary's book brings up Doug Flutie's radio interview quote that during his Patriette career he once picked up another's QB helmet and was shocked to hear the booth seeming to keep talking to the QB well beyond the League-mandated cutoff point. This interview took place right after Spygate and apparently when approached on it afterwards Flutie decided to clam up about it with "no comments". The book also links to other articles that discuss how right after Spygate the League found that Patriette headsets had two frequencies/channels instead of the League-mandated one, which may explain how they were doing what Flutie seemed to be alleging.... Rod Marinelli and Jack Del Rio have each accused the Cheats* of this (headsets at Gillette going out on key plays late in a game) in the past

If you want to see how the "pros" do it, watch a New England* game--why, they never commit penalties. Twice this year already they've gone 60 minutes without a single penalty (called against them, that is)....

Uhh, sorry, but Atlanta also had extra time off, as someone else above noted. Ask any coach and I'd bet he'd tell you you want to limit the number of times you play a team who has extra rest. It's just common sense...

You watch a lot of football. Honest question, how often does that happen? I'd wager that happens pretty rarely based on my experience (but then again, a lot of the games I've watched have been Bills games, where the refs wait two minutes after a play to call Aaron Williams for illegal contact when the replay clearly showed he never touched a single person on the play, so my experience may be a bit different than most fans'--particularly Pats* fans). As noted above, someone else researched that the FIRST time NE* did that earlier this year, because it seemed like such a rare feat. And if I recall correctly, that's what their evidence/reasearch showed, too.

Someone else did that recently here the first time the Cheats* did it this season--very rare as any football watcher could tell you (at least anecdotally)....

And Dierdork just gushed about the fact that the Cheats* had no penalties all game in their 3 point win over a 2-9 team. Second time this year. Give me a break.....

Wouldn't it have been nice if we could have kept J. Bell?

Correct on the last part, but not quite right on the first part--if they lose to the Broncos tonight, they'd need to lose two more out of the last 4 games before falling to the Bills in Week 17. That would put us both at 9-7--not sure about the tie breakers beyond that, but head to head would be even. They have the Ravens and Fins and Texans and Browns in those other 4. I'd say that at least the Fins and Birds could possibly beat them. Not saying this is happening, but it's not completely impossible, especially if they should lose tonight. The tougher part is obviously us stringing together 5 wins, including against them at home in Week 17. The chances of all of this happening--probably less than 2-3%....