On Further Review, Buffalo Bills Have Legitimate Beef With NFL Officials

[dave mcbride]

7 minutes ago, LABILLBACKER said:

Aaron and Patricia better prepare now to get hosed. The money generated for a monster Brady V Belichick SB would be astronomical.  This is the one they've been praying for. The calls will be disguised but enough to steer the outcome. Sorry no State Farm SB this year.  Probably next.

As I've said repeatedly, any conspiracy theory about favoring certain teams because of ratings potential that doesn't include the Cowboys is wrong. Outside of the northeast corridor sports media, there is far, far more enthusiasm for and interest in the Cowboys than any other team. 

[TC in St. Louis]

2 hours ago, GLP said:

Stop whining about officiating. This team is not good enough to win regardless of officiating.

Apparently you did not see the game.  We're not whining.  We're pissed.  We were robbed.  Go to Peachtree and stick your head in the fountain.

[34-78-83]

2 hours ago, Thriftygamer83 said:

To much of that going on, it means officials have staked themselves, into skimming, shaving points, and engaging into means with Roger Dodge Goodell.  If Goodell doesn't go to jail when he's out I'd be surprised which is why he's been fighting to keep his job ever since.  He's a crap crooked lawyer for his Purple Gang-era confidant in Bob Kraft nd the two are good friends from childhood.... because, why not.  I mean the alliance was forged in bullets and blood shed in Detroit after all.  

Regarding Utah John's post that you are reacting to here ^^ ...

 

That is not at ALL what it is. The post on-field ref ball placement adjustments were seeing pop up across the league in all the games are the new "eye in the sky" official. It has actual been a great add for the NFL and is achieving a much higher degree of spotting accuracy. This is fact.

 

With that said, I hope they add the ability to overturn other horrific calls (like PI or no PI) to the abilities of the "eye in the sky" official.

 

 

Edited December 14, 2021 by 34-78-83

[All_Pro_Bills]

3 hours ago, ScottLaw said:

The officials blow in every game…  unfortunately it’s just the way the league is. However, the officials didn’t cause the Bills to go 3 and out on their first offensive possession in OT though. 

Actually it was the officials fault the Bills went three and out in OT because on 3rd down Diggs was grabbed and pulled at the right shoulder when he broke to the ball by TB CB Davis on the play.  But it, like other infractions, wasn't called. Watch the replay. 

As far as how the league is the Bills have passed over 500 times yet have gotten just two defensive holding calls all season.  That seems impossible for a team that relies on the passing game for the big majority of their offense.

Both calls against Howard of Miami.  One of the league's best corners.  But other Corners, Safeties, and Linebackers of less skill and less experience have not one time held any Bills receiver.  Add in the 4 and 5 receivers sets and statistically its likely over 2,000 receiver/defender encounters.  All without any holding.  Amazing.  But yeah, it's just how the league goes.  At least for some of the teams.  Other?  Not so much it seems.  And honestly saying it's just how it goes isn't good enough.  It needs to be fair and called correctly.  The numbers scream obvious bias against us.  This needs to be addressed and fixed.

Edited December 14, 2021 by All_Pro_Bills

[TuelTime]

2 hours ago, Greg S said:

 

Losing to the other team is one thing but losing because of the refs on a non-call that was obvious is a joke.  The NFL is supposed to be a sport not the WWE.

 

Actually, no. If the NFL was classed as a sport, with individual teams competing against each other, they could be charged under antitrust laws for fixing games. But being classed as a form of entertainment, the teams are technically working in unison for entertainment purposes, so it's perfectly legal for the NFL to fix a game. This isn't a crazy conspiracy theory by the way, but was actually argued by the NFL in a court of law.

 

The NFL’s own lawyer stated that the league competes in the “entertainment marketplace.” Because NFL football is in fact entertainment and nothing more, perhaps that was why in yet another court ruling, it was proven that the NFL could fix its own games and legally get away with it.

[ControllerOfPlanetX]

Ref got the stare down from Brady on the sidelines...daring him to throw the flag.

[muppy]

ACK Yeah this topic is something that fans have zero control over. That being the quality of officiating we are seeing, and the seemingly blatant disregard in not throwing a  flag OR throwing one in a crucial moment and its the wrong or just a bad bad call

 

the futility of our concerns even if its heard  by them what are they gonna do?,,, Im hard pressed to see the NFL make any significant changes that might impact their CASH FLOW

 

blown officiating happens but meh fans keep buying tickets and merch we're Good........8*&^%%%^&(*^%$

 

thats what I think.

 

m

Edited December 14, 2021 by muppy

[artmalibu]

In many games I see bad calls against both teams, so whatever.  In this game the bad calls/no calls never benefited the Bills. 

[gobills404]

 

[UKBillFan]

1 hour ago, dave mcbride said:

As I've said repeatedly, any conspiracy theory about favoring certain teams because of ratings potential that doesn't include the Cowboys is wrong. Outside of the northeast corridor sports media, there is far, far more enthusiasm for and interest in the Cowboys than any other team. 

 

But it's about the story as much as the money. A Brady v Belichick Super Bowl to potentially see Brady's career out will be golddust to them.

[jlgarsh]

This is the first time in a couple years I recall NFL analysts from all over calling out the officials in a Bills game. Plus Terry Macaulay, Gene Steratore, Mike Pereira, and even Romo in the booth was like “ I don’t understand how you don’t call that?”. It wasn’t typical handfighting or jockeying for position, but blatant. And both said the same when Wallace got flagged for the phantom PI. When’s the last time you can recall that happening? I’m not a moral victory believer, but the Bills never quit, and Josh carried them all on his back. 

[Chaos]

13 minutes ago, jlgarsh said:

This is the first time in a couple years I recall NFL analysts from all over calling out the officials in a Bills game. Plus Terry Macaulay, Gene Steratore, Mike Pereira, and even Romo in the booth was like “ I don’t understand how you don’t call that?”. It wasn’t typical handfighting or jockeying for position, but blatant. And both said the same when Wallace got flagged for the phantom PI. When’s the last time you can recall that happening? I’m not a moral victory believer, but the Bills never quit, and Josh carried them all on his back. 

Josh is a rich man’s Jimmy Braddock

[Beast]

4 hours ago, GLP said:

Stop whining about officiating. This team is not good enough to win regardless of officiating.

 

🤡🤡🤡🤡

 

4 hours ago, ScottLaw said:

The officials blow in every game…  unfortunately it’s just the way the league is. However, the officials didn’t cause the Bills to go 3 and out on their first offensive possession in OT though. 

 

No surprises from you.

[26TrapDraw]

Keep me out of this

[Freddie's Dead]

5 hours ago, ScottLaw said:

The officials blow in every game…  unfortunately it’s just the way the league is. However, the officials didn’t cause the Bills to go 3 and out on their first offensive possession in OT though. 

 

Yes, they did.  Davis grabbed Stef's shoulder pad before the ball got there on 3rd down.  No call.

[NewEra]

5 hours ago, Thriftygamer83 said:

We've all got a beef with officials.  It's been that way since the days of Jeff Triplette running a busy work investigations, as an IRS Agent, in which a woman almost killed herself due to his mismanagement, and still obtaining a promotion despite being labeled as incompetent.  While, he later gloated at his retirement part of working for the Titans.  Already mde calls for them don't see why he'd ever stopped working for them.  

No we don’t. Their are some that are above being mad about refs. It’s a part of the game and should relearn the same due to tradition.  We should also play all of our games in a snow storm.  I’ve heard rumors of us installing a blizzard machine in the new open aired stadium so we can play every game in terrible weather.  Old school football, how it’s meant to be played!!

[fan_in_tx]

9 hours ago, Utah John said:

The PI calls happened after a game in which the officials repeatedly shortened the yards gained by the Bills on runs or passes, by moving the ball back, sometimes more than a yard, from where the ball was when the player was tackled or stopped.

 

Ka-ching.  Thousands of betting houses cashed in.

I thought I was the only one noticing how every carry to the line of gain seemed to get pushed back a foot or two.   This on top of the Fournette first down.  

 

[GoBills808]

6 hours ago, TuelTime said:

 

Actually, no. If the NFL was classed as a sport, with individual teams competing against each other, they could be charged under antitrust laws for fixing games. But being classed as a form of entertainment, the teams are technically working in unison for entertainment purposes, so it's perfectly legal for the NFL to fix a game. This isn't a crazy conspiracy theory by the way, but was actually argued by the NFL in a court of law.

 

The NFL’s own lawyer stated that the league competes in the “entertainment marketplace.” Because NFL football is in fact entertainment and nothing more, perhaps that was why in yet another court ruling, it was proven that the NFL could fix its own games and legally get away with it.

The NFL is a trade association.

 

To which case are you referring when you talk about the ‘NFL’s own lawyer’?

[Jeffbigalls]

9 hours ago, Utah John said:

The PI calls happened after a game in which the officials repeatedly shortened the yards gained by the Bills on runs or passes, by moving the ball back, sometimes more than a yard, from where the ball was when the player was tackled or stopped.

 

Ka-ching.  Thousands of betting houses cashed in.

Everyone I knew took Tampa bay -3.5 ,

[Richard Noggin]

9 hours ago, cgg716 said:

I’ll just say this, if the point spread swayed the officals, the Bills would have gotten those calls 

No, silly. Depends who got the most action, not who got the points. 

 

(To be fair, though, I have no idea where the action was on this game.)

[GoBills808]

12 minutes ago, Richard Noggin said:

No, silly. Depends who got the most action, not who got the points. 

 

(To be fair, though, I have no idea where the action was on this game.)

What depends on who gets the most action?

[Richard Noggin]

18 minutes ago, GoBills808 said:

What depends on who gets the most action?

Which way a betting-influenced fix would lean, in this ridiculous hypothetical. The line is set initially to be both predictive AND to be motivational. 

 

My guess is the Bills v Bucs line was set so low because a) the Bills are better than their recent results (Vegas ain't dumb) and b) such a tight line would inspire bettors to get in on this game (my next guess being that lots of money came in on the Bucs when the line was lowest).

[GoBills808]

3 minutes ago, Richard Noggin said:

Which way a betting-influenced fix would lean, in this ridiculous hypothetical. The line is set initially to be both predictive AND to be motivational. 

 

My guess is the Bills v Bucs line was set so low because a) the Bills are better than their recent results (Vegas ain't dumb) and b) such a tight line would inspire bettors to get in on this game (my next guess being that lots of money came in on the Bucs when the line was lowest).

Over 60% of the handle came in on Bucs spread. There’s little chance BUF moneyline came close to make up the difference, so in theory the books lost.

 

In reality, the lines are set to induce as much action on both sides as possible. Yes, there are some rare occurrences when they’re overexposed but the truth is that once all the bets are in Vegas doesn’t care about the outcome. 

[Búfalo Blanco]

I’ll be quite curious to watch the officiating on 12/26 when Buffalo travels to NE. That could be an obvious sign, if any of the suspicion about a NE/TB Super Bowl has merit. 

[Richard Noggin]

15 minutes ago, GoBills808 said:

Over 60% of the handle came in on Bucs spread. There’s little chance BUF moneyline came close to make up the difference, so in theory the books lost.

 

In reality, the lines are set to induce as much action on both sides as possible. Yes, there are some rare occurrences when they’re overexposed but the truth is that once all the bets are in Vegas doesn’t care about the outcome. 

If over 60% of the action came in for the Bucs, then doesn't that (for the conspiratorially-minded) support the gambling-based game-fixing narrative?

 

Can't let the Bills pull the upset when so much money is leaning on the Bucs. 

 

That's not my thinking, exactly. But again, we're discussing a hypothetical raised more than a few times in the wake of horrifically one-sided officiating. 

[GoBills808]

2 minutes ago, Richard Noggin said:

If over 60% of the action came in for the Bucs, then doesn't that (for the conspiratorially-minded) support the gambling-based game-fixing narrative?

 

Can't let the Bills pull the upset when so much money is leaning on the Bucs. 

 

That's not my thinking, exactly. But again, we're discussing a hypothetical raised more than a few times in the wake of horrifically one-sided officiating. 

No, the books win if the Bills cover. 

[Richard Noggin]

7 minutes ago, GoBills808 said:

No, the books win if the Bills cover. 

But is it the books who buy the refs? Or the big money bettors? Or their part-time employer, the league itself (topic for another day, the refs' part-time employment status)?

 

We never see the refs seemingly in the bag for the underdog. 

 

I do understand how fraught this topic is. I'll see myself out.

[GoBills808]

16 minutes ago, Richard Noggin said:

But is it the books who buy the refs? Or the big money bettors? Or their part-time employer, the league itself (topic for another day, the refs' part-time employment status)?

 

We never see the refs seemingly in the bag for the underdog. 

 

I do understand how fraught this topic is. I'll see myself out.

Why would that matter? 

[Scott7975]

12 hours ago, Thriftygamer83 said:

NFL reports me for using copyrighted content, YouTube informs them I didn't, and I'll never use their footage.  What I'll be doing is taking to tasks how corruption operats in my next video.  Whomever wanted me taken down tried to supress me in a stupid move without watching the full video.  It's one thing to have Nintendo or Konami take my videos for management training... it's another for the NFL to outright not watch a fans video and then d something incredibly stupid and remove their compliant within seconds.

 

Know this... you are allowed to use footage as educational means.  So if you make videos with NFL footage then make your videos in educational format.  If they try to screw you then appeal it.

11 hours ago, Brianmoorman4jesus said:

The thing I don’t get is….it’s Tuesday. This ***** has been happening to us for at least 15 years with Brady. Brady, Rodgers Big Ben and maybe Russel Wilson get almost every PI call imaginable for the last decade. Especially at home. It’s a free 10-14 points every game. It’s a wonder those teams ever lose at home actually. It’s never going to change. What’s the point in worrying about it or complaining? It’s going to happen every time and at this point, just accept it.

 

Everyone accepting dog ***** is why they keep feeding dog *****.

[Scott7975]

8 hours ago, TuelTime said:

 

Actually, no. If the NFL was classed as a sport, with individual teams competing against each other, they could be charged under antitrust laws for fixing games. But being classed as a form of entertainment, the teams are technically working in unison for entertainment purposes, so it's perfectly legal for the NFL to fix a game. This isn't a crazy conspiracy theory by the way, but was actually argued by the NFL in a court of law.

 

The NFL’s own lawyer stated that the league competes in the “entertainment marketplace.” Because NFL football is in fact entertainment and nothing more, perhaps that was why in yet another court ruling, it was proven that the NFL could fix its own games and legally get away with it.

 

Correct

[ChrisWatson#21]

Been watching Bills football for long time we have never been a darling for officials.  From SB 26 when Marv chased down an official at halftime, just give it to them, music city forward pass, the Texans playoff game and most recently this weekend seen so much that I've come to the conclusion that when the Bills win the NFL loses money.  The officials know this as they are employees of the billionaires.  Only once have I felt the refs gave the Bills a game and that was the San Francisco game of 1998 where the niners were big favorites so IDK who pulled strings for that outcome.  Maybe last year too when the Rams were called for tough penalty but honestly we have gotten the short end of the stick for decades from officials.

[dave mcbride]

13 hours ago, UKBillFan said:

 

But it's about the story as much as the money. A Brady v Belichick Super Bowl to potentially see Brady's career out will be golddust to them.

It’s always about the money.

[muppy]

16 hours ago, Nextmanup said:

Officiating is terrible; it's consistently bad; it impacts both teams in the games.

 

Over the course of a season, it probably more or less evens out.

 

It is there as a problem to be overcome for ALL TEAMS.

 

You KNOW it will be a problem.

 

It's up to each team to fight through the best they can.

It's ridiculous to keep making this an issue, though this board will continue to B word about this FOREVER.

 

 

this reads to me like the lone voice screaming SHUT UP 2bd I dont like this discussion shut it down ..venting fine. but just FYI

no chatroom works that way ...we are here to precisely NOT shut up just sayin'

 

as far as your post itself Fair point except for we're not whining, were Discussing.

 

m

 

Edited December 15, 2021 by muppy

[cgg716]

8 hours ago, Richard Noggin said:

No, silly. Depends who got the most action, not who got the points. 

 

(To be fair, though, I have no idea where the action was on this game.)

Brady only laying 3 at home to a team that lost to the jags, that’s the side everyone was on for sure 

[The Red King]

4 hours ago, ChrisWatson#21 said:

Been watching Bills football for long time we have never been a darling for officials.  From SB 26 when Marv chased down an official at halftime, just give it to them, music city forward pass, the Texans playoff game and most recently this weekend seen so much that I've come to the conclusion that when the Bills win the NFL loses money.  The officials know this as they are employees of the billionaires.  Only once have I felt the refs gave the Bills a game and that was the San Francisco game of 1998 where the niners were big favorites so IDK who pulled strings for that outcome.  Maybe last year too when the Rams were called for tough penalty but honestly we have gotten the short end of the stick for decades from officials.

 

Rams game we got hosed on a duel possession somehow went to the defender call that let them back in to the game, so the later call offset.

 

Other time I remember was The Comeback, where Bebee stepped out of bounds on a long TD, and the INT in OT was blatent PI.  But hey, the greatest NFL comeback is a great storyline.

[Big Turk]

18 hours ago, ScottLaw said:

The officials blow in every game…  unfortunately it’s just the way the league is. However, the officials didn’t cause the Bills to go 3 and out on their first offensive possession in OT though. 

 

You sure about that? Because if Diggs isn't blatantly interfered with for at least the 3rd time on 3rd down, he catches the ball and extends the drive.

[BillsShredder83]

19 hours ago, Scott7975 said:

Buffalo Bills, fans and thousands of bettors left wondering about NFL officials on Saturday.

At best, the NFL's officiating can be described as wildly inconsistent.

At worst, well, that can't be described here. But most people can figure out what we're implying.

Suffice to say the NFL was at its worst Sunday when the Buffalo Bills were stung by a particularly outrageous pass-interference penalty called on them and another committed by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers that wasn't called.

Both plays, it can be argued, impacted the final result: A 33-27 win by the host Bucs in overtime. Though it must be noted that the Bucs may well have won anyway and that the Bills placed themselves in such poor position in the first place by playing an awful first half.

But let's take a closer look at the two plays.

The first came with the Bills facing a third-and-2 from the Tampa Bay 7-yard line in the closing seconds of regulation. Stefon Diggs clearly was interfered with by Carlton Davis on a pass attempt that fell incomplete out of bounds.

No call.

Had it been made, the Bills would have had a first-and-goal at the 1 with 22 seconds remaining and a chance to turn a 27-24 deficit into a 31-27 win that also, worth noting because gambling is legal and encouraged by the NFL now, would have covered the point spread, in which the Bucs were favored by 3½.

Instead, the Bills were forced to kick a field goal to force overtime, where the millions of dollars bet on this contest suddenly flowed the other way, thanks to officials who suddenly stopped using the standard that had been applied moments earlier.

On third down from the Tampa 15, Bucs quarterback Tom Brady underthrew receiver Mike Evans, who was covered tightly by Levi Wallace. Not only did Wallace not interfere, but he was pulled into Evans' body when Evans intiated contact by wrapping his right arm around Wallace's shoulder and yanking as the ball fell incomplete.

So what should have been offensive pass interference and a fourth down in which the Bucs' Bradley Pinion would have been punting from near his goal line, suddenly was a first down.

Three plays later, on another third down, Brady hit Breshad Perriman with a short pass over the middle that Perriman turned into a 58-yard TD reception.

Terry McAuley, the former NFL official who now is the Sunday Night Football rules analyst, insisted that Wallace never should have been flagged.

"This is not defensive pass interference," McAuley wrote on Twitter. "The receiver creates the contact. It is especially noteworthy given what was not called late in regulation on the Buffalo 3rd & 2 play."

(There was a play earlier in which Diggs clearly had his jersey pulled from behind by Davis while the ball was in the air. But replays show that it was Diggs who made first contact on that play, so Bills Central will not argue the no-call there.)

Once again, it wasn't just the Bills and their fans who were possibly cheated, but the thousands who bet the Bills to cover, which would have happened even if the Bucs kicked a field goal to win it in overtime.

Now that the NFL has seemingly climbed into bed with every casino in the free world after dropping a franchise in Las Vegas, an argument can be made that the appearance of impropriety exists every time something like this happens.

And something like this happens in just about every game.

So the entire NFL has a problem, not just Bills fans.

Nick Fierro is the publisher of Bills Central. Check out the latest Bills news at www.si.com/nfl/bills and follow Fierro on Twitter at @NickFierro. Email to Nicky300@aol.com.

 

https://www.msn.com/en-us/sports/nfl/on-further-review-buffalo-bills-have-legitimate-beef-with-nfl-officials/ar-AARMfC7?ocid=msedgdhp&pc=U531

I'm dead serious here. We should organize a go fund me for a billboard near NFL HQ s. This needs to be addressed. It's not just ruining Bills experience, it's ruining watching the league games period.

 

When you involve gambling by a "non profit" this is criminal on a large scale.

 

How can we get this done? I'm 100% serious and am willing to do some legwork to make it happen if anyone else can help?

[The Red King]

Honestly, it's not just the Bills.  The officiating has always been suspect, but this year seems far worse, with a lot of outright blatently blown calls swaying games all over the league.  Not talking subtle/questionable.  The bad calls/no calls are numerous, critical and clear as day.

[GoBills808]

8 hours ago, Scott7975 said:

 

Correct

What about that is correct?

[NewEra]

17 hours ago, TuelTime said:

 

Actually, no. If the NFL was classed as a sport, with individual teams competing against each other, they could be charged under antitrust laws for fixing games. But being classed as a form of entertainment, the teams are technically working in unison for entertainment purposes, so it's perfectly legal for the NFL to fix a game. This isn't a crazy conspiracy theory by the way, but was actually argued by the NFL in a court of law.

 

The NFL’s own lawyer stated that the league competes in the “entertainment marketplace.” Because NFL football is in fact entertainment and nothing more, perhaps that was why in yet another court ruling, it was proven that the NFL could fix its own games and legally get away with it.

Do you have any links to support any of this?