Sauce Gardner is crying, but does he have a point?

[TheFunPolice]

The only solution is to trade him to the Bills to test this theory. 

 

Is there a better Buffalo CB name than "Sauce"? 

[skibum]

I think the refs bend the rules more on the reputation of the players themselves, rather than on the quality of their team. Especially true when it comes to QBs, CBs, and OTs. Sauce has caught the attention of refs because he's a grabber, not because his team sucks out loud. 

Edited September 30 by skibum

[Jimmy Harris 69]

This is, and always has been. Sorry Sauce. 

[Simon]

He does have a point.

But you can't really see it if he wears a hat.

[thenorthremembers]

He both does and doesnt have a point.   His point that he isnt allowed to hold isnt valid, because he shouldnt be allowed to hold.   That said, why is not ok for Sauce and seemingly ok for the Ravens and Chiefs?

[billsbackto81]

They were a losing team when he wasn't getting called for it, which was all the time.

 

 

[Goin Breakdown]

I think what gets lost in the sauce is that he should be flagged more. 

[frostbitmic]

2 hours ago, uticaclub said:

Remember when Gilmore was a liability on a bad Buffalo team and a DPOY on a good Patriots team

That's exactly what I was thinking. He always held and interfered here and got called for it. He goes to the dynasty patriots and he seemed to always get away with it. He never changed his style of play.

 

If Sauce played in KC he'd rarely get flagged unless the Chiefs were +3 scores ahead.

[Sharky7337]

Sauce grabner 

[Augie]

2 hours ago, MJS said:

I don't think he has a point. I think he is known to hold and interfere, so it gets noticed and they call it on him.

 

He’s been a grab artist since he entered the league. He’s finally getting called for it, and it was too slow in coming. Get over it. 

[wjag]

I kinda believe this.  The OPI on G. Wilson last night sure seemed like a ticky tack call that changed the outcome of the game.

[Success]

All I'd say is this:

 

During the drought, I felt like we always ended up on the wrong end of the officiating. PARTICULARLY against top teams like the Pats. Those games were often comical w/ the PI's & roughing calls against us.

 

Now?  I kind of figuratively blush at some of the calls we get, especially Allen & PF's.

 

[PonyBoy]

1 hour ago, bigduke6 said:

Sauce was grabby his entire rookie season when everybody was making him out to be the best CB of all time.  now hes getting calls against him for doing the same garbage hes been doing.  cry more Sauce. 

 

Totally agree! He had more holds than Elmer's Glue!

 

Richard Sherman had the same favoritism for his "lock" down coverage. 

 

Finally they are calling him! 

[GaryPinC]

In my experience as a ref,

 

1.) word gets out on certain players to keep an eye on.

 

Also, you are a ref, your job is to spot fouls/penalties in real time.  Many fouls stand out from the normal flow of a game.  Quite often the difference between good and bad teams is how fast and how cohesively a team can play together.  When you have a poorly playing team they are almost always an uglier, disjointed, sloppier playing team.

 

2.)  As a ref, I found my eyes drawn to that and had to fight it, because it's easier to nitpick a poorer playing team and admire the skill of the superior team.  

 

And if 1 and 2 are true, you get Sauce.    I do think 2.) leads to additional calls against poorer teams.  Also losing players may take riskier chances to avoid getting beat in their individual battles.

[Low Positive]

Reputation does drive refereeing. They used to say that Wade Boggs had such a reputation for having a good eye that if he didn't swing at a close pitch, he would get the ball called more often than not because the assumption was that if Wade thought it was a ball, then it probably was. I always thought that was BS, but baseball announcers used to remark on that all the time back in the day. 

[Bills!Win!]

Did Sauce forget that the Dolphins are bad too? Shouldn’t the refs have thrown a flag on every play then? 

[Low Positive]

2 minutes ago, Bills!Win! said:

Did Sauce forget that the Dolphins are bad too? Shouldn’t the refs have thrown a flag on every play then? 

Shhhh! Don't give them the idea.

[billsFORlife50]

The crappier the teams the crappier the refs you get. That Saints game had awful announcing with the F squad covering the game, and the bottom graded officials working the game. Then naturally the game had way more ticky tacky penalties then what we have been seeing the first few games of the season. 

[Billy Claude]

6 hours ago, Ethan in Cleveland said:

Bad teams commit more penalties.  Bad teams are ignored by the media.

 

For 17 years all we heard was there was a conspiracy against the Bills by the NFL, the refs and the media.  

 

Hmmm....Josh Allen arrived and nobody is screaming about the media or ref bias anymore...

 

That's not true.  There's still a lot of screaming about anti-Bills refereeing and especially about perceived anti-Allen bias. It's just more irrational than before.

Edited September 30 by Billy Claude

[Billy Claude]

5 hours ago, Ralonzo said:

I figured he'd be able to hold his emotions. He holds everything else.

 

That said, the game looked to the detached observer like it was reffed as fair as the 1972 Men's Olympic Basketball final.

 

It really did look like the refs had the Dolphins giving the points.

Edited September 30 by Billy Claude