hepcat

It’s not just the refs. It’s the entire NFL economic ecosystem. The NFL is built for entertainment, not fair outcomes.

The part I’m not sure about is how “in” on this the players and coaches are. The NFL is legally classified as an entertainment business, which was confirmed in court after a fan sued the NFL after the deflategate controversy saying he was defrauded, and the NFL argued in court they are a “spectacle” and not a sporting event. It was all there in 2010. So I don’t know what is written into NFL contracts and employment in ambiguous legal jargon to know what knowledge or recourse they have.

Exactly. Bucs moneyline hits but Panthers cover.

AI analysis has made how the NFL operates very obvious. Any random fan can use it to analyze all the games and show how blatant the NFL is in how they manage the games to drive maximum user engagement to consume as much marketing media as possible, and controlling and sometimes swinging outcomes with the officiating to appease Vegas and the betting apps. There are millions of dollars exchanged per game on ad revenue and betting, and anyone who thinks the NFL is leaving that all to chance probably has an IQ under 90

If you watch the replay there was a ref who watched Tremble get his helmet ripped off. It was not called on purpose. Missing obvious penalties is how the NFL manages outcomes.

One of the most obviously controlled, managed by the NFL games I have ever seen in my life. This one was too obvious. They didn’t even TRY to hide it. The Panthers are not even a good team, but the refs firmly controlled this outcome exactly how it was needed. The Panthers covered the spread, and the preferred winner was nudged to victory. It makes me not interested in being a fan of a specific team anymore. Football is still entertaining but the way the spreads and odds are controlled and the NFL manages these games, it’s not fun to watch. I knew before the game was played it would be a 1-2 point loss and here we are. And I’m sick of watching my favorite team play rigged games.

A very predictable, very expected loss.

Kick a 90 yard field goal

That punt took 10 seconds off the clock. They don’t field it. What a retarded decision.

If Atlanta manages to win that game and the Panthers make the playoffs by default I guarantee they will change that.

Nope. There is no reason to call anything the preferred outcome has happened.

This was going to be manages towards a Bucs win no matter what today and the referees made that clear. No matter what happened today, the NFL was going to nudge this game towards Tampa. And we will see New Orleans probably get some preferential treatment as well. The announcers talking about the Falcons Saints game before this one is even over. It was always scripted.

Here comes a 40 yard run to end the game….

It would take an act of god for them not to throw a flag if Tampa turns it over. I expect Tampa to break a long run with some legal holding to end it

They won’t pass. No reason to pass.

You’re correct, if they don’t just convert on their own. The running game for Tampa has been eating the panthers lunch today. I expect a 40 yard run with some allowed holding to end it

That’s exactly what the NFL wanted. The panthers covered the spread. The panthers will not get the ball back.

as I said earlier in the thread the panthers would score a TD to make it 16-14 and they would not get the ball back

If there’s ever a time the refs are giving the Panthers a call it’s on 3rd down here

You might be the most naive person on earth if you don’t think the NFL is managing these games towards the outcome they want. The games can’t be outright rigged, there too much variance in how the games can go, but they definitely use the refs as a lever to nudge the games and push scoring towards preferred outcomes

They will get a TD on this drive, there will be about a minute left, and they won’t get the ball back. 16-14 final score

The Panthers might get a magic call to get within 1-2, which covers the spread.

lol he’s out of bounds but they will call him in

Fans should show up and boo this team when they get back from Tampa. The effort today was pathetic. But the refs were clearly against the team today as well

This game ended exactly how the NFL wanted