So next week’s game against the Bucs is definitely rigged, right?

[Zaximus]

14 minutes ago, PghPanther said:

Nothing brings ratings of sports fans outside of a teams fan base than to watch an underdog play for glory.....

.....its ingrained in all humans to see something great that too often never happens in their own lives...................

There is no bigger underdog in all the NFL right now with a chance to make the playoffs than this black cat team...........

The game between the Panthers and Bucs is the most interesting game this weekend in part because of that.......

Unfortunately....... the....... Panthers..... do not bring ratings.....even if underdog.

[Wes21]

On 12/26/2022 at 3:06 AM, KillerKat said:

Every 10-20 plus yard run magically has a late holding call against us. They just wait to see how big of an outcome it is for us before throwing the flag.

One easy cheat code that they use is on 3rd down.  They will wait for Brady to not convert on 3rd down and give him a ticky tack illegal contact downfield or defensive holding on a receiver.  That gives a fresh set of downs, tires out the defense a little bit more and keeps the Bucs defense on the sidelines for a little extra rest. 

[Tr3ach]

To be fair laying an egg once the games really matter is the panthers standard for a long while now. 

[hepcat]

2 hours ago, Wes21 said:

One easy cheat code that they use is on 3rd down.  They will wait for Brady to not convert on 3rd down and give him a ticky tack illegal contact downfield or defensive holding on a receiver.  That gives a fresh set of downs, tires out the defense a little bit more and keeps the Bucs defense on the sidelines for a little extra rest. 

It actually happens quite frequently. The NFL uses phantom 3rd down penalties to either stop drives or perpetuate them. You know it’s bullshit when the broadcast doesn’t even show the replay. 

[Manna]

I'm expecting SB50 level rigging. 

[Carl Spackler]

No chance of winning. League won't allow it. 

[dugbug]

Childish conspiracy nonsense.  Here is a thought.  How about the panthers practice and plan and take ownership of a loss if it happens

[1of10Charnatives]

42 minutes ago, Manna said:

I'm expecting SB50 level rigging. 

I'm not. It's not even a playoff game. Just a regular season game between two teams in an awful division. Why would the league bother aside from doing the minimum to get Brady to the playoffs?

[glenwo2]

4 minutes ago, 1of10Charnatives said:

I'm not. It's not even a playoff game. Just a regular season game between two teams in an awful division. Why would the league bother aside from doing the minimum to get Brady to the playoffs?

You just answered your own question.

[1of10Charnatives]

40 minutes ago, dugbug said:

Childish conspiracy nonsense.  Here is a thought.  How about the panthers practice and plan and take ownership of a loss if it happens

Sure, control the things you can control, don't waste energy on the things you can't. Makes perfect sense. 

It also does not mean it's empirically true the deck isn't or can't be stacked against you. You may feel there is no evidence the league is anything but even handed. Others feel differently. Before you dismiss their opinions out of hand, remember that there have been multiple cheating scandals in recent league history, and in at least one case, the league literally ordered the evidence of cheating destroyed. This does not suggest an unbiased organization focused solely on fairness and a level playing field, but a business protecting it's own interests, not the interests of fans or less popular teams.

[1of10Charnatives]

6 minutes ago, glenwo2 said:

You just answered your own question.

Yeah I was suggesting only that the league would not go all out SB style for rigging, but tongue in cheek suggesting a less thorough, more mundane effort.

[Sgt Schultz]

Honestly, when I have seen the Bucs this year the "Brady love" from the officials has not bee the same.  San Francisco tossed him around pretty well, and it got to the point he didn't even whine about it.  He may have overstayed his welcome.

In the league's eyes, Manning riding off into the sunset with a championship was a "feel good" PR story.  Brady had that a couple of years ago with the Bucs.  This year's version, retiring, un-retiring at the expense of his marriage, and captaining a bad team does not have the same allure to it. 

So, I am more skeptical about the gifts people think he will get. 

With that said, watch them assign Boger's crew to this game.  That would give credence to the old saying to not look for a conspiracy when incompetence explains things.

[Wes21]

7 hours ago, Sgt Schultz said:

Honestly, when I have seen the Bucs this year the "Brady love" from the officials has not bee the same.  San Francisco tossed him around pretty well, and it got to the point he didn't even whine about it.  He may have overstayed his welcome.

In the league's eyes, Manning riding off into the sunset with a championship was a "feel good" PR story.  Brady had that a couple of years ago with the Bucs.  This year's version, retiring, un-retiring at the expense of his marriage, and captaining a bad team does not have the same allure to it. 

So, I am more skeptical about the gifts people think he will get. 

With that said, watch them assign Boger's crew to this game.  That would give credence to the old saying to not look for a conspiracy when incompetence explains things.

I came back to this thread to say that the leagues attack dog...good ol' Jerome Boger...is doing the Saints v Eagles game.  I would bet that he's there for a Saints victory.  The Eagles beating the Saints does nothing.  The Saints beating the Eagles potentially opens up several intriguing storylines and matchups heading into the final week of the season.

And if you are into conspiracy theories and that the league is pulling the strings for ratings and storylines...the Panthers over the Bucs makes more sense than the other way around.  If the intent is to have Boger deliver a Saints victory, that doesn't jive with screwing the Panthers and having the Bucs ride off into the playoffs before the last week of the season.

For anyone like me who wants to know the ref assignments right after they are dropped and read some high level analysis of calls during each weeks games without the media spin, I would highly recommend Football Zebras ( footballzebras.com ).  This week we have the same ref who did our game against the Browns to open the season.

 

[Sgt Schultz]

14 hours ago, Wes21 said:

I came back to this thread to say that the leagues attack dog...good ol' Jerome Boger...is doing the Saints v Eagles game.  I would bet that he's there for a Saints victory.  The Eagles beating the Saints does nothing.  The Saints beating the Eagles potentially opens up several intriguing storylines and matchups heading into the final week of the season.

And if you are into conspiracy theories and that the league is pulling the strings for ratings and storylines...the Panthers over the Bucs makes more sense than the other way around.  If the intent is to have Boger deliver a Saints victory, that doesn't jive with screwing the Panthers and having the Bucs ride off into the playoffs before the last week of the season.

For anyone like me who wants to know the ref assignments right after they are dropped and read some high level analysis of calls during each weeks games without the media spin, I would highly recommend Football Zebras ( footballzebras.com ).  This week we have the same ref who did our game against the Browns to open the season.

 

Thanks for both the Boger update and the web site.  The fact that Boger and his crew gets put on playoff games means somebody has 8 x 10 glossies on somebody else.