ESPN: Seahawks getting preferential treatment from the officials..

[Malik Hairston]

http://espn.go.com/blog/nflnation/post/_/id/154238/inside-slant-ed-hochulis-mysterious-roughing-penalty-in-seattle

Nothing surprising, of course..

Coincides with their winning streak:lol..

Nice seeing mainstream media acknowledging it, for once..

[Robz4000]

NFL going balls-to-the-walls to get their Superbowl rematch tbh...

[Clipper Nation]

Where's the article about Denver's uncalled PI/defensive holding and Welker's game-clinching flop?

[N0 LyF3 ScRuB]

Nothing new..

[Malik Hairston]

Where's the article about Denver's uncalled PI/defensive holding and Welker's game-clinching flop?

Do you have video of those plays, tbh?..I thought they were good calls, I can look at it again for confirmation if you can provide a link..

Rivers' fumble that was called an incomplete pass was pretty bad IIRC..

[Clipper Nation]

Do you have video of those plays, tbh?..I thought they were good calls, I can look at it again for confirmation if you can provide a link..

Rivers' fumble that was called an incomplete pass was pretty bad IIRC..

Here's Welker's flop:

https://vine.co/v/O6YpIadl0B0
(https://vine.co/v/O6YpIadl0B0)
He was lightly touched on the back and proceeded to flail around like somebody shot him.

[Malik Hairston]

Ya, it was a flop..what does that have to do with preferential officiating, though?:lol..

Refs in every sport fall for flops all the time, in every game of any NBA/NFL game..they can't review flops and change the call..

Where's the link to the questionable PI?..

[Clipper Nation]

Ya, it was a flop..what does that have to do with preferential officiating, though?:lol..

Refs in every sport fall for flops all the time, in every game of any NBA/NFL game..they can't review flops and change the call..

Where's the link to the questionable PI?..
I don't have videos for every call, tbh, but go back and watch the game and you'll see all the third-down bailout calls for Fivehead... not to mention the uncalled holds on Allen in the end zone when we were down 9-0, and the bogus PI on Stuckey. I believe Ware also got away with a punch to the head whereas Fluker's love-tap to the helmet was flagged. We would have lost anyway because we have a shitty roster and even shittier playcalling, but it was still pretty obvious stuff.

If Welker's flop isn't preferential officiating, then neither is Moody's roughing penalty.

[The Gemini Method]

Preferential treatment? Naw. That was a terrible call but Hoculi and Co. left other calls off the board for both teams. Funny, Denver is definitely a recipient of favoritism at certain points as well. Still, they got it wrong but with Kaepernick on the other sideline, it wouldn't have mattered.

[The Gemini Method]

Still the most penalized team in the league and jackasses want to cry we get favored...

[Clipper Nation]

Oh, might I add the clear fumble that was overturned the first time we played Denver.

Sorry man, but Denverefs are a reality.

[N0 LyF3 ScRuB]

Preferential treatment? Naw.

:lmao

[The Gemini Method]

:lmao

:cry

[Malik Hairston]

ESPN is a neutral observer..there are 3 calls that are discussed in that article, none of them involving the Broncos:lol..

Some fans just see what they want to see, tbh..

[Raven]

denver and seahawks are obviously getting favoured, but there was no way either team would lose against the shitty opposition they have been against lately. I mean seattle's best qb faced was .... i don't know tbh, Crap? :lol

[Kool Bob Love]

Isn't OP the same clown that wanted NFL games to be played indoors only? Fucking Canadians mayne. :lol

Seahawks are team of destiny. Hate harder. :tu

[Kool Bob Love]

Nothing new..

Listen homie, I know cam a beast and the panthers are a legit threat but you don't want these problems. Trust.

[The Gemini Method]

denver and seahawks are obviously getting favoured, but there was no way either team would lose against the shitty opposition they have been against lately. I mean seattle's best qb faced was .... i don't know tbh, Crap? :lol

Almost akin to having the luck to play the Jets, Dolphins, and Bills each year, huh? That's a probably 6-0/5-1 record at worse.

[N0 LyF3 ScRuB]

denver and seahawks are obviously getting favoured, but there was no way either team would lose against the shitty opposition they have been against lately. I mean seattle's best qb faced was .... i don't know tbh, Crap? :lol

Easily Newton.

[Raven]

Almost akin to having the luck to play the Jets, Dolphins, and Bills each year, huh? That's a probably 6-0/5-1 record at worse.

not the same because philly and arizona had their qbs injured.

[Kawhi]

Wow 1 call

[Infinite_limit]

Wow 1 call
Bowman INT in the NFC title game

[Kawhi]

Bowman INT in the NFC title game

Was a fumble not interception dipshit

[DeadlyDynasty]

Still the most penalized team in the league
They're just using last year's strategy...hold/interfere on EVERY play and the refs won't call them all. Can't blame them though--they found a way to cheat the system and it's still working.

[Aztecfan03]

Do you have video of those plays, tbh?..I thought they were good calls, I can look at it again for confirmation if you can provide a link..

Rivers' fumble that was called an incomplete pass was pretty bad IIRC..

If you are talking about the play in the first half, what the hell are you smoking?

[The Gemini Method]

They're just using last year's strategy...hold/interfere on EVERY play and the refs won't call them all. Can't blame them though--they found a way to cheat the system and it's still working.

Still #1 in penalties and with above average number of PI calls to boot. Not like they're getting away with it all the time. Though the one export of our D is getting caught at an alarming rate in Foxboro.

[The Gemini Method]

not the same because philly and arizona had their qbs injured.

Yeah, because Geno Smith and Ryan Tannehill are truly future hall of famers, bruh. Don't kid yourself. You and the Colts have been the beneficiaries of being in the two softest divisions for years. Also, don't even deny the refs don't give a slight favor to Tom Uggs and the rest of the Patriots.

[Raven]

Yeah, because Geno Smith and Ryan Tannehill are truly future hall of famers, bruh. Don't kid yourself. You and the Colts have been the beneficiaries of being in the two softest divisions for years. Also, don't even deny the refs don't give a slight favor to Tom Uggs and the rest of the Patriots.

yet still won more than 10 games any year.. i remember a seahawks playoff team with a quite soft division.. Tannehill is good btw and i'm not sure what kind of point are you trying to make.

[The Gemini Method]

yet still won more than 10 games any year.. i remember a seahawks playoff team with a quite soft division.. Tannehill is good btw and i'm not sure what kind of point are you trying to make.

Good for you. That NFC West year was a joke. Should never be able to win a division with a sub .500 record. Though, that gave us one of our most memorable games in our history. Upsetting the Saints and beginning in earnest the talk of re-seeding or changing the way playoff games will be hosted. My point is the Pats, while being good for so long, get 6 games against the likes of Geno Smith, Mark Sanchez, Tannehill (and he's alright, not good...) and whatever the Bills are throwing your way. Though, the Bills get kudos for being a tough out and for beating the Packers. Not exactly murderer's row.

[Raven]

Good for you. That NFC West year was a joke. Should never be able to win a division with a sub .500 record. Though, that gave us one of our most memorable games in our history. Upsetting the Saints and beginning in earnest the talk of re-seeding or changing the way playoff games will be hosted. My point is the Pats, while being good for so long, get 6 games against the likes of Geno Smith, Mark Sanchez, Tannehill (and he's alright, not good...) and whatever the Bills are throwing your way. Though, the Bills get kudos for being a tough out and for beating the Packers. Not exactly murderer's row.
I have no problem with the seahawks making the po with a losing record tbh, and i agree tge pats have a joke of a division, but i still dont understand what is your point..

[spurraider21]

preferential treatment? it says there was a bad call in the game. calm down

[Avante]

All these NFL refs are totally immune to emotions over some pro team that has zero to do with them. Anyone thinking an NFL ref has some need to give any team an edge.....hahahaha!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I won't totally weed out the possibility that at some time in NFL history some ref didn't have some connection to the mob, but the game is simply too tight to play that anymore if it ever happened at all.

[Clipper Nation]

It's really not that hard to skew a game, tbh, all that's necessary is a couple momentum-killing calls, some bad no-calls, and then calling a bunch of penalties in garbage time to make it look even on the stat sheet. No need for "emotions," just a business decision on which teams/players/storylines to promote. It's not like the media will ever really say anything since they have lucrative TV deals at stake.

[Avante]

It's really not that hard to skew a game, tbh, all that's necessary is a couple momentum-killing calls, some bad no-calls, and then calling a bunch of penalties in garbage time to make it look even on the stat sheet. No need for "emotions," just a business decision on which teams/players/storylines to promote. It's not like the media will ever really say anything since they have lucrative TV deals at stake.

I think we all get how it works. It simply isn't happening. Now if you have some proof of that happening, let's see it. You do know these refs are judged each week, right?

[Clipper Nation]

You do know these refs are judged each week, right?

Yeah, except the grading system is a joke because the NFL has changed shitty refs' grades in order to let them officiate in the playoffs:

http://sports.yahoo.com/news/nfl--officials-question-nfl-s-process-for-selecting-super-bowl-referee-145832403.html


After a season of replacement referees, botched calls and lockout-driven controversy, several NFL officials remain deeply upset about the grading system used to choose the referee for the Super Bowl.

"You see grades being changed, constantly being changed, only for certain people," one official told Yahoo! Sports.

"It's disheartening," said another official, "and you never think at this level that would happen. It's the individuals running the show that have created this mess. If you talk to 121 guys, there will be 100-plus who say the system is horrendous."

At issue is an allegation that the NFL selects who will referee the Super Bowl based on favoritism, not solely on merit. This leads to Jerome Boger, the NFL's presumed selection to referee Super Bowl XLVII on Feb. 3. On Monday, the website footballzebras.com reported that Boger received eight downgrades during the 2012 season and all eight were reversed. Multiple sources with knowledge of the grading system made the same claim to Yahoo! Sports.

[Avante]

Yeah, except the grading system is a joke because the NFL has changed shitty refs' grades in order to let them officiate in the playoffs:

http://sports.yahoo.com/news/nfl--officials-question-nfl-s-process-for-selecting-super-bowl-referee-145832403.html

Well hell if that's the case then yep, all those refs are doing all they can to more or less "fix" games.

Come on man.

Do you honestly believe refs care outbout the outcomes of these games? Ever notice no teams are repeating as champs? Now think.

[KoolAid Mans Brother]

There are plenty of judgment calls that refs make during an NFL game. Historically, the better team with the more widely known players will get the benefit of the doubt (ie, Brady or Brees getting a roughing call that Bortles and Fitzpatrick wouldn't get on the same type of hit). Refs aren't penalized for making judgment calls. Therefore, yes, refs definitely affect the outcome of games. Anyone who doesn't realize that is clueless.

[Avante]

There are plenty of judgment calls that refs make during an NFL game. Historically, the better team with the more widely known players will get the benefit of the doubt (ie, Brady or Brees getting a roughing call that Bortles and Fitzpatrick wouldn't get on the same type of hit). Refs aren't penalized for making judgment calls. Therefore, yes, refs definitely affect the outcome of games. Anyone who doesn't realize that is clueless.

Clueless is actually thinking these refs care about the outcome of NFL games. I could see it in the college game, not the pro game.

[Clipper Nation]

Clueless is actually thinking these refs care about the outcome of NFL games. I could see it in the college game, not the pro game.
The league office is who really cares about the outcome of NFL games, the refs are just there to collect a paycheck and get on TV.

[Avante]

The league office is who really cares about the outcome of NFL games, the refs are just there to collect a paycheck and get on TV.

So the NFL wants a small market team like the Seattle Seahawks in the drivers seat...right? The hell with....America's Team.....who have done what in the playoffs lately? They want to sell a Monday night game like the one we saw last night.....right?

In todays world you should know nothing stays a secret, if the NFL was trying to play anything like you are talking about we'd know it by now. It isn't happening and only a fool would think it is.

Let's make the Pacific Northwest the pride of the NFL. Are you kidding me?

[Clipper Nation]

On what planet is Seattle a "small market"? I don't even agree that they're getting that much help from the refs. Now, Brady, Manning, the Steelers, etc. on the other hand, they get call after call and no-call after no-call because of their marketability. Notice how after Fivehead's two biggest playoff chokejobs, the league put in new "points of emphasis" for the refs to punish defenses. And his third-biggest chokejob got the ball rolling to change the overtime rules.

It's also not that hard to keep it on the down low, nobody in the league office or the media would have any incentive to talk and neither would the refs. If anything ever did come out, like the Donaghy scandal, Goodell can just wave it away as the delusional ramblings of a rogue official like Stern did with Donaghy.

[Avante]

On what planet is Seattle a "small market"? I don't even agree that they're getting that much help from the refs. Now, Brady, Manning, the Steelers, etc. on the other hand, they get call after call and no-call after no-call because of their marketability. Notice how after Fivehead's two biggest playoff chokejobs, the league put in new "points of emphasis" for the refs to punish defenses. And his third-biggest chokejob got the ball rolling to change the overtime rules.

It's also not that hard to keep it on the down low, nobody in the league office or the media would have any incentive to talk and neither would the refs. If anything ever did come out, like the Donaghy scandal, Goodell can just wave it away as the delusional ramblings of a rogue official like Stern did with Donaghy.

Ok so what teams are where there are today because of the refs? What team would be doing a lot better if the refs liked them?