NFL is Rigged: Week 18 edition

[ToxSocks]

The CP consensus is that the NFL is rigged. Welp, as such, I think it’d be great to discuss this week’s script.

The NFL is rigged, so this should be easy. As easy as predicting a WWE In-Ring interview being rudely interrupted by a rival with a steel chair.

Call your shot, what kind of week 18 shenanigans is the NFL up to?

Las Vegas vs L.A: Which new stadium does the NFL prefer? TWO teams in L.A make the playoffs?

Will the NFL write in a tie game sending BOTH to the playoffs?

Will they sneak the Steelers in for one last hoorah for Ruthlessraper?

Or will they write in Lamar Jackson because he generates ratings?

Will they give the most prestigious player (Mahomes) the #1 seed, or do they want to see the Chiefs in the WC round for extra ratings?

[BlackOp]

Originally Posted by penguinz

This single statement by you proves how ignorant you are about football and the NFL.

Yeah Yeah...your statement reminded me that I have no idea who you even are.

[ToxSocks]

Originally Posted by Bearcat

Yeah, the thread has run its course from that perspective.

This is why i wanted a new thread, fresh slate so we can get focused back up again.

[TimBone]

I still just wanna know how the NFL steered the Colts/Jags game. That's all.

I mean, the witches thing would be fun, as well.

But I'm totally willing to settle for a seemingly simple explanation regarding the Colts/Jags.

[penguinz]

Originally Posted by BlackOp

Yeah Yeah...your statement reminded me that I have no idea who you even are.

Doesn't matter if you know who I am or not. It does not change the fact that you have been wrong on virtually every thing you have ever posted on this site about your theories.

[BlackOp]

Originally Posted by Detoxing

Post your predictions or kick rocks. Don't be a pussy like TaQo. Otherwise why even be in this thread?

No seriously...as someone who grew up rooting for the Chiefs, I would love that scenario.

They get to play two teams they beat by a combined 125-33 on the way to the AFCCG...it would be the easiest path in modern NFL history.

[ToxSocks]

Originally Posted by BlackOp

No seriously...as someone who grew up rooting for the Chiefs, I would love that scenario.

They get to play two teams they beat by a combined 98-33 on the way to the AFCCG...it would be the easiest path in modern NFL history.

Almost like there was a deliberate plan in place, eh?

Like i said, post your predictions with explanations as to why so we can discuss. I even went first, as a courtesy. I have left myself open to mockery and ridicule if shown wrong. I took the first step. Now i wish more people would demonstrate the same kind of fortitude.

[Bearcat]

Originally Posted by ChiefsCountry

I want to see the Raiders, Bengals, and Pats in the next two rounds. Like to see Mahomes beat all of the AFC teams in the playoffs. He already has Titans and Bills scalps.

I usually want to see the best matchups, but this season has been so strange, I might regret wanting to play the Bills and Bengals... I'd still be fairly confident as long as Mahomes is healthy, just don't have the same unbridled confidence as last year.

I'm generally of the mindset that we wait 11 months of the year for epic playoff games against great teams, so playing the likes of the Steelers and potentially Raiders or Patriots is kind of a bummer from that point of view.

Obviously won't care one way or another if they end up in another SB.

[Bearcat]

Originally Posted by BlackOp

You dont make any predictions...at least any I would pay attention to.

I also don't flaunt some fake notion of being right after not making predictions.

[wachashi]

Raiders @ Bengals: Cincinnati is a small TV market with a small national following. They haven't been relevant in 20 years. Financially, the NFL would benefit from seeing the Raiders advance. With the recent death of John Madden, this starts to make a lot of sense. But there is also something to be said for keeping us fans on our toes and not making anything TOO obvious. For that reason, and because Burrow and Chase are budding superstars, Cincinnati wins this game.

Patriots @ Bills: The Bills have an exciting offense and are just more fun to watch than the Patirots.The NFL can't have Bill Belichick's Pats only throwing the ball a few times in the playoffs, which is something he's shown a willingness to do this season, and against these very Bills. Buffalo wins this game.

Eagles @ Bucs: Upsets are a key part of the NFL brand, and this one would be huge. The NFL has a soft spot for Philly and its gigantic TV market. Tom Brady goes down and a Cindarella is born.

49ers @ Cowboys: This is a ratings dream for the NFL with two storied franchises from huge TV markets with national fanbases facing off. The NFL has its eye on Mike McCarthy's eventual return to Lambeau Field in a juicy storyline that pits him against his former star QB, Aaron Rodgers. The Cowboys win this game.

Cardinals @ Rams: The Rams are the super team this year and have mortgaged their future in recent trades. Star power rules in the modern NFL, and no one has more than L.A. Arizona doesn't stand a chance against the second-largest TV market in the league.

Steelers @ Chiefs: No one likes watching Ben Roethlisberger, not even Steelers fans. Kansas City wins easily.

[WilliamTheIrish]

Originally Posted by kccrow

I thought this was a thread just to have a fun exercise to try and call what you thought the narrative would have been if the NFL were fixing games. Boy was I under the wrong impression.

Now it's witchcraft.

Next will be an explanation straight from an episode of Ancient Aliens explaining how there are signs from 3200 BC that extraterrestrials would fix games nearly 5000 years later.

This is ridiculous.

If the NFL is fixing games, you would think it would assuredly be to maximize profit.

Most of the profits for the NFL are in pre-negotiated TV contracts, so that seems moot. Conspiracy theorists seem to think that if you give viewers a narrative they expect, they are more likely to continue viewing. I don't know if that works in sports. I certainly don't appreciate watching the same teams in the playoffs year after year except for my team. I think most watchers would feel the same way. The driver here would then be for the NFL to continually put only the biggest markets in the playoffs every year. That doesn't happen with regularity and certainly not with the consistency that would lead me to claim rigging.

Next up would be merchandising and licensing. Obviously, bigger market teams winning helps drive that up some but I don't know if the revenue bump is big enough for the NFL to risk fixing games for it, especially considering its only 10% of overall revenues.

Ticket sales and concessions are an even smaller slice of the revenue pie, so I don't know that there would be any reason there. Conspiracy theorists still point to this as a big reason to fix games. They claim they want to sell as many tickets as possible to maximize these revenues. What NFL stadium doesn't sell out for a playoff game? Seriously delusional.

The other part of the argument here is related to creating false rivalries to maximize ticket sales and overall national viewing interest. What? For real? So, for instance, the Chiefs and Bills don't have a natural rivalry so let's create one in order to maximize interest in the game. That seems relatively far-fetched. The NFL is going to fix select games in order to drive two particular teams into having a rivalry? I just can't wrap my head around this one. That means both teams would at least already have to be good enough for it to matter, which means playoff quality to begin with. Surely this narrative cannot be applicable to the Lions and Jaguars squaring off. And so, it makes no sense.

The final argument I found is that the NFL purposefully fixes only high-stakes matchups (the AFC/NFC Championships and the Super Bowl, primarily) to ensure that there is a specific, desired outcome for the Super Bowl that is beneficial to profits. Well, most Super Bowls are blowouts, so that largely breaks the fixing of the championship games to lead to a most competitive and profitable Super Bowl. Was KC v TB a better matchup than GB v BUF would have been? Doubtful. TB pulled off 4 upsets last year to win it all. They won 5v4, 5v2, 5v1, and 5v1 match-ups. Was that good for football? Did everyone want to see Tom Brady win it again?

So, I can't really pinpoint why the NFL would try to fix games for profit, and it doesn't seem a likely narrative. So, why would they fix games? Some think a specific ownership group gets all the calls their way. If that's the case, and the players recognize it, why don't more free agents go to these teams only and not split themselves across the league? Players want to win, deep down. It's not only about money. My answer is that I don't think the NFL fixes games.

I do, however, think that there are corrupt officials that do fix games for personal gains. I do suspect those gains are primarily related to the sports betting world and there is plenty of historical evidence to support this across all sports. I would not be surprised if some owners kicked in some cash, but I don't think it's rooted at the league level.

I think that officials being bribed and rewarded for fixing select games is much easier to justify, as it supports how sporadic the "fixed games" appear to be in terms of timing and matchup.

Not nearly enough …’s. You need way, way more …’s

[BlackOp]

I still think it's amazing that NFL inc manufactured a way to give the Raiders a home play-off win...the week before the actual post-season began.

[stumppy]

Does anyone ever actually read the fruit loop's posts? I mean other than for a good laugh.

[WilliamTheIrish]

Originally Posted by Detoxing

This is why i wanted a new thread, fresh slate so we can get focused back up again.

Yea, this has to be done in a new thread.

[BlackOp]

Originally Posted by stumppy

Does anyone ever actually read the fruit loop's posts? I mean other than for a good laugh.

Have you ever said anything someone has remembered?...just a hunch...but I'm going to go with a solid "no"...I feel pretty confident in that prediction..."Stumppy".

[htismaqe]

Originally Posted by BlackOp

I still think it's amazing that NFL inc manufactured a way to give the Raiders a home play-off win...the week before the actual post-season began.

At the expense of another team that you've told us repeatedly would be treated favorably because they're an anchor tenant in the shiny new LA stadium.

Sorry but it's really hard to reconcile that, using your own words.