2022 NFL Season

[Dolph Drago]

Lol. The refs help decide another one.

 

[Omnis]

I feel terrible for Jalen Hurts and that O-line. They were dominant. Can't believe the Eagles busted coverage 3 times like that. Gotta hand it to Andy Reid, though. It's not often that you can beat a defense before the ball is even snapped. Their scoring plays were just genius.

 

[Jezza819]

Is everybody talking about the Bradberry holding Smith-Schuster call? Because that's holding all day long. That's a no doubter. Even Bradberry himself said he held but was hoping the refs wouldn't call it. You have to call that.

Oh and if you want to go back to the Cincy game and complain about the late call on the push on Mahomes out of bounds? Yeah that's a penalty also.

Look I don't have a rooting interest in the NFL. I don't care who wins. But you guys have to get rid of these ******** ****ing conspiracy theories.

 

[MOPARbarrett5]

There will always be conspiracy theories, the real issue is how many turn out to be true. No matter how true individual conspiracies end up being, the NFL has to do better in trying to regain trust with the fans. As of now I don't have trust in any game because if the NFL can't convince most people that the most important game isn't tampered with in whatever ways then why should I believe that any game is completely fair. Whatever did or didn't happen, the NFL needs to come clean and do whatever they can to ensure that there is never this much uncertainty again.

 

[Jezza819]

There will always be conspiracy theories, the real issue is how many turn out to be true. No matter how true individual conspiracies end up being, the NFL has to do better in trying to regain trust with the fans. As of now I don't have trust in any game because if the NFL can't convince most people that the most important game isn't tampered with in whatever ways then why should I believe that any game is completely fair. Whatever did or didn't happen, the NFL needs to come clean and do whatever they can to ensure that there is never this much uncertainty again.

How was it not fair? How was it tampered with? How would the NFL "come clean"?

 

[MOPARbarrett5]

How was it not fair? How was it tampered with? How would the NFL "come clean"?

The NFL could come clean by releasing their own evidence like comparing with past calls for various controversial moments to prove there wasn't anything unfair or tampered with. The NFL has enough money where they could even pay for a primetime slot on TV like a PSA or address better documenting various plays and they could have on various former referees and maybe who was involved in the controversy so they can share their takes and knowledge plus maybe it could be done live and there could be interviews and answering fan questions after the presentation.
Given the way controversies about almost any topic go nowadays it is better to address it quickly and honestly instead of ignoring it and acting like rumors aren't just going to become more and more common.

 

[Joey D]

I was disappointed with everything this year. Typically I'm excited for the Super Bowl but this year was just so meh. The NFL wants the Chiefs to be the dominant team so bad that the officiating was as lopsided as it's been all playoffs. I didn't really care who won, but I'm so tired of the refs influencing the game like that. If you're going to call stuff, be consistent.

Even the extras were lame too with uncreative commercials and a terrible halftime show. I mean I get Kanye is toxic and shouldn't be there, but you're really going do two Jay-Z songs and not have him as the special guest? I think I got spoiled last year with such a killer show.

 

[HenrySwanson]

Is everybody talking about the Bradberry holding Smith-Schuster call? Because that's holding all day long. That's a no doubter. Even Bradberry himself said he held but was hoping the refs wouldn't call it. You have to call that.

Oh and if you want to go back to the Cincy game and complain about the late call on the push on Mahomes out of bounds? Yeah that's a penalty also.

Look I don't have a rooting interest in the NFL. I don't care who wins. But you guys have to get rid of these ******** ****ing conspiracy theories.

Isn't it kinda like a rugby referee suddenly calling a bad scrum put in at the death of a match?

As in both teams do it throughout a match and generally it's overlooked unless it's a flagrant violation?

 

[Omnis]

I was disappointed with everything this year. Typically I'm excited for the Super Bowl but this year was just so meh. The NFL wants the Chiefs to be the dominant team so bad that the officiating was as lopsided as it's been all playoffs. I didn't really care who won, but I'm so tired of the refs influencing the game like that. If you're going to call stuff, be consistent.

Even the extras were lame too with uncreative commercials and a terrible halftime show. I mean I get Kanye is toxic and shouldn't be there, but you're really going do two Jay-Z songs and not have him as the special guest? I think I got spoiled last year with such a killer show.

I don't know what everyone is talking about with the game being spoiled by the refs. I think they did a good job. If Philly didn't turn the ball over twice for TDs each time, they would have won easily. The game was outstanding-- not sure why people are throwing all of that away to put focus on the refs.

I totally agree with the Halftime show and commercials though. I can't believe Rihanna would sign to do the halftime show and then go and get pregnant. I had a laugh at her being obviously pregnant while trying to sell sex with her silly songs and dance moves. Her dancers were amazing but the choreo looked like a bunch of epileptic stormtroopers on a smash bros stage. Our culture is not in a golden age, that's for sure.

 

[GingerBredMan]

Isn't it kinda like a rugby referee suddenly calling a bad scrum put in at the death of a match?

As in both teams do it throughout a match and generally it's overlooked unless it's a flagrant violation?

I will fully agree that the officiating is inconsistent, but the middle of a game winning drive is a bad time to test that. If that penalty isn’t called, and KC misses the field goal/ loses the game that would look a lot worse on the refs.

 

[Jezza819]

The NFL could come clean by releasing their own evidence like comparing with past calls for various controversial moments to prove there wasn't anything unfair or tampered with. The NFL has enough money where they could even pay for a primetime slot on TV like a PSA or address better documenting various plays and they could have on various former referees and maybe who was involved in the controversy so they can share their takes and knowledge plus maybe it could be done live and there could be interviews and answering fan questions after the presentation.
Given the way controversies about almost any topic go nowadays it is better to address it quickly and honestly instead of ignoring it and acting like rumors aren't just going to become more and more common.

I don't see how that would work. The ref involved comes on and says, "the Eagles defender tugged on the jersey, by rule that's holding and I threw the flag". End of controversy? I doubt it.

Here's some better ideas. How about doing a better job on goal line coverage and not falling for the double move TWICE. How about not semi shanking a punt to the right side then almost the entire return defense team goes to that side allowing the Chiefs player to reverse field and make a 65 yard return inside your 10 yard line. How about your much vaunted pass rush defense actually makes some sacks. How about your lineman doesn't do a false start in a short yardage situation and the very next play your quarterback fumbles and it's returned for a touchdown.

One team made plays when it counted and the other team didn't. That's what happened in this game.

 

[Joey D]

I don't know what everyone is talking about with the game being spoiled by the refs. I think they did a good job. If Philly didn't turn the ball over twice for TDs each time, they would have won easily. The game was outstanding-- not sure why people are throwing all of that away to put focus on the refs.

It was mostly the penalty with less than 2 minutes left against James Bradberry. Yes, it was holding, but those holds were constant throughout the game and the refs chose to throw a flag on that hold but not the others. I'm not annoyed it was called, I'm annoyed that the refs are inconsistent in their officiating. If you're going to call holds, then call holds.

Holding is a stupid penalty though. It ruins games, influences outcomes, and is something everyone does.

 

[JohnBM01]

Another NFL season comes to an end with the Kansas City Chiefs being atop the mountain. The game had great action all along. The ending seemed rather poor, though. However, at least the end of this game was worlds better than say... the Super Bowl LVII Halftime Show. I used to be a Rihanna fan, but my goodness... VERY underwhelming Halftime Show!

The Chiefs have what the other 31 NFL teams have- the Championship. So get ready to defend your crown in the 2023 season, Chiefs! Every team should be commended for providing us another fine season of action. Doesn't matter if your team performed strong like Kansas City or Philadelphia, or atrocious like Houston or Chicago; it's been a great season. Bring on the 2023 season!


I may chime in here again with thoughts on the season, including thoughts on my hapless Houston Texans.

 

[Jezza819]

It was mostly the penalty with less than 2 minutes left against James Bradberry. Yes, it was holding, but those holds were constant throughout the game and the refs chose to throw a flag on that hold but not the others. I'm not annoyed it was called, I'm annoyed that the refs are inconsistent in their officiating. If you're going to call holds, then call holds.

Holding is a stupid penalty though. It ruins games, influences outcomes, and is something everyone does.

Then get rid of holding all together is that's what you're mad about. Take a defensive lineman to the ground and just hold him there. Wide receiver makes a cut, just tackle him, who cares right? Holding is ruining your game so it has to go. After all everyone does it .

Breakdowns on kick coverage, breakdowns in the secondary in goal line situations, fumbling the ball in key situations, that's what ruins games and influences outcomes.

 

[MOPARbarrett5]

It seems like the general consensus around the internet is that similar holding wasn't called earlier in the game, whether it was scripted or not, a better job needs to be done on making calls no matter how strict or lenient consistent throughout the game.

 

[Joey D]

Then get rid of holding all together is that's what you're mad about. Take a defensive lineman to the ground and just hold him there. Wide receiver makes a cut, just tackle him, who cares right? Holding is ruining your game so it has to go. After all everyone does it .

Breakdowns on kick coverage, breakdowns in the secondary in goal line situations, fumbling the ball in key situations, that's what ruins games and influences outcomes.

It's called way too frequently and way too inconsistently. Throughout the season, offensive holding was the most frequent penalty called at 581 times for 5,579 yds averaging 16.91 yds/game. Defensive holding was third with 281 times for 1,134 yds and 3.44 yds/game. The only penalty that's anywhere near holding is false starts, which will be called correctly most of the time. In 2021 it was even worse, offensive holding was called 649 times for 6,297 yds resulting in an average of 23.15 yds/game. It was 75 more times than false starts, which was number 2.

The NFL needs to look at what really is holding and what is just playing defense. Bradberry's hold was holding by definition since he held the jersey, but it was for a brief moment and Smith-Schuster still managed to get separation from him. Those sorts of plays were happening all game with no calls for both sides. Suddenly calling it when it's happened all game in such a crucial situation is suspect at best and flat-out rigging the game at worse.

Honestly, I didn't care who won the game, so I'm not upset the Chiefs won. I'm bored with the Chiefs, but I don't hate them or anything. I just hate the officiating in the NFL because it's been terrible all year.

 

[Jezza819]

It's called way too frequently and way too inconsistently. Throughout the season, offensive holding was the most frequent penalty called at 581 times for 5,579 yds averaging 16.91 yds/game. Defensive holding was third with 281 times for 1,134 yds and 3.44 yds/game. The only penalty that's anywhere near holding is false starts, which will be called correctly most of the time. In 2021 it was even worse, offensive holding was called 649 times for 6,297 yds resulting in an average of 23.15 yds/game. It was 75 more times than false starts, which was number 2.

The NFL needs to look at what really is holding and what is just playing defense. Bradberry's hold was holding by definition since he held the jersey, but it was for a brief moment and Smith-Schuster still managed to get separation from him. Those sorts of plays were happening all game with no calls for both sides. Suddenly calling it when it's happened all game in such a crucial situation is suspect at best and flat-out rigging the game at worse.

Honestly, I didn't care who won the game, so I'm not upset the Chiefs won. I'm bored with the Chiefs, but I don't hate them or anything. I just hate the officiating in the NFL because it's been terrible all year.

Anything even hinting at rigging a game on such a level to me, is completely ridiculous. Again, it was a penalty and it was called correctly in my opinion and crucial situation has nothing to do with it.

But I will agree with you about one aspect of officiating this year, the way roughing the passer was officiated at the beginning of the year was ridiculous. But I think that's because of a bad directive from the league office under pressure from the owners trying to protect their high priced quarterbacks.

Again, I really didn't care who won either. I was kind of wanting the Eagles to win because of some players with Alabama connections, Hurts, DeVonta Smith, and Landon Dickerson.

 

[Touring Mars]

I decided not to watch the Super Bowl live as I was too tired and had an early start on Monday (game starts at midnight UK time...), and elected to avoid the internet all day Monday and watch it on the BBC's online catch-up stream when I got home...

All was going well until I realised something quite spectacularly dumb - it's not shown on BBC any more

So, I texted a pal who is into NFL if he could send me a link to the highlights or the game without spoilers (as me searching for it myself probably would have led to a spoiler somewhere...) and he told me to pay for the NFL Game Pass to watch the entire game for £0.99... it worked a treat... watched the whole game in HD for under £1.

It was a classic, and I really enjoyed it... I ended up only watching half of it last night and the other half at work this morning... 2 wins and 3 appearances in the last 4 Super Bowls is mighty impressive form from the Chiefs.

 

[Blitz24]

The game was not the best. The penalty on the final drive just turned a Chiefs win from probable (Eagles would have the ball with 80 seconds left and no timeouts) to definite (as what happened). Philadelphia in the first half looked like a different team and I was ready to blame Frank Clark for numerous dumb penalties as the reason the Chiefs would have lost.

One of the most disappointing things to come out of this game was the quality of the field. It felt like the players were repeatedly slipping on the turf/paint and I still believe that Butker missed the first field goal due to running on the logo (which may have caused a slight slip).

 

[TheCracker]

The NFL needs to look at what really is holding and what is just playing defense. Bradberry's hold was holding by definition since he held the jersey, but it was for a brief moment and Smith-Schuster still managed to get separation from him. Those sorts of plays were happening all game with no calls for both sides. Suddenly calling it when it's happened all game in such a crucial situation is suspect at best and flat-out rigging the game at worse.

Is there different rules over holding before/after a throw?

Seems to me it would be easier to enforce a post-throw hold over a pre-throw hold as the referee team would have a better idea of which defensive team members to focus on.

 

[Joey D]

Is there different rules over holding before/after a throw?

Seems to me it would be easier to enforce a post-throw hold over a pre-throw hold as the referee team would have a better idea of which defensive team members to focus on.

Per the NFL rule book, it doesn't look like it.

And as much as that would work in theory, the officiating in the NFL is garbage to begin with so adding another layer of pre/post throw would add another variable for the refs to completely botch.

One of the biggest problems is that the NFL doesn't have full-time refs, they're all part-time and have a "dark period" of 5-6 months where they focus on their other job. Some refs are incredibly successful outside officiating and do things like own businesses, are investment bankers, or run insurance agencies. If the NFL employed full-time refs and had them work on their development during the off-season, there would likely be fewer mistakes. It wouldn't even cost the NFL any more money either since they already pay refs, on average, about $200k a season.

All professional sports leagues (at least in the US) need to hold the refs accountable too. When they make poor calls that heavily influence a game, they need to be fined or suspended. I mean, players get fined when they wiggle their hips after a touchdown (see Jamaal Williams) so why shouldn't refs be penalized when they screw up a game? Maybe it's just because I'm a Lions fan and the refs continuously screw them to the point where fans of the teams that beat them question the calls.

 

[GingerBredMan]

Most people can agree that the officiating is inconsistent. But you can’t say that and then get mad when they call a valid penalty because they didn’t call it another time.

I also don’t get the controversy because that play didn’t really have an impact on the outcome, it was just about the timing. Yes it would have been nice to see Philly with the ball and a minute plus to go, but there was no guarantee that they were going to score. I’ve seen some media outlets try to portray that call as swinging the game in KCs favour and it’s a little ridiculous.

 

[Danoff]

The NFL wants the Chiefs to be the dominant team so bad that the officiating was as lopsided as it's been all playoffs.

They didn't overturn the call on that challenge from the chiefs and they absolutely should have. If you wanted to throw the games for the chiefs, that would have been a good opportunity - was effectively a turnover.

I had a laugh at her being obviously pregnant while trying to sell sex with her silly songs and dance moves.

It turns out that pregnant women can actually have sex, and some people find them sexy. So I'm not sure why you assume that a pregnant performer can't or shouldn't be sexual in their performance.

Edit:

I think the halftime show, especially if I'm interpreting all the white puffy-tipped dancing dudes correctly, was supposed to be a celebration of fertility and pregnancy in general.

 

[Touring Mars]

I'm just glad that Joe Biden didn't have her shot down.

 

[Hodd10]

Texans come out swinging on day 1. Absolutely delighted to see us strengthen on both sides of the ball. 10 picks still to come. Though I doubt we use them. Package some to move up. Hope we pick up a centre as that is a big position of need.

 

[Fezzik]

Happy that the Steelers went the safe boring route with a new tackle. A few OL improvements this offseason. They finally remembered that games are won in the trenches. Now grab a CB who can actually cover and sort out the other line. I'm quite impressed with the newly promoted GM.