(01-30-2023, 12:39 AM)Luvnit2 Wrote: We still should have won

Can I ask why?  We had the ball on offense with two minutes left in the game.  Not the refs' fault that we decided to throw deep on 2nd and 3, and then again on 3rd and 3.  This team's refusal to run the ball in short-yard situations continues to absolutely confound me, especially when pass protection hadn't been there all game long.  

The missed roughing-the-passer call on Burrow was annoying, and the re-do on 3rd and 9 deserves looking at from the league, but we had a chance to win the game and we blew it.  

I am not reading this whole thread because of the absurdity of the idea the NFL could somehow rig a game to be a specific score. Just wanted to say that anyone who believes that is ignorant. Did NFL instruct us to commit a penalty to push them into FG range? Burrow to throw two picks so he's in on it also? Adengi to be a turnstile? Yet with all that we got the ball twice late in the 4th quarter with a chance to drive for a winning FG and could not. So save the rigged talk...it's just dumb

(01-30-2023, 10:02 AM)Memphis_Bengal Wrote: I am not reading this whole thread because of the absurdity of the idea the NFL could somehow rig a game to be a specific score. Just wanted to say that anyone who believes that is ignorant. Did NFL instruct us to commit a penalty to push them into FG range? Burrow to throw two picks so he's in on it also? Adengi to be a turnstile? Yet with all that we got the ball twice late in the 4th quarter with a chance to drive for a winning FG and could not. So save the rigged talk...it's just dumb

Nobody on here that I know here , including myself, is saying anything of the such. But only those who are so naive about the influence of big money would contend that the league doesn't try to put it's finger on the scales to influence the outcomes of some games. Of course they do. I encourage you to search for this topic  on a Reds board if you want to see intelligent discussion on how and why officials influences games. More than half of the folks polled  there believe the league either DEFINITELY influences outcomes or MORE LIKELY THAN NOT influences outcomes. I would post a link to that discussion but I'm not sure if it is within Bengals Board rules to do so. 

And for those who say there's no way the league could be dishonest in affecting games because the Bengals won last year, I say hogwash. Isn't it possible that the league would favor an outcome in which the Bengals win? Bottomline, there is little doubt there is some influence from league officials on the outcomes of some games. Only those who so desperately want to be believe that Goodell is an honest and ethical man would think any differently. Be honest with yourself, Goodell deniers, were there any calls or non-calls last night that left you scratching your heads and thinking in the deep recesses of your mind that something seemed kinda out of sorts or fishy. You know, kinda like  the Logan Wilson phantom PI on 3rd down in the endzone in the Superbowl?

The real problem with the Bengals and players, they are not in any State Farm commercials. That's when you really know you've made it as a football team.

It's hard to outright rig an NFL game. That said, it's very easy for the zebras to tip the scales in a close contest(as evidenced by last night) to a desired outcome. In the playoffs, where every team is really good, it's tough to outplay the other team convincingly enough to put yourself in a position where you can't get screwed. I kind of felt like it was going to be that way when Reid challenged that incomplete TD catch that wasn't even close.

I will say that folks that put bets down on the Bengals don't really help.

(01-30-2023, 10:02 AM)Memphis_Bengal Wrote: I am not reading this whole thread because of the absurdity of the idea the NFL could somehow rig a game to be a specific score. Just wanted to say that anyone who believes that is ignorant. Did NFL instruct us to commit a penalty to push them into FG range? Burrow to throw two picks so he's in on it also? Adengi to be a turnstile? Yet with all that we got the ball twice late in the 4th quarter with a chance to drive for a winning FG and could not. So save the rigged talk...it's just dumb

So you're saying it's rigged and Burrow is in on it?! 

It'll be interesting to see what Brian "Mr The Fix is In" Touhey will have to say about this..

(01-30-2023, 08:50 AM)Destro Wrote: Then it was rigged for the Bengals to make the Super Bowl last year and for them to make it to the conference championship this year, right? Didn’t happen without the NFL making it so, right? The reason no one called a block in the back on that fumbled return last week, right? Can’t benefit from it then complain about it.


If rigged, stop watching and stop posting. Ending already written. No need to speak on it. Go watch wrestling then. At least they got women tumbling around.

Why is that possibility to be discounted just because the Bengals win?  Is it really possible the Bengals legitimately foul 2 times for 9 yards with a crew that typically calls A LOT of penalties? Not likely.  Is is possible the league decided the preferred outcome was not to have that terrible Atlanta fiasco, which would shed even more light on their shenanigans and weird and controversial playoff scenarios.

(01-30-2023, 09:36 AM)Nepa Wrote: You are very quick to impugn Bengals fans and blame the Bengals team, but much of the NFL world, outside KC, including top announcers and analysts (Bill Simmons, Mike Greenberg, etc.), are stating the officiating was very one-sided. I'm not of the camp the game was rigged. But the officiating was atrocious and officiated by part-time officials whose main jobs are as middle school principals and high-school teachers and salesmen and farm owners and tax accountants -- all playing under the glare of a high-pressure game in front of a massive KC crowd. And they wilted big time. 

I'm not so ready to bend over and pretend to be the Washington Generals and just take it.

Here is a link to some of the comments:

https://bleacherreport.com/articles/10063426-embarrassing-refs-blasted-by-nfl-twitter-during-bengals-vs-chiefs-afc-title-game

There is no doubt officiating is bad. Week in and week out there are just horrible calls and worse than that is inconsistency. Maybe that's the best they can do, but if that is so then the NFL needs to figure out how to make it better. That being said, it's gonna eat your guts out if you let it.

If it wasn’t rigged than the horrible and atrocious officiating has put a stain on the league. I live in the Cleveland area and many people have said this to me this morning. Last night was a travesty regarding officiating. That crew should be allowed only to officiate Pee Wee football. Just horrible


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(01-30-2023, 01:41 AM)Nepa Wrote: I have a question. I know that if one reaches the ball over the plane of the goal line, it counts as TD. But can one reach the ball over the line for the first down and willingly pull it back and the forward progress count at the furthest point? If a players runs and then reverses and goes back, the ball goes back. So, why would reaching the ball out be a first down if the person willing pulls it back before being down.

I thought the same thing until I saw Dak Prescott do that for the cowboys one time. He reached across the first down line then pulled it back. The NFL rules state you can do this, even though it seems very wrong. 

These conspiracy theories really are going to inspire me to start going to movie theaters and yell, "It's FIXED! The schmuck never gets the girl in the end in real life!" 
Do your duty my fellow conspiracy theory affectionados.. Let's completely ruin the movie going experience for everyone!  

(01-30-2023, 10:48 AM)Bronxbengal Wrote: If it wasn’t rigged than the horrible and atrocious officiating has put a stain on the league.  I live in the Cleveland area and many people have said this to me this morning.  Last night was a travesty regarding officiating.  That crew should be allowed only to officiate Pee Wee football.  Just horrible


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I have never seen the Bengals coaches and Burrow so animated about missed calls. They were ballistic on the missed push on the back on the 30-yard punt return and the holding and the late hit on Burrow and the bizarre redo of a 3rd down play that went all the way to having the punt team on the field before they redo the play.

The officiating was indeed a travesty. We have the usual Bengals fans ready to blame the Bengals coaches and players and give a pass to the one-sided officiating. But much of the NFL world recognizes that was a poorly officiated game. The Bengals, one of the least penalized team in the league, all of sudden gets 9 penalties, while the Chiefs get only 4 called, despite many obvious and game-changing penalties on their part ignored.

Where do they get this unqualified officials? It seems like they were intimidated by the Chiefs crowd. They had a few obvious calls do against the Chiefs and the fans went ballistic and the officials just seemed to be cowed after that.

Perhaps no calls should be reviewable with challenge flags with a special new rule unrelated to normal challenge flags.. Just think of the additional commercials the league can help sell and to further annoy fans to no end.. One can never get a belly full enough of commercial breaks..and just think about how much more fun it would've been to make fans in Arrowhead sit in the freezing cold for an extra hour or two while Zac challenged all the nonsense.. 
The league rules committee really should hire me to make up more reason to sell more commercials..lol

(01-30-2023, 06:15 AM)Nicomo Cosca Wrote: I don’t think the NFL is rigged, I just think they have non-full time officials - most of whom own AARP cards.

It’s ridiculous when you’re talking about a multibillion dollar industry.

I think it's way easier to see stuff on TV too with slow motion replays and wide camera angles. On the field, the view is limited.

Like a punt. You may have players spread out over 40 yards.

I think the league just does a shitty job of clarifying and executing it's own rules. They also, undeniably add and subtract weight from certain violations. They let offensive holding slide a lot, and it's because they want to protect quarterbacks. Unfortunately, holding is still a very real violation according to league rules. Refs can enforce it when they choose to, and it becomes a lot more subjective.

It would be like an employer telling people they can get fired for smoking weed. Always been against the rules, always fireable. The one day, the employer has a hiring shortage and needs workers. They let up a bit on enforcement to keep jobs staffed, but the policy remains. You can still get fired if they feel like firing you, but they might not.

The Bengals RBs only ran the ball 13 times for a total of 41 yards. An average of 3.15 YPC. The Chiefs allowed 4.4 YPC on the season.

Boyd being out was pretty impactful, but I was happy to see Hurst step up some. Only 37 yards on 4 rec but a couple of those were big receptions.

And the Bengals were able to hold the league's best offense to just 23 points.

So what did this boil down to?
The OL, especially Adeniji, was bad. It's clear how much of a dropoff there was for (some of) these backups.
Chiefs were smart and gameplanned Chris Jones outside some to take advantage of that sieve of a right side (Adeniji specifically).
Bengals unable to execute anything really on the ground.
Bengals weren't able to take advantage of all those rookies in the Chiefs' secondary enough. Mainly because the OL was getting beat so fast.
Timely (and albeit sometimes BS) penalties that halted the Bengals momentum

At the end of the day, the Bengals lost to the #1 seed in the AFC and the team that's really been the best team in the AFC for the past 5+ years.
It's ok that they lost to them in the AFCCG.

I do hate that it's the Chiefs vs Eagles in the SB, as I don't want to root for the Chiefs but I also don't like the Eagles.

(01-30-2023, 11:08 AM)Nepa Wrote: I have never seen the Bengals coaches and Burrow so animated about missed calls. They were ballistic on the missed push on the back on the 30-yard punt return and the holding and the late hit on Burrow and the bizarre redo of a 3rd down play that went all the way to having the punt team on the field before they redo the play.

The officiating was indeed a travesty. We have the usual Bengals fans ready to blame the Bengals coaches and players and give a pass to the one-sided officiating. But much of the NFL world recognizes that was a poorly officiated game. The Bengals, one of the least penalized team in the league, all of sudden gets 9 penalties, while the Chiefs get only 4 called, despite many obvious and game-changing penalties on their part ignored.

Where do they get this unqualified officials? It seems like they were intimidated by the Chiefs crowd. They had a few obvious calls do against the Chiefs and the fans went ballistic and the officials just seemed to be cowed after that.

If the game was rigged, the Bengals played the patsy well with bad playcalls and poor play.

Poorly officiated game for sure. I definitely knew it would lead to cries of "rigged" by those who are susceptible to fantasy and conspiracy. This thread did not let me down.

Anywho... The offense didn't get the job done. Period. We're on to 2023.

(01-30-2023, 12:58 AM)michaelsean Wrote: Yup. Grab the #1 seed and play that game at home.

Oh, the league will find a way for that NOT to happen.