The ongoing story of the Pro Bowl Games Week is that the players appear to be having a good ol' time with the "NFL is Scripted" meme which Arian Foster purportedly put out earlier in the week.
It is now seen that he was kidding, but the fact is you can often tell how intelligent some of these people are by their arguments in this regard.
Now the NFL and it's players HAVE TO at least put on the front that the statements are a joke, or they lose a number of fans permanently.
That said, let me put this to bed right here...
The NFL DOES rig and script it's games -- and, on occasion, it's even far beyond the officiating, like it was in Kansas City.
I'll give you some people who I believe can do it, and then I will show you again.
I know Brian Tuohy made mention of these people, and I didn't know who these people were either before I did some research to find his Tweet on the subject from some months or years back...
The website BroBible explored this phenomenon in the 2019-20 playoffs, when a Buffalo touchdown was taken off the board after consultation with a "black coat" official.
According to Football Zebras, these are alternate officials -- the one in the pictures in the Buffalo-Houston game was an alternate line judge.
I believe this is one possibility of the people who, when "circumstances require", can go up to players and tell them to deliberately take a dive.
Like this: Marques Colston in the 2013 NFL playoffs. New Orleans is on the last play of the game, down six. A pass is thrown to Colston, and, four yards clear of the defender, he does this...
Nothing will top the Marques Colston lateral pic.twitter.com/aB2FVzPGxE
— Brett Shanker (@brettshanker) December 31, 2017
That's usually my first "go-to" when I have to explain to people that there are only three real options left, and since Federal criminal prosecution never seems to be on the table and you can't be that stupid and be a professional athlete, one can easily draw the other conclusion.
Because, by US Code 18 224:
"Whoever carries into effect, attempts to carry into effect, or conspires with any other person to carry into effect any scheme in commerce to influence, in any way, by bribery any sporting contest, with knowledge that the purpose of such scheme is to influence by bribery that contest, shall be fined under this title, or imprisoned not more than 5 years, or both."
So, to the band of idiots who believes these games are not scripted, etc., I present to you five plays from this season (Hell, since December 1, 2022!!!) in which every one of these players should have, if the games were even presented as legitimate, taken under Federal investigation (yes, this means arrested off the field) for violations of 18 224...
This first one was so bad, the misogynistic morons at Barstool Sports were wondering if someone was going to call for an investigation. Week 13, the Saints have a 16-3 lead on the Tom Bradys. 2nd and 8 at the New Orleans 49 for the Saints. Andy Dalton throws a pass to Mark Ingram III, and he then deliberately runs out of bounds a yard short of the first down marker. (Twitter has successfully appeared to scrub all the video of the play I could find, but this YouTube short is still up.)
After a third-down incompletion (third and 1!!!), punt, 90 yard drive, 3 and out, punt, 63 yard drive, and the Tom Bradys win 17-16 in another Tom Brady rig-job
The second one was in Week 14. 1st and 10, Rams 22, Rams down 6 with 1:30 to go, and Tillery does this after a Raiders sack...
Jerry Tillery gave the Rams 15 yards and a free first down for this pic.twitter.com/0PNAxzwVNn
— Christian D'Andrea (@TrainIsland) December 9, 2022
As a direct result, 98 yard TD drive, Rams win 17-16.
Third one: Jakobi Meyers of the Patriots. Need I go any further than the video on this one? Tie game, final play of regulation, lateral-fest for the Patriots, and Meyers laterals it directly to Chandler Jones of the Raiders, Raiders win.
The NFL scrubbed at least two videos of the play from Twitter. So this YouTube link will have to suffice.
Fourth: Quay Walker, Week 18, Packers vs. Lions, Packers win or go home. Pack is up 16-13, but the Lions have the ball, first down at the Packer 11. After a two-yard play, a player is injured for the Lions.
This results:
Bitch move by @QuayWalker_
— Chad Currie (@ChadCurrie1371) January 31, 2023
These narcissistic young players have got to go. @NFL start taxing them a percentage of their pay for this kind of stuff and those greedy assholes will stop. pic.twitter.com/3LN00GF4JN
It's not just a "percentage of the pay". He does that in college, I call for his expulsion from the school. If we had laws and the NFL were legit, that's an arrestable offense -- again, YOU. CAN'T. BE. THAT. FUCKING. STUPID.
And then the AFC title game. Let me set this up again for emphasis: The game is tied at 20. Mahomes scrambles for a first down on third and 4, but the ball is at the Cincinnati 42 and there are eight seconds left.
That is, until Joseph Ossai throws the game with this move:
What a brain dead move by Joseph Ossai. He handed KC the Super Bowl appearance on a silver platter. Absolute dumbass pic.twitter.com/8HDUrIaGdj
— Junkie 💎 (@wwe_wwf_Junkie) January 30, 2023
I want anyone to look at these six plays (and there are many like them, but these six are particularly flagrant, and three of them caused their team's direct elimination from the playoffs).
You have only three options:
- The NFL scripts the games and will order players to take a dive.
- Some of the players are so stupid, they have no right to be called professional athletes.
- Or these players are taking point-shaving money and need to be prosecuted under US Federal law.
I don't think they tell the players before hand. Either the coaches do, or they are told to do something on the fly. I believe that each player has an ear piece in his helmet where they get instructions from the league. If they don't do what they are told, they are fired (or worse).
ReplyDeleteAlso, the storylines have to be plausible to continue, as you pointed out after the Pats beat Tebow in the 2011 playoffs.
I know that Jake the A**hole says that the players sign a non-disclosure agreement, but that could be used as evidence against the league.
I think there are games where the game is decided beforehand and the players are told. That may not be true in all cases. I remember two different Super Bowls Peyton Manning was in and, before the game, you could see his face and absolutely know that his team was not going to win the game and he knew it beforehand.
DeleteI do believe, however, that something like Cincy/KC did have to happen "on the fly", because even the slanted officiating wasn't getting the job done.
I know what I said back in Tebow Time. I'm beginning to wonder if he was a decade before his Tebow Time -- because I no longer am 100% certain about plausibility.