Is the NFL rigged/fixed?

[jray999]

Actually the rule of roughing a QB in the head was made in the 1990s... the Brady Rule followed in 2008. hitting below the waste.

As a fan of both the Steelers and the lions (yes, the lions) I can say that I don't think games are fixed but it certainly looks that way sometimes.
The whole Calvin Johnson "completing the process" call was a joke and the rule changes that followed made the whole thing worse, not better.
And the Jesse James call was even worse. I don't think the issue with the NFL is rigged games, I think the issue is the constant tweaking of the rules. Some of the changes have been for player safety and I can understand that but as someone who has been watching the game since the latte 70's the one thing everyone always knew was this: you cross the goal line with the ball in your hands-its a touchdown. I do think the refs favor certain teams but I think a lot of that is due to the reputation of the team and/or it's players.
The Lions don't get calls because they have been sucky for so long. The Patriots do get calls because all they ever do is win super bowls.
Games aren't fixed but I think it's human nature to favor what you like to see, and people like to see Tom Brady holding a trophy.
As far as Brady being the GOAT- I don't know if he's the best ever as far as talent goes, but he is certainly the winningest.
maybe a better question than games being fixed is this: what does Belichick's resume look like if he doesn't have Brady all those years? and the same goes for Brady.

[RevanFan]

I think a far better explanation for any inconsistencies is that the NFL and its competition committee are just... lost. They are either unsure or clueless on many important things, such as the aforementioned catch rule. I don't see corruption in the NFL, I see incompetence. Well, I mean of course there's some corruption, but no more so than any other American corporation. On the field, though, it's incompetence, especially regarding creation and implementation of the rules.

[Pregadordouard]

Anyone who studies the history of the NFL and other leagues around the world knows that dynasty is always part of history. How is it possible that different teams are champions season after season? This doesn't exist anywhere, SemiPro football and other independent leagues have dynasty. Unfortunately it exists, mainly to please the public and the owners

[Pregadordouard]

Actually the rule of roughing a QB in the head was made in the 1990s... the Brady Rule followed in 2008. hitting below the waste.

As a fan of both the Steelers and the lions (yes, the lions) I can say that I don't think games are fixed but it certainly looks that way sometimes.
The whole Calvin Johnson "completing the process" call was a joke and the rule changes that followed made the whole thing worse, not better.
And the Jesse James call was even worse. I don't think the issue with the NFL is rigged games, I think the issue is the constant tweaking of the rules. Some of the changes have been for player safety and I can understand that but as someone who has been watching the game since the latte 70's the one thing everyone always knew was this: you cross the goal line with the ball in your hands-its a touchdown. I do think the refs favor certain teams but I think a lot of that is due to the reputation of the team and/or it's players.
The Lions don't get calls because they have been sucky for so long. The Patriots do get calls because all they ever do is win super bowls.
Games aren't fixed but I think it's human nature to favor what you like to see, and people like to see Tom Brady holding a trophy.
As far as Brady being the GOAT- I don't know if he's the best ever as far as talent goes, but he is certainly the winningest.
maybe a better question than games being fixed is this: what does Belichick's resume look like if he doesn't have Brady all those years? and the same goes for Brady.

Just look at college , highschool and semi pro , they all have a dynasty , even with the draft and salary cap it 's very difficult for you to assemble teams and dismantle teams from one season to another , just look at the last dynasty ( 49ers ) , Montana left and San Francisco put Steve Young and continued at a high level. Especially in football, the technical and physical difference between teams is much greater than in other less physical sports, such as college, where the difference between a #1 and #8 is abysmal

[Austinmario13]

how in the hell is this thread still up?

[TheRareButter]

TLDR: It's not that deep anymore. Players play for their fans and money not for championships. The NFL is a business first, a competitive sports league second.



It's not necessarily "fixed", but it definitely isn't genuine competitive football anymore. It's for the fans. The NFL is like a government and each team is a business under the command of that government. The XFL does the same thing. The NCAA and CFL are legit no BS football leagues though, for the moment. That's why I became a CFL fan and started watching Grey Cups Championships.

NFL defenses allow big plays on offense every single game (especially for the stars) because the fans love it and big plays are essential to the fandoms. As a Chiefs fan, I can assure you that Travis Kelce, our star TE who may go down as one of the greatest ever, is not THAT good at breaking tackles, and I can also say confidently that the best tacklers in the world probably wouldn't have such a issue with tackling him if he wasn't a star player to our franchise that our fans love and buy merchandise related to him and his big plays.

Mahomes is also extremely good at breaking tackles and somehow, despite mirroring Peyton Manning's combine 40 he's become somewhat of a scrambler. Here's a prime example of how it works, defenders conveniently forgot how to tackle the NFL's biggest star who jogged 27 yards into the endzone. Not one, two, or three but FOUR defenders literally gave a WWE style effort to tackle him as yet another Mahomes mania highlight goes into the record books.

It's not that the players become stars so often as the stars become the players if you catch my drift. They're a product being sold collectively under the same administration, the NFL. Kinda like the WWE, but sports aren't exclusively show business. Player's aren't necessarily playing to win the Super Bowl anymore but they're not not playing to win it either. Whatever happens, happens and the players try their best.

Think of it like this, yes the teams compete against each other but in reality they're co-workers. They work for the NFL under a free market system comprised of team businesses.

The NFL doesn't fix games the way you'd think, they probably don't have a grudge against the Bears or the Lions. I'm almost positive it's a free fall from their perspective and the teams get their stars known amongst each other and big plays and jersey sales happen naturally.

As far as refs go, I'd say it's human error and not intentional but I could be wrong. Outrage is good for exposure and attention in the media, just look at Fox News.

[TheLandFan]

I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but all pro sports are scripted. Why do you think the NFL does walkthroughs? The NFL is registered as an entertainment business exactly the same way the WWE is registered. The NFL has never been registered as a professional sport, and is thereby not liable for deciding the outcome of games. The reason why players get into big time trouble for betting on games is because the players know the outcomes beforehand. That's why they [and not just the NFL but all "Pro Sports"] have such strict betting rules. I'm sorry to be the one to have to tell you, but you can look it up for yourself. Besides, the emperor is never going to build a colosseum and host events without retaining full control over the outcomes of the games. It's as simple as that. American cities are never going to build billion-dollar stadiums without some assurances that that money can eventually be recouped, plus interest. It's always about money. I mean think about it - September 11th happens and suddenly the New England Patriots, one of the then-worst franchises in NFL history, goes on the most prolific dynasty run ever in the history of the game? Nah, bro, it's not rigged, it's scripted. Outcomes are absolutely controlled.

[Pregadordouard]

I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but all pro sports are scripted. Why do you think the NFL does walkthroughs? The NFL is registered as an entertainment business exactly the same way the WWE is registered. The NFL has never been registered as a professional sport, and is thereby not liable for deciding the outcome of games. The reason why players get into big time trouble for betting on games is because the players know the outcomes beforehand. That's why they [and not just the NFL but all "Pro Sports"] have such strict betting rules. I'm sorry to be the one to have to tell you, but you can look it up for yourself. Besides, the emperor is never going to build a colosseum and host events without retaining full control over the outcomes of the games. It's as simple as that. American cities are never going to build billion-dollar stadiums without some assurances that that money can eventually be recouped, plus interest. It's always about money. I mean think about it - September 11th happens and suddenly the New England Patriots, one of the then-worst franchises in NFL history, goes on the most prolific dynasty run ever in the history of the game? Nah, bro, it's not rigged, it's scripted. Outcomes are absolutely controlled.

another weird thing is different champions year after year. this does not exist in place of the world. Because, unlike other sports, the difference of teams more noticeable. Take the recent case of Alabama in college? In fact, in the history of the nfl dynasty and few teams fighting for titles were common.