the nfl fails again

they started the season with ridiculous referees making ridiculous calls that decided the outcome of games... and they finished the season with questionable referees (how do they choose the officials - and was it done fairly and by the rules?... really?... how much was front office politics involved?... evidence suggests too much) influencing the outcome of the superbowl... if professional sports is to have any integrity at all, it is serious enough to repeat - questionable management of games should not decide games, no less directly influence the outcome of the superbowl... it is sad that an organization that earns billions a year cannot get it right...

Bias? Maybe. Inconsistency that influenced the outcome? Yes. Further loss of integrity and enjoyment of the game? Yes. Did the refs call the same fouls differently at different times? Yes. Did the 49ers coach make some poor calls that ultimately gave away opportunities to win? Yes. Did the refs ignore an offensive pass interference penalty that prevented an easy interception by SF? Yes. Did the referee leniency allow more interference with the offenses than it should have? Yes. Did that effect the ball possession? Yes. Did that effect the score? Probably. Did a Baltimore player push a referee during the game and have no penalty called? Yes.

Here's a question I will leave for further video review (and you) to answer... Was there a missed Baltimore facemask penalty before the first 49er fumble? I think so, but the CBS avoidance of controversy made sure that was not looked at. Media wimpiness and bias is just as sad as league of referee bias.

The fact is that poor play calling inside the 20 yard line cost the 49ers the superbowl - the bad calls would have made it easier to win, but SF blew it by calling the wrong plays at the wrong times... on at least two scoring series in the red zone during the game, the 49er coach made the wrong calls... ignoring the 49er strengths and wanting their inexperienced quarterback to suddenly make plays that veterans find challenging was the wrong call... fades to the same wide receiver over and over (is crabtree their only receiver?... no) when they did not have a dominant wide receiver who could make a spectacular catch and when their quarterback was only playing his seventh start was the wrong call... not going with a formation (pistol) and play set that was averaging 8 yards per play was the wrong call... the 49ers inexperience showed throughout the game but they could have overcome it with the right play calls...

on the other hand, the refs seemed baltimore biased most of the game... the most obvious example is that the same grabbing of a receiver called pass interference on the 49ers that lead to a ravens touchdown earlier in the game was overlooked when baltimore did it and the fact that one of those overlooks was a potential winning touchdown for the 49ers showed the bias of referees decided the game than the talent of the players... the fact is, the 49ers coach called the wrong plays and probably did not deserve to win based on the poor play calls in critical situations, especially then, and the poor execution in that situation (the pass was not well thrown, but it was a holding penalty that was not called... so the ravens win is tainted, the integrity of officials is tainted, the integrity of the nfl is tainted, and the integrity of the superbowl is tainted... and cbs is a joke when it comes to sports... the announcers defending the refs are wimps, but it's cbs, the worst sports broadcasters in the business (though nbc and fox are not far behind) and they typically do everything they can to spin the facts to avoid controversy and support the nfl even when the officials or nfl are/is obviously wrong...

once again, very disappointed by the supposedly professional sports...

on yet another hand, i won my fantasy survival football league because i picked baltimore to win the superbowl... so if you think my perspective is sour grapes, think again... the bad play calls by the 49er coach and the bias calls by the refs actually helped me win my game... my disappointment is not because i was rooting for the 49ers or against baltimore... my disappointment is because the referees showed bias at key moments in the game and their bias helped decide the game... san francisco might not have deserved to win based on mistakes and key bad play calls, but they did deserve a fair shake from the referees and they did not get that...

I would like to take the NFL more seriously and believe the best team always wins, but I don't. From my perspective it's a crap shoot with refs and politics influencing the outcomes of games as much as the players on the field.

Defensive holding was called inconsistently and it effected the outcome of the game. On the last series of the game specifically: Was it a bad play call by the coach? Yes. Was it a poorly executed play by the offense? Yes. But was it also a violation of the rules? Yes. Was it called? No. It was selective penalty calling.

Overall, I think SF play calling in the red zone (more than once) cost them the win but fair calling by the refs and they might have won in spite of the coaching. The sad aspect of of the politics choosing referees and inconsistent calls is that it diminishes the integrity of the game and the respect for the winner.

For the record, I picked Baltimore to win and won my Survival Football league because Baltimore won the Superbowl. So this is not a SF fan's sour grapes. This is a football fan's disappointment with the loss of respect for the league and the loss of integrity of a win.

NFL Fail

the nfl really sucks this year mostly due to the inexperienced officials losing control of games and making very bad calls that effect the momentum and the outcome of games... no amount of spin is going to convince me that this season's first two weeks would have had different outcomes of some games if the regular refs were out there...

it is apparent now that the nfl commissioner and bosses were lying over the last few years when they stated they were imposing fines and changing rules to protect players... they obviously do not care about players... say it again - the decision to let players play under these poorly officiated out of control conditions is proof the bosses do not care about player safety...

the commissioner is certainly a gambler... gambling fans will watch crap and gambling nobody will get hurt enough to permanently scar nfl football... i hope a superstar's career is not ended because the nfl is allowing this fiasco to continue because that would be a permanent scar and legacy for this current commissioner...

ucf football

yes, ucf football inspires this latest meaningless complaint (and i really wish they wouldn't but i've just gotta let it out after the second straight give-away nobody-really-wants-to-win sloppy unintelligent performance)...

define losers... players who do not show enough effort to win... players who stand around watching the other team out-hustle them... players who give up... i watch a few losers in the secondary tonight... it is one thing to simply not have the skills... the receivers showed that they did not have the speed to outrun the other team's secondary by getting catch a few times... the quarterback showed he did not have the skill to lead a wide open receiver by under-throwing two easy touchdown passes so the receivers were catch by the defense... the defensive line showed they were not strong enough to stop an offensive line and runner who wanted it more... the defensive end and the special teams showed they do not know how to stay in their lanes and prevent a runner from turning the corner... all those things are skills you either have or develop or do not have or develop... but giving up, stop hustling and hitting, that makes a loser...

so the ucf football follies gave away a game they should have won for the second week in a row showing they are not championship material and are far from ready to play with the big boys... they made it easy for a team that is not really that good to win, again... so while they were expected to walk through their conference and still might, they are not a top twenty five contender by a long shot... could not handle the spotlight, perhaps... or simply just didn't want it enough... i watched the defense give up, especially the secondary who appeared to not want to hit anybody and watched runners come at them instead of rushing up and helping the defensive line and linebackers... definitely not the defensive team i heard about... and the offence, what can we say... afraid?... sloppy for sure... the most fundamental mistakes that you see really poor middle school teams make... too much ego, not enough teamwork, not enough football sense... coaching?... gotta be part of it, but just as much it is lack of football intelligence cuz some of the mistakes are the most basic football skills (like don't try to over-the-shoulder catch a bouncing ball punt inside your ten yard line or don't try to dance your way through five defenders with the ball on your hip and don't waste the clock, for three)... really bad clock management is coaching... so whatever, i have a lot of trouble getting behind a team and coaching like i watched tonight... lack of effort, lack of football intelligence, lack of any real desire to win... sad, cuz i'd like to feel a lot better about the home team...

get it together coach, you are accountable... i'll be rooting for you next week...