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Divisional Round! The Kansas City Chiefs!

Porky said:
On the very first snap against the Chargers, Tunsil left early. It wasn’t called. They give Tunsil an early start multiple times per game…every single game. Are you concerned about that?
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That is 100% correct. If we would just focus on what we're doing wrong and not whine because we always got away with something before. We see an offensive lineman doing something wrong almost ever play. Not getting called does not make it right and we've had posters here defending them. Of course, we all want an even playing field but get our act together and we can probably win 90% of our games.
 
KC has averaged 22.6 ppg. The defense will be tasked to hold them at or below 22.6 points. If they do not, they will share some of the blame if the Chiefs win.

The Texans will need to score more than 22.6 points. If they fail to do that they will be to blame if the Texans do not win.

Of course defensive scores will have to be taken into account.
 
Hoegarden said:
I stopped watching WWF as a child in the 80s the day I realized something was not right.
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I was never duped. I enjoyed watching it just like I enjoyed watching GI Joe & Thundercats.

I stopped watching sometime in the early 90s when the drama outweighed the wrastling & every episode was geared at selling their PPV events.

Same thing now, NFL/NBA I don't care if it's rigged or not, as long as it's entertaining. Just like Reacher, or the Squid Games.
 
Texansballer74 said:
Call the game fair and nobody would think or say they’re cheating. Stop allowing their Tackles from holding and jumping offside on darn near every passing attempt. And guess what most will not say they’re cheating.
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That.... i can't imagine DeMeco going into those officiating meetings before the game & raising hell about the holding & the false starts.
 
Lucky said:
I think once you begin to see the game through the lens of conspiracy, it's difficult to stop. 22 players on a 120 x 53 yard field, with 7 refs, 20 something cameras, 70,000 fans, and 40 million watching on the tube. And somehow people think this can be coordinated into a preferred outcome? That's what is mind boggling to me. But people are going to see what they want to see.
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It doesn't take all of that. Just a phantom holding call that negates a TD here, a bogus roughing the passer to keep a drive alive for a TD there is all it takes.

And you're right, once that doubt creeps in it's hard to look at it the same way. But the NFL created that doubt with the piss poor officiating that they don't seem to care about tightening up. That way they can fall back on the "hey, the officiating missed these calls in these other games, blah, blah, blah." Then to sweeten the pot they get the ref that KC is 6-0 with to officiate this one. That sure as hell doesn't help squash any conspiracies.

Deep down I probably don't believe it's rigged, but that doubt is there. And when KC takes the field at the Superdome in 3 weeks ......
 
A few of my keys for a successful game -
Defense:
Spy on Mahomes from multiple angles throughout the game...constant pressure and containment.
Spy on Kelce - follow him wherever he goes, even into the tunnel at halftime.
Rub route defense - study film to identify formations where rub routes are likely. Know how to pass off receivers to avoid picks. Have DBs disrupt receivers at the LOS with press coverage, within the first 5 yards.
Be strong up the middle, Pacheco and Hunt are physical runners
Offense:
Diversify passing plays by using short to medium routes that spread the defense horizontally, not just targeting the middle.
Finish blocks - OL must block through the whistle and finish strong on every play.
Be ready - get to the LOS quickly and ensure at least 10 seconds remain on the play clock before the snap giving CJ, the WRs and the OL time to assess pre-snap defensive looks.
Dump the WR screen and use a middle screen to a RB please?
 
America’s team this weekend is gonna come from the Lonestar state. We can win this game. But we better come into it with some serious swagger, and not leave this up to the refs to decide.
KC’s gonna blitz a lot, but we can exploit their cornerbacks with there bump and run defense.
I just hope we have some things lined up other than our screen pass.
As of right now, we’re eight point hundred dogs. We definitely need to bring out some crazy trick plays in this game.
 
I'm not worried about Nico producing on Saturday. He's averaged 6 catches for 95 yards in his 3 playoff games without a true #2 or even #3 WR.

It's the rest of the receiving core that needs to step up. WRs not named Nico Collins did produce 8 catches for 96 yards last Saturday. That's a start in the right direction. Get Dalton Schultz and the RBs into the equation, and the Texans passing game could turn into a positive in KC.
 
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Lucky said:
I'm not worried about Nico producing on Saturday. He's averaged 6 catches for 95 yards in his 3 playoff games without a true #2 or even #3 WR.

It's the rest of the receiving core that needs to step up. WRs not named Nico Collins did produce 8 catches for 96 yards last Saturday. That's a start in the right direction. Get Dalton Schultz and the RBs into the equation, and the Texans passing game could turn into a positive in KC.
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Love your optimism.
 
This team better figure out a way to defend the quick rub routes, because they ate us alive with those last time. KC's bread and butter is very quick efficient passes. Our front will not even have a chance to apply pressure if Mahomes is getting the ball out quick. I hope DR and crew are figuring out a creative game plan for this.
 
amazing80 said:
This team better figure out a way to defend the quick rub routes, because they ate us alive with those last time. KC's bread and butter is very quick efficient passes. Our front will not even have a chance to apply pressure if Mahomes is getting the ball out quick. I hope DR and crew are figuring out a creative game plan for this.
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Azeez and Autry will be out there who weren’t out there last time.
 
I was joking with my son…..the defense should stop just short of hitting Mahomes and get their arms up!!!! What would the refs do? Get creative and call roughing the pass?

If Mahomes is getting his throws out too quick, I really hope the DL gets their arms up in an effort to disrupt the throw, b/c the Texans DB’s are talented enough to take advantage.

If the Texans have to turn to Pierce a bit more during this game….it wouldn’t hurt if Strausser would modify his blocking scheme to Power Run. I don’t think the OL would have any problems executing this change on the fly.
 
OptimisticTexan said:
I was joking with my son…..the defense should stop just short of hitting Mahomes and get their arms up!!!! What would the refs do? Get creative and call roughing the pass?

If Mahomes is getting his throws out too quick, I really hope the DL gets their arms up in an effort to disrupt the throw, b/c the Texans DB’s are talented enough to take advantage.

If the Texans have to turn to Pierce a bit more during this game….it wouldn’t hurt if Strausser would modify his blocking scheme to Power Run. I don’t think the OL would have any problems executing this change on the fly.
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What hurts teams against Mahomes late in games is when he starts running around and playing backyard football. D-linemen get out of their rush lanes and open up **** for him to squeeze through. Most qbs tend to panic when the pocket gets tight and they have to run around a little, Mahomes on the other hand is right at home with that ****... This is how he was at TT only he didn't have the talent & coaching around him there to overcome the really talented teams like he does in the NFL. Best way to play him is to stay disciplined in your rush lanes..even when he's running around in the back like a chicken with its head cut off..& send the occacsional blitz up the middle to flush him 1 way in key situations. That, coupled with keeping him on the sidelines as much as possible..like teams used to do with Manning. Beyond that, he's a great player, he's gonna make plays..you just have to limit them & you can't overreact to them when he does.

I'm more concerned with how they plan to defend Chris Jones b/c you know the minute we start doubling him, Spags is gonna start sending the LBs to get after CJ.
 
I'm very happy that the Texans are big time dogs in this game. Whenever the Texans are favored in big game (not just the Ryans Texans teams, but all time) it seems like they just expect to win. I think with this team it's important because our team is so young and at this point, haven't figured out to consistently put the same amount of focus into every game. The bulletin board material really helps them focus and they (like pretty much every team) thrives on being told that they are going to get blown out.

Hoegarden said:
I don’t think there is some sort of agenda the officials have been given to make sure to rule in the favor of the Chiefs. That would be a massive conspiracy which would be impossible to keep under wraps. I agree they do qet a lot of questionable calls go in their favor but at this point, the Chiefs and Mahomes are like the Chicago Bulls and Michael Jordan during their 3 peat. So dominant for such a long time, that the offcials give them the benefit of the doubt without even realizing it. I don’t think they are consciously picking the Chiefs or have been told to do so, IMO
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I disagree. You don't need to have everyone in on a conspiracy or match fixing. The mafia was engaged in point shaving in college basketball back in the 80's (Holy Cross I think?) and that's just what we know about. It only takes a head ref or two. What about in the NBA? Tim Donaghy is a scum bag, but I don't think he was lying about what he did. Why would they rig a game? The answer is obvious: money. The NFL is a cash cow and they know if they make the soap opera more interesting they get more causals to watch the game. People that like football are going to watch no matter what. It's the intrigue that keeps the ratings high. And with all the sports betting being normalized, they would be kind of stupid (from a business standpoint) not to.

I think they try to fix certain games, but some combination of the team that is supposed to win playing poorly, and the team that is supposed to lose playing better than normal can overcome these things. It's just my hunch, but my father is friends with some old NFL players that said that they thought the game was rigged, by ball placement and some other factors.

Back in 1989, a guest on Pat Sajak's long-time, emmy award winning late night show talked about it and wrote a book about it too.


KA4Texan said:
Well, the fact that its supposed to snow in Houston tells you that the Texans are going to win.

I don't know who invoked Ma nature, but someone clearly said "Texans beat KC when Hell freezes over"...... Houston sharing a climate with Hell... I gotta say... it applies.
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I absolutely love this post. You know what? I think they're going to win now too!
 
Mr teX said:
What hurts teams against Mahomes late in games is when he starts running around and playing backyard football. D-linemen get out of their rush lanes and open up **** for him to squeeze through. Most qbs tend to panic when the pocket gets tight and they have to run around a little, Mahomes on the other hand is right at home with that ****... This is how he was at TT only he didn't have the talent & coaching around him there to overcome the really talented teams like he does in the NFL. Best way to play him is to stay disciplined in your rush lanes..even when he's running around in the back like a chicken with its head cut off..& send the occacsional blitz up the middle to flush him 1 way in key situations. That, coupled with keeping him on the sidelines as much as possible..like teams used to do with Manning. Beyond that, he's a great player, he's gonna make plays..you just have to limit them & you can't overreact to them when he does.

I'm more concerned with how they plan to defend Chris Jones b/c you know the minute we start doubling him, Spags is gonna start sending the LBs to get after CJ.
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I think DeMeco is going to make adjustments and keep the Chiefs offense mostly under control unless the game is clearly out of reach. I'm more worried about the line regressing to their norm, dog ****, and CJ doesn't get time to throw and is worried about getting de-cleated.
 
House of Pain said:
I think DeMeco is going to make adjustments and keep the Chiefs offense mostly under control unless the game is clearly out of reach. I'm more worried about the line regressing to their norm, dog ****, and CJ doesn't get time to throw and is worried about getting de-cleated.
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He should focus on getting the ball out of his hands in less than 2 seconds. If he needs help visuallizing what that looks like he should be on his feet watching the other guy & not sitting by himself moping "woe is me"
 
Lucky said:
I think once you begin to see the game through the lens of conspiracy, it's difficult to stop. 22 players on a 120 x 53 yard field, with 7 refs, 20 something cameras, 70,000 fans, and 40 million watching on the tube. And somehow people think this can be coordinated into a preferred outcome? That's what is mind boggling to me. But people are going to see what they want to see.
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The sheer number of moving parts in an NFL game doesn’t mean bias or preferential treatment can’t exist. It’s not about scripting every play but about key moments where judgment calls (or non-calls) can shift momentum. A handful of crucial penalties (or lack thereof) can significantly influence a game’s outcome. NFL officials have discretion in making calls, and history shows that certain teams or players receive more favorable calls. A classic example is how established star quarterbacks historically get roughing-the-passer calls more frequently than average, or newer players to the league. Bias, even if unintentional, exists.
 
It’ll be up to CJ to show the Chiefs that he too can make a defense pay for over committing in the pass rush b/c they don’t think he’ll tuck and run for a first down. This could be the biggest surprise for the Chiefs defense if he burns them for a couple of crucial first downs.
 
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House of Pain said:
I'm very happy that the Texans are big time dogs in this game. Whenever the Texans are favored in big game (not just the Ryans Texans teams, but all time) it seems like they just expect to win. I think with this team it's important because our team is so young and at this point, haven't figured out to consistently put the same amount of focus into every game. The bulletin board material really helps them focus and they (like pretty much every team) thrives on being told that they are going to get blown out.



I disagree. You don't need to have everyone in on a conspiracy or match fixing. The mafia was engaged in point shaving in college basketball back in the 80's (Holy Cross I think?) and that's just what we know about. It only takes a head ref or two. What about in the NBA? Tim Donaghy is a scum bag, but I don't think he was lying about what he did. Why would they rig a game? The answer is obvious: money. The NFL is a cash cow and they know if they make the soap opera more interesting they get more causals to watch the game. People that like football are going to watch no matter what. It's the intrigue that keeps the ratings high. And with all the sports betting being normalized, they would be kind of stupid (from a business standpoint) not to.

I think they try to fix certain games, but some combination of the team that is supposed to win playing poorly, and the team that is supposed to lose playing better than normal can overcome these things. It's just my hunch, but my father is friends with some old NFL players that said that they thought the game was rigged, by ball placement and some other factors.

Back in 1989, a guest on Pat Sajak's long-time, emmy award winning late night show talked about it and wrote a book about it too.




I absolutely love this post. You know what? I think they're going to win now too!
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Please provide some actual evidence of a game being rigged in professional team sports within the past 5 years. I could care less about what was done in 80s or 90s as it has no relevance to today. There are many things that were done then which could not be done now. I disagree that it is just telling a few head referees. The refs change from week to week, so it would pretty much have to be a whole lot of people involved in the fix. How you could keep such a large conspiracy under wraps today is impossible, with all of tech we have these days. It would only take one whistleblower to reveal all of this and the entire reputation of the NFL would be instantly tarnished. No way the NFL would do this. I also disagree that everybody would still watch NFL even if the fix was in. Millions would stop watching, including myself.
 
Hoegarden said:
Please provide some actual evidence of a game being rigged in professional team sports within the past 5 years. I could care less about what was done in 80s or 90s as it has no relevance to today. There are many things that were done then which could not be done now. I disagree that it is just telling a few head referees. The refs change from week to week, so it would pretty much have to be a whole lot of people involved in the fix. How you could keep such a large conspiracy under wraps today is impossible, with all of tech we have these days. It would only take one whistleblower to reveal all of this and the entire reputation of the NFL would be instantly tarnished. No way the NFL would do this. I also disagree that everybody would still watch NFL even if the fix was in. Millions would stop watching, including myself.
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And this is not even mentioning coaches and players who are on the losing end of the fix. Losing teams fire coaches and release players. They would rightfully sue the NFL if a fix was discovered. No way it’s happening
 
djohn2oo8 said:
Azeez and Autry will be out there who weren’t out there last time.
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Azeez, in particular, is huge. He's the one that makes the defensive adjustments and you can see a stark difference between how the defense operates in games when he's on the field and games when he's out.

Related (also worth it just for the Frank Ross moments):

 
banned1976 said:
The sheer number of moving parts in an NFL game doesn’t mean bias or preferential treatment can’t exist. It’s not about scripting every play but about key moments where judgment calls (or non-calls) can shift momentum. A handful of crucial penalties (or lack thereof) can significantly influence a game’s outcome. NFL officials have discretion in making calls, and history shows that certain teams or players receive more favorable calls. A classic example is how established star quarterbacks historically get roughing-the-passer calls more frequently than average, or newer players to the league. Bias, even if unintentional, exists.
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How and why does this bias or preferential treatment manifest? What's the mechanism that allows the outcomes to be determined? Does a mystery league figure (let's call him Mr. X)radio in to the referee and say "we need a defensive holding call on the Texans on the next 3rd down"? Then the ref huddles up with the rest of the crew to go over the plan? Or is it more organic, where members of the crew use their intuition to determine how the game tilts toward the favored team?

What is the motivation for the officiating crew? Are family members threatened at gunpoint unless the desired outcome occurs? What is the motivation for the league? Does CBS promise an extra $30 million if they get a Chiefs/Ravens conference final? Are Cal and Hannah in on the conspiracy?

I'm aware of the NBA ref that was rigging point spreads. Not the final outcome. I'm aware of Pete Rose betting on baseball games. They were caught is why I know. They were individuals. Not a vast conspiracy involving who knows how many culprits. I'm not saying the people who propagate the notion of a rigged NFL are stupid. I'm saying the idea that the NFL is rigged is stupid. There's a difference.
 
Hoegarden said:
And this is not even mentioning coaches and players who are on the losing end of the fix. Losing teams fire coaches and release players. They would rightfully sue the NFL if a fix was discovered. No way it’s happening
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It only makes sense that with so many being suspicious that the fix is in, the powers that be have to fix it for the Texans so as to throw up a smokescreen. Poor Chiefs.
 
Another problem with "It's fixed" is how dull the big games have been lately.

Youd think if "the fix is in for entertainment purposes" youd think the games would be..... more entertaining than a Jake Paul/ Mike Tyson Netflix special.
 
Re games being rigged. Think about any workplace. Say there are 20 salespeople in an org. I hear Pete got invited twice to the owner’s mountain retreat for fancy dinners, and last week he didn’t even show up one day and the boss said nothing. Why the heck do they always favor Pete?it’s not fair.

I’ll tell you why they favor Pete. Because Pete made 20 sales this month, and you made 4. Same as last month and the month before. In short, Pete is kicking sss.

This is basic psychology 101. There is always an unconscious bias toward those who are elite or the most successful in a group. This is why Brady got the calls. Why Michael Jordan got the calls. It’s not a grand conspiracy, it’s just human behavior. You can either ***** and moan and whine, or you can kick ass. Pete got 20nsales. Next month work harder than Pete and get 25 sales. Then you’ll be the one getting invited to fancy dinners in the mountains. This is the winners psychology. The loser’s psychology is playing victim and woe is me, and whining like a little girl. It’s unbecoming, unflattering, and immature.

The Texans can shut up KC, the refs, the Swifites and shock the world. The power is in their hands, not in a yellow flag. Go out…kick ass, take names and leave nothing on the field like grown ass men, not a bunch of whiny little pansies.
 
BullRushTX said:
Azeez, in particular, is huge. He's the one that makes the defensive adjustments and you can see a stark difference between how the defense operates in games when he's on the field and games when he's out.

Related (also worth it just for the Frank Ross moments):

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Is he going to be able to cover is my concern.
 
Porky said:
Re games being rigged. Think about any workplace. Say there are 20 salespeople in an org. I hear Pete got invited twice to the owner’s mountain retreat for fancy dinners, and last week he didn’t even show up one day and the boss said nothing. Why the heck do they always favor Pete?it’s not fair.

I’ll tell you why they favor Pete. Because Pete made 20 sales this month, and you made 4. Same as last month and the month before. In short, Pete is kicking sss.

This is basic psychology 101. There is always an unconscious bias toward those who are elite or the most successful in a group. This is why Brady got the calls. Why Michael Jordan got the calls. It’s not a grand conspiracy, it’s just human behavior. You can either ***** and moan and whine, or you can kick ass. Pete got 20nsales. Next month work harder than Pete and get 25 sales. Then you’ll be the one getting invited to fancy dinners in the mountains. This is the winners psychology. The loser’s psychology is playing victim and woe is me, and whining like a little girl. It’s unbecoming, unflattering, and immature.

The Texans can shut up KC, the refs, the Swifites and shock the world. The power is in their hands, not in a yellow flag. Go out…kick ass, take names and leave nothing on the field like grown ass men, not a bunch of whiny little pansies.
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Is that how folks got invited to Diddy's?
 
Porky said:
The Texans can shut up KC, the refs, the Swifites and shock the world. The power is in their hands, not in a yellow flag.
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We’ll see. That yellow flag is pretty powerful when a 45 yard bomb to Nico gets called back for an iffy holding call, meanwhile Will Anderson is damn near getting choked to death on a Mahomes to Kelce TD with no call.

I know the mantra is the refs aren’t the reason you win or lose, but that is not a 100% honest assessment, whether there’s anything fishy going on or not. These wishy washy calls do have an affect on the game. Your defense makes that big stop on 3rd and 6, but here comes the there’s no way in hell that’s a roughing the passer roughing the passer penalty. And just like that, the defense is back on the field and the drive ends in points. Sure, the D coulda, shoulda made another play, but dammit to hell, they made the play already. That can make a difference.
 
Speedy said:
We’ll see. That yellow flag is pretty powerful when a 45 yard bomb to Nico gets called back for an iffy holding call, meanwhile Will Anderson is damn near getting choked to death on a Mahomes to Kelce TD with no call.

I know the mantra is the refs aren’t the reason you win or lose, but that is not a 100% honest assessment, whether there’s anything fishy going on or not. These wishy washy calls do have an affect on the game. Your defense makes that big stop on 3rd and 6, but here comes the there’s no way in hell that’s a roughing the passer roughing the passer penalty. And just like that, the defense is back on the field and the drive ends in points. Sure, the D coulda, shoulda made another play, but dammit to hell, they made the play already. That can make a difference.
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And always the mysterious defensive holding to negate an interception or fumble recovery
 
Speedy said:
We’ll see. That yellow flag is pretty powerful when a 45 yard bomb to Nico gets called back for an iffy holding call, meanwhile Will Anderson is damn near getting choked to death on a Mahomes to Kelce TD with no call.

I know the mantra is the refs aren’t the reason you win or lose, but that is not a 100% honest assessment, whether there’s anything fishy going on or not. These wishy washy calls do have an affect on the game. Your defense makes that big stop on 3rd and 6, but here comes the there’s no way in hell that’s a roughing the passer roughing the passer penalty. And just like that, the defense is back on the field and the drive ends in points. Sure, the D coulda, shoulda made another play, but dammit to hell, they made the play already. That can make a difference.
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Thousand percent true.

Hate this garbage in sports fandom that "great teams overcome bad officiating."

No. Sometimes bad/no calls matter a whole lot.

It doesn't mean it's conspiratorial. It just means bad officiating can be severely detrimental and impossible to overcome. Ask the Saints from the NFCC a few years back, for example.
 
If the argument is that officiating is less then perfect, I agree. That’s as true as grass is green. How many baseball games have I watched where I say how in the world was that a strike. That’s a foot off the plate. Football is even worse because so many things are judgement calls. It’s been said that a flag could be thrown on nearly every play. But they aren’t flies with compound eyes, and they also let guys get away with things based on reputation and play style Ala letting Tunsil,leave early multiple times each game. I hear zero complaints about that on this forum. How many times have I seen some of us comment in a game day thread, wow we got away with one there, but we move right along while our opponents fans are screaming bloody murder. It’s like water, it eventually finds its level.

Unless you want to completely go electronic eye in the sky, there will always be mistakes, errors, and judgement calls fans of any team won’t like. The funny part is every single fan base in the NFL thinks the refs are against them.
 
Porky said:
If the argument is that officiating is less then perfect, I agree. That’s as true as grass is green. How many baseball games have I watched where I say how in the world was that a strike. That’s a foot off the plate. Football is even worse because so many things are judgement calls. It’s been said that a flag could be thrown on nearly every play. But they aren’t flies with compound eyes, and they also let guys get away with things based on reputation and play style Ala letting Tunsil,leave early multiple times each game. I hear zero complaints about that on this forum. How many times have I seen some of us comment in a game day thread, wow we got away with one there, but we move right along while our opponents fans are screaming bloody murder. It’s like water, it eventually finds its level.

Unless you want to completely go electronic eye in the sky, there will always be mistakes, errors, and judgement calls fans of any team won’t like. The funny part is every single fan base in the NFL thinks the refs are against them.
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I actually complained about Tunsil getting away with it. Maybe he'd stop doing it if he did get called more often.
 
To the victor belongs the spoils. The Chiefs are, for the time being, the pinnacle of excellence in the NFL. The top of the totem poll. Like all other dynasties in professional sports, they will get most of the calls. Especially at home. Especially against a underdog. It is what it is. Thats how life works, which sports are a metaphor for. And it will continue like this, until someone good enough comes along and beats them. Then they will no longer get the benefit of the doubt. The Chiefs are not cheaters just like none of the other dynasties before them (except for the patriots with their deflate gate and video shenanigans). First you have to dominate and only THEN do you get the officials on your side. That is what the Texans need to do.
 
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