Fear The Chorizo

I do understand that the poster boys tend to get more calls go their way than not in the NFL....but at some point there has to be a critical game where 100% of those calls don't go their way. The fact that has not happened for 3 seasons running with the Chiefs (and predated some of their current run, tbh) is alot more than just what we've grown used to seeing from NFL officiating over the years.

Here's the thing that makes me crazy about KC and the refs.....yes there was a defensive hold call on that key 3rd and 5 that would have negated an INT or given them a 1st down if the review did deem it an incomplete pass (which it should have since neither player demonstrated possession when that ball hit the ground). But why is the defensive hold call overlooked by people about that entire sequence/call, when Mahomes' TD run late in the game was heavily influenced by an obvious offensive hold on the perimeter that wasn't flagged? Those type of subjective calls (defensive/offensive holding away from the ball, illegal contact, etc) that many people say could be flagged on nearly every play are simply not called with any consistency when the Chiefs are on the field. The defensive hold in that situation was marginal, and it occured on a receiver not involved in where the ball actually went. Then later in the game we're seeing refs throw holding/PI calls on Bills' DBs getting launched from 30 yards downfield. Also, why aren't we made aware of whatever late flag that was picked up by the officials on that 4th down heave a Bills receiver dropped? I'd assume that flag got dropped in the event the Bills completed that pass somehow and got a 1st down, and it was some sort of ineligible downfield or illegal formation or offensive hold that would have negated that play, too. There are layers to the insanity that is the officiating support KC routinely receives, and frankly expects, at critical points in playoff games. I'm not a conspiracy theorist by any means, but it's to the point with the Chiefs and refs that I can't help myself - too much smoke not to be something going on.

When prognosticators are pretty consistent at putting Made into that top 100 at this stage - which is way before Chourio ever sniffed a top 100 list - it is pretty damn exciting. I do think the Black conundrum can be solved at the MLB level by simply letting him play everyday and see how he adjusts

yep...especially because he unquestionably got the 1st down. I will say this about KC - they simply do not beat themselves and force opponents to make plays through the final whistle to beat them. That is a combination of coaching and personnel that is a tough out in the playoffs in today's NFL. Defensively, they are consistently aggressive at "winning time" instead of playing coverage or any sort of prevent style defense, and more often than not opponents aren't equipped to handle that pressure and make plays consistently. Offensively, there hasn't been a coordinator/offensive head coach that is a better combination of play designer/play caller than Andy Reid in NFL history - that's a bold statement, but one I feel is true considering how long Reid has been in the league doing it with different teams/personnel/roles. That mix plus the consistent calls KC gets from officials at critical moments of a game essentially make them unbeatable unless a team can find ways to generate multiple turnovers - honestly what the Eagles did to Washington Sunday is the exact blueprint to beat the Chiefs..disruptive Dline with an aggressive secondary behind it and LB's constantly trying to cause fumbles when tackling ball carriers. Coupled with an offense that can run the football from multiple formations and a pair of receivers who can abuse press man coverage and make plays downfield. Eagles have to get their Center/Guard situation shored up with all the walking wounded lineman they currently have so Jones doesn't wreck the game, but if they do that and the officials let the secondaries play physical on equal terms I think Philly should win.

Bills need a fluky turnover to win this game

The Bills have big plays all day down the field if they want them with the insane coverage kc is playing As i type this, there's one

Hamlin got held on the edge on that TD run, too

Yep...it's been enough at critical points to flat out be rigged, and there's nothing the league can say or do to convince me otherwise.

I dont know how the footage wasn't definitive...smh

Living just west of MPLS, so not really WI-specific winter weather - lack of snow is getting annoying, but temperatures have been much more winterlike compared to last year...so much so that there's pretty much 2 solid feet of really good ice on local lakes and unleashing anyone with ice fishing gear out on them. Happy about that after ice was barely walkable for a small portion of last year's winter around here! Could really use a week or two to get some legitmate snow on the ground so my son has more than fake snow to learn how to snowboard on a few times, lol

that is way oversimplifying things considering Sasaki is 23 and can essentially step into MLB on day 1 as a TOR-type pitcher, where most international signees get signed 6 or so years younger and teams do have to wait 2-4 years to understand if they're destined for MLB or not. The Dodgers can afford only signing 1 international player in this type of cycle when everyone knows he's a MLB-ready bonafide ace, and they have no need to worry about what their roster will look like 5-6 years from now since they can just sign the best free agents almost at will to fill any holes down the road.

Yes - why any other organization in MLB is willing to make any sort of trade with the Dodgers is beyond me. Honestly, I don't care if they have tons of great prospects/blocked young players. Honestly, screw them and force them to have to flat out release young talent for nothing because they have an all star team all on longterm deferred money deals. I would be fully on board with an extended strike that costs a season or two when the next CBA gets negotiated if it meant evening the financial playing field and taking away all the advantages the Dodgers organization currently has over the rest of MLB. I don't know why more small to mid market teams aren't already fully on board with that premise. You can pencil in the Dodges for 95+ wins every season in perpetuity - even with the rest of their division doing everything it can to try and keep up.

That's a different ballgame...im not saying teams can throw a challenge flag - the amount of time it would take a booth official with a monitor to overturn a terrible personal foul call is equal to the time it takes for officials on the field to state the penalty. It's gotten bad enough where something needs to change

Yeah that's an impossible topic for Mahomes to answer honestly....but then just shut your mouth and say we play to win the game and not to influence officiating calls or something like that. At this point it's obvious, even to Chiefs fans, that the officials are in Mahomes' and companies' back pockets. I really hope the NFL fixes this over the offseason by making all 15-yard unsportsmanlike calls for "late hit/blow to the head/unnecessary roughness/etc" reviewable by an official in the booth who can radio down to the head umpire while they are in the process of assessing that penalty to tell him to pick up a bad flag. I also think there should be the ability for referees to throw an unsportsmanlike conduct flag on a player that's actively trying to draw these type of late hit flags or embellishing contact along the sideline/after a play is finished in hopes to draw a 15 yard penalty.

If they take on all of Metcalf's contract, a late 2nd/early 3rd rounder sounds about right + Doubs....although that assumes Doubs' multiple concussions late this year aren't a longterm concern. Knowing whoever would trade for Doubs would likely need to extend him diminishes his value even further.

I think you're right - there's definitely a growing chasm between those top 5-6 teams and the rest of the league. What's even a bigger joke is the yearly payrolls don't take into account the financial gymnastics huge market teams make with deferred salaries each year (i.e., Ohtani's payroll figure for the Dodgers was $2M last year). The deferred money weirdness teams with huge TV contracts can do skews haves from have nots in terms of who can actually pay the "going rate" for top tier free agents, too.

If they do that, SEC will probably say "hold my beer' and make their conference championship games between the 3rd place teams in each of their divisions while giving the top 4 teams "byes" and then stating they should have 5 teams in a 12 team CFP. unintended consequences of an expanded playoff, here we come - that and the fact most people have next to no care about who's actually going to win it all anymore, and we're in year 1 of this 12 team expansion.

After that Chiefs/Texans game totally hinged on several terrible roughing/unnecessary roughness calls on Mahomes, and also saw him flop like Vlade Divac on another run out of bounds that wasn't flagged, plus having Aikman in the national TV booth openly criticizing Mahomes getting those calls to extend drives that led to points and frankly being the difference in the game, I'm really hoping the NFL talks with whomever the officiating crew is for Sunday's AFC Championship game is to emphasize those calls or anything close to them can't be repeated. Especially not with the potential league MVP on the other sideline this time around. When you've got a quarterback actively looking to draw roughing penalties on defensive players because he knows they're already apprehensive to go full steam at him because of the rep he has drawing laundry from officials, it's not football anymore and takes away from everything else Mahomes does spectacularly on the field and becomes annoying as hell to watch if you're not a Chiefs fan. Man I hope the Bills win Sunday - and it wouldn't bother me at all if it's because they knock Mahomes out of the game early when he's extending a play outside the pocket by trying to play games with the sideline/draw a roughing flag and a defender with bad intentions reminds him how risky that should be for him to do.

Left to a blown blocking assignment to seal it, I guess. Crazy, but the Commanders should be the favorite next Sunday

Hang on...

It is impossible to play physical secondary defense in today's NFL. Totally clean hit on Smith on a deep pass into double coverage that Hurts hung him out to dry draws a 15 yard penalty. Then again, last week the Eagles were running g around spearing Packers and no flags - the only thing consistent is how inconsistently some if these rules are applied by officials.

What a stupid time to get gimmicky by the Lions. I don't trust Goff in a big game and don't trust a Campbell-led team to make good decisions in big games.. never have, never will

Jaire needs to be traded for just about anything at this point if the Packers walk away with some cap relief, too. The knock on him was his size coming out of college likely leading to injury concerns at the NFL level, and that has really played out as he's aged (and once he signed that extension which he honestly did deserved based on his on-field performance). Between him and Bakh, those contracts have been pretty rough.

I tend to agree on the Darnold decision, but either way I think the vikes are set for a big step back next year. I don't see how Flores doesn't get a head coaching gig somewhere else this offseason.

Yep - Jerry is the problem and will continue to be until he gets a gm/pres of football ops in there and stays in his owners box