SaintsBro

I have said this many times on here -- the league actually did a serious study on this topic many years ago, evaluating the referees and penalties over the course of a large number of NFL games. And what they found was that, if the referees THINK you are the better team, better athletes, better coaching, they will GIVE you all the calls you need. The referees aren't necessarily biased against one particular team, or the other, by city or by storyline -- like thinking there's a guy out there who always calls games against the Rams or in favor of the Cowboys, but for the most part it doesn't really work like that -- most officials seem to be implicitly biased in favor of who they think is the better team on the field, playing better football, right there in front of them. Perhaps it is even somewhat unconscious on their part.

Favorable spots for the ball, penalties, overlooking penalties on big plays, all of it....If the refs THINK your team is the better team, playing "better football," that day, they will GIVE YOU the calls. If they THINK you just made a really great play, they will nudge the ball forward for the spot, and signal first down. And if they think you are not as good, cheating, being overly violent, have a bad attitude, or are trying to get something over on them, then it is straight up "talk to the hand" all day, and they won't give you anything.

This is why you see stuff like the refs helping Peyton Manning up after he gets sacked, but they don't do it for the other team's quarterback in the same game. If the refs THINK you are the better team, they have that subtle bias.

In the case of the Eagles game Sunday, if you look at what happened, how the penalties in that game were called, it wasn't completely fair or even-handed. We all know that, but it actually MAKES SENSE in terms of what I'm saying about referee bias.

In the beginning, the Saints came out flat, uninspired, they looked sluggish and NOT VERY GOOD. The Eagles came out and were on fire. So the referees formed that impression, maybe it was even unconscious, but they see the game and they think to themselves: muh, Eagles good, Saints bad -- and it was reflected in the calls. By the very end of the game, the calls were getting a little bit more even, because that amazing third quarter drive for a score pretty much MADE the referees stand up and give the Saints respect. The best way to get more of those calls to go your way, is simply to play better football than the other team.