The Chiefs won, and once again, I hear everyone complaining that the game is “rigged.” Really?
Usually, whenever I hear complaints about game/match-fixing, it’s some idiot in the live YouTube chat. There are some instances, but more than 99 times out of 100, the match is clean. The NFL shouldn’t have these problems.
Lions HC Dan Campbell is hauling in $11 million a year, which is only good enough for a share of 8th place. It stands to reason that the temptation of a few grand to dive should be beneath them. Those who say that the potential match-fixing is an inside job are also forgetting that while viewership is down, any game at 4:25 pm when there is only one doubleheader will still draw a 12 Nielsen Rating, according to data from Sports Media Watch, regardless of the teams. However, it is slightly higher with strong teams like Kansas City and Dallas. This means the money for advertising networks like FOX and the NFL doesn’t change much, depending on who wins the game.
Yet, NFL officials are still pestered by fans of every team because a call didn’t go their way, even if it’s right. I’m not even sure some fans know there are rules. (I’m looking at you, Cowboys fans.) Even when officials get a call wrong, like the pass to Xavier Worthy late in the second quarter, where the on-field soft signal was complete, there are always other mistakes.
Consider the defensive holding call on Damar Hamlin or the Bills player who had his hands around the legs of Mahomes before the throw and didn’t complete the sack. Then, there was the two-point conversion the Bills missed from the one-yard line in the first half, which meant they had to go for it again later when you were up 22-21. Buffalo missed that one, two, and the Chiefs went for two to go up seven in the fourth. Finally, who could forget Mahomes making several turns upfield on what should have been dead plays to find all the daylight in the world for a ten-yard gain?
The process can be improved, especially with the review early in the fourth quarter. The main suggestion is to put an accelerometer in the ball to help track its position against the field and spot it on grid points eight or quarters of an inch apart.
The AWS technology currently used by the NFL can map the grid and tell officials using smartwatches at which grid point the ball should be spotted. The stadium jumbotron can also communicate that information to fans.
Additionally, to help determine whether a player is down, the NFL could place pressure pads under the sod on the field and map the change in weight on the pad to determine whether a player is in bounds or is down on the turf. These measures seem like over-engineering done by a Google-certified Data Analyst who needs to finish his Six Sigma Yellow Belt, and it is.
The current method of using TV cameras to track the ball within a crowded 20-player pile is antiquated and requires updating.
