Week 9 // Chicago Bears (3-5) @ Pittsburgh Steelers (4-3)

[HisRoyalSweetness]

2021 NFL season, Week 9: What we learned from Steelers' win over Bears on Monday night

https://www.nfl.com/news/2021-nfl-seaso ... -monday-ni

Strangely they neglect to mention that we learned that you cannot trust the NFL to call games fairly.

[bbaker]

Worst case of the refs changing the outcome of a game since the Alabama vs Georgia national championship.

Anybody hear Scott Van Pelt after the game? He said he really hated the taunting call… which gave the Steelers a FG… and then he said “Thankfully it doesn’t determine the outcome…”

All while the score 27-29 is showing on the screen

I must have taken my crazy pills again.

[karhu]

Worst case of the refs changing the outcome of a game since the Alabama vs Georgia national championship.

Anybody hear Scott Van Pelt after the game? He said he really hated the taunting call… which gave the Steelers a FG… and then he said “Thankfully it doesn’t determine the outcome…”

All while the score 27-29 is showing on the screen

I must have taken my crazy pills again.

He's a company guy, and that's the line. The whole thing was variously scripted, from the play-by-play guy's heaveyhanded narratives to the independent control of the game exercised by the refs. It's a production. It's WWE without an acknowledged tradition of kayfabe. We're all dupes--fans, coaches, most if not all players. But not anyone who lives behind a microphone.

[IE]

Justin Fields is a badass and a stud.

[The Marshall Plan]

Justin Fields is a badass and a stud.

QUOTED FOR MOTHER FUCKING TRUTH!

I didn’t watch last night. I grinded out the first quarter on Game Pass this morning.

Should I just fast forward to the 4th quarter?

Edit: I just figured out how to watch NFL Game Pass on my phone. Yet another tool in my Marshall Plan Utility Belt to ensure I don’t have to listen to coworker babbling bullshit ever again.

[IE]

Justin Fields is a badass and a stud.

QUOTED FOR MOTHER FUCKING TRUTH!

I didn’t watch last night. I grinded out the first quarter on Game Pass this morning.

Should I just fast forward to the 4th quarter?

Edit: I just figured out how to watch NFL Game Pass on my phone. Yet another tool in my Marshall Plan Utility Belt to ensure I don’t have to listen to coworker babbling bullshit ever again.

Watch the entire thing to get the full uncomfortable feeling of being anally probed by the refs.

[bbaker]

[quote=Watch the entire thing to get the full uncomfortable feeling of being anally probed by the refs.
[/quote]

Agreed. Also, Fields does a lot of really nice stuff before the 4th. Some of it counted, and some of it didn’t due to legit penalties… and other stuff didn’t count because the refs continued to actively involve themselves in the outcome of the game. But from the standpoint of JF1’s development (which is all I really care about this season) it happened, and is worth watching.

Couldn’t be more proud of the boy from Vaughan Elementary School.

[The Marshall Plan]

QUOTED FOR MOTHER FUCKING TRUTH!

I didn’t watch last night. I grinded out the first quarter on Game Pass this morning.

Should I just fast forward to the 4th quarter?

Edit: I just figured out how to watch NFL Game Pass on my phone. Yet another tool in my Marshall Plan Utility Belt to ensure I don’t have to listen to coworker babbling bullshit ever again.

Watch the entire thing to get the full uncomfortable feeling of being anally probed by the refs.

Point well taken. I’ve got the day here anyway. Might as well.

Even though we lost the legend of Soldier Fields is starting to grow.

Didn’t you once compare him to Morris Day And The Time? You could be right on.

[HurricaneBear]

Watch the entire thing to get the full uncomfortable feeling of being anally probed by the refs.

Point well taken. I’ve got the day here anyway. Might as well.

Even though we lost the legend of Soldier Fields is starting to grow.

Didn’t you once compare him to Morris Day And The Time? You could be right on.

You are gonna love Fields even more as this game goes on.

The Chosen One we have been awaiting arrived last night.

[Grizzled]

The Chosen One we have been awaiting arrived last night.

A Bears QB down 6 with time expiring leads the team to a go ahead TD. I think Foles did that against Tampa last year but Fields looked so good throwing. A couple of beautiful deep balls, hitting guys in tight spots. This is why the Bears traded up for him.

[Otis Day]

Refs were bad and I am more pissed about the non calls on Fields than any of the "bad" calls.

Pine rider Cassius Marsh just needed to get the fuck off the field. It is 2021 and taunting, like it or not, is a thing. Walking toward the opposing bench with the subjectivity of that rule/penalty is about as dumb as you can get. He fucked up and put the team in a bad spot.

The D shit the bed again. Pitt scored the most points they have all year. They came into the game averaging 18 pts a game. Bears finally get over the 20 pt mark and still lose.

The O performance from 1st half to 2nd is a head scratcher. WTF is going on with this staff? I know they suck.

[AZ_Bearfan]

I don't think I've ever been this content after a loss. Sure it sucks and all my siblings are Steelers fans, but I am just on cloud 9. JF1 is a fucking stud. This guy is going to be special.

[wab]

I watched this morning, my god. Some of those penalties.

[HurricaneBear]

Refs were bad and I am more pissed about the non calls on Fields than any of the "bad" calls.

Pine rider Cassius Marsh just needed to get the fuck off the field. It is 2021 and taunting, like it or not, is a thing. Walking toward the opposing bench with the subjectivity of that rule/penalty is about as dumb as you can get. He fucked up and put the team in a bad spot.

I agree. I can at least figure out where the refs were coming from on the taunting, or the low block. But the non calls to Fields, most of all the one where the defender took 2 steps after Fields released and then hit Justin from behind, were just bullshit. Fields is a QB and should be afforded the same protections other QBs are given. Multiple shots to the head in todays NFL is not supposed to be a thing anymore. Not the first time refs have "missed" penalties when it comes to Justin.

[Otis Day]

Another WTF moment. Mid first QTR or so, Nags gets a TO. Coming out of the TO the Bears get an Illegal Formation penalty!!!!! A sign Nags O is fucked? How does that even happen?

[HurricaneBear]

A Bears QB down 6 with time expiring leads the team to a go ahead TD. I think Foles did that against Tampa last year but Fields looked so good throwing. A couple of beautiful deep balls, hitting guys in tight spots. This is why the Bears traded up for him.

It was just something so special to watch. Sure other QBs like Cutler or Foles or Griese have done these kind of things for Chicago. But it felt and looked different with Fields. And as a rookie on Monday Night Football no less, the worst day for the Bears to play. Maybe Fields can break that MNF curse the Bears seem to have as well.

[dplank]

It's not just us...we are not crazy fans who see things with Bears only bias. It's actually true. The league is geared against us BY DESIGN. There's no other explanation for the constant, routine, week after week screw job we get by the refs. Mistakes happen all the time, but when a supposedly random mistake keeps occurring against the same team over and over again, it's more than random. It's also telling that these issues can easily be fixed, but the league chooses not to - presumably so they can continue their ruse unabated.

Bottom line is this: They called 3 things fundamentally differently for us vs Pittsburgh last night. Taunting, low/chop blocking, and QB roughing. They applied fundamentally different standards on those calls for us than they did Pittsburgh. And it absolutely changed the outcome of the game, as they desired.

In a 3 play sequence they proved it. The phantom Daniels block that called back a TD, followed by two consecutive uncalled roughing the QB plays, forcing a FG when we should have had a TD. That was the tell right there, it was rigged.

[Otis Day]

If the games are rigged, to the Bears disadvantage, why watch? If you think the league is out to keep the Bears from winning, why watch? No matter how spectacular Fields can become, but the league is still stifling the Bears, why watch?

The NFL has benefitted more when the Bears are competitive.

[dplank]

If the games are rigged, to the Bears disadvantage, why watch? If you think the league is out to keep the Bears from winning, why watch? No matter how spectacular Fields can become, but the league is still stifling the Bears, why watch?

The NFL has benefitted more when the Bears are competitive.

I don't believe it's a permanent condition, I think it's a current condition. I believe the league knows that the Bears will bring roughly the same income if they are good or not, but that's not true of every franchise. And they situationally thumb the scale to maximize annual profits.

Statistically / Probability wise, we haven't seen a normalization of the refs missed / blatant bad calls as you would see if it was actually caused by random innocent mistakes. One game in isolation is meaningless, but extend a trend over a long enough time and you can see a deeper pattern. That leads me to believe there's something else happening. What exactly and why...I have no clue.

[Xee]

Corrente = Donaghy.

If players get ejected for making contact with a ref then refs should get a 1 game suspension for shit like this.

[o-pus #40 in B major]

The NFL is killing their goose that lays the golden eggs. I'm going to miss the professional game but in the long run it will be good for the fans and the country because people will stop watching TV so much and spend more time doing healthier activities.

I certainly won't miss the NFL's disgusting systemic corruption.

[LacertineForest]

[o-pus #40 in B major]

Better enjoy it while he's still in one piece - the corrupt NFL officials will let him get beat up game after game after game.......

[The Marshall Plan]

Finished watching the game.

We are doing to this kid what we did to Cutler.

Shitty defense.
Shitty OL.

I’m really proud of Fields. He doesn’t quit. He doesn’t put a look on his face and act sour. He does his thing.

I really want this to be a Coming Of Age game for him. Time will tell.

I can’t remember the last time I wanted a Bear to succeed as much as him. There’s almost a Rocky Balboa type vibe thing I get from him. You just want him to win.

For next year, I get the appeal of Dabbol. But Ryan Day should really be the guy.

[G08]

Worst case of the refs changing the outcome of a game since the Alabama vs Georgia national championship.

Anybody hear Scott Van Pelt after the game? He said he really hated the taunting call… which gave the Steelers a FG… and then he said “Thankfully it doesn’t determine the outcome…”

All while the score 27-29 is showing on the screen

I must have taken my crazy pills again.

He's a company guy, and that's the line. The whole thing was variously scripted, from the play-by-play guy's heaveyhanded narratives to the independent control of the game exercised by the refs. It's a production. It's WWE without an acknowledged tradition of kayfabe. We're all dupes--fans, coaches, most if not all players. But not anyone who lives behind a microphone.

Ugh. I don't want to believe this but more and more I'm starting to wonder...

[G08]

What I hate the most is this should have been our special moment for Justin Fields. Hell, it should have been HIS special moment.

But NFL fuckery took it away from us and from him.


For shame.

[mmmc_35]

I love conspiracy theories. I dont believe most of them but I enjoy the thought process. While last night certainly can elicit arguements like dplank, realistically it's just not likely.

However I would like to throw another wrinkle into the conspiracy theory. The NFL wants full time refs. The ref union doesn't, because many have side gigs that are lucrative. What if the league is coercing refs that want full time employment to make shitty calls to pressure the league to getting full time refs? The league would then have much more control over games as the refs are not subcontracted, and more loyal to the brand.

[karhu]

If players get ejected for making contact with a ref then refs should get a 1 game suspension for shit like this.

Yep. Heck, Corrente once lost a game check for saying "God damn" on the air.

For what it's worth, I have an idea of what went on here. Corrente had his hand on his flag for a while before throwing it, so he knew he was going to call Marsh for something. He tried to draw contact, which would've resulted in the same penalty and given him a chance to reduce the Bears' numbers by ejecting Marsh from the game. When that didn't work well enough, he went to Plan B and called taunting. Never mind that Marsh spent a couple of years in Pittsburgh and only left a few months ago.

[dplank]

Text from my buddy in MD who's a die hard Steelers fan:

Hey bud, sorry about the game last night. Was gonna text you during but knew better lol. Anyways I'd rather lose than win like that, that was total bullshit. You all got fucking robbed.

Florio's comments here: https://www.audacy.com/670thescore/spor ... elers-game

[LacertineForest]

I understand the angst over this game, and this is a great place to vent about it. But gents - Justin Fields is the real deal. Let that sink in. They may have stolen this one from him, but I'm much more excited this morning thinking of the future, meaningful games he's going to win for us. Seeing him progress and make better decisions...I'm pumped. I picked this team to win 6 games this year (which seems about right), so a loss like this doesn't shatter me - especially if it contributes to a change in management/coaching that will further propel Fields' ascension.