Hometown Officiating in NFLGames
Monday January 5, 2009
I watched all four of the wildcard games this weekend and one thing that stood out was the fact that there were a lot more penalties called against the visiting team than there were against the home team. The three penalties in the overtime period of the Chargers -Colts game brought the Chargers into field goal range allowing them to win the game. In the Eagles-Vikings games there was not a single penalty called against the Vikings until the fourth quarter. After the games a friend called and mentioned the same observation about the officiating.
On another note the hometown dogs were no completely shut out. Most of the bettors thought the visiting teams would walk away with all four games but it did not happen. San Diego won the game as the outright covering the spread. Arizona opened as a dog but was a one point favorite by game time. With the wild card games over, this weekend it is on to the playoffs second round. The lines for the games this weekend were posted minutes after the completion of the wild card games.
Pittsburg -6 over San Diego
Tennessee -3 over Baltimore
NY Giants -4 over Philadelphia
Carolina -10 over Arizona