However, I'll be upfront - I bet on the Colts. .
And unlike any other losses in the past, there is only one time I was actually angry (and I do mean the word "angry") after watching an NFL game. That was when Aaron Francisco slipped on his ar_se and let Santonio Holmes catch a TD in the corner endzone to allow the Steelers to win in SB 43 - all the Cards had to do is play D for one more drive. (Usually, I'd be more depressed and OD'd on Maalox after a Cardinals game, but that's a different story altogether.) OK - the infamous Denny Green incident on MNF against the Bears got me pretty pissed, too.
Fast forward to this Sunday Night and Monday Night football.
The amounts I bet are pretty weak compared to most people on this board. However, I made some relatively bigger sized bets on these two games.. only to see big leads in the first half evaporate in the second half by a lot of BS ref calls (be it flags or non-flags). If this was last year, we'd be seeing blowout after blowout.. With that said, these two teams that blew double digit leads are not known for blowing leads - I expect teams like the Jags and TB blow big leads, not SF and IND on their home fields.
I have never been so angry with the NFL in my life with these new rule changes and the ref incompetence. Even the refs in the AZ/Giants game sucked, because I'm holding my breath on every incomplete pass on 3rd down, waiting to hear for a penalty.
It's one thing to take a lean and see your bet vanish because the other team was better. I can even handle the backdoor (which happened quite a bit this past weekend in college football). However, it's another thing to see a ref completely take over a game like they did in the CHI/SF game, and the PHI/IND game.
Are the refs rigged? I'm going to say "no".. but they sure are incompetent - and they are not calling the PI / holding rules consistently, either.
Someone on Pregame brought up the point the 1st half is now the new "full game" because of all the backdooring that could occur with the new rules. After this weekend, I cannot agree any more. I also agree 100% that you're better off just betting the over/unders.
Bottom line: this is a new NFL. As a result of this weekend, I'm taking a long break from sports betting. I probably won't even watch the NFL as much - maybe just catch a Cards game, and that's it. As a person who bets for fun, watching these NFL games this past weekend (including the NYG/AZ game, despite the win) was no fun to watch. They just got me angry seeing crap flag after crap flag. For you guys who do this for a living capping the NFL - good luck! My hats off to you - but I really don't know how you keep a full head of hair when your fate is tied up in some eediot's hands who subjective throws a yellow flag.