The conversation continues.
As losing fan bases continue to insist on one or more conspiracy theories are true concerning the Kansas City Chiefs and NFL referees, there are going to be more and more outlets talking about it from all angles and TMZ Sports is the latest. But Chiefs Kingdom should be pleased with their entry into the discussion.
A recent interview with Dean Blandino, the league's former head of officiating, yielded some common sense responses to the furor over a perceived officiating posture to protect the Chiefs' chances of winning postseason games. A historic three-peat is at stake, yes, and some NFL fans are buying into the notion that the league wants Patrick Mahomes and company to achieve those ends.
Anyone will believe anything these days, even about the Chiefs.
The script is nothing new, but it is a growing chorus chanting the lines these days, especially after a couple of potentially controversial calls in the AFC Championship game. Anyone arguing these points is being selective with their evidence, but the calls of a conspiracy aren't going away anytime soon.
Blandino should be a familiar name to NFL fans as the league's former head of officiating back in the first five years of Andy Reid's tenure with the Chiefs—from 2013-2017. He worked for the league for over 20 years and was an instant replay official for two Super Bowls and two more conference championships. Not only does Blandino know his stuff, but he's even formed his own company tht helps train future officials.
When a man holds these credentials, it's worth paying attention to what he says. And when asked whether or not he sees that the Chiefs are getting favorable calls, he has a simple answer: "I really don't."
"It’s hard to sit there and say this team… seven straight AFC Championship games. Now they’re going to play in their fifth Super Bowl in the last however many years. They’ve won three of them [and they’re] going for a three-peat. So they’re pretty good, right? That means they’re disciplined. That means they’re going to be on top of everything.
"Yes, do teams get breaks at times? They do. Not every call is right and sometimes that happens. I think it evens out over time. But me watching it, I don’t see these games and think, ‘Oh my gosh, the Chiefs are getting all these calls!’ These are close, close plays and they happened to go in the Chiefs’ favor on Sunday."
Blandino is fortunately not the only one talking any sense into folks these days. Nick Wright gets it correct as well with his recent takes and, of course, Chiefs Kingdom knows better that losing fan bases will sometimes behave in a way that losers will.