Posted on 02/05/2006 7:24:00 PM PST by serendepitylives
Without those three calls its a different ballgame altogether. No one will know how it would have turned out. It's a shame the refs helped to determine the outcome.
1) The 1st touchdown: the reply was uncertain so even if the call had gone the other way, it wouldn't have been reversed. IMO Ben made it in when the ball was about 6 to 12 in off the ground. The ball arced into the white paint and then was outside again when it made contact. It's close but that's a touchdown.
2) Holding calls: I don't remember the sequence but I think there were two significant ones. The one that ended up as a takedown was definitely holding; the other was a bad call in my opinion, just a good block.
3) Offensive pass interference in the endzone: both players have an equal right to the ball. If the roles had been reversed and the corner had pushed off the receiver in the exact manner in order to get the pick, everyone would be crying for pass interference and they'd be right. The ref was right too.
4) Some calls went in Seattle's favor: the refs correctly reversed the call that Hasselbeck fumbled the ball during his 4th quarter scramble. Also, I think it was Stevens that "dropped" a pass after getting hit in the first half. He took two steps and turned around - that should have been a fumble...
I know I sure am.
Did you know that here in Pennsylvania we have a governor's race this year and that Fast Eddie Rendell is running for re-election? And did you know that the presumptive GOP nominee is Lynn Swann? Conventional wisdom says that the Steelers' Super Bowl win helps Swann, and I tend to agree.
And, my FReeper FRiend, THAT sounds good to me.
Regards,
LH (Eagles fan)
Lancy, Isn't Mike Fisher running again?
Hey lancey.......good luck to swann, but even the philly paper was making light of the officiating. Being a packer fan, it mattered not one whit who won the game, and I was just as critical of the officials when they tried to give Indy the game against the Steelers.
I'm afraid the Zebra Team ruined this game. In fact, they screwed up the playoffs as well. The Steelers may very narrowly be the better team but without the help of the bad calls made by the refs I don't think they would have won the game. I think if we re-played the playoffs again we would probably been looking at a New England vs Seattle game. That will be the matchup next year. Should be a good game.
You are betting that the Steelers would have got to that ball before if went out of bounds around the 10 yard line. Maybe. Maybe not. If not then the call hurt Seattle.
Good recap.
On the offensive holding call, the receiver pushed off. The replay showed that.
On the touchdown call, upheld by replay, it was only third down and Cowhers would have sent the Bus in on the next play from half-an-inch anyway. Cowhers doesn't settle for the field goal that early in the game. Ben scored because the tip of the football broke the plane anyway - - touchdown.
The game started off with an irrelevant holding call against Seattle (which was declined), and then two false starts against the Steelers on their first possession - - gee, it looked like the game was fixed against the Steelers at that point, didn't it?
It wasn't the refs who dropped Hasselbeck passes that should have been caught in the biggest game of the year, and it wasn't the refs who threw that Hasselbeck interception, and it wasn't the refs who threw two great passes downfield - - out of bounds, and it wasn't the refs who missed a FG attempt, and it wasn't the refs who mismanaged the clock. It also wasn't the refs who overcame a devastating Roethlisberger interception and held the Seahawks to only ten points.
Cowhers clearly outcoached Holmgren, and the Steelers deserved the win.
The better team did indeed win.
Congratulations to the Steelers and their fans.
The ball broke the plain of the goal --- that's a TD
the holding call against Seattle was non-existent,
I didn't see it either
as Madden said, and the offensive interference against Seattle was a joke, as Steve Young said.
Madden and Young were both wrong. That was a classic example of a push off. Receivers do it often, but not usually when they are 10 feet directly in front of a referee.
They were all game changing calls.
Game changing? Maybe, but not nearly as significant as all the dropped passes (8?) by Seattle receivers or the critical breakdowns by the Seattle defense.
What game were you watching? That ball was 2 inches over the line. That was the only correct call the refs made.
Hmmmm...and what xray vision do you possess?
Roethlisburger was carrying the ball about his stomach level. He seemed to bring it up to his sternum as he was going down. BUT the goal line was at Ben's shoulder level.
AND the Seattle defender's shoulder pads/helmet did hit Ben and seemed to block and push back the ball.
Yes it was called a touchdown on the field and one needs conclusive evidence to the contrary to reverse this call. There was not any conclusive evidence to the contrary....hence touchdown. BUT there was not any conclusive evidence that the ball crossed, in any way, the plane of the goal line.
Did you see though Ben's body/equipment. For the ball was certainly hid from view until Ben brought it up above his shoulders.
OBTW... I was rooting for Pittsburgh.
It was fair and it was square. I did not see one any bad calls in this game. You may be questioning whether the ball crossed the line when Rothlesbeger ran for a TD. The ball crossed the line. I did not see any cheating so I don't know what you mean by "fair and square." Are you saying there was some conspiracy? Wow! Or was there another call you disagreed with?
Attacking the officiating, and even including the horse collar on the Seahawk that just slipped by the official.
Dream on!
Actually, there are plenty of observers who are still questioning that call. I've watched it several times and cannot see the ball breaking the plane.
The holding call was huge. Seattle would have been on the 1 yard line at that point. Instead, the penalty changed the momentum and Hasselbeck threw it away after that.
Madden and Young were both wrong? No offense but I'll take their opinion over yours. Traditionally, the refs let the players play in the playoffs and don't allow ticky tack calls to interfere with the game. But not in this case.
Those calls could have caused a 14-point swing (at the minimum) in the outcome of the game. One bad call is understandable. But three or four is ridiculous in the Superbowl.
In summary, I wanted to see the players PLAY with as little interference from the refs as possible. We didn't see that, unfortunately.
Yo, maineman. Cry me a river, sucker!
Taking Madden's opinion on holding calls is like taking Theisman's opinion on interceptions. I've never seen Madden say he agreed with a holding call, I think he just doesn't like the rule as a whole. Young maybe can be dealt with seriously, but Madden always says holding calls were wrong and they should "just them play".
LOL, that's what my son said.
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