Refs were far from Super in this one

msn sports ^ | 2.06.2006 | Kevin Hench / FOXSports.com

[RedBloodedAmerican]

This is the space where I get to crow about the frightening precision of my Super Bowl prediction.

Where I get to remind everyone that I guaranteed the Steelers would win the title after they beat the Colts. That they were the only championship-caliber team among the final four. That they would dismantle the Broncos in Denver and waylay whomever the NFC sent at them.

snip

I've never felt so empty being right. I feel dirty. I wish I'd been wrong. The Steelers did not deserve to win this game. They were not the better team. O'Connor was right. Seattle was the better team.

So, Paul Tagliabue, how does a team lose when it outgains an opponent by 57 yards, controls time of possession and wins the turnover battle?

snip

Every single questionable, marginal or outright bad call went against the Seahawks....

[1L]

While I didn't see every play people are complaining about, I did see that one. He wasn't offsides. Whether he took a step or not doesn't matter if he didn't break the plane of the neutral zone.

[trubluolyguy]

"because my team certainly made it's share of mistakes"

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Either you didn't read my whole post or you have selective sight....much like last night's ref's?

[trubluolyguy]

I really, really hope these teams play next season.

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In SB 41 I hope at a more neutral sight.

[jw777]

Didn't read the whole post. YOu had me at "I'm a whiner"

[Richard Kimball]

It was either the head linesman or the line judge; the play didn't get far enough off the line of scrimmage for me to notice whether he was covering the backfield or defensive side after the snap. I don't have any idea how long he's been in the league, his favorite hobbies, his home town or whether he uses clippers or scissors on his toenails.

[IFly4Him]

good point; Michaels and Madden seemed to indicate that the incidental was good enough so I was relying on their understanding...

[Alberta's Child]

I'd say his odds of keeping his NFL job after this season are about 10:1 at best.

[Eva]

The powers that be decided to use a little affirmative action and turn football into the WWF.

[Richard Kimball]

I think part of the problem is that the NFL has made the rules so d*mned complex. The "Dave Casper rule" for example, states that during the last four(?) minutes of a half, if a player fumbles the ball forward the ball comes back to the spot of the fumble unless it's recovered by the player making the fumble or the opposing team. You throw about ninety of those into the mix with the regular rules, and it's no wonder the officials just stare at each other and have fifteen minute conferences between plays.

Every year, the competition committee reviews rules. I'm hoping that instead of just adding new ones, they'll start looking at simplification.

[Alberta's Child]

Part of the problem is that the rules have become increasingly complex simply because coaches and/or players have found loopholes that enabled them to cheat without technically breaking any rules.

The Dave Casper Rule is intended to keep a player from deliberately fumbling the ball forward at the end of a half to keep possession on a fourth-down play, move the ball closer for a field goal, etc. The infamous "Holy Roller" play from a Raiders-Chargers game in the 1970s was one of the motivations for this rule, and I still have no idea why this rule only applies at the end of a half . . . if it's fourth down and a ballcarrier is about to be stopped short of the first down marker, he's got an incentive to fumble the ball forward in a desperate attempt to keep possession.

The Buddy Ryan Rule is another example. When he was coaching the Eagles, Buddy Ryan made a travesty of the NFL rules by having his players fake injuries at the end of a half to stop the clock if the Eagles were out of timeouts. It was after this play that the NFL implemented the rule under which a certain amount of time is run off the clock if the clock stops for an offensive penalty or injury at the end of a half.

[R. Scott]

The replay angle I watched showed the ball going across while held vertically, with about half the width of the ball across the line - but is was close.

[R. Scott]

I was pretty sure Roth got about 1/16 of the ball over the imaginary plane before being shoved back.

That makes it a touchdown.

[Richard Kimball]

As I noted earlier on the thread, I thought the ref got the call correct, but accidentally. Where he screwed the pooch on that play, and IMHO, made it significantly more controversial was by signaling the ball down, then changing to a TD call. He called the TD on the shove after the play was over, and I don't think he saw the initial break of the plane. If he had, when the ball touched the plane, it should have been a TD and he should have whistled the play. He didn't blow the whistle then, but waited until Roth hit the ground and shoved the ball across.

[Steve0113]

ping

[BluH2o]

Yeah .... I agree, there were a few questionable calls by the zebras ... however, bottom line the Steelers were destined to win the game ... they were the superior team. The only reason the Seahawks were in SBXL ... they had one of the easiest schedules in the 2005 NFL regular season ... 31 out of 32 teams. The Seahawks are reasonably good .... but, not a dominant NFC team ... they will be lucky to end up in the playoffs in 2006.

[Wristpin]

"however, bottom line the Steelers were destined to win the game ..."


Destined? More like preordained in NFL front offices. Gotta admit..."The Win one for the Bus" is a nice story line.

[the OlLine Rebel]

http://www.madrazo.org/steelers/miscpost/br7xltd.jpg

[Richard Kimball]

If you'll look through my original posts, I never questioned the TD call. I stated that the referee made it a controversy by running in signaling that he was short, and that he was marking the ball down, then changing the call to a touchdown. It was obvious that the referee did not see the initial touchdown. If he had, he should have immediately blown the whistle because the play was over. He did not blow the whistle until Roth hit the ground. After Roth shoved the ball over the line, he signaled touchdown. He missed the TD that happened, and signaled a TD that didn't happen.

The offensive pass interference call was bad because the referee wasn't going to call it, then changed his mind after lobbying by the Pittsburgh player. It would have been a ticky tacky call anyway, but standing there after the play, listening to the d-back, and THEN pulling out the flag makes it look like you're taking direction from the players. I don't think the game was "fixed", I think it was very poorly officiated. The calls were inconsistent, and not uniformly enforced. The confusion on the part of the referees made the officiating look even worse, ala the touchdown call and the hesitation on the pass interference call.