Game's third team upstaged Steelers, Hawks

ESPN ^ | 2/6/06 | Michael Smith

[Kenny Bunk]

A ref hesitating on a call...can you say conspiracy?... - tinfoil

LOL, COL. The officiating was horrible. That doesn't make it a conspiracy... except of dunces.

[frogjerk]

Seattle did not take advantage of any opportunities they were given during the entire first half. They should have been winning the game 14-0 when they went into the locker room.

[dmz]

Is that how they determine winner/loser? Points? who knew? And when did they know it? Were the seahwaks informed?

[frogjerk]

On the surface it looks that way, but I have a feeling that if the actual rule is looked up, it may be a good call.

Wrong. That was a terrible call. You mean you can't tackle the man with the ball now?

[DouglasKC]

Hasselbeck hit Darrell Jackson with an apparent 16-yard scoring pass in the first quarter, but the play came back when Jackson was called for offensive pass interference. It was a touch foul. Jackson extended his arm, yes, but both players were fighting for position, and he didn't create any separation by doing so. It was like a referee calling a hand-check in a key moment of Game 7 of the NBA Finals.

Yup, couldn't believe that call.

[frogjerk]

do I sense a theme here?

Yes you do...The Seahawks lost because Rush is a Steelers fan so its....BUSH'S FAULT!

[vetvetdoug]

I thought the officiating was par for the course; they aren't perfect.

[dead]

It was no worse than normal, and Rothlesberger was in.

[sinkspur]

If you think the officiating job yesterday was no better or worse than normal, you weren't paying attention.

This was, no doubt, the worst officiated playoff season I've ever witnessed. But, officiating is also bad this season in the National Hockey League, and last year's major league baseball playoffs were also pitifully umpired.

Television brings out these glaring errors, true, but even full-time officials seem to be getting calls wrong a lot more often.

[frogjerk]

It was like a referee calling a hand-check in a key moment of Game 7 of the NBA Finals.

Let's compare basketball to football as to make the whole argument ridiculous. Plain Dumb. The Ref was standing right there!

[newgeezer]

Game's third team upstaged Steelers, Hawks

At least the headline doesn't try to give any illusion of unbiased reporting.

[oldcomputerguy]

" The "pushing off" penalty was a legit call, "

That is the one I did not see. The others I saw were legit also. The writer has a case of sour grapes.

The only bad call was the blocking below the knees on Hasslebeck.

The touchdown by Rothlisberger was not over turnable. It appeared to me that he crossed the plane just at impact by the defensive player but well before he hit the ground. People who say he did not are looking too late in the replay.

The way I see it, both QBs threw disastrous interceptions near their own end zones and canceled out the turnover battle to a large extent.

Hasselbeck looked like a loose cannon late in the game and the Seahawks clock management sucked canal water.

[Skooz]

My team wasn't playing.

But, the officiating was atrocious. I won't go so far as to say the Hawks were robbed, but four terrible calls all went against them or for the Steelers.

[ghostrider]

Seattle's whining reminds me of those folks in Ft Lauderdale whining about W's election. No substance, just desire and passion repeated over and over. Come to think of it, both are home to the liberal crowd that gets it their way or calls for a lawyer to get it for them. Now, the NFL better watch for lawsuits.

[Hatteras]

"...but there's not usually this much whining about it."

Tells me that there are alot more fans in this country than just Steelers fans who were watching the game objectively and saw quite a few bad calls. Coupled with about 3 to 5% biased Seahawk fans that feel strongly that they were robbed, and you get quite a few complaints. Thusly, it appears that the other 5% of the fans in the country who happen to have a strong Steeler bias somehow, didn't notice the lousy officiating. Funny how that happens, huh?

[martin_fierro]

"The Steelers played well enough to win tonight, and we didn't. They should get credit. It's disappointing, it's hard, but what are you going to do?"

If you're Michael Smith, you "read between the lines" to gin up a B.S. story.

[frogjerk]

Thusly, it appears that the other 5% of the fans in the country who happen to have a strong Steeler bias somehow, didn't notice the lousy officiating. Funny how that happens, huh

What about the calls against the Steelers? Do you ignore them as well?

[highlander_UW]

No, this has never happened before...A ref hesitating on a call...can you say conspiracy?... - tinfoil

It's a fact that the ref hesitated...in fact, it looked like he was calling it short...then as he ran closer, at the same point where Roethlisberger had moved the ball over the line while lying on the ground the ref called it a TD. Replay was inconclusive, I would agree...but what you call "tinfoil" is a fact, the ref hesitated. Yes, that happens fairly often, and personally, I think it was a bad call, but it was a very close call, not like many of the much worse calls. Tell me, how can you do a low block when you're actually making a tackle? Was Hasselbeck suppose to just do 2 hand touch or something?

[xzins]

Smith nails it.

This game would have been different without the bad calls.

The band was too old and so were the refs. The first wasn't much of a show, and the second were too much of the show.

Too bad. It could have been a good game.

[highlander_UW]

You want some cheese with that whine?

You seem to have confused me with Michael Smith, I'm not the author of the article. It does, however, reflect that it's not just Seahawk fans that saw how bad the officiating was in the game.