Posted on 02/06/2006 9:00:37 PM PST by beyond the sea
(Snip) –
Seattle coach laments having to ‘take on the guys in the striped shirts, too
DETROIT - No appreciation or consolation in Seattle for the Seahawks, at least not yet.
Nope, they were still stuck in frustration.
The post-Super Bowl parties went into early Monday morning as the Seahawks at least tried to celebrate their season, instead of their somber Sunday. Later, coach Mike Holmgren tried to refocus the team, momentarily, on what it had done and what it still may do.
(Snip) –
And the Seahawks were still stinging from a few officials’ calls that went against them, such as Darrell Jackson’s touchdown catch that was taken away by a penalty and a disputed TD run by Pittsburgh’s Ben Roethlisberger.
“We knew it was going to be tough going up against the Pittsburgh Steelers,” Holmgren told the fans at Qwest Field. “I didn’t know we were going to have to play the guys in the striped shirts as well.”
(Excerpt) Read more at msnbc.msn.com ...
Yep - there were missed calls on the Seahawks. The one I am aware of (and I'm sure there are more) is a clipping non-call on Roethlesberger (I'm sure I butchered that spelling).
There was also a bad ruling on an apparent catch-and-fumble that went against the Steelers.
However, rarely do missed calls alter the flow of the game like the made bad calls against the Seahawks - nullifying one touchdown and calling back a pass to the 2 yard line, both when the Seahawks are only down 4 points.
As a fan of football (my team is the Jets - but don't get me started on THEM), I thought this years big game was anything but super. If the two teams had slogged it out sloppily, I would have been happy. As it is, I believe that the refs changed the game in a big way.
I don't believe it was a conspiracy, mind you. But they definitely affected the game for the worst with their blown (and some missing) calls.
BTW, I didn't understand "W-E" from your post.
The one thing those three have in common is that each of them has five Vince Lombardi trophies in their trophy case. That's 38% of all SB's played.
Picking up on my stepdaughter's lingo. W-E - whatever.
Back in early September, I was in the Hyatt Penns Landing and there were these tall guys around me carrying Jets playbooks. There was one guy on the elevator - in awe. When these guys got off the elevator he told me - did you see Chad Pennington? I did not recognize any of them, but figured who they were. It was exciting, although I lived in Oxnard, CA for a long time and saw many Raiders players.
I just think it's sad there is so much controversy about this game, right here on FR for one. I just read another thread about how the military was barely mentioned at SB 40. That bothers me.
Have a good day.
You have a great day, yourself.
This is by Bill Simmons, a Patriot fan who admits to having bet on the Stealers. But look at 9:18pm:
Shouldn't the refs just replace the yellow flags with Terrible Towels at this point?
-Eric
"...Now, those Steeler-Cowboy SBs were GREAT games...."
I'll go along with that. I especialy liked the third meeting. Dallas finally won one against the Steelers.
That I could go for. I never like the entire review thing from the start.
It's a game, not a legal process.
Dude, is your niece married?
Or dropped many catchable first down passes... or stepped out of bounds on what should have been TD passess..... or... or... or....
Seattle beat themselves... blaming the ref's is just scapegoating.....
Go G-Men!
It's Tuesday now, two days after the game, and personally it's time to "move on", to borrow a term liberals first coined to express their interest in ignoring the many failings of then president Clinton but have since demonstrated their inability to do whenever it means accepting anything that isn't to their liking...from election results to game results.
As for myself, in keeping with a commitment to trying to live in the real world as much as possible, I'm "moving on". There are too many realities to deal with to continue rehashing football games ad infinitum. One day of that was enough for me.
To everyone who get a kick out of continuing the banter, have fun!
Could it be the same guy who mis-predicted "Pitts. will NEVER go to the SuperBowl w/b.r. Never."
"Mike Holmgren isn't my kind of guy, but from a totally unbiased point of view, Jackson's catch was a TD. The penalty was BS. And Roethlisberger DID NOT make it into the end zone."
The rules state that the receiver can't push off to create seperation between himself and the defender, which the receiver clearly did right in front of the official. How hard the push was is debatable. Even so, there's nothing in the rule book that states that push offs are illegal, but light pushes are exempt. The foul clearly occurred.
Haggens was clearly held, the blocker hooked him from behind with his arm by grabbing the shoulder pad and held him up. The slow motion replay shows Haggans jersey being grabbed and stretched. The foul clearly slowed Haggans down. Had Haggans not been held, he would've sacked the QB or at least forced a rushed pass. The official realized this and threw the flag.
On the Roethlisberger TD run, the replay shows the tip of the ball barely crossing the goal line.
Agreed.I taped the game, and upon review (5 times) the ruling on the field was the correct call,the ball broke the plane.The ruling stands.
----This Super Bowl moment brought to you by The Steeler Nation Freeper Final Answer Drum Corps And Marching Band.
That is all,Carry On.
That wasn't my comment. I was merely responding.
- "a butterbar-turned-Captain" --- don't flatter yourself.
Holmgren blew it for so many fans across the country who USED to respect him!
Unfortunately, there are quite a few players around the league who have been soundly beaten by the Steelers the last few years (best record in the NFL since 1992, 15-1 last year, 8 game winning streak this year) and I have noticed a few Steelers opponents are among the players eagerly piling on the idea that the officials handed Pittsbugh the game. It no doubt makes them feel a little better to be able to get a dig in.
That being said I think the viewing public is most influenced by the opinions expressed by the guys calling the game in the TV booth. And Madden (who has made it abundantly clear he still resents the Steelers because of call back in 1972) was falling all over himself to make sure that he left the impression the ‘Hawks were being screwed. Combine that with the Steeler haters back in studio (e.g. Steve Young - who was jealously hoping that the Steelers would not tie the 49er’s 5 SB wins) mischaracterizing what was happening at halftime and the gullible general public was subtly duped into feeling sorry for the Seattle.
There were a lot of close calls by the officials in the game but I would point out that it could scarcely be argued that officials were largely responsible for:
a) Jerramy Stevens to drop 3 critical passes. One drop would have been a 20-yard completion to the Steelers' 27 on a third down early in the second quarter when Stevens had gotten behind a safety. Another would have been a 29-yard completion to the Steelers' 8 on the first possession of the third quarter. He dropped another one with four minutes left in the third quarter.
b) Hasselbeck to force a pass - Hasselbeck didn't spot cornerback Ike Taylor on a throw to Jackson. Taylor made the interception, thwarting the scoring opportunity and preserving the Steelers' lead.
c) Seahawks to convert only 5 of 17 3rd down conversions (30%) and only 1 of their last 5 in crunchtime.
d) Kicker Josh Brown to miss two long field goals -- for 54 and 50 yards.
e) Darrell Jackson to run poor routes catching two balls out of bounds in the final minute of the first half, one that could have been a touchdown and another that would have put the ball inside the 5 (yeah, the one inside the end zone was a close call but a crisp route and it would not have even been an issue).
f) Holmgren/Hasselbeck to mismanage the time clock so badly -- their clock management at the end of the half and the end of the game was sloppy to say the least.
g) Poor punting - Rouen failed repeatedly at every attempt to pin the Steelers deep in their own territory.
h) Allowing Ben Roethlisberger to improvise and complete a 37-yard pass to game MVP Hines Ward to the 1.
i) Seahawks giving up a 75-yard touchdown run to Willie Parker.
j) ‘Hawks getting beaten by a trick play on Antwaan Randle El's pass to fellow receiver Ward for a touchdown.
Now as to the officiating there were no obvious slam-dunk, flat-out incorrect calls (e.g. misinterpretation of the rules like Polamalu’s interception reversal). Just because John Madden doesn’t “see holding” doesn’t mean there wasn’t. There will be no apology to the Seahawk’s forthcoming from the NFL!
The superior teams can overcome this kind of stuff. Against the Colt’s, the Steelers still found a way to win despite being denied a game-closing interception. Prime example from SB XL: Steelers have a first and 10 at the Seattle 22. 1st down incomplete pass. 2nd down 5 yard completion – OMG! a phantom pass interference call on Heath Miller. Did you see the pass interference? I didn’t. If Madden and Co. had beefed about it the public would have bought it hook line and sinker. 2nd down (repeat) Wistrom sacks Roethlisberger bringing up 3-28 at the SEA 40. Out of field goal range. Adversity. Did they fold like Seattle? No. Instead a great play results in 1st and goal.
The illegal block below the waist called on Hasselbeck – the identical call was made against Jeff Hartings (Steelers center) in the Indianapolis game during the regular season when he blew up an interception return. It was identical in all respects – stupid rule perhaps, but no one can argue there isn’t consistent application of the rule.
The officials missed a flagrant illegal block in the back against Ben Roethlisberger during Herndon interception return. They blew a very quick whistle twice when Seattle receivers fumbled after the catch – one of which appeared to me an obvious catch and fumble. Of course, since Madden and Co. didn’t notice (or didn’t say anything about it) no one felt aggrieved.
My point in saying all this is that the preponderance of the calls went the Steelers way in SB XL. Were they a factor in Seattle’s demise? Yes. Were they the deciding factor? No. And the ill advised attention to the officiating is being pushed by people with hidden motives and axes to grind.
I thought the Seahawks were playing some real dirty ball, and that caused the refs to watch them a bit more closely.
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