jlukja

I don't think it was a hold. But, if they did call offside and holding on the same play then it would have been offsetting penalties and no posession at the 1 yard line. A free play only if no offensive penalties ensued.

EDIT: Damn, ccannizz11 beat me to it.

Beoshingus

I don't think it was a hold either. I saw the replay. So did Al and John. So did the other guys in the booth. Bogus call.

Reason? They were LOOKING for an excuse to flag Seattle, not Pittsburgh.

When did the flag come in, anyway? I don't remember seeing that part. Was the flag thrown after the completion or before?

cazzy

What is even worse before they flagged him for blocking low is when the ref hit Hasselback's arm causing him to throw an interception to Ike Taylor. I think it is time to move on because all your conspiracy theories will not change the fact that the Super Bowl champions are the Pittsburgh Steelers.

Now, I just hope my Viking's make the playoffs next year.

WdnUlik2no

no way dude, niners all the way..

Beoshingus

Can you offer a valid reason for flagging Hasselbeck on that play? Go on. I dare you.

Did he deserve a 15 yard penalty?

If yes, then explain why.

If no, then explain why the penalty was upheld by Pittsburgh's righteous and unbiased officiating crew.

cazzy

Actually, I think the ref threw his flag into the offensive lineman's face mask before the play started... He was blinded and couldn't see the blitzing linebacker which is why he committed a hold in the first place.

Beoshingus

Uh... yeah...

cazzy

No, I can't explain and I did mention a page or two ago that it was a bad call. I assume that he thought Matt was trying to take out the blockers legs but missed and got Taylor.

03 CLS

Because it is a penalty! A bad one, but still a penalty. Your not allowed to go through a another player below the knees to tackle the ball carrier.

I don't think a flag should have been thrown, but it's on the books.


GO COWBOYS

lowpost

That's strange...knowledgeable people on the board thinks it was a hold..but current and EX NFL players all agree it was a legal block....I guess it was a hold.

lowpost

You're right, Stevens shouldn't have said anything - but what he said didn't warrant the response form Porter. Like I said, Porter blew it all out of proportion.

Mike 350Z

From the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette...

Cowher the gambler

Cowher said that had Ben Roethlisberger not scored on third down from the
one near the end of the first half, he would have gone for the touchdown on
fourth-and-inches Sunday, trailing 3-0, with 1:55 left.

"You know what? Even if we don't get it in [we] get the ball to start the
second half. We were going to go for it. It was just a question of what play
we were going to call."

And, from the half-inch line, they would make the TD 99.5 times out of 100.
I'm glad he said that.

Jonesi

That's Joey Porter.. He looks for a fight.. He has a history..

ccannizz11

I think it's funny how you don't hear seattle fans bitching about two (very makeable) missed field goals, or Hasselback's complete inability to find an open receiver downfield in the closing minutes, or their clock management throughout the game, or the dropped balls all over the place, or the two times (at least) that they caught balls out of bounds, both of which would have given them possesion near the goal line, or the record breaking TD run they gave up.

They don't talk about how seattle's 3rd down efficiency was horrible, or about pitt holding one of the leagues best offenses to ten points, or how the offensive line allowed 3 sacks, or how unprepared the receivers were because they couldn't adjust their routes for pittsburgh's blitzes.

No, it's all about the officials, on calls that, with the exception of the cut block after the interception, could have gone either way. I'm not even a steelers fan, and I think it's lame.

cazzy

I think he hooked him (barely), but was it enough to call a hold? They may call it one week, then let it go the next.

Who cares...GO VIKINGS~

cmark

i think this article sums it up for ya.

http://msn.foxsports.com/nfl/story/5311792

yes, the field goals woulda been nice. the catches would've probably won the game. oh wells.

Jonesi

Good article.. I just thought this was amusing..

cmark

yeah, it was more entertaining than the game

Beoshingus

Nah, if they'd made the catches the refs would have trumped up new penalties against them, as they did on the Stevens catch on the 1 and the Jackson catch in the endzone. And if the Jackson TD hadn't been stolen, the first 54 yard field goal attempt would never have happened.

Beoshingus

THE FACTS:
Tagliabue should have his butt in a sling over the officiating this season.

juniorbean

iTrader: (5)

How Pittsburgh won...





Actually, I just thought that was funny. People complaining about the officiating, while they may have some gripes, it was not the cause for the loss. The SB was one of the worst played games in years.

I personally didn't care either way, I was just hoping for my boxes to pay off. As a neutral fan, here's the way I see it....

The officials didn't give up 21 points but only score 10. Some bad calls, yeah (like why did Hasselbeck get penalized for that tackle? and the phantom hold), but also some good calls (Hasselback's fumble overturned, which would have put the game away much earlier then it was). OK, the offensive PI was questionable too, but Seattle got a FG out of it... so it only cost them 4 points... they lost by 11. Even that hold which called back the pass which was completed by the 5 yard line isn't a good argument... b/c who's to say they would have scored a TD? They may have just gotten a FG, or they may have gotten nothing. There's no solid evidence either way, so to argue that is silly.

Additionally, the officials did not miss two FGs or throw an INT inside the redzone while driving. They also didn't miss any tackles on Parker's 75 yard TD run, or bite on the end-around and get burned for a 45-yard TD pass (which BTW was the same exact play they ran against the Browns earlier in the season.... did Seattle watch any tapes to prepare??). They didn't make the TE (Jerramy Stevens) drop countless passes, several which would have been big gains or first downs. The officials didn't completely suck at clock management either... especially at the end of the game (c'mon, if you've ever played a game of Madden you know you go for the quick FG, then the onside and start chucking some hail mary's). Everything listed was all Seattle. So yeah, without question there were a few bad calls, one (the PI) may have taken some points off of the board, but the bottom line was that they could not finish their drives and they only scored 1 TD.

Now, I'm not saying Pittsburgh dominated that game b/c the stats will show otherwise, but they scored when they needed to and Seattle didn't. Did Seattle really lose that game? Not really... but they played just bad enough to not win it...

cazzy

http://www.officialforum.com/thread/24802

This forum is dedicated to officiating. Check out what they think of everything.

juniorbean

iTrader: (5)

meh..interesting, but no one will ever agree on all of the calls. The one fact remains that Seattle could not capitalize when they needed to, and they lost b/c of it. I've seen many games where there was bad officiating... but the team that it affected still won.

Need more proof... watch the Indy/Steelers game. It should have been out of reach, but a blown review on Pitts INT at the end of the game gave the Colts a chance they should not have had. Still, the Steelers did what they needed to do, kept Indy far enough out that the FG attempt was a long one, and in the end, they emerged victorious. So they got boned pretty bad, but still came out on top, b/c they did what they needed to do to win.

cazzy

I hate to go back to this, but when you initially said something I was questioning how spectacular (as you called it) the catch was. After seeing the replay I got from the http I posted above, the catch seemed pretty routine to me. What is amazing is that he didn't drop it like he did the other routine passes. Maybe, that is why you thought it was spectacular.

juniorbean

iTrader: (5)

Agreed, it was a fairly standard catch. Nothing special.

Beoshingus

The spectacular part of it was where it was located on the field and how important it was at that stage of the game. The refs agreed, and thus took it away.

Beoshingus

There were lots of weird things in that game, too, but you're talking about one bad call. It was a very bad call. But it was not part of a 60 minute succession of one-sided calls against Pittsburgh. And it DIDN'T cost them the game. If it had, I guarantee the Pittsburgh fans would have been complaining about it (Porter sure did!), and rightfully so. I'd have joined in with them.

The Superbowl on the other hand was FULL of bad calls, and they all - every single one of them - went against Seattle. That only ever happens as a result of officiating bias. Period. Like I said before, they slipped and let their bias show too much with the personal foul on Hasselbeck for tackling the ball carrier. No excuse for that whatsoever if they had been calling a fair game. Psychologically, bad call after bad call took the edge off of Seattle. The intangibles of momentum were completely sapped by the continual badgering of the referees. Seattle outplayed Pittsburgh, period. They made mistakes. But Bill Leavy was much more instrumental in the Stealers' win than Hines Ward was.

cazzy

Where it was located makes it spectacular? A one handed grab is spectacular! A diving catch is spectacular! I guess don't get your view point on what you consider spectacular. Every pro tight end would have caught that ball, whether at the 1 or the 50 yard line. Contact was not made until he hit the ground...cause we all know he would have dropped the ball if contact came sooner.

Beoshingus

If the play had stood, Seattle most likely would have scored a TD on the next play or two; Pittsburgh wouldn't have had the interception leading to the gadget play, and that 14 point swing alone would likely have led to a Seattle victory. Had that happened, NOBODY would still be talking about the catches that Jerramy Stevens dropped - only the ones he made.

cazzy

Stop already...they lost and the sooner you accept it, the less gray hair you will grow. I think someone told you this already:

Because it is a penalty! A bad one, but still a penalty. Your not allowed to go through a another player below the knees to tackle the ball carrier.

I don't think a flag should have been thrown, but it's on the books.

If you watch the replay again, he dove at the ball carrier through a blocker.

Whiskers

GIANTS in 07!!!

cazzy

Next year's Super Bowl:

GIANTS vs TEXANS
































NOT

Jonesi

fixed.

YOTH

Fucking hilarious. Only thing missing is the yellow towel.

Whiskers

Maximized

I think that the officials made a lot of bad calls, but you can't solely blame them. Seattle played pretty poorly and missed some crucial opportunities. If that pass interference wasn't called, Seatle would have been down a touchdown. It would have made a uterly boring game a bit exciting. Hopefully next year we will have a exciting game to watch. Better yet, lets see the Bears in the Superbowl.

Beoshingus

cazzy

Sour grapes anyone?

Beoshingus

I like this one better:

waTSX

I'm as big a Niners fan as anyone, dude, but if you think they'll be going to the playoffs next year, you need to be laying off the green bud

They're at least a couple of years away, if not more.