What Can You Do When The Refs Screw You?
Anyone who watched the Superbowl with any amount of objectivity will admit that the refs were on the Steeler’s side the whole game. The supposed pass interference, the two bogus holding calls, the Steelers not-touchdown, etc. The problem is that there really isn’t anything you can do as a Seahawk fan. You know that the Seahawks really dominated the whole game (except for THREE plays… can you name anything else the Steelers did well the rest of the game other than those three plays?), the refs made such bad calls I just don’t know how to not sound like a whiner when I emphatically tell you that the refs gave the game to the Steelers.
February 05, 2006 in Sports |
Don’t be disheartened just because they won this round. Aren’t there 6 more games to go?
Comment by meems — February 5, 2006 @ 11:21 pm
Bummer, Rusty. There is no joy in Seatown tonight, I can tell you. I don’t share your belief that the Hawks dominated the whole game, but I agree that the refs made some crappy calls.
Comment by Supergenius — February 5, 2006 @ 11:57 pm
C’mon, now, Rusty. I feel your pain, but you are being a bit of a whiner. It’s not that I’m not sympathetic. The Steelers did a similar number on my beloved Broncos, but be objective. Stevens dropped three passes. Hasselbeck threw an interception at the absolute worst possible moment. The kicker missed two field goals. Plus, the defense let Parker ramble 75 yards for a touchdown. The refs can’t be blamed for any of that. The Steelers dominated the game at the right moments, when it counted. If it wasn’t for that Kelly Herndon interception it would have been a lot worse.
But buck up little camper, the Seahawks may be back next year, after all, they do play in the NFC.
Comment by Brian G — February 6, 2006 @ 12:05 am
I watched objectively. I didn’t have a horse in the race. Okay, full disclosure: I do have a bit of a grudge against the Steelers because they beat the Broncos, because they are division rivals of the Ravens, and because Joey Porter is a jackass. But I didn’t have a real strong preference for the Seahawks.
The Roethlisberger TD was incredibly close. I definitely would not have overturned it based on the replays that were shown.
It was technically P.I., even if it wasn’t blatant. You can’t push off, and Jackson (it was Jackson, right?) pushed off. It’s the kind of call that could go either way. Steelers fans would have just as much reason to be upset had the penalty not been called. It would have been one of those Michael Jordan getting away with pushing off on Bryon Russell sort of things for Steelers fans.
I was distracted for the replays of the bad holding calls, but I could tell that Madden was convinced that they were bad calls.
The blocking below the waist call on Hasselbeck was crap. No doubt. That call gave the Steelers great field position on the drive that ended with the Randle El-to-Ward TD. That’s pretty much where the game was lost.
So yeah, it’s clear that all the bad and close calls went against the Seahawks. But I wouldn’t go so far as to say that the refs gave the game to the Steelers. The Seahawks gave the game to the Steelers. They did not play a good game. They missed field goals, dropped passes, mismanaged the clock, and couldn’t finish drives.
Comment by Tom — February 6, 2006 @ 12:22 am
It was a game that was dominated by some big plays, and some of those involved tough calls by the refs. The Seahawks were lucky that that Hasselback fumble was overruled at the end.
I’m convinced that Mike Holmgren is a horrible end-of-game coach. What’s with calling all those screen passes with seconds left? They didn’t look like they were second-option passes either. Hasselback just looked like he was doing what Holmgren tolding him in his ear. Terrible clock management.
Comment by BTD Greg — February 6, 2006 @ 12:52 am
i really didn’t care who won, but i did feel that almost all of the big calls went the steelers’ way, and some of them really changed the momentum of the game. but still, you can’t give up the big plays.
Comment by mike d. — February 6, 2006 @ 2:00 am
Yeah, the Seahawks were screwed. I feel your pain, Rusty.
Comment by Ronan — February 6, 2006 @ 7:25 am
I guess Ronan is my only true friend here. Thanks mate.
Comment by Rusty — February 6, 2006 @ 7:34 am
Sports are silly.
Comment by D. Fletcher — February 6, 2006 @ 8:16 am
A few stats:
-The Hawks outgained Pittsburgh by 57 yards.
-They held the ball six minutes longer.
-They had six more first downs.
-Ben Roethlisberger had the worst performance (statistically) by a winning quarterback in the 40-year history of this game.
-Roethlisberger was 9-for-21 passing.
-His rating was 22.6.
-He threw two interceptions.
Okay, so Hasselbeck’s interception was at a bad time, but it was a couple plays after he completed the pass to Stevens on the 2-yard line (that was negated by the phantom holding call that even the announcers disagreed with). That interception shouldn’t have existed.
Yes, Stevens dropped three passes, there is no excuse for that. If he catches those, Seattle likely wins the game.
Yes, the kicker missed two field goals. No real excuse for that except that they were both over 50 yards.
Yes, Holmgren should have gone for it on both of those fourth downs. No excuses there.
Yes, they shouldn’t have been passing down the middle of the field at the end of the game, no excuses there.
I understand that Seattle made some bad decisions and executed poorly at times, but the truth is that Seattle lost the Superbowl, the Steelers didn’t win it. Just look at the stats, Pittsburgh made three big plays (and they were good ones), but that’s it. They just happened to be the right plays at the right times while having help from the refs and Seattle’s dumb mistakes.
Comment by Rusty — February 6, 2006 @ 9:19 am
In the words of the Fabulous Sports Babe: “Score more points!”
/didn’t see the game
Comment by Bryce I — February 6, 2006 @ 10:02 am
A few stats:
-The Seahawks outgained Pittsburgh by 57 yards.
-They held the ball six minutes longer.
-They had six more first downs.
-Ben Roethlisberger had the worst performance (statistically) by a
winning quarterback in the 40-year history of this game.
-He was 9-for-21 passing.
-His rating was 22.6.
-He threw two interceptions.
Sure, Hasselbeck threw an ill-timed interception. But that would have never happened if the refs didn’t make the bogus holding call two plays earlier when Hasselbeck completed the pass to the 1-yard line to Stevens.
Yeah, Stevens dropped three passes, no excuses for that. Okay, there were two missed field goals, and the only excuse is that they were both over 50 yards. And yes, Holmgren should have gone for both of those fourth downs and shouldn’t have been passing down the middle at the end of the game.
But the truth remains that the Seahawks lost that game, the Steelers didn’t win it. Pittsburgh had three big plays… yes they were well timed and very big… but that was their whole game. A few Seahawk mistakes and the refs carried them the rest of the way.
I mean really, can any Steelers player honestly say that they played a good game?
Comment by Rusty — February 6, 2006 @ 11:25 am
I think you are right that the bogus holding call on the Stevens catch was the turning point in the game. Without it the Seahawks take the lead and the Steelers take a major confidence blow.
Comment by Geoff J — February 6, 2006 @ 11:31 am
I didn’t watch much. I really don’t care about pro football. The one play that I did see was the contested touchdown. I would have liked to see the replay in HiDef, but from what I could tell there wasn’t anything there to overrule the call on the field. Of course if the call on the field had gone the other way it still wouldn’t have been overruled. That was about as close as a call can be.
I feel for you Rusty. There’s always next year.
Comment by a random John — February 6, 2006 @ 11:35 am
The non-touchdown was such a farce…the ref came running toward the player with one arm up, marking that the ball was down…no touchdown, then as he got closer and Rothesberger pushed the ball over the line, he changed his call to a touchdown…what a bunch of crap. The other calls all went the Steeler’s way I agree. But yes the Seahawks LOST the game, dropped passes, stupid clock management etc.
Oh well, next Rusty, next year.
Comment by don — February 6, 2006 @ 1:36 pm
People, the circus has left town with all its sideshows.
Pitchers and catchers report in 9 days, 9 hours, and 23 minutes, and life begins again.
Comment by Greg — February 6, 2006 @ 1:39 pm
Roethlisberger scored. Of all the calls to be upset about, that is the least of them. The worst is the blocking below the waist call on Hasselbeck.
Comment by Tom — February 6, 2006 @ 1:53 pm
Don,
I agree that pushing the ball over the line was a farce, but the ball was extremely close to if not over the plane of the goal line before he got hit, which then moved the ball back by about a foot. Given what you could see on replay there was no way to overrule that call.
Comment by a random John — February 6, 2006 @ 2:44 pm
A few stats:
-The Seahawks outgained Pittsburgh by 57 yards.
-They held the ball six minutes longer.
-They had six more first downs.
…
Here are a few stats you seem to have overlooked:
-The Seahawks were 1-12 in attempts to get the ball passed Pitt’s 20 yard line.
-Seattle was 1-3 on field goal attempts
And, most importantly…
- The Steelers outscored the Seahawks 21 to 10.
Gripe about the officiating all you want, but in the stats that matter, the Seahawks just plain lost. They don’t give the Lombardi trophy to the team with the most yards or the highest QB rating.
Comment by BTD Greg — February 6, 2006 @ 5:56 pm
BTD Greg,
Hey man, I never suggested Seattle won the game, I never suggested Seattle didn’t make mistakes, and I never suggested that the highest QB rating was the most important statistic. I’m just frustrated that my childhood/teen dream ended the way that it did (with the refs impacting the game much more than they should have).
But thanks for the reminder of how they decide who to give the Lombardi trophy to, I never knew.
Comment by Rusty — February 6, 2006 @ 6:55 pm
Hey, Seattle’s got an excellent chance of getting back next year. I wouldn’t be so glum.
It’s just that when the first thing you talk about was how the game was snatched by you by officiating, it comes off like sour grapes.
Comment by BTD Greg — February 6, 2006 @ 7:45 pm
Dude, my grapes are so sour they’re wine (er… whine… har har). Give me a week and I’ll admit that Seattle had a part in the loss, but I need this time to complain.
Comment by Rusty — February 6, 2006 @ 11:44 pm
Here’s an ESPN article expressing my exact frustration.
Comment by Rusty — February 7, 2006 @ 8:13 am
Rusty,
That’s a great article. The Seahawks got screwed, end of story.
Comment by David J — February 7, 2006 @ 8:50 am
No comments on the true travesty of this year’s Superbowl - the halftime show?
Comment by Jennifer — February 7, 2006 @ 2:05 pm
I always fast-forward through the Superbowl half-time show. Thank goodness for Tivo.
I didn’t even know something happened two years ago until after the game was over because I fast-forwarded through it and the commentators never mentioned it.
Comment by NFlanders — February 7, 2006 @ 2:26 pm
Oh, man: Shaun Alexander is on the cover of Madden07. Sorry, Rusty, but the Cover Curse has hit.
http://www.easports.com/article.jsp?dcr=sports&ncc=1&id=madden07shaun
Comment by Pris — April 21, 2006 @ 11:02 am
[...] After the Super Bowl I was furious. Now I’m just sad. We were given a freebee with Romo’s bobble and played a solid game against a team that was supposed to blow us out. The game could have gone either way hinging on any play (for both teams). If it were a blowout it would have been much easier to watch, this was just too intense for us to lose. But, it was a well-earned win by Chicago. Congrats to those guys. [...]
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