Online Petition Says 'NFL Is Fixed'

http://www.kirotv.com/sports/6810514/detail.html ^

[bikepacker67]

As fans continued to weigh in on calls by officials during the Super Bowl, a group has set up an online petition claiming the "NFL is fixed."

The petition, at http://new.petitiononline.com/nfl12006/petition.html, says "We, the fans of the NFL, will no longer stand by and allow our pure game to be corrupted by blatant bias."

The petitions ask fans for suggestions on how the problem can be fixed.

Seahawks fans are voicing outrage over what they say were game-robbing calls by officials in the Super Bowl.

In one, Darrell Jackson was called for pushing Chris Hope away as he broke to catch Matt Hasselbeck's pass in the back of the end zone. Replays showed Jackson extended his arm, but Jackson argued vainly there was no push involved. Seattle settled for a 47-yard field goal and a 3-0 lead -- instead of a 7-0 one.

Later, referees ruled that Pittsburgh quarterback Ben Roethlisberger got the ball to touch the goal-line plane on his 1-yard score with 1:55 left, which put the Seahawks behind for good, 7-3.

Referee Bill Leavy upheld the call after a replay review. Holmgren then upbraided Leavy on his way off the field at halftime.

Holmgren walked over to Leavy, a fifth-year referee calling his first Super Bowl, and could be seen angrily telling him, "It wasn't even close."

The second half brought more Seahawks frustration.

Officials flagged first-year starting right tackle Sean Locklear for holding when Stevens did finally catch a pass, a 17-yard grab at the Steelers 2 with 12:11 left and Seattle trailing 14-10. On the next play, Casey Hampton bowled through Pro Bowl blockers Robbie Tobeck and Steve Hutchinson for a sack.

One play after that, Hasselbeck threw his game-breaking interception to doom Seattle's last chance of the game and of a suddenly lost season.

At a welcome home celebration at Qwest Field on Monday, Seahawks coach Mike Holmgren took a shot at the Super Bowl officials, saying he knew the game was going to be tough, but he didn't know the Hawks were going to have to play the guys in the striped shirts as well.

[kevkrom]

The only thing more useless than a web poll is an "online petition".

[GLDNGUN]

Now we both know this is how it works, so you can stop pretending that this non-call went against Pittsburgh.

I still believe it was a quick whistle, but I'll stop pretending when you stop pretending that this was the worst officiated game ever. If you have watched as much football as you claim, you know that that's a gross over-statement. Some of the playoff games were worse. Are we now going to say all the playoff games were "fixed"? Yes, the 'Hawks had some questions about some calls, but they blamed themselves more than anything. I've seen coaches and players MUCH more upset about the reffing after a game than the 'Hawks were. Again, most of the calls in question could have gone either way. Was the OPI against Jackson ticky-tacky? Yes, a bit. I said so to my wife as we were watching the game; however, PI is frequently called when I believe it shouldn't be or not called when contact is much more severe than when it is. It's called inconsistently, no question. Had that been a DEFENDER pushing off on a WR to get the ball, they would call it 100 times out of 100. Doesn't the DB supposedly have as much right to the ball? Had that call not been made, the Steelers would be whining. Jackson clearly gained an advantage by pushing off. It allowed him to change direction to get back to the ball, and it got him seperation from the DB. Yes, it was a big call, but it was going to be no matter what the refs called or didn't call. Either way, the refs were going to be criticized. Same thing with the Big Ben's TD. Why did the ref run in spotting the ball, then change it to a TD? I don't know. Regardless of the call, it was going to get reviewed. Would the replay official reverse the call to a TD if he had been called short? Who knows? Would the Steelers have gone for it on 4D? They say YES. What was their 4D conversion rate on the season? 100%.

If somebody wants to say the Steelers got most of the close calls to go their way, I won't argue, but as I said before, the calls usually favor one team or the other in a game, sometimes more drastically than in other games.

Refs are human and they have a very difficult job to do. Instant replay has helped some. It just gets tiring to read the same garbage after every time there's a game where one team feels they got the short end of the stick from the refs. Knee-jerk fans make all kinds of wild accusations without a shred of proof that the game was "fixed" by the refs, league, networks, sportsbooks, or some "they" who wanted a certain outcome.

Another play I'm unsure what should have been ruled was where Darrell Jackson's 2nd foot goes out of bounds and therefore no catch and TD. Makes sense. However, that 2nd foot hits the endzone pylon, knocking it down, before he steps out of bounds. I always thought the pylon was an extension of the endzone and if you hit it TD. I guess that doesn't count if you have not established possession in bounds first. Do you know for sure?

I don't recall his 2nd foot hitting the pylon. I could be wrong, but the way I recall it, his left foot was already down when he made the catch. His right foot was in the air when he caught the ball and then it stepped clearly out of bounds. I think his LEFT foot then hit the pylon, but after his right foot was already out. Again, I could be wrong, but that's what I remember.

[roadking95th]

Pittsburgh is a lefty town too. They, along with Phila, keep messing up our state government.

[roadking95th]

If one would show the whole play, you could see the contact by the defender at the goal line. Wow, DJ hits him in the chest, his feet go backwards but not his upper body?

[roadking95th]

Regarding Stevens "fumble," I believe it was, but come on the Steelers wouldn't have recovered the ball until it got to 5 yard line. Even if they returned it 30 yards, there is only a 15 yard net.

When was Ben clipped? You mean when he was running in front of the ball carrier with his back turned? The blocker can hit you in the back when he is between the ball carrier and the tackler.

[Stand Watch Listen]

First things first...I was rooting for Pittsburgh

That said...I have to question why you included the games against the sorry Vikings/Browns/Liosn???

Yes Pittsburgh did have an amazing and worthy playoff run...but the team played way _below in the SB versus their previously demostrated talent/abilities. And Yes Seattle also played tight and hestitant.

Seems all the talk about both teams being loose/collected before the game was not true.

[roadking95th]

Look at the pic dude. Either Ben has guns like a little girl or you just cut his bicep in half. Blow up the pic and you will see his white jersey to the left of your red line and then, poof!, a brown football.

Seriously, go ahead and do it.

[Stand Watch Listen]

For even more clarity (that is..as much as possible…lol)

Sorry, but I rooted for Pittsburgh and IMHO…BEN R did not make it over the ‘plane’.

Seems Ben was carrying the ball lower (around his stomach area (as he approached the goal line, and before Bettis went down to the right of him)...then as he fell down he raised it up to his sternum area.(which what this pic sets forth). And just a nanosecond later from the above pic time frame, the Seattle defender's helmet/shoulder blocked the ball from the goal plane. Ben raised the ball over the goal line after he was down...but that was/is never disputed.

But the official eventually ruled it a touchdown and from the replays it could not be conclusively overruled...hence the call stood.

As I said I was rooting for the AFC/AFC North/Pittsburgh...

Yet is seems that we have a continue divergence of opinion all over the country on this play (among so many others). Still, it should be worth something when the involved player questions the subject touchdown.

FROM FOX Sports.com
Roethlisberger told Letterman that he didn't think he scored on a controversial play in the second quarter that put the Steelers ahead for good 7-3.

Roethlisberger dove toward the end zone but didn't appear to get the ball to touch the goal line. But officials on the field signaled touchdown. "I told Coach, 'I don't think I got in,'" Roethlisberger told Letterman. "But we were getting ready to go for it on fourth down anyway, and I would have run it again. So we would have found a way to get in."

However in other continuing news….

Even with the removal of their smashed television…Seattle fans were in a continued doldrum....;)

[roadking95th]

Pittsburgh fans can't argue now. You can see a white sliver of jersey on the right side of the red line. Also, if you look at the bottom of the pic you can see that it is the LEFT side of the red line that is the edge of the goal line.

How did you like Faneca's dosey-do, with the seattle defender, to clear a path for Ben. Talk about a hold!

[discostu]

I think the Steelers would have recovered it a little earlier than that. And there's still the emotional momentum of getting the ball via a turn over rather than a punt.

No the blocker cannot hit you in the back ever. The short version of the rule every coach drills into his player is "if you can see his name don't hit him". Blocks in the back are dangerous and cause injuries, this is why they're against the rules. As far as the NFL is concerned if the only way you can stop a guy from tackling your teammate is to hit him in the back then you should have gotten better position earlier in the play.

[Reagan Man]

>>>>And just a nanosecond later from the above pic time frame, the Seattle defender's helmet/shoulder blocked the ball from the goal plane.

>>>>But the official eventually ruled it a touchdown and from the replays it could not be conclusively overruled...hence the call stood.

Sounds about right to this unbiased 40 year Giants football fan. Thanks for the post.

[Stand Watch Listen]

I was rooting for the career, the character of Bettis, the potential of Roethlisberger, the character of Ward/Polamulo and the graciousness of Rooney and most of the time, Cowher. ;)

[Reagan Man]

I didn't have a dog in this fight. Thought Seattle was the better team and they may have been, but on Sunday the Steelers won SB40. That is all that counts. I respect the entire Steeler organization. Cowher, Bettis and Rooney are class acts. Since my Mom was from Johnstown PA, I adopted the Steelers as my second team, when my beloved Giants couldn't do anything right in the 1970`s. The timing was great. Four SB`s in six years. Terry Bradshaw was da`man.

[GLDNGUN]

Regarding Stevens "fumble," I believe it was, but come on the Steelers wouldn't have recovered the ball until it got to 5 yard line. Even if they returned it 30 yards, there is only a 15 yard net.

Classic close call. You say it was a fumble, while another poster thinks I'm crazy. I'm not sure it was a fumble. The point I was making is that it was certainly close enough that the ref should have swallowed his whistle. Ultimately, it's a close call that WENT TO SEATTLE. As for where it would have been returned to, we'd know IF the refs had let the play continue. Does anyone really believe the ref was thinking "I know we're giving the game to Pittsburgh, but I'm going to blow this play dead just to make it look good, cuz I don't think they would have returned it very far anyway...*TWEEEEEEEEEEEEET!!!!!!!!!!!!* I mean, come on. Everyone likes to call the refs idiots, morons, etc., yet they are somehow evil geniuses who can intentionally alter the outcome of games via conspiracy and never get caught. Reminds of how democrats like to portray Bush with an IQ of an onion, yet he's behind all kind of sinister conspiracies and plots and manipulating everything like a puppet master.

Again, I'm not going to give someone a big argument if they say the game officiating wasn't sharp or favored Pitt to some degree. If you think all of the close calls that went Pitt's way were the wrong calls, then I can see someone saying the Steelers had an edge there, but it's a matter of opinion on judgment calls. Was it OPI on Jackson? You can make a case either way. I WILL disagree strongly if they want to say "it's the worst reffed game ever!" or if they want to say "the game was fixed!"

You aren't suggesting that this was the worst game ever reffed or that it was fixed, are you?

[GLDNGUN]

Got to agree with you. That is definitely pass interference.

That's the best angle I've seen yet. Better than the one shown during the game. I had mixed feelings about whether Jackson gained enough of an advantage with his push. That video clearly shows he did. It was NOT incidental contact. He created seperation and knocked the DB off balance. We all know that if a DB pushed off like that and caught the ball, it would be called PI EVERY time. Anyone want to dispute that?

[GLDNGUN]

Wouldn't happen to be DeBartolo's 49ers, would it?

Aha! So THAT'S how they won all those SBs! The games were fixed! /conspiracy nut rant

[GLDNGUN]

Holmgren, in an interview I heard this morning, is now whining about the number of Steeler fans 'let into Ford Field.' Can you get anymore crybaby than that?

It would be tough. I've lost a lot of respect for Holmgren over this. I know it's the SB and emotions run high and players and coaches say things right after a game that they usually regret shortly thereafter, but Holmgren is doing himself no favors by his continued whining. His comment at Qwest Field followed by a wry smile was simply pandering to a partisan crowd. And now he wants to complain about Steeler fans in Detroit? Geeez. What's wrong, Mike, your team can't win a big game where you don't have a sizeable home field advantage? Oh, yeah, that's right you can't. 0-2 this year on the road vs. teams that made the playoffs. Pitt was 4-1 on the road vs. playoff teams, including the post-season.

[delchiante]

How about the non-horse collar call that was never called against Pittsburgh-
Or the delay of game that never was-Refs allowed Pitt to take a timeout- on a critical fourth down play.

The non-review by the refs under two minutes of Darrell Jackson's catch, one foot down and the other hitting the pile-on. ( Touchdown by rule and not challengeable by a team under two minutes)

Anybody remember those?

[MikefromOhio]

It's one thing to make contact.

It's quite another to push the guy to the point that he has to gain his balance again, as evidenced by the hop backwards as Jackson pushes off.....

[MikefromOhio]

LOL

I gotta give it too you.

This petition has garnered some great attention....

From Heath Ledger promoting his movie to Mike Holmgren asking where his wife is too people cracking on PIttsburgh for marrying their sisters...

LOL

REALLY relevant there.