Posted on 02/07/2006 6:58:40 PM PST by 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.
And you are suggesting what...the game was "fixed"?
The Indy game had some bad calls and it certainly appeared that the officials were favoring Indy over Pitt. But not to the extent of this game.
With regard to the PI nullifying the TD. I saw the defender slap Jackson's arm and then grab it before he pushes him off. The ref, who was standing about 10 feet from them, only saw the push-off. I'd sure like to hear the ref state to the media what he saw.
I've never seen a spot call changed to a TD without another ref talking to the original spotter first. That didn't happen here and no other ref signalled TD, nor were any of them in position to either. Again, we'll never hear from the ref on why he changed his call, because the NFL is the NFL and the ref's are above it all. But we all saw him signal the runner (BenR) down at least 2 or 3 times, then signal TD. That is utter crap.
Watch the one-foot play again, if you can. The 2nd foot (right I think) knocks the pylon down before it lands fully out of bounds. Nobody said anything. I'm not sure how it should be ruled because the pylon rule might require infield possession before the play is allowable. This may have been the right call.
The phanton holding call outright changed the game. The PI call should have been against the defender, if called, because the defender initiated the first contract. Although I've seen it called both ways during the season.
Only one team was flagged less times during the season than Seattle. That was Carolina. This is an extremely disciplined team.
I never (nor did the commentators) saw the phantom holding call that erased a 1st down conversion to the 1 yard line. Neither did anyone else.
And calling a "Low Block" against the ball carrier is not possible. Why Leavy didn't waive that penalty off is another question I would like ansered. The only call they could have made was unnecessary roughness. Who thinks Hassleback was too rough on the interceptor?
While I was watching this specticle, I kept expecting a Raider game to break out.
Take care fellow football fan. See you here next season.
You take care, too. Yes, I'll be here...watching football..."fixed" games and all. ;-)
I'm saying that I was dissapointed that so many bad calls went against one team... The same way the call went against the Steelers in the Indy game.
The NFL has a major credibility problem. I don't think the Steelers or the fans were out of line when they said they wondered if the NFL wanted Indy in the big game, because of one bad call in that game. (They were leading in that game at that time)
There were 4-5 over-officious calls against just one team in XL.
I don't think it's illogical to accept the premise that, once Indy was gone, Pittsburgh's storyline of a retiring legend going back home was much better storyline than anything the Seahawks could muster.
The media and NFL had their storylines set and the Seahawks, their fans, and objective watchers of pro football, were witness to some shotty overofficiating in the big game, all to the solidification of that storyline.
The Steelers were flagged for three penalties for the whole game. Two on one drive, which were false start penalties which the refs couldn't miss or it really have looked bad...
That means the Steelers played perfect unpenalized game (of which even Steelers fans have are admitting was poorly officiated) for most of the game and the second least penalized team in the league, The Seahawks, couldn't take one or two drives without a penalty?
If that sounds fair to objective folks then you are blinded by either your love of the Steelers or your hatred of Seattle.
How can it be fairly officiated if the balance of bad calls goes against one of the teams.. Equally incompetent, a football fan can deal with- Stacked deck is another thing.
Seattle doesn't have the fan base of a Steeler nation so it can't just be Seahawks fans upset. It is a nation of many eyes who saw that bad officiating kept one team from their chance of winning, in the end.
The Steelers would be rightfully pissed if Indy had come back and won that game.
That call allowed Indy to stay in it and the calls against Seattle kept them from going ahead and took points off the board!
The Seahawks in the fourth quarter, even with questionable calls that went against them in the game, still survived and managed to keep within 4 points of The Steelers. They were on the verge of scoring a touchdown on a 98 yard (John Elway type) drive when Stevens caught a pass (one of few) to the one yard line.
A questionable holding call pushed the ball back and then Hasselbeck threw the pick,tackled the guy, and was flagged.
That's a pass he never has to throw because they give the ball to Shaun four times in a row if they have to at the one yard line.
And they score a go ahead touchdown- 17-14..
Instead, they are pushed back in predictable passing situation and he throws the interception, Steelers run it back and then ball placed around midfield for the Steelers to run their gadget play..
That set of circumstances proved the dagger.. It wasn't the big pass play.. It wasn't even the illegal block they called on Hasselbeck. It wasn't even Darrell Jackson's pass interference call.
It was the fact that the Seahawks had the ball, first and goal, and ready to score the go-ahead touchdown in the fourth quarter of a game where they seemed to not get the benefit of the doubt on any of the questionable calls.
They had weathered everything before that and then in a mater of 3-4 plays, two calls go against them and they are looking at 21-10 and not leading 17-14.
Now, who's to say the Steelers don't go right down the field on them and score but the Seahawks at least deserved to have it decided that way and not the way it was..
After reading that whole thing, I'm still not sure of what you are saying. You seem to be suggesting that the NFL and media wanted the Colts to beat the Steelers, but they didn't. Then they wanted the Steelers to beat the 'Hawks and they did. Again, I ask - DO YOU THINK THE GAME WAS FIXED? Yes or no? If YES, then just how does that work? Do you think the NFL calls the refs in and says "Ok, guys, the league and the media want Pitt to win this game, so you know what to do. *WINK, WINK*"?
Here's a crazy thought...the refs are human and sometimes make the wrong call, and sometimes one team benefits more than the other...I know, I know, absolute nuts...;-)
About time.
???
They weren't tick-tack fouls, they were fouls. Broke the rules and got called for it.
If the gunner gets hit in the back it's an illegal block in the back, and actually it gets called a lot. Many long punt returns get called back do to that. Of course with their back to the o-line they won't see the play, and the ball carrier, since innately ball carriers aren't blocking, could hit them in the back on the way through the at will. If a defender does a spin move and is hit while his back is turned yes that's an illegal block in the back, of course you wait another half beat and hit him in the shoulder and every thing is fine.
"Pittsburg" is in Kansas. The original in Pennsylvania is "Pittsburgh." It was named after William Pitt and the "h" at the end was because many of the early settlers were of Scottish heritage.
a time when families gather together, don't talk, and watch football with an unbias eye... good times
Yes. I think it was fixed.
And my suspicions were validated even more when the NFL issued that farse of a statement about the officials and the way the officiated the entire playoffs..
Circling the wagons instead of just letting it just go away..
Anybody who read that statement and didn't think their intelligence was being insulted, needs help standing upright.
And who "fixed" it? The NFL? Just how does that work? Did the NFL get together with the refs before the game and tell them give the Steelers all the calls? Did the same thing happen in Indy?
I was just looking at that first picture again. Look at where Bettis' forearm rests; of course the perspective makes it difficult, but doesn't it appear that the ball is at least several inches further than Bettis' forearm?
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