Posted on 02/08/2006 10:43:11 AM PST by TheClintons-STILLAnti-American
Turns out Mike Holmgren lost respect, as well as the NFL championship at Super Bowl XL by insisting that officiating was a factor in the Seahawks' 21-10 loss to the Steelers. Holmgren's better than that.
As a veteran NFL coach, he at least ought to be held to a higher standard.
Sadly, Holmgren pointed the finger instead of the thumb.
(Excerpt) Read more at pittsburghlive.com ...
"#1.....The Big 12 North will probably put about 3 players into the NFL next year and none of them will even start. How could an NFL team NOT win the big 12 North EVERY YEAR ??"
Exactly. The rest of the NFC West weren't NFL teams. Most of the players playing in the NFC West won't be starting in the NFL next year, either. If you cut me in half, grafted my upper body to a Hippopatomus lower body, shoved corn cobs up my nose and had this grosteque half hippo half man "Hippotaur" with corn cobs up his nose replace Seattle in the NFC West, I would win the NFC West all by myself. You could take the 49ers, Cardinals, Rams defense, put them on the field at the same time, stuck a football between my corn cob nostrils like chopsticks, and I would score a touchdown every play against those 33 players. That is how reprehensibly and hilariously awful the NFC West was, is, and forever will be. I mean for Pete's sake, the Arizona Cardinals is a Hiroshima of suckitude that radioactively infects all teams unfortunate to enter its Radius of Doom, yet along a team that must share the field twice in a season! The Cardinals, ONE playoff appearance in MY lifetime! Seattle stinks, because they played the Cardinals twice, quantifiable and scientificially irrefutable FACT! If 2 + 2 = 4, then one Arizona Cardinals match up + another Arizona Cardinals match up = a curse that makes Cthulhu and other demonic forces summoned from the Neconominicon weep quietly in the corner, and shudder.
"#2.....San Diego did not even make the playoffs. How could they make it to the Super Bowl ?"
Exactly. A team that didn't make the playoffs had a better chance of winning a Superbowl than the Suckattle Seasucks did.
The officiating was terrible, and the play of both teams sucked. Pittsburgh's play just sucked a little less than Seattle's though, and it was enough to pull out a very ugly win.
The NFL needs to take a long hard look at the officiating in their league. Ridiculously blown calls have been a festering problem for a number of years now. At the same time, the league also needs to take a long hard look at the level of play it offers it's fans; that has been declining sharply for some time now.
I attribute part of the problem to too much expansion too fast, which necessarily demands that teams dress out more and more marginal players who, in past years, wouldn't have even made the practice squad, let alone the first team.
But I also think a big problem is the coaching. After every season, lots of coaches lose their jobs, but instead of opening up slots for new faces and new ideas, what ends up happening is a big game of musical chairs as losing coaches just move from one team to another, bringing their losing ways with them. And when a losing coach does actually leave the game, he is replaced by an assistant who learned all of the coach's losing ways and implements them on the team whose coaching chair he occupies this year.
Finally, the free agency and salary cap system in place has created a league of roving hired guns who drift from one team to another over the courses of their careers. A player like Brett Favre, who stuck with one team for most of his career, is an abberation any more. The whole concept of a team is lost, and what you have instead is a bunch of guys who just happen to be wearing the same uniform that season.
And for Pittsburgh, the team will be completely different next year, as they won't be able to stay under the salary cap and cover the huge raises that the players on a Super Bowl winning team will be able to demand. They'll be forced to pick a few stars and cut the rest of them loose, and as a result I'll bet they don't win more than 8 or 9 games next season. Bellichick and New England were able to beat that trend, but it caught up to even them this year. But what usually happens is what happened to Tampa Bay; after winning the 2003 Super Bowl, they didn't even crack .500 the following season.
Enough with this whining and ill-fitting analogies. The refs did not "change the rules" in the middle of the game for the Steelers. Every call except for the ridiculous one against Hassleback for an "illegal block" when he was actually tackling the guy who intercepted his pass were all judgment calls.
I've seen the Ben Roethlesberger dive into the endzone at least 20 times now. It sure looks like the ball got over the plane of the goal line (it doesn't take much) before he hit the ground. It was called a TD on the field and there was definately not enough on the replay to say he definately didn't get in. Tough noogies, Seahawks. Besides, it was going to be 4th and goal at the 1-inch line if they did down it there. The Steelers had not failed in a 4th and 1 all season long. I think they could have punched it in.
The interference call against Darrell Jackson was close, but legitimate. Some apologists say Jackson's push had no affect on the play. Really? I see Chris Hope standing right next to Jackson. Then I see a push from Jackson, and then I see Hope moving off-balance the other way. Looks like a pretty good call to me. And the whiners also like to say that Hope pleaded for the call and the flag came late. Well, replays show that the ref was grabbing for the flag right as it was happening. His fingers missed the flag. He reached for it again. Another slip. Finally, he gets it and tosses it out. It was an early call with an accidentally late flag.
The holding call that wiped out a first and goal at the Steeler 3 for the Hawks? I dunno. When a defender (Clark Haagans) is beating you around the corner, you grab his shoulder pad and begin riding him to the ground to prevent a sack, that also might actually be holding.
Again, these were all judgment calls. And, yes, the Steelers were the beneficiaries. But, you know. Jerramy Stevens had a catch and a fumble in the second quarter (I think) that was called incomplete. I didn't whine about it during the game, even though I thought it was a bad call that could prove costly for my team.
Too bad Seahawks fans can't do the same.
That and the Chop block penalty were pretty clearly wrong. The two main ones that people are complaining about are silly.
That and the Chop block penalty were pretty clearly wrong. The two main ones that people are complaining about are silly.
At worst, they are within margin of error...not like when Pete Johnson put 3/4 of the football into the end zone (completely over the white line) and they called it a foot short.
I wouldn't count on that. The only significant free agent they will lose this year is Antwaan Randle El. Big Ben will probably negotiate a contract extension. But Bettis is gone. Staley is walking. Ward is tied-up long-term. And there will be no big defections.
The Steelers will be fine. 15-1 last year. Super Bowl Champs this year. Super Bowl contenders next year, and in the years to come. They've been an elite franchise for 15 years (not including the 70s domination) and manage their cap and roster better than anyone. They will continue to contend.
The seahawks lost to the 49ers. How bad is that? They lost to a team that only won 5 games all season and will be lucky to have a winning season in the next decade!!
LOL. A single (very) bad call with about 5 minutes left, which the mighty Steelers overcame by:
Prevent defense, giving up a drive and a touchdown, fumbling at the goal line, and praying that the opponents kicker would miss.
Gee, how impressive.
The Seahawks in the regular season had a mighty THREE wins against teams that finished with winning records: Dallas (13-10), the Giants (an overtime victory that required 3 missed field goals by the Giants), and Indianapolis (28-13, a bewildered Colts team that lost a family member, missed their coach, and sat their QB most of the game). All three of those games were in Seattle, and one of those teams didn't make the playoffs. And the two teams they beat in the playoffs, were the 5th and 6th seed of the conference. They didn't have a win on the road or on a neutral field against a playoff team. They were simply the worst team to ever enter a Superbowl, when it comes to quality wins over quality competition. If they played in the AFC, they might have finished 8-8, 10-6 tops.
Iron sharpens iron, and the Steelers went through a blade slashing gauntlet to get to the Superbowl, while the Seahawks went through an all pastry buffet. Kinda makes sense that the tea sipping Seahawks wouldn't have the fortitude to win a sloppy game, as a result of officiating or otherwise, their schedule didn't test them.
what a load of manure.
The Seahawks beat the Redskins and Panthers in the playoffs. Everyone was saying the Panthers and their defense was going to rip Seattle a new one.
Seattle completely took their defense to school.
Thanks for posting...give 'em a sense of reality...latte-drinkin' fools.
And the Panthers were without all THREE of their running backs...if Foster, Davis and Goings (or just one of 'em) are healthy, the Seachickens lose by 20. The Panthers were reduced to a one-dimensional (passing) team. As a result of this, the Panther defense was on the field all day.
Who's doin' the yappin? ...and is that Jeramy Stevens' guard dog??
LOL
Ok. Went back and read it. So now what?
Geez louise...c'mon now....
Fast Willie's racing tires.... 75-yard Super Bowl record TD run!!! Wahoooo!!
Leavin' 'em in the dust...he's hittin' about a 4.2 40 here....
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