Super Bowl/Refs Give Steelers the Super Bowl

[jbx182]

at least now, people won't call me crazy when i complain about pissberg getting all the calls.

[cincy9275]

if judges and congress men get payoffs you think a couple of guys that are nobodies would be above taking a payoff hell no

[Stripes]

if judges and congress men get payoffs you think a couple of guys that are nobodies would be above taking a payoff hell no

Yes, I do think that. Judges and congressmen are corrupted turds. Football refs have as much respect for the game as anyone else, and are certainly of greater character than your average politician.

[Whur CHad At?]

Subpoena the NFL to Congress for and= investigation of alleged fixed games!!!!!!!!

[ArmyBengal]

OK, let me start off with I'm not happy that the Steelers won the SB !!! I think the officiating was poor, but no way a fix. I think the OPI call on Jackson was OPI as he held out his arm and stopped the DB's progress to make a play on the ball. I think the holding call on Locklear was complete BS and I think regardless of if Ben was in or not, 99.9% of the time, they will punch it in on the next attempt from 1 inch out. Now to really catch some s**t, I will say yes we beat the Steelers with Carson, but honestly don't see us going in Indy or Denver and winning with the defense we sported week in and week out. The Steelers defense is still far superior to the Bengals D and face it, Ben Rottenfurberger didn't win s**t, he just didn't lose it either. I don't see us in the Big Game next year either, I'm thinking 2007. That being said, feel free to fire away !!!

WHODEY !!!

[sodikart]

Thought i would never see this on a steeler website but they are saying Jackson did score a touchdown when they thought he went out of bounds. They said the play should of been reviewed by the booth since it was under 2 min. Some of them say some dumb stuff but heres the link...kinda interesting...

http://p087.ezboard.com/fstillersforumfrm2...cID=18717.topic

[HoosierCat]

The core of the controversy is a 2002 rule change. Here's a piece by Clayton from back then:

http://espn.go.com/nfl/columns/clayton_john/1354105.html

the key bit:

A player will be ruled in bounds if he touches the pylon at the goal line before going out of bounds. For example, a pass would be considered complete if one foot touches the pylon and the other foot is in bounds.

That "for example" is exactly what occured in the game. The question is, is Clayton's example correct? He made that up; that wasn't from the NFL release detailing the rule adjustments. See: http://www.nfl.com/news/story/5153800

A player no longer can be ruled out of bounds when he touches a pylon unless he already touched the boundary line.

As Florio over at profootballtalk notes, that rule doesn't say 1 foot down + 1 foot on the pylon = in bounds, just that contact with the pylon doesn't = going out of bounds. So Clayton was wrong. Well...maybe. I could see a situation where that would apply, say a receiver is stretching out for the ball and his chest hits the pylon before both feet touch in bounds...but I honestly can't recall a case where I've see a guy ruled out because he touched the pylon.

Bottom line is I can't say if Clayton is or isn't right, because it's a poorly written rule. The NFL should clairify it this offseason.

[Jet23]

OK, let me start off with I'm not happy that the Steelers won the SB !!! I think the officiating was poor, but no way a fix. I think the OPI call on Jackson was OPI as he held out his arm and stopped the DB's progress to make a play on the ball. I think the holding call on Locklear was complete BS and I think regardless of if Ben was in or not, 99.9% of the time, they will punch it in on the next attempt from 1 inch out. Now to really catch some s**t, I will say yes we beat the Steelers with Carson, but honestly don't see us going in Indy or Denver and winning with the defense we sported week in and week out. The Steelers defense is still far superior to the Bengals D and face it, Ben Rottenfurberger didn't win s**t, he just didn't lose it either. I don't see us in the Big Game next year either, I'm thinking 2007. That being said, feel free to fire away !!!

WHODEY !!!

I'm with you. I do think the Bengals would have beaten the Steelers, with Carso, but I don't believe they could have slowed Denver's running game. And if they had played the Colts, no way they are able to shake Manning (with pressure) like Pittsburgh did. I'm just keeping it real, it's all about match-ups.

[CT Stiller]

I'll be honest, there's no way you could overturn that call - the ball was *very* close if not over the goal line before Roeth hit the ground and had the ball shoved back. No way you could say that the nose of the ball never touched the edge of the white stripe at any point as he fell. Camera angles weren't good enough.

However, the officiating has been terrible in evey other respect. The OPI on Jackson in the endzone was a joke. Holding on the pass down to the 3 couldn't be found. The illegal block on Hasselback when he made a tackle was incomprehensible.

So I'd say the officiating has been terrible on every play *but* that one.

I agree with most of your points except the OPI and holding calls (see http://discuss.pittsburghlive.com/viewtopic.php?t=76865 for the evidence). I don't think there's any way you could possibly NOT make that OPI call. You CAN'T PUSH OFF ON A DEFENSIVE PLAYER. Anyone who knows football knows this. Not only that, but HE DID IT RIGHT IN FRONT OF THE OFFICIAL. The guys who push off and get away with it:

a.) Are smart enough to do it w/o being caught and

b.) Don't normally push off with such force.

I've seen receivers get called for much less contact than that one. If you're a fan of the game and know the rules you saw a push-off right away. The official was reaching for his flag for about 5 seconds, Chris Hope's lobbying had nothing to do with it. The guy actually grabbed the wrong piece of laundry first, then had to reach in and find the flag, which is why it took so long. I have it on TiVo and watched it again.

[HoosierCat]

The guys over at footballoutsiders have a lot of discussion on the poor officiating. This said it pretty well, I thought…

Watching in Boston, with no Pittsburgh fans and no Seattle fans, by the end of the game we were just screaming at the refs. The Locklear call was the worst, as Ian Dembsky pointed out, the Steelers were doing the same “shove” move on Grant Wistrom the entire first half. We started marking down every play where Pittsburgh was holding. When Randle El caught the seven-yard pass on third-and-6, Hartings was yanking on the jersey and shoulder of Darby. On Big Ben’s scramble for a first down, Hines Ward yanked on Trufant’s arm to keep him away from Big Ben.

They say holding happens on every play in the NFL. Every play is a judgment call. Fine, but why should all the iffy judgment calls go one way? You don’t want to think about conspiracies, but it just seemed like for two weeks, the league, ABC/ESPN, the city of Detroit, and the NFL wanted the Seahawks to just go away so the Steelers could have the title, like Seattle wasn’t even in the game.

http://www.footballoutsiders.com/2006/02/0.../audibles/3631/

[CT Stiller]

OK, let me start off with I'm not happy that the Steelers won the SB !!! I think the officiating was poor, but no way a fix. I think the OPI call on Jackson was OPI as he held out his arm and stopped the DB's progress to make a play on the ball. I think the holding call on Locklear was complete BS and I think regardless of if Ben was in or not, 99.9% of the time, they will punch it in on the next attempt from 1 inch out. Now to really catch some s**t, I will say yes we beat the Steelers with Carson, but honestly don't see us going in Indy or Denver and winning with the defense we sported week in and week out. The Steelers defense is still far superior to the Bengals D and face it, Ben Rottenfurberger didn't win s**t, he just didn't lose it either. I don't see us in the Big Game next year either, I'm thinking 2007. That being said, feel free to fire away !!!

WHODEY !!!

You are the one of the most objective fans on here and I agree with everything you say except I did think it was holding. There's visual proof over on the SteelersLive message boards if you'd like to go check it out.

I'd like to say that it's been a fantastic year and believe the Bengals will play well next year. I don't think you'll get the AFCN crown again, though. But I do believe a two-win playoff appearance is in your future and a Super Bowl appearance in 2007 is definitely possible if you don't start drafting bums again

Just think of this: If you're ever a sixth seed, you still have hope for a Super Bowl win! You're welcome...

[CT Stiller]

1st they cheat agaisnt us....

Now they cheat(with help from refs) in Super Bowl.

Cheaters.

My Game MVP: The REFS

They are going to the after party for the Steelers from what I have heard.

I have to say I was extremely amused by this post.

1st they cheat agaisnt us....

Now they cheat(with help from refs) in Super Bowl.

Cheaters.

LOL! You sound like me when I'm playing some 12 year old punk online on Madden NFL 2006!

It was a clean win, guys. The better team won and as much as it hurts, you're going to have to deal with it realistically sooner or later.

[B24]

It was a clean win, guys.

Please tell me you are joking and aren't that delusional.

[CT Stiller]

It was a clean win, guys.

Please tell me you are joking and aren't that delusional.

Oh no, I'm not joking. There were a total of two bad calls in this game, neither of which would have had any effect on the game's outcome. Two bad calls is about average and actually below average for these playoffs. Anyone who calls this a tainted win doesn't know the rules of football and should keep their mouth shut.

All of the other bad call talk is the media trying to stir the pot cause football season is now officially over and they have to start covering hockey and basketball.

[HoosierCat]

It was a clean win, guys.

Please tell me you are joking and aren't that delusional.

Oh no, I'm not joking.

Ah. So the correct answer is: delusional.

[BlackJesus]

[Whur CHad At?]

hahaha I knew Bill Cheated

[BlackJesus]

[Whur CHad At?]

Black Jesus, you are the man.

[CT Stiller]

Ah. So the correct answer is: delusional.

No one can deny there were questionable calls during the game. But before Holmgren and Latte Nation start whining about playing "the guys in the striped shirts as well,'' perhaps a history lesson is in order.

The striped shirts didn't cause tight end Jerramy Stevens to drop four passes. The striped shirts didn't cause the Seahawks defense to give up a Steelers first down on a third-and-28 situation (which later led to the Roethlisberger disputed TD). The striped shirts didn't cause the Seahawks defense to give up the longest touchdown run in Super Bowl history. They also didn't cause Etric Pruitt to sprint up from his safety position, only to be fooled by the trick play that resulted in Randle El's 43-yard TD pass to Ward (and by the way, if everyone knows the Steelers like to run gadget plays near midfield, don't you think the Seahawks knew it too?). Or cause Seahawks quarterback Matt Hasselbeck to throw a killer interception with nearly 11 minutes left in the game and Seattle trailing by only four points.

Enough already with the whining. The Seahawks had their chances. Plenty of them to overcome the Steelers and, if they insist, the refs, too.

Holmgren, who didn't exactly distinguish himself in the waning minutes of both halves, is no doubt suffering some post-Super Bowl anger. Perfectly understandable, especially in front of the thousands who greeted the team upon its return to Seattle. But days, weeks, months from now, when he's able to think more clearly, he'll realize the only people to blame for the loss were wearing Seahawks metallic blue, not black and white.

Gene Wojciechowski is the senior national columnist for ESPN.com. You can contact him at gene.wojciechowski@espn3.com.

Black Jesus, you are the man.

Black Jesus, you need to work on your Photoshop skills.

Ah. So the correct answer is: delusional.

Please explain... Do you honestly believe the game was fixed or otherwise given to the Steelers? Cause if you'd like to look at the game as a whole, I can make plenty of arguments that the Steelers had a lot of non-calls go against them.

[BlackJesus]

[Stickman]

Ah. So the correct answer is: delusional.

No one can deny there were questionable calls during the game. But before Holmgren and Latte Nation start whining about playing "the guys in the striped shirts as well,'' perhaps a history lesson is in order.

The striped shirts didn't cause tight end Jerramy Stevens to drop four passes. The striped shirts didn't cause the Seahawks defense to give up a Steelers first down on a third-and-28 situation (which later led to the Roethlisberger disputed TD). The striped shirts didn't cause the Seahawks defense to give up the longest touchdown run in Super Bowl history. They also didn't cause Etric Pruitt to sprint up from his safety position, only to be fooled by the trick play that resulted in Randle El's 43-yard TD pass to Ward (and by the way, if everyone knows the Steelers like to run gadget plays near midfield, don't you think the Seahawks knew it too?). Or cause Seahawks quarterback Matt Hasselbeck to throw a killer interception with nearly 11 minutes left in the game and Seattle trailing by only four points.

Enough already with the whining. The Seahawks had their chances. Plenty of them to overcome the Steelers and, if they insist, the refs, too.

Holmgren, who didn't exactly distinguish himself in the waning minutes of both halves, is no doubt suffering some post-Super Bowl anger. Perfectly understandable, especially in front of the thousands who greeted the team upon its return to Seattle. But days, weeks, months from now, when he's able to think more clearly, he'll realize the only people to blame for the loss were wearing Seahawks metallic blue, not black and white.

Gene Wojciechowski is the senior national columnist for ESPN.com. You can contact him at gene.wojciechowski@espn3.com.

Black Jesus, you are the man.

Black Jesus, you need to work on your Photoshop skills.

Ah. So the correct answer is: delusional.

Please explain... Do you honestly believe the game was fixed or otherwise given to the Steelers? Cause if you'd like to look at the game as a whole, I can make plenty of arguments that the Steelers had a lot of non-calls go against them.

Man, you're preaching to the choir here... they are so mad and envious there is no way you're going to convince this crowd.... Bengals fans would rather you admitt we cheated and Cower told his team to go out and attach Palmers knee. It's sad, but that's what they want to hear.

[B24]

Man, you're preaching to the choir here... they are so mad and envious there is no way you're going to convince this crowd.... Bengals fans would rather you admitt we cheated and Cower told his team to go out and attach Palmers knee. It's sad, but that's what they want to hear.

Bengal fans aren't the only people thinking this game was called in favor of the Steelers. Seems Steeler fans are the mainly the only ones thinking this game was called right. This game will always be remembered for the officiating.

[HoosierCat]

Ah. So the correct answer is: delusional.

Please explain... Do you honestly believe the game was fixed or otherwise given to the Steelers? Cause if you'd like to look at the game as a whole, I can make plenty of arguments that the Steelers had a lot of non-calls go against them.

Oh, go right ahead. It only makes me laugh harder. Nothing like seeing Steeler fans frantically fanning out on the web defending the refs. Face it: the argument is already lost. But don't believe me, visit any f2fa.com site, for example. You'll find threads galore on how the refs handed Pitt the game. The poll I saw yesterday on msn had a plurality, 43% IIRC, saying the refs were the main reason Pitt won, and a solid majority, about 65% saying they contributed. I watched the game with Jets, Giants, Bills and even Steelers fans, and all of them, even our resident Steeler guy, thought Seattle got jobbed.

But argue away. I need a good laugh.

[Bengals4eva]

I guarantee he will never again work a Super Bowl. Not overturning the TD for Benji was spineless. All he is doing is hiding behind the "call on the field". ABSOLUTELY SPINELESS! You have to be able to make the right call. It was obviously a blown call, and the referee choked under the pressure. Every bounce of the ball seems to being going the Squeelers way for the last 7 weeks.

And that Indy game, where the NFL actually admitted they screwed up, fell outside those 7 weeks right?