StupidBowl XL: The Screwing Of The Seattle Seahawks

[Wrathchild]

How can you win a Superbowl or even a damn game of checkers when EVERYTHING is against you? The Seahawks simply quit halfway during the second quarter during SuperBore XL and you cant blame them! Everytime they had big plays some old piece of shit dressed in a striped shirt tossed a flag at it!!! I mean you can be Barry Sanders or Jerry Rice but if some zebrascum is not gonna let you play then youre gonna lose. My 2 cents? Detriot was 90% Steeler fans and football wanted the Steelers to win so the Commish had a meeting with the refs and probably said something like "Watch the Seahawks closely" meaning make it as hard for them to win and boy they did their job well. The Seahawks were victims of a marketing conspiracy pure and simple. One day I think well hear more about how and why this screwjob happened.

 

[reflexology414]

my thoughts

I am neither a Steelers nor Seahwaks fan. However, I am a lifelong fan of football, and I truly feel both teams were robbed. The lousy officiating tainted the game, certainly enough to influence the outcome.

Seattle and their fans have every right to feel they were robbed -- they quite arguably were. For the Steelers, their "victory" was tarnished. It will never be known if they truly won the game. At best, Super Bowl XL should go in the books with an asterisk next to it.








I can't even accept that game as a Super Bowl.

 

[Wrathchild]

I am neither a Steelers nor Seahwaks fan. However, I am a lifelong fan of football, and I truly feel both teams were robbed. The lousy officiating tainted the game, certainly enough to influence the outcome.

Seattle and their fans have every right to feel they were robbed -- they quite arguably were. For the Steelers, their "victory" was tarnished. It will never be known if they truly won the game. At best, Super Bowl XL should go in the books with an asterisk next to it.

Yeah thats how I look at Ben Rothisbergers SuperBowl "win" needed to make a good QB take him to the next level...an asterik besides that stat. The game just left a bad taste in everyones mouth it seemed. Something has to be done about this over officiating. There seemed a flag on every play last season. Especially on kickoff returns....my God!!!! Im glad Tagliabutthead retired. Maybe we can get a real football guy as commish now.

 

[toyou444]

Most of the "bad" calls were imagined. Bad calls went both ways. The Steelers made more big plays and scored more points. Seattle had 6 points called back by penalty adn that was a good call, especially because he happened right in front of the official.


http://www.youtube.com/?v=JhfP_49vFPk
http://www.youtube.com/?v=q3bIpbR4l-Q
http://www.youtube.com/?v=9cI-g3-ZGrU
http://www.youtube.com/?v=WzA96vmHVfY
http://www.youtube.com/?v=S1cPnZqVFy0
http://www.youtube.com/?v=62xB-tQrUgA


Yes, I am a Steeler fan. But I've seen the explanation by the NFL head of officiating and it is what it is. Like the original poster said, Seattle seemed to quit. Plus they screwed up a lot too.

~ toyou

 

[Wrathchild]

Most of the "bad" calls were imagined. Bad calls went both ways. The Steelers made more big plays and scored more points. Seattle had 6 points called back by penalty adn that was a good call, especially because he happened right in front of the official.


http://www.youtube.com/?v=JhfP_49vFPk
http://www.youtube.com/?v=q3bIpbR4l-Q
http://www.youtube.com/?v=9cI-g3-ZGrU
http://www.youtube.com/?v=WzA96vmHVfY
http://www.youtube.com/?v=S1cPnZqVFy0
http://www.youtube.com/?v=62xB-tQrUgA


Yes, I am a Steeler fan. But I've seen the explanation by the NFL head of officiating and it is what it is. Like the original poster said, Seattle seemed to quit. Plus they screwed up a lot too.

~ toyou

Darrell Jackson caught a touchdown period. He separated himself from the reciever but not enough to have it nullified and everyone knows it. If youre gonna call everyones favorite call "pass interference" on that play then really its just a race to the ball and the DB and WR simply cant even slightly make contact. And the phantom holding calls for the MVP of the league Shaun Alexander were sickening. Since Tagliabutthead wanted the Steelers to win why did he just make the broken down, overratted Bus the 2005 MVP? At least we could have a good laugh at watching him run like a senior citizen with water in his knee!

 

[toyou444]

Darrell Jackson caught a touchdown period. He separated himself from the reciever but not enough to have it nullified and everyone knows it. If youre gonna call everyones favorite call "pass interference" on that play then really its just a race to the ball and the DB and WR simply cant even slightly make contact. And the phantom holding calls for the MVP of the league Shaun Alexander were sickening. Since Tagliabutthead wanted the Steelers to win why did he just make the broken down, overratted Bus the 2005 MVP? At least we could have a good laugh at watching him run like a senior citizen with water in his knee!

The rule says the reciever cannot extend his arm fully when getting seperation. Does it happen and not get called? Yep. Did he do it directly in front of the referee? Yep. That was the correct call.

Fankly if Seattle would have relied on the run more they probably would have won the game. Alexander was having a good game until Holmgren decided to pass everytime they needed a first down.

~ toyou

 

[primetime]

this topic again? oh come one. anyone who watched that game objectively (i really didnt care who won that game) could see that the calls were legit. the Hasselbeck penalty was horrendous, but the Jackson interference was legit, the holding calls were legit and Rothliesberger (sp) TD was touchy.

Ben's TD was upheld because there wasnt overwhelming evidence to overturn it. that call was the type of call that wasnt going to be overturned. had the referee marked it down at the 1 inch line, replay would have upheld the call. it was a matter of the referee's judgement. now, of course Seahawk fans are crying over it, keep on crying.

Jackson's pass intereference was LEGIT. watch the play again and again and again. the key is the defensive back's feet. how can the defensive back "hop backwards" if he wasnt pushed. you do not "hop" backwards naturally when you are playing corner in the endzone. look at Jackson's arm. he extended it to get separation. they key is the defender's feet. the call is LEGIT.

the holding calls were legit. go back, watch the film and you can see that the Pittsburgh defenders were held. man, those calls were legit and i kept wondering why people were complaining.

the Head of NFL officiating was on the NFL Network's (greatest channel on the face of the Earth) show "Total Access" and he broke the tape down on the calls. slow motion, rewind, closeups, everything. he broke it down and he supported the holding calls and the pass intereference call. he did admit that the penalty on Hasselbeck was in error. that one should have never happened. folks, the referees didnt cost the Seahawks the Super Bowl. the Seahawks cost the Seahawks the championship. they had the opportunity to win and they didnt. who's fault is that? Seattle's....

 

[slacker2114]

Damn, prime, that was quite possibly the most coherent arguement from either side I have ever heard on this subject. The sad part is there are far too many people out there who want to get the whole 'conspiracy theory' thing going. I heard it when the Pats won Super Bowl XXXVI (the 9/11 theory), I heard it when Dallas beat Pittsburgh in Super Bowl XXX (the O'Donnel took a bribe theory) and when Dallas was dominating in the 90's (the Jerry Jones is buying Super Bowls theory).

I see it like this....there are only 2 types of people that were rooting for the Steelers: Pittsburgh fans and Bettis fans. Everyone else that actually cared who won was rooting for Seattle, simply because it was their first try. The mentality is 'Pittsburgh already has 4. Let someone else win'. So when Pitt wins, right away it's a conspiracy.

Let's look at the regular season for a moment. Pittsburgh was a dominant team until injuries started getting them, especially Big Ben. then his first game back, still not 100%, they played arguably the best team in the NFL at that point, the Colts. Next wekk, they lose what I considered one of the best games of the regular season against the Bengals. Then they go on a tear, regaining their dominance from earlier in the season and go to the playoffs. They proved they had what it takes.

On the other side is Seattle. The other 3 teams in their division all finished under .500, which was basically six victories right there. In all honesty, the NFC, for the most part, has been rather weak the last few years. I take nothing away from the Seahawks. They are a great team. But it's not difficult to establish dominance in the NFC right now, though that could change this coming season.

The bottom line is, the Steelers played as a TEAM and pulled thru while the Seahawks simply self-destructed. There is no tarnish on the Steelers win.

And for all you conspiracy freaks, I came up with a couple you may want to jump on and you can even claim for yourself:
1) If Mark Martin wins the Nextel Cup, it's because he's retiring and they wanted him to get a championship.
2) LSU beat Duke on Thursday night because of Hurricane Katrina.

Those are freebies for you. Run off and start those rumors while you still can. And do all us REAL sports fan a favor....stop pretending to be football/baseball/racing etc fans and take your conspiracies elsewhere. I hear the political forum loves people like you.

 

[Wrathchild]

Joe Shmoe Out For Season With Torn ACL

Too many injuries in football anyway. I mean an eagerly anticipated game between the Eagles and Rams turned out to be Mike McMahon vs. Jaime Martin!!! Also pick up the flags guys, this is gonna be touch fooball soon! Seeing old shitheads throw yellow flags which is all the game is degenerating to is tedious. If youre going to have about 65% of the marquee players out by mid-season it gets boring. Perhaps the NFL should just fold like the XFL or have lingere football instead of epic games like McMahon vs. Martin. No wonder why New York is a baseball town and theres no NFL team in L.A.

 

[slacker2114]

Ok, I tend to agree there...there is FAR too much flag-throwing going on. And the way I see it is the more flags thrown, the more chances the refs have to make bad calls. Granted, it's their job and some things are too blatant to let slide (though sometimes they do), but it has gotten out of control the last couple years.

As for injuries, they happen no matter what game you play. And it sucks ass when you expect a good game between two good teams and one or both is missing star players. But what can you do? Injuries can happen any time and anywhere to anybody. Fact of life, really.

Wow....I actually agree with Wrath on something. Anyone else hear galloping horses?

 

[Wrathchild]

How many times did an NFL team return a kickoff and there not be a flag on the play? Probably in the single digits!!! I just dont understand if the fans want to see the players play and not hold the game up for a defender breathing on a reciever and getting called for PI amidst the other ridiculous zebra calls why dont those old farts just keep the hankys in their pockets. Football is too overofficiated by a long shot. I wish Tagliabue the man responsible for this silly, sanitized NFL we have would be posessed by an evil spirit like my sig pic and spend the rest of eternity imprisoned by his own rules having the demon throw yellow hankies at him! I hate Paul Tagliabue and if he ever shows his ugly face around im just watching baseball and thats it. Bud Selig looks fairer and smarter (yeesh!) in comparison.

 

[tickletoy3]

Jackson's pass intereference was LEGIT. watch the play again and again and again. the key is the defensive back's feet. how can the defensive back "hop backwards" if he wasnt pushed. you do not "hop" backwards naturally when you are playing corner in the endzone. look at Jackson's arm. he extended it to get separation. they key is the defender's feet. the call is LEGIT.

It's called acting, and every NFL player who can do it to get a flag thrown when they know they have been burned will try and pull it off. Kickers, punters especially and yes QB's if they get a roughing call in their favor. And yes especially wide receivers and defensive backs. Remember the famous Lynn Swann tripping call in Super Bowl 13? Trust me, the defensive back in this play knew EXACTLY what he was doing. He got his flag to prove it.

This wasn't just a simple play and one you throw away. It was a touchdown play - in the biggest game of the year. It completely demoralized and crushed the Seahawks and took away any momentum they might have had at that point. It wasn't 'just another play'.

Every Steeler player to date has avoided the issue of the calls and hidden behind the refs did what they had to do. That alone says something. On the other hand, Seattle and their coaches looked like immature children blaming the refs for the loss. Fans? Yes we can do it and get by with it. But players and coaches look totally unprofessional and immature doing it.

The biggest thing I give credit to Pittsburgh for is yes, they did plain out defeat the mighty Colts. No if, ands, or buts about it, the Colts got their butts kicked that day.

They purposely took out Palmer and everyone knows it. It almost assured them a spot to play the Colts. Say what you about it takes a team to win, offense, defense, blah blah, blah.. we all know that. But most ANY TEAM in the league will crumble without their starting QB. That's a freebie. There's a reason he's the starting QB and the other guy sits the bench. The win over Seattle was marred with murky calls and was simply an ugly Super Bowl. Nowhere near the caliber of past Super Bowls involving the Steelers.

And yes, to this day I STILL say someone or some organization paid off O'Donnel. Either that or he thought Larry Brown was wearing a black jersey that day, considering that last interception he made there wasn't a Steeler jersey within 15 yards.

And really I don't give a crap about the dirty Steelers, the Seattle Seagulls or whatever crappy bird they are, the Bungals or the Manning horseshoes. I just want to see a good, clean game with a decisive winner. But in any sport that's pretty hard to find these days.

 

[primetime]

acting? acting? man, what footage were you looking at? i think it is impossible for a defensive back to "hop backwards" in an instant because he is thinking "uh-oh, i got beat, let me fake a completely unnatural movement for a man who wasnt touched in a split second". dude, watch the footage again. look at Jackson's arm, look at the defensive back's feet. that call was completely legit.

as for Steeler players avoiding the issue of calls, why SHOULD THEY ADDRESS IT? they won. they dont care. if i was a Steelers player, what am i supposed to say? "the refs were wrong in calling penalties against the SeaHawks, we really deserved to lose that game." c'mon man, if i am a Steeler, the last thing on my mind is opinions on the officiating on a game i won. i'm too busy kissing the Vince Lombardi trophy.

as for purposely taking out Palmer. if that was the case, why not purposely take out Manning? they had AMPLE opportunities to take him out, considering they constantly blitzed and sacked him. but no, Bill Cowher and crew sat in their locker room and said "yeah, we need to take Palmer out. he is the only guy on the planet that can beat us! so Kimo, we need you to take out Palmer, despite the fact he has never played in a playoff game before." ask yourself, why not take out Manning, who has already proven that he is a GREAT quarterback. plus, look at the reaction of the Bengals offensive lineman who let Kimo hit Palmer. if Palmer was "purposely" taken out, it would have looked that way and the lineman would have been fighting Kimo. but no, he didnt. i cant believe you actually thought the hit was on purpose.

as for your theory on Neil O'Donnell, i dont think he was paid, but his interceptions to Larry Brown were pretty wild. i remember asking "who are you throwing to?" those were some real bad INTs.

officiating will always be criticized. which is why i will never be a referee. like they say, if fans dont know who was refereeing the game, then that is a good official.

 

[Goodieluver]

It was crappy officiating that gave the pats the win with the brady "incomplete pass" and nobody really complained for a while

 

[Stevereeno]

The Jerome Bettis retirement party was great; however, it would have been better if football was played during the past Superbowl.

 

[scarface786]

I love how wrath described bettis as broken down. Now i agree 100% that he is no where near the level he was at earlier in his career, but i guess this disgruntled seattle fanboy missed bettis blowing up brian urlacher to get a touchdown and running straight through the bears "awesome defense" this year. thanks for the laugh!

 

[german]

I just love fans of losing teams having a major cry about bad calls, hey I'm of them and what I'm talking about happened long before the last Superbowl and I'm not the only Raider fan still bringing it up and waving their fist about it.

My point is that all it does is bring more meaning into the next time the teams meet whether it be the regular season or playoffs. I remember the next game between the Raiders and the pats it had the same feeling as a rivalry game, that when the Raiders played like the Raiders of old and did some smacking of their own on the pats.

It adds another dimension in both franchises history and thats all it is; history. The Seahawks nor the Raiders wont get the rings but it doesn't hurt to bring some passion into games.

Kust

 

[falconfan]

Even if seattle was screwed the steelers would still won the superbowl.



P.S Does anyone watch 24?