Hi, all of you Seahawk fans and apologists. Please stop your whining. Seattle played poorly, Pittsburgh played poorly, and the refs made some bad calls. This isn’t the first time in the history of pro football – or even the first time this season – that these kinds of things have happened.
The Steelers made the big plays and Seattle had some big breakdowns.
Without going into a whole dissertation-sized refutation of what’s been posted here and been shouted out over radio and television talk-show airwaves, here’s some things to remember.
1) The refs didn’t miss any field goals.
2) The refs didn’t throw any horrendous interceptions.
3) The refs weren’t responsible for Seattle’s gross mismanagement of time at the end of the first half.
4) The refs didn’t stop Seattle from running the quick game offense that had Pittsburgh on their heels early in the game. Nor were they responsible for some questionable play calling.
5) The refs didn’t drop any passes.
6) The refs didn’t take bad tackling angles, pursuit angles, or display bad technique on Willie Parker’s game-breaking 75-yard touchdown run off of a basic trap play.
7) The refs didn’t allow the Steelers to convert on a third and 28, down to the 3-yard line.
8) The refs weren’t fooled by a reverse pass for a long touchdown.
9) The refs had nothing to do with Seattle’s lack of points during their early game domination.
Rather than focus on the officiating – which is a loser’s lament – focus on all the bad things that the Seahawks did.
1) Matt Hasselbeck was terrible and frequently was out of control. At key moments he made huge mistakes.
2) Jerramy “Butter Mitts” Stevens dropped three passes and two of them could have changed the game. Be pissed at him for shooting off his mouth pre-game and then not backing it up. The only thing he should drop that he didn't drop in the Super Bowl is the spelling of his first name.
3) Mike Holmgren’s team didn’t look to be prepared when the pressure of the game was most intense. Question his play calling and his game preparation. He’s not only a sour puss looking guy, with his “boo-hoo we had to fight the refs” crying he’s a big baby, as well. Show a little class.
4) The defense blew it. Three huge defensive breakdowns cost the Seahawks the game. The third and long, the 75-yard touchdown run and the reverse pass touchdown. This would be bad in a high school game. In the Super Bowl it’s killer.
Article comments
— go to most recent comments1 - bhw
Heh, heh, heh. Love "the refs didn't" list.
2 - Anna
Sore winner, hm?
3 - Douglas Mays
Yeah, shit, it was a game that could have gone either way. The team with the least mistakes won. The bad press thing is just for the media to use for something to write about.
If both teams keep it together we'll be seeing both of them in Miami next year. Both better teams.
Who knows what the deal is with the ref's. No doubt, bad calls were made but the Hawks sure won enough games this year with the same weird call factor. A conspiracy!!!??? Yeah, that's it.
Anyway, the Stones lived up to the hype...
4 - tenoris
Get your story correct. Seahawks fans aren't the ones doing all the big complaining nor writing the stories. Its coming out of the east coast. NFL nation is making the complaint and shouting foul. Blaming the Sehawks is a cop out because you can make it seem like the whiners are bias. If you do a blog and want some integrity, put the real deal on the table and make your case against the NFL nation, and not the Seahawks fan.
5 - Jeff
You obviously don't know what constitutes a penalty. When Skip Bayless, the Seahawks biggest critic, admits that the Seahawks penalties were a "fraud" and that Seattle should have won the game, then you know it was bad. Even Big Ben admitted his TD was not a TD. What more do you want. Sorry you can't enjoy your victory in the Super Bull, but it's not the Seahawks fault, blame the refs...whose leader is from Pittsburgh.
6 - RogerMDillon
Name one other SuperBowl where this many bad calls affected the outcome of the game. Paying no attention to the horrendous officiating is the fool's lament.
"Matt Hasselbeck was terrible and frequently was out of control. At key moments he made huge mistakes."
Yeah, like blocking and tackling a guy at the same time.
"the goal line official had the best look at Roethlisberger's touchdown and the replay didn't show anything to make the call look bad."
you mean the official who was going to mark the ball within inches until he saw the ball break the the plane after Ben was already on the ground?
I wonder what Ben, who had a closer look, thinks about the situation. From the Letterman show website from last night's appearance:
"Ben says he didn't think he got in but wasn't going to argue with the referee when he called it a touchdown."
I guess Ben should shut up as well.
7 - Ryan
None of you retards are going to ruin this for me. WE ARE THE SUPERBOWL CHAMPS AND WE KNOCKED OF THE AFC #1,2,3 AND THE NFC #1. No team has ever accomplised this and the best NFL franchise in history stepped up. GOOOOOOO STEELERS!!!
8 - Justin Berry
I am by no means a seahawks fan but without the "penalties" the outcome would have been drastically different.
True the seahawks played in typically poor seahawks fashion but Pitssburg played worse. In my opinion Seattle won the game in spite of crappy play, they were screwed by the calls.
9 - sal m
to justin who wrote:
"I am by no means a seahawks fan but without the "penalties" the outcome would have been drastically different."
i say:
without the turnovers and defensive breakdowns, the penalties wouldn't have mattered.
and to the rest of you:
i love how all you guys harp on the refs and yet NOT ONCE has anyone owned up to the fact that the seahawks made mistakes that had nothing to do with officiating. see the list in the original post.
seattle's defensive breakdowns are inexcusible and yet i don't see one of you cry-baby seahawk fans/syncophants talking about them.
the funny thing is that most of the same people who are saying the refs screwed the seahawks said the refs tried to screw the steelers in the colt game.
back then the prevailing conspiracy theory wisdom was that the league wanted peyton and his boys in the Super Bowl and were working against pittsburgh.
the reason the steelers beat the colts was that the steelers made fewer mistakes. the bad officiating didn't hurt the steelers because they did less to hurt themselves. this is axiomatic in all of sports...don't leave the game in the officials hands.
but don't address the realities of sports as they pertain in the super bowl, continue to rant and rave like irrational beasts roaming in a fantasy world. keep trying to convince yourselves that the officials took something away from the seahawks.
10 - sal m
to tenoris who wrote:
"Get your story correct. Seahawks fans aren't the ones doing all the big complaining nor writing the stories. Its coming out of the east coast. NFL nation is making the complaint and shouting foul. "
i ask:
is coach holmgren part of the east coast nfl nation? is he not a seahawks fan? those who call into sports talk shows identifying themselves as seahawk fans and stating their position that their team was screwed are somehow not seahawk fans?
just what are you talking about??? i've listened to seahawk fans complain all day...i saw the sign that read "refs 21 seahawks 10." before you bring the credibility of this blog into the discusion i suggest that YOU get your facts straight. although your anonymity gives you great cover to post nonsense try to have a little credibility.
11 - Vic in Seattle
The Hawks were playing great ball until they realized the other team had 5 extra players! It's all political, after Holmgren's comments about the zebras a few weeks prior, they had it out for him. And I heard that one of the refs used to ref for a high school that one of the Steelers went to. Well, there you have it! Now I get it. So refs . . . are you going to come after me too. Maybe tell my boss to fire me! hahahahaha
12 - Sports Bettor
I am a Jets fan.
Seattle was not good overcome the refs. This was something that Pittsburgh did (and should not have had to do) in Indy.
These are the results from an ESPN poll that had about 160,000 votes. 125,000 ESPN users watched this game and saw absurd calls repeatedly go against Seattle.
3) Did the officiating in Sunday's game unfairly favor one team?
78.1% Unfairly favored the Steelers
16.6% The right calls were made
5.2% Unfairly favored the Seahawks
Do I think that there was bias penalties called in this game? Obviously.
Will I ever look at the NFL in the same way? Definitely not.
Yes, I’m still a fan, but I watch wrestling too.
13 - Sports Bettor
Seattle had more yards, better time of posession, and turned the ball over less (turnovers = huge mistakes).
Meanwhile, one of the least penalized teams in the regular season lost 161 yards on penalties (70+91 in call backs). I say Seattle got screwed.
14 - sal m
sports bettor/jets fan:
you have my condolences...but things are looking up, the jets were able to get rid of their coach and gm so they can't be any worse than they were last year...
to continue....last time i looked, gaining more yards, having the greater time of possession and committing fewer turnovers doesn't result in scoring points. and once again, huge, enormous, incredible, inexcusable and horrendous defensive breakdowns will kill you...make three of these kinds of mistakes in a big game and you have no chance.
yes, seattle did get screwed...by their team.
15 - Matthew T. Sussman
Seahawk fans are taking it rather *cough* well.
16 - Ryan
Everyone also forgets the Jerramy Stevens fumble that was not called. And Hasslebacks fumble that was called a non fumble, because Larry Foote "grazed" the QB. What about the mysterious pass interference on Heath Miller. BOTTOM LINE - IF YOU CANT STOP A 3RD AND 28 THEN SHUT UP!
17 - The Fifth Dentist
I'm not a Seahawks fan. In fact, I don't particularly like them or that pussy Holmgren. As an impartial observer let me say that Seattle got hosed. I have never a seen a Superbowl officiated so one-sidedly. There were three critical calls without which Pittsburgh wouldn't have won: (1) offensive PI against Darrell Jackson (2) holding on Sean Locklear negating completion to 3 yard line (3) Roethlisberger phantom touchdown. In addtion, the chop block call against Hasselbeck when he was tackling the guy on the interception return is the single most ridiculous piece of officiating in the history of professional football. Pittsburgh is the luckiest and least diserving superbowl champion since the colts in Superbowl V. Admittedly, if Jeramy Stevens could catch, Seattle would have won anyway. That just shows how one-sided the game was in Seattle's favor.
18 - rsv
I would have rather seen the Steelers beat the Seahawks convincingly. The Refs definitely controlled the momentum of the game. Unfortunately, I cannot respect the Steeler's victory. The NFL didn't want Seattle to win and they made sure of it. But on a lighter note, I do agree that Heinz Ward was the MVP of the Steelers, well-deserved.
19 - Mark Saleski
wow, this is almost as enlightening as yer average politics thread.
20 - Douglas Mays
Interesting the response this thread is getting. I mean, I am a hardcore Seattleite. And the officiating had some errors. I'm bummed at Josh Brown missing 2 field goals he should of nailed. That is a momentum changer right there.
Overall, it was a good game that always stayed within 2 scoring opportunities. Each team put up a few big plays (Pittsburgh made 2 more than the Hawks).
Sure, in town the non-sports experienced are boo-hoo-ing, sort of. The suicide rate in this town is higher than average, so maybe it is just an excuse. Otherwise, the general local public are just taking it in stride. It was a well matched game. Was not a blow out.
But it is validating that people everywhere are questioning the officiating. Is there a can of worms to be opened? I dunno, both teams meet in Miami next year. That will be a good game.
21 - J
I wasn't a Seahawks fan until Sunday. How can anyone say that they "lost" that game. That's like handicapping them 14 points and telling them to stop complaining about it.
Seattle made lots of mistakes -- but not as many as the Stealers, and not nearly as many as the refs claimed they made.
The calls were huge. The calls were multiple. The calls directly affected points. The calls all went against Seattle. How can that be explained?
Giants fan.
22 - Gabrielle
Ya we seahawks fans have said things to back up are team but thats was most people would do...if the steelers lost the steelers fans would be saying the same shit we are saying to back up there team...And also we are talking about the game that happent in 2006 not any other game! if you dont want to here all or are so called whining then dont read about it!!!
23 - JUNK DOG YARD
No team is good enough to over come wrong calls.
The timing of the bad calls made me wonder what is going on.
The push in the endzone...c'mon...the next the receiver knocked the defender down in the endzone and no flag.
24 - Ryan
Junk Yard Dog,
The steelers overcame bad calls in Indy, played really well, and still almost lost.
25 - sal m
i'd like to thank all of you who have continued to prove my point, especially J.
defense defense defense...the seahawks "d" blew it...
and good call ryan...jerramy stevens clearly fumbled as he caught the ball had position and made a football move and yet there was barely a replay of it. hasselbeck's fumble was a rules interpretation that could have gone either way. the refs probably gave it to them so the seahawks could stay in the game....commish tags probably called down and told the official to let seattle keep it... ;)
with regards to big ben's td, those of you complaining don't understand the replay rule...the replay didn't show anything to indicate that he didn't get in the end zone.