Excellent viewpoint on SBXL refs

[paynomind]

Here is the deal - the refs did not single-handedly conspire to screw the Seahawks, and cause them to lose a game they easily could have won without such poor officiating.

But.

The officiating was miserable. There were several missed calls. 70% of the penalties were called on the Seahawks, the second least penalized team in the league.

Did this 'cost them' the game? No. Bad play, sloppy passing, and the single worst 2 minute drill ever, twice. At the end of each half. That cost them the game.

But the refs were terrible, and DID influence the outcome. Would the game have gone differently if the phantom offensive pass interferece call not reversed a TD? Maybe. Probably. Who knows. Can't tell. But it, and many others should not have been called in my mind.

The refs screwed up their job, which is to get out of the way, let the teams play the game, and only intervene if someone is illegally giving themselves an advantage, outside of the rules.

Like it or not, this SuperBowl will always be tainted by poor officiating.

The Seahawks do not need to rely on that, harp on it, nor even metion it. Everyone knows its true, without them bringing it up. Holmgren and associates need to go practice the two minute drill, practice calling more plays for the league MVP, get Jeremy Stevens some stickum and some earplugs, and teach safetys how to take the right angle to chace down a RB or a WR who got behind them.

Seattle got a raw deal, but they didn't get screwed. This was a winnable game, and they didnt MAKE it happen.

But the refs did blow.

[CJR]

Well put.

[pcgd]

Would the game have gone differently if the phantom offensive pass interferece call not reversed a TD? Maybe. Probably. Who knows. Can't tell. But it, and many others should not have been called in my mind.

Did the refs stop the seahawks on the play before that call? What about the play after? Or the 40 other plays that weren't touchdowns called back?

[BuddyLane]

paynomind,

Okay lets say we give the Seahawks the touchdown on the "Phantom pass interference" Since you seem to like that one so much. Now the score is 21 - 17 Steelers. The Seahawks still lose. I think you should rewatch that play by the way.......it was pass intereference. In order for it to be a phantom call, there would have to be no one there for the Wide Out to mess with, and there was.

[Mr. no funny nickname]

The Refs didn't keep Seattle from winning.

You're right, they just stopped them from getting enough points.

Two, possibly three scores taken away on bad calls. Not good that 41% of ESPN voters said they will remember Super Bowl XL for poor officiating

And the other 59% were Steelers fans.

[slapshot]

The officiating was miserable. There were several missed calls. 70% of the penalties were called on the Seahawks, the second least penalized team in the league.

So. What.

It's not the job of the referees to remember the number of infractions each team has committed (although it is documented). If the officials start keeping that in mind, then every game will have an even number of penalties called no both teams, regardless of how many actually occur.

In basketball, coaches always yell at the refs to "call it both ways". Well, the reality is, some teams commit more fouls than the other team. It happens. It's called lack of discipline.

Yes, the officiating in the Super Bowl was subpar. That might happen when you have an all-star crew together, instead of people who have worked together all season.

But maybe Seattle committed a lot of those infractions because the team was nervous? First time in the Super Bowl, a lot of teams get swallowed up by the moment. Even the most disciplined team can get swept away under the spotlight once in a while.

[paynomind]

The Steelers had fewer passing yards, less time of possession, fewer total yards, and more turnovers... yet, they had 11 more points. That doesn't happen often. So one logically looks for why. Special teams? No. Defensive scoring? No.

So, what could it have been, that made the statistically better team have less points? Sure, two missed field goals would help. But not for 11 points. What could have been the difference? How about horrible officiating?

I'm not saying the Sehawks played a perfect game. Hell, i'm not even saying they looked good, cause they didn't. I'm saying that bad calls took the yardage away, and took the Seahawks emotionally out of the game. That shouldn't happen. The players should rise above, and win anyway. But in a sloppy, horribly played game, small things like ref calls can make the difference.

Are Pittsburgh fans proud of their season, or of this game? Hopefully just the result being a W, cause they looked pathetic. One trick play any defense should have seen coming, and one inexplicble long TD run. Thats it. Thats all they had. The QB had a 22 rating. Horrible. Pathetic. But a win is a win, so they are Super Bowl champs.

Look, everyone...

I am just as sick of reading "did the refs make the seahawks suck" as much as you guys are sick of reading "the refs effed up the Super Bowl with their crap calls."

The point is, three things sucked about the game: The Steelers, The Seahawks and the refs. I expect more out of the refs.

Maybe we sould just close the threads.

[See Red]

The Steelers had fewer passing yards, less time of possession, fewer total yards, and more turnovers... yet, they had 11 more points. That doesn't happen often. So one logically looks for why. Special teams? No. Defensive scoring? No.

So, what could it have been, that made the statistically better team have less points? Sure, two missed field goals would help. But not for 11 points. What could have been the difference? How about horrible officiating?

When the Seahawks had a bad drive, they were still able to move the ball. The Steelers defense was very 'bend but not break'. When the Steelers had a bad drive, they could move the ball enough to even get a first down.

As for the argument that Seattle is one of the least penalized teams in the league, I'm not buying that. Like JP said, being on the National Spotlight in your teams first ever Super Bowl can change that. Just like how Matt Hasselback, a Pro Bowl QB, can become so unable to throw the ball with any accuracy or how Jerramy Stevens, a normally solid TE, can become unable to hang onto the ball.

[pcgd]

The Steelers had fewer passing yards, less time of possession, fewer total yards, and more turnovers... yet, they had 11 more points.

The bears did it like 12 times this year

[paynomind]

Special teams? No. Defensive scoring? No.

You are right.. wonder how the Bears managed it..

[infrared41]

But the refs were terrible, and DID influence the outcome. Would the game have gone differently if the phantom offensive pass interferece call not reversed a TD? Maybe. Probably. Who knows. Can't tell.

Would Seattle have played a better game if not for the bad calls? I won't say absolutely yes but I know this much is certain. They would have been in a much better position to play better without those calls. There's no doubt about that. How many times can a team get screwed before they just say it? Apparently the answer is five. Let Seattle keep the ball at the two after Stevens catch and they don't need the horrific two-minute drill. Let Jackson's TD stand like it should have it's a game then who knows. We can't say "who knows" when we can plainly see that (by your own admission) those calls did indeed affect the outcome of the game. Yes the game definitely goes differently. The result may have been the same but at least it would have been a fair fight.