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First, an apology: Seahawks fans, I know I’ve been telling you to get over the calls that went against you in Super Bowl XL, but the flurry of flags Sunday night brought it all back, and now I once again feel your pain. Granted, many of the penalties against the Cardinals were deserved, and ultimately I don’t think the officiating cost either Arizona or Seattle a Super Bowl victory. Yet after Sunday, I can totally see how an objective observer would wonder whether the Steelers have some cosmic, unconscious hold on the hearts and minds of the zebras. Some examples: After Roethlisberger threw an incompletion on first-and-10 from the 50 midway through the third quarter, he was pushed in the back by Dansby, whose momentum appeared to carry him into the quarterback. The refs called a personal foul. Later that drive, on third-and-goal from the Arizona 9, Big Ben was about to get sacked and chucked the ball toward nobody in what seemed like a logical time for an intentional-grounding call. The officials didn’t flag him, ruling that he was outside the pocket – it looked pretty borderline to me. On the next play, Jeff Reed’s 27-yard field goal attempt, Adrian Wilson unintentionally ran into the holder, Mitch Berger, and a personal foul was called. It may have been legitimate, but things had become so one-sided that from that point on reporters in my section of the press box started conjuring up sarcastic fouls every time the Cards made a play: The defender threw the ballcarrier to the ground, resulting in a 15-yard penalty … Then, midway through the fourth quarter, on second-and-goal from the Pittsburgh 4, Warner threw an underneath pass to halfback Tim Hightower and got absolutely clocked by Harrison. The hit was far more egregious than Dansby’s push of Roethlisberger earlier, but no flag was thrown. Awful. Finally, after Holmes’ game-winning touchdown catch, his celebration – a LeBron James powder-throwing tribute – seemed to violate the rule against using the football as a prop, which could have resulted in a 15-yard penalty that would’ve forced Pittsburgh to kick off from its own 15. I’m not suggesting there was a conspiracy in Pittsburgh’s favor. I do believe, however, that this supposed all-star cast of officials had Ed Hochuli Disease: a tendency to make the game more about them than necessary. There were 11 penalties on the Cards for 106 yards, and seven for 56 on the Steelers.
Now here’s the real diatribe: On the penultimate play of the game, after Warner was hit by Woodley while seemingly trying to throw a pass, the play was ruled a fumble, recovered by Woodley – and the officials acted like they had a table waiting at Mons Venus and needed to get there by 11. For all I know, the play would not have been overturned, and perhaps the replay official was able to determine that conclusively in a very short period. But even if it were only for the sake of appearances, how could the officials not stop the game and go through the process of conducting a formal review? I mean, this is the league that brought you the Tuck Rule, a play whose reversal at the time of the replay review seemed utterly incomprehensible, until Walt Coleman informed us how little we knew about football. Speaking of which, maybe Warner tucked the ball at some point during the play in question; or, perhaps, a conclusive case could be made that his arm was going forward. Or maybe not, but at least slow it down and take a few good looks at the replay. Because, you know, it’s only the most important game of the season. Sure, only five seconds remained, but had there been a reversal, the ball would’ve moved from the Pittsburgh 44 to the 29, because a personal foul had been called on Woodley for taunting after the play. Hmmm, let’s see, Warner throwing up top to Fitzgerald from about his own 35? I’d say there’s a little bit better chance of completing that than your typical Hail Mary. Again, it’s quite possible that the fumble would’ve been upheld on replay, and all of this would then become moot. I’m just stunned that the officials didn’t even bother to hash it out.
Now here’s the real diatribe: On the penultimate play of the game, after Warner was hit by Woodley while seemingly trying to throw a pass, the play was ruled a fumble, recovered by Woodley – and the officials acted like they had a table waiting at Mons Venus and needed to get there by 11. For all I know, the play would not have been overturned, and perhaps the replay official was able to determine that conclusively in a very short period. But even if it were only for the sake of appearances, how could the officials not stop the game and go through the process of conducting a formal review? I mean, this is the league that brought you the Tuck Rule, a play whose reversal at the time of the replay review seemed utterly incomprehensible, until Walt Coleman informed us how little we knew about football. Speaking of which, maybe Warner tucked the ball at some point during the play in question; or, perhaps, a conclusive case could be made that his arm was going forward. Or maybe not, but at least slow it down and take a few good looks at the replay. Because, you know, it’s only the most important game of the season. Sure, only five seconds remained, but had there been a reversal, the ball would’ve moved from the Pittsburgh 44 to the 29, because a personal foul had been called on Woodley for taunting after the play. Hmmm, let’s see, Warner throwing up top to Fitzgerald from about his own 35? I’d say there’s a little bit better chance of completing that than your typical Hail Mary. Again, it’s quite possible that the fumble would’ve been upheld on replay, and all of this would then become moot. I’m just stunned that the officials didn’t even bother to hash it out.
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usually not a big Silver fan, but he hit the nail on the head in the 2nd paragraph.
