OT: Super Bowl Predictions

DivotMaker · Post by **DivotMaker** » Mon Feb 06, 2006 4:48 pm

pk500 wrote:
Every once in a while I step back and appreciate the incredible feat of the Bills reaching four consecutive Super Bowls. But "Wide Right" and losing the lead to Dallas after halftime in the Bills' fourth Super Bowl still rattle off the inside of my brain a lot more than a sense of accomplishment for the team during those glory years.

Former Houston Oilers fans can identify with pain, especially after being up 32-3...

DivotMaker · Post by **DivotMaker** » Mon Feb 06, 2006 4:57 pm

bdunn13 wrote: What about the overturned fumble that gave the ball back to Micro$oft err Seattle.

Call CLEARLY needed to be overturned as Hasselbeck was touched by a Steelers defender and the ground canNOT cause a fumble. Period.

bdunn13 wrote:People are acting like the game was rigged and the officiating was awful, it wasn't.

I don't recall a single person here making the claim that the game was rigged. However, if you could not see the bias in the way the calls went, then I guess I will simply agree to disagree with you. Haven't read or listened to anyone who watched the game (other than you) who could not see at least some issues with how many calls went against Seattle, yet none against the Steelers....NONE. THAT is the point that I have been trying to make as well as others.

bdunn13 · Post by **bdunn13** » Mon Feb 06, 2006 5:05 pm

Actualy, you said you thought the game was rigged or thats surely how I read it.

" have no vested interest in either team, but I came away from last night's game thinking the NFL wanted Bettis to finish with a ring in his hometown. I realize such a scenario could never be proven, but this SB left a very biased taste in my mouth. "

- the only blatantly bad call was the blocking call. The others were close either way or dead on.

DivotMaker · Post by **DivotMaker** » Mon Feb 06, 2006 5:08 pm

bdunn13 wrote:Actualy, you said you thought the game was rigged or thats surely how I read it.

" have no vested interest in either team, but I came away from last night's game thinking the NFL wanted Bettis to finish with a ring in his hometown. I realize such a scenario could never be proven, but this SB left a very biased taste in my mouth. "

- the only blatantly bad call was the blocking call. The others were close either way or dead on.

You can certainly read what you wish into my statements, but I have not said I thought the game was "rigged". I guess we will agree to disagree over semantics.

We will also agree to disagree about the blown calls.

Leebo33 · Post by **Leebo33** » Mon Feb 06, 2006 5:12 pm

DivotMaker wrote:I don't recall a single person here making the claim that the game was rigged.

LOL. Are you serious??????

"I'm curious as to why the game is actually being played, since it appears the NFL is motivated to make this Pittsburgh's day."

- b_assassin

"Steelers aren't playing that well in the first half but the refs are helping them out so the abc and nfl can have a happy ending."

- Inuyasha

"The fix is in."

- Matthewk

“He has no shame.
Earlier today I saw him bragging about how he got the outcome he wanted for SB XXXVI.
He (Tagliabue) wants... he gets..."

- XXXIV

”There hasn't been a fix this bad since the league handed the Patriots their first superbowl championship in 2001.”

- Tjung0831

“I thought I was the only one thinking that this was rigged. Now I guess I was not the only one. ”

- Zlax45

DivotMaker · Post by **DivotMaker** » Mon Feb 06, 2006 5:16 pm

I see that it is time to exit this thread before this gets blown WAY out of proportion or context. I have not read every response in this thread, especially the first 2 pages. However, it seems that some are taking exception to the fact that quite a number of people here and across the nation have taken notice of the disparity in the way the game was officiated. End of story and end of my comments in this thread.

Brando70 · Post by **Brando70** » Mon Feb 06, 2006 5:18 pm

LOL, Leebo. Reading Is FUNdamental!

There's no question the calls favored Pittsburgh. That happens, oh, I don't know...ALL THE TIME in professional sports. It happened to Pittsburgh in the Indy game.

I have no problem with complaints about the officiating, because it was not very good. It's acting like Pittsburgh didn't deserve to win the game. Both teams didn't play very well, but Pittsburgh made a few big plays while Seattle did not. Like DB said, it was an ugly game and the only thing there is to really discuss is the officiating.

Brando70 · Post by **Brando70** » Mon Feb 06, 2006 5:23 pm

DivotMaker wrote:I see that it is time to exit this thread before this gets blown WAY out of proportion or context. I have not read every response in this thread, especially the first 2 pages. However, it seems that some are taking exception to the fact that quite a number of people here and across the nation have taken notice of the disparity in the way the game was officiated. End of story and end of my comments in this thread.

WTF?

You made a blanket statement about how NO ONE in this thread implied the game was fixed, then said that you didn't read the whole thread and, even better, ignored your own comments that implied the officials were deliberately calling the game in Pittsburgh's favor. What context is there to misinterpret? Really, I'd like to know the true meaning behind those statements, because I think it would help my development as a professional writer.

Leebo33 · Post by **Leebo33** » Mon Feb 06, 2006 5:24 pm

Brando70 wrote:There's no question the calls favored Pittsburgh. That happens, oh, I don't know...ALL THE TIME in professional sports. It happened to Pittsburgh in the Indy game.

Hell, there's a poll at Post-Gazette.com and 45% of Steelers fans think the officiating was unfair. The last thing Steelers fans would want is a rigged Super Bowl Championship, but I'll take being on the good side of a poorly officiated game any day over the alternative.

XXXIV · Post by **XXXIV** » Mon Feb 06, 2006 5:31 pm

Leebo33 wrote:- XXXIV

”There hasn't been a fix this bad since the league handed the Patriots their first superbowl championship in 2001.”

I was taken out of context???

wco81 · Post by **wco81** » Mon Feb 06, 2006 5:42 pm

The calls took away 91 yards in gains for the Seahawks. They would have had 480 yards in offense against the vaunted Steelers defense. As it its, they only had 395.

One can argue that Seahawks did make plays, at least as many as the Steelers' big 3 plays:

1. TD to Jackson wiped out by offensive PI.

2. Pass to the one, which would have set up the go ahead TD in the fourth quarter, wiped out by holding.

3. 34-yard punt return wiped out by questionable holding.

4. Possible TD towards the end of the half ruled out of bounds and not reviewed.

5. Another hold wiping out a 20+ yard gain in the first quarter to Jackson.

There was also another key play which most people overlooked. Steelers were trying to run out the clock and it was 3rd and 6, Seattle still had 3 timeouts. The play clock hits zero and then Rothlisberger signals for time out. There is no penalty. Screen pass to Randal El gains just enough yards to convert the first down.

On the holding calls, there were several times throughout the game where the Steelers OL and WRs made similar blocks or pulled at defenders from behind. That is how Rothlisberger evaded sacks and on at least one occasion, may have converted a third down on a bootleg.

Again, I think if the Steelers generated more offense and defended better, these opinions about the role of the calls in the outcome of the game would be far less relevant.

Leebo33 · Post by **Leebo33** » Mon Feb 06, 2006 5:56 pm

wco81 wrote:On the holding calls, there were several times throughout the game where the Steelers OL and WRs made similar blocks or pulled at defenders from behind.

And there weren't any additional times that the Seahawks held and didn't get called?

Brando70 · Post by **Brando70** » Mon Feb 06, 2006 6:08 pm

wco81 wrote:One can argue that Seahawks did make plays, at least as many as the Steelers' big 3 plays:

1. TD to Jackson wiped out by offensive PI.

I would agree that call shouldn't have been made, but Jackson did put his hand on the DB's chest. That will sometimes draw a flag.

wco81 wrote:2. Pass to the one, which would have set up the go ahead TD in the fourth quarter, wiped out by holding.

Which is why you shouldn't hold.

wco81 wrote:3. 34-yard punt return wiped out by questionable holding.

Agreed, another soft call.

wco81 wrote:4. Possible TD towards the end of the half ruled out of bounds and not reviewed.

Stevie Wonder could tell his foot was out of bounds. Seriously, it was not even close, it was like one of those completions in Madden where you know before the playcalling screen appears that you'll win the challenge.

wco81 wrote:5. Another hold wiping out a 20+ yard gain in the first quarter to Jackson.

I do think that call was questionable but not unreasonable. Any time a lineman reaches around the side of an end, there's the possibility of a flag.

wco81 wrote:There was also another key play which most people overlooked. Steelers were trying to run out the clock and it was 3rd and 6, Seattle still had 3 timeouts. The play clock hits zero and then Rothlisberger signals for time out. There is no penalty. Screen pass to Randal El gains just enough yards to convert the first down.

To which I say that, in the Carolina/Chicago game, the playclock clearly ran down (about 1 extra second past 0) with no whistle, which allowed Grossman to throw a game-ending interception. Sucks but it's not unusual.

wco81 wrote:On the holding calls, there were several times throughout the game where the Steelers OL and WRs made similar blocks or pulled at defenders from behind. That is how Rothlisberger evaded sacks and on at least one occasion, may have converted a third down on a bootleg.

I am sure there were plenty of Seattle holds that didn't get called either. That's perhaps the most inconsistent call in football. Not saying it's good, just that yesterday was not unusual in that regard.

wco81 wrote:Again, I think if the Steelers generated more offense and defended better, these opinions about the role of the calls in the outcome of the game would be far less relevant.

I agree.

Leebo33 · Post by **Leebo33** » Mon Feb 06, 2006 7:15 pm

So do the conspiracy theory guys have any idea why the Steelers were chosen to win this year? I guess they don't have a team in LA to allow them to follow the NBA model. Did they plan the whole "Bus makes last stop in Detroit" theme in the pre-season or do they just intervene during the Super Bowl? At what point does the plotting start? Any idea why Brady and the Patriots fell out of favor with the league and couldn't pull a threepeat? Maybe those "Diet Pepsi machine" commercials didn't do too well?

TheHiddenTrack · Post by **TheHiddenTrack** » Mon Feb 06, 2006 7:21 pm

Leebo33 wrote:So do the conspiracy theory guys have any idea why the Steelers were chosen to win this year? I guess they don't have a team in LA to allow them to follow the NBA model. Did they plan the whole "Bus makes last stop in Detroit" theme in the pre-season or do they just intervene during the Super Bowl? At what point does the plotting start? Any idea why Brady and the Patriots fell out of favor with the league and couldn't pull a threepeat? Maybe those "Diet Pepsi machine" commercials didn't do too well?

Whatever, dude. Go watch the game again, and pretend it was fair.

Leebo33 · Post by **Leebo33** » Mon Feb 06, 2006 7:26 pm

TheHiddenTrack wrote:
Leebo33 wrote:So do the conspiracy theory guys have any idea why the Steelers were chosen to win this year? I guess they don't have a team in LA to allow them to follow the NBA model. Did they plan the whole "Bus makes last stop in Detroit" theme in the pre-season or do they just intervene during the Super Bowl? At what point does the plotting start? Any idea why Brady and the Patriots fell out of favor with the league and couldn't pull a threepeat? Maybe those "Diet Pepsi machine" commercials didn't do too well?
Whatever, dude. Go watch the game again, and pretend it was fair.

Life isn't fair. I've been on both sides of the "fair" equation. For one, it wasn't fair that the 1994 Penn State Nittany Lions didn't have a shot at the National Championship.

You didn't answer the question. Ignore my sarcasm because I am genuinely interested. Do you think it is a league-wide conspiracy or do you think Rooney, Cowher, or the mob just paid off the refs?

wco81 · Post by **wco81** » Mon Feb 06, 2006 7:37 pm

Not saying there was a conspiracy but a Steelers victory makes for a lot of better story lines.

Besides Bettis and Cowher, you got the "One for the Thumb," vindication for the venerable Rooneys, the first team to win 4 straight playoff games on the road.

Then you have the fact that Rothlisberger merchandise is probably one of the best-selling across the league. And obviously the Steelers have a big national following. As they made their run, Steelers fans came out of the woodwork. Some guy in SF paid big money to get the playoff game in Denver and flew in on a private jet or something.

DivotMaker · Post by **DivotMaker** » Mon Feb 06, 2006 7:42 pm

Brando70 wrote: WTF?

You made a blanket statement about how NO ONE in this thread implied the game was fixed, then said that you didn't read the whole thread and, even better, ignored your own comments that implied the officials were deliberately calling the game in Pittsburgh's favor. What context is there to misinterpret? Really, I'd like to know the true meaning behind those statements, because I think it would help my development as a professional writer.

Ok, so "NO ONE" was the wrong verbiage.

I have not said the game was fixed. I have simply wondered out loud how the officiating could be so one-sided. Does that equate to saying "I think the game was rigged or fixed"? If so, that was not my intent. I thought I made my intent pretty clear by congratulating the Steelers regardless of my feelings about the officiating. Irregardless, I am now finished with this thread because I am not interested in having to defend my opinions about the officiating which is obviously pissing some people off.

TheHiddenTrack · Post by **TheHiddenTrack** » Mon Feb 06, 2006 7:48 pm

Leebo33 wrote:
TheHiddenTrack wrote:
Leebo33 wrote:So do the conspiracy theory guys have any idea why the Steelers were chosen to win this year? I guess they don't have a team in LA to allow them to follow the NBA model. Did they plan the whole "Bus makes last stop in Detroit" theme in the pre-season or do they just intervene during the Super Bowl? At what point does the plotting start? Any idea why Brady and the Patriots fell out of favor with the league and couldn't pull a threepeat? Maybe those "Diet Pepsi machine" commercials didn't do too well?
Whatever, dude. Go watch the game again, and pretend it was fair.
Life isn't fair. I've been on both sides of the "fair" equation. For one, it wasn't fair that the 1994 Penn State Nittany Lions didn't have a shot at the National Championship.

You didn't answer the question. Ignore my sarcasm because I am genuinely interested. Do you think it is a league-wide conspiracy or do you think Rooney, Cowher, or the mob just paid off the refs?

Obviously. Duh. The NFL wants them to win because they are more patriotic. Not to mention, Bin Laden said he was a Seahawk fan. Hmm.... the more I think about it, George Bush played a role in this somehow. He knows to how to steal things (Gore and Kerry won), actually maybe Karl Rove was involved this time.

I just wish it wasn't so obvious. Instead of hiding behind this, "The officials did the best they could" Just have Paul Tag come out and just say, "We felt it was best for the NFL if the Steelers won".....geez. I could understand that.

peabody · Post by **peabody** » Mon Feb 06, 2006 7:50 pm

DivotMaker wrote:
Brando70 wrote: WTF?

You made a blanket statement about how NO ONE in this thread implied the game was fixed, then said that you didn't read the whole thread and, even better, ignored your own comments that implied the officials were deliberately calling the game in Pittsburgh's favor. What context is there to misinterpret? Really, I'd like to know the true meaning behind those statements, because I think it would help my development as a professional writer.
Ok, so "NO ONE" was the wrong verbiage.

I have not said the game was fixed. I have simply wondered out loud how the officiating could be so one-sided. Does that equate to saying "I think the game was rigged or fixed"? If so, that was not my intent. I thought I made my intent pretty clear by congratulating the Steelers regardless of my feelings about the officiating. Irregardless, I am now finished with this thread because I am not interested in having to defend my opinions about the officiating which is obviously pissing some people off.

So is "Verbiage". It's verbage and Irregardless is not a word.
Whoops. Never mind verbiage is the correct spelling.

Leebo33 · Post by **Leebo33** » Mon Feb 06, 2006 8:17 pm

DivotMaker wrote:I have not said the game was fixed. I have simply wondered out loud how the officiating could be so one-sided.

What's the purpose of wondering aloud if you don't have the notion that the game could be fixed? If you don't think the game was fixed don't you automatically just chalk it up to coincidence? Bad luck? Poor officiating? Do you truly believe that a Steelers WR doesn't get called on that PI call that happened right in front of the ref? There was one really bad call IMO and one touch judgment call IMO and that isn't any more than any regular season game. The officiating in the NFL is bad. Real bad. Maybe now they will fix it. How many freaking times in a regular season game are key plays called back due to offensive holding? It's probably once a game! I know there are "questionable" holding calls on almost every decent punt return. That shouldn't be a surprise.

I will admit that the Steelers didn't get any bad calls against them, but that doesn't necessarily make the calls the refs did make wrong. It's just that the Steelers were lucky enough not to commit PI standing directly in front of an official with nobody else around and the whole world watching.

Anyway, it was fun guys. The Miami Hurricanes/Ohio State argument still isn't settled, so we aren't going to settle anything here. If the game was fixed, I'd like to think I had something to do with it as I have bought my share of NFL merchandise over the years and I'll probably spend at least a few hundred dollars on Super Bowl Champion licensed products. If true, I'm just flattered that the league would care so much about a city with a population of 300k and maybe a few million fans worldwide that they would jeopardize the entire integrity of the league should the fix ever become public record. I just wish the f*ckers could have done it without putting us through the torture of 4 home AFC Championship losses and the Kordell Stewart era in general.

dbdynsty25 · Post by **dbdynsty25** » Mon Feb 06, 2006 9:08 pm

peabody wrote:So is "Verbiage". It's verbage and Irregardless is not a word.
Whoops. Never mind verbiage is the correct spelling.

That is some funny sh*t.

dbdynsty25 · Post by **dbdynsty25** » Mon Feb 06, 2006 9:13 pm

Leebo33 wrote:Anyway, it was fun guys. The Miami Hurricanes/Ohio State argument still isn't settled, so we aren't going to settle anything here.

Then again, that was a completely different story. That horrendous call was made after the game was already over and the fireworks were going off. None of the calls were cut and dry like that one was...completely stealing a championship away from the Canes. I've never claimed conspiracy either...just a horrible call letting a team that was clearly playing better that day have another shot at winning and then taking advantage of it.

The calls that Hawk fans are complaining about may be ticky tack, but they happened and they were called when it happened, not 5 seconds after the game was over. The guy in the back of the end zone took so long to throw his flag because he couldn't find it on his belt. If you look at the replay from behind, you can see him reaching around back there trying to find it...and he finally threw it when he did. Plus, that was a good call in my book...the DB got stopped in his tracks while Jackson was able to continue on. I don't see where the ticky tack is? The DB went backwards for craps sake.

Spooky · Post by **Spooky** » Mon Feb 06, 2006 9:38 pm

I now have a new signature. Thanks Peabody!

vader29 · Post by **vader29** » Mon Feb 06, 2006 9:40 pm

Wow lots of love in this thread. A Pittsburgh sportscaster once said "If if's and but's were candy and nuts then we'd all have a Merry Christmas" Maybe the Steelers should give the trophy back and play the game over again so the refs can get it right.

Regardless, I'm enjoying this Super Bowl victory as it is the first I'll have great memories of with their run through the playoffs all on the road against the top 3 teams in the AFC. I was too young for all the championships in the 70's although I've seen them all on video but it isn't the same as following a team season in and season out with all of the heartbreaks of losses in the AFC title games at home and finally seeing them win the big one.

Hines Ward at Disneyworld today.