Super Bowl Open Thread

What time should I be at your house Raf?

well so far the zebras have called two ticky tack penaltys on the seahawks, both calls negated big plays.
glad to see the boys arent the only ones who get that.

Great,

Wistrom gets a sack after I have een bad mouthing him all day.

I guess I should get out of the prognosticating business!!!

that’s what you do when pressure is coming find a way to make a play. a dump pass and buy some time scrambling out of the pocket.roethlisberger is showing good instincts.yes rafy the one note symphony biz.we need a quarterback desperately.

It’s halftime. this is cracking me up! 4 responses! I guess now we know how much interest there is in this game for us Cowboy fans……………

my 7 to 3 half time prediction was right on … better believe me boys Seattle comes back 20 to 10

Penalties are killing the Seahawks. I hope Linus’ prediction for the second half is as good as the first. He’s on the money so far. Way to go Linus!

And, Go Seahawks!!!!!!

i guess no real boys fan could root for the steelers. how about larry brown getting introduced in the pre-game, cowher was cringing.

on another note, boy does our QB suck. lets trade the farm and the future of the team for matt leinhart. what do you thin biz is winnig?

Seattle dominates the first half and is down by four going into the half, missed two field goals,Pittsburgh has the ball at the fifty, THIS GAME IS OVER FOLKS.

biz is winning,
the “scrambler” has 2 picks.
derrick, its 14-10

hello out there…
more ticky tack calls by the refs. seattle moves the ball from its one to the pitt one, but the refs call a questionable holding…
hassleback throws an ugly pick but makes the tackle only to get called for “blocking below the waste”????
did i miss something?
im not a seahawk fan, but the refs are not calling this even.

IT IS OVER I TOLD YOU !!!!!!!!
My crystal ball is never wrong

OOPPS!!, that should read, my RUM bottle is never wrong….

hard to be wrong with the refs calling this one the way they are.

if they had have upheld that hassleback fumble, i would have turned it off, but they got one call right.

The question is now, who’s the MVP. Not alot to choose from, I guess parker with the big run for a TD.

I choose the ref that called the illegal block on no. 8 during the return. Was he the same guy that called the fumble on no. 8 and the push off in the end zone against Seattle. I think the refs won it for Pit.

No, I think Seattle blew their chance in the first Quarter when they had all the momentum, field position, dominated the line of scrimage but only came away with three points, thats what did it in for them in this game.

MVP: Refs.

Neither team looked good.

Half the NFL is saying, “we could have taken these guys.”

Here’s to next year.

jarhead he has 2 picks but is the youngest qb to win a super bowl.and showed poise.unlike the qb we have who us die hard cowboy fans fail to acknowledge that we have a problem at this position.because we just don’t want to talk bad about our team.

Jarhead, I’m with you. I’m glad I didn’t dedicate the day to the SB. I got a few things done around the house. First, free-gency and then the draft. Can’t wait for next season.

The Referee is the MVP. I am totally disgusted with the officiating in the game. The Steelers are the official winners as far as the Trophy presentation but the referee is the means to their win. It all Horse S@#T as far as I’m concerned.

I liked the Randle El pass. Hey how about trading the farm for Randle El and let him be our QB? He sure can scramble!!! And 1-1, 1 TD, that’s got to be a 150-something rating.

Hey I rooted for the Steelers because Shaun Alexander is a big diva and very overrated IMO. And man are the Giants happy they didn’t pick Jeramy Stevens instead of Shockey. I’ll take Witten over both of ’em.

AW come on guys, it’s the SUPER BOWL! Gotta see it. I had to leave a party because I was with a bunch of Cleveland fans who converted to Seattle tonight. They were so obnoxious I couldn’t take it.

why is everybody jumpin on this miesterburger bandwagon? what was he,8 for 20 for just over 100 yds and 2 picks and no tds,hell,difer did better than that.that game was a joke,yea stealer fans think their team is the best but anyone with a brain could tell the game was won by the refs.their defense is way overrated and i was glad to see porter didnt do crap wit all that talkin he did but the bottom line is they won but all this game showed me is how close our cowboys really are to winning number 6,da boys in 07

manster65,

It’s proof that you can win titles, as the Ravens and Bucs have recently and many others have over time, with a good defense and a strong running game.

Roethlisberger is much better than Dilfer, but he put up a 22.3 passer rating today, the worst ever for a champion, lower than John Elway’s in Super Bowl 32 and Earl Morrall’s in Super Bowl 5.

I’m not sure that the fix wasn’t in. Pass interference to recall a TD in the SUPER BOWL? That was the most questionable offensive pass interference I’ve ever seen, and it’s not close. And it happened in the Super Bowl. It’s the GDnest thing I think I’ve seen in the Super Bowl in decades.
The holding call? WTF? Holding, I’m assuming, is a penalty because the holder is unfairly impeding the progress of the one being held, correct? In what regard was the rusher’s progress impeded by a random right arm briefly being caught under the rusher’s chin? The rusher didn’t even slow down, and was right on Hasselbeck. How ON EARTH was that holding? More so, the blocker’s hand never HELD anything.
Hassebleck was called for an illegal block on a tackle. If I was mike holmgren, I would’ve screamed tlil blood vessels burst in my eyes, brained the official with my note pad, pulled my pants down, and walked up the tunnel to the locker room, got a cab, caught a flight, and gone home and retired.

Jeremy Stephens, by the way, had the worst Super Bowl ever. I’m surprised he wasn’t wearing heels and a skirt. No, that’s not fair – to women. He’s not a woman, he’s a coward. If he catches three PERFECTLY thrown EASY balls, Seahawks win in a laugher, even if the refs double up with their treachery.
If I’m Holmgren, I lose Stephens before Monday evening. He’s a free agent as of halftime tonight. I’m sure he has a bright future as an ice skater.

Roethlisberger is a kid. He needs to turn his hat around, and acquit himself as professional. Through my TV, from my couch, after 40+ drinks, I could see the fear in his eyes when things were going bad.

To me, and I HATE the Steelers, and am a biased NFC homer, the best team lost. The Seahawks are a much, much better ball club. If they play the Steelers 10 times, they win 8.

Can officials be voted MVP?

My theory is that the officials gave Holmgren some payback for the complaints he made after the Giants game
(e.g., the Shockey TD ‘catch’ in the endzone)…the message from NFL officials is “don’t mess with us, or we’ll do a job on you…”

Anyone think the pass to Jackson at the end of the first half was a TD? He had his left foot in bounds and his right shin hit the pylon before the foot hit out of bounds, and the ball was clearly over the goal line.

They didn’t even review it.

From my understanding if any part of the player hits the pylon before hitting out of bounds, he is in bounds, and if the ball is over the goal line…TD.

I think the refs had some questionable calls, but the Sehawks looked a little dazzled at points. Hasslebeck looked like a schizzo when running the hurry up offense, and they got away from the running game that got them there.

Poke

Joey2zs,

Had Stevens caught all those on-the- money throws to him, HE would have been game MVP. It was clear he was the focal point of their passing attack. Any time Hasselbeck wanted him over the middle (and he had great protection to find him) Stevens was wide open. I think that, more than the refs calls are what had Holmgren apoplectic. When priority one in your game plan deserts you, he deserves an immediate ticket out.

As it was, I think Stevens should have been the Steelers MVP for dropping the ball. He helped their cause about as much as Hines Ward did.

Anyone else sit there watching the game thinking "The Cowboys D could do that, JJ and MBIII are just as good, Witten could have caught all those, etc. etc.)? With a better O-Line and a couple of other fixtures we are a Super Bowl Team. I thought the game was kind of dull, I think its more that the teams just arent all that popular. I think Hope and Strong are locks to stay with their team.

And now about the game, Roethlisburger looked his age, although he won. The Seahawks have an underrated D, I dont see anybody that great out there but they are fast and quick. They remind of the 03 Cowboys D. With their line, esp. the left side, Shaun Alexander needs to have a bigger game. No excuses, he hasnt really shown up in big games. And what are the Seahawks doing in the last 2 minutes? Hasselback looked horrible.

sorry lou c I didn’t see that. The only thing I saw was that both Roethlisburger and Hasselback could avoid the rush and make plays…to me that is the big difference between confrence camps and nearly missing the playoffs.

Poke,

From my understanding if any part of the player hits the pylon before hitting out of bounds, he is in bounds, and if the ball is over the goal line… TD.

That is true on a running play, or if a reception has already been established. But, a pass still has to be completed, and to be completed, a player has to get both feet down in bounds. The pylon has no effect on whether a pass is completed or not. In fact, since the pylon is on the sidelines, if a player receiving a pass came down with his second foot ON TOP of the pylon, the pass would be ruled incomplete — out of bounds, just as if his foot had landed on the sideline UNDERNEATH the pylon.

Think about it. On a reception within the field of play, the receiver must get both feet in bounds. On a reception within the end zone, a receiver still must get both feet in bounds. The pylon is both on the goal line (touchdown) and the sideline (out of bounds). It would make no sense to make an exception to the two-feet rule for that one small portion of the field.

The rulemakers have decided to make a distinction between a running play and a pass play. Their justification for a touchdown on a running play is the claim that the goal line is infinite in length. If you touch the goal line (or pylon), you have scored a touchdown, presumably before you went out of bounds. But a catch still must be legal before a touchdown can be accomplished. I believe that distinction makes some sense.

The receiver WAS in the end zone, but he hadn’t caught the ball.

There was one good thing that came out of that game. We won’t have to read any articles from Randy Galloway (or anyone else) for awhile about how the game is all about the quarterback.

That game was about a lot of things, few of which (if any) pertained to the quarterbacks. The quarterbacks could have stayed home.

As for Stevens’ dropped passes, the Seahawks should be used to it by now. Their entire receiving corps has been notorious for having stone hands for the last two years (at least). Jurevicious is about the only one who can be relied upon to actually hang on to the football when it strikes his hands.

I do sympathize with Hasselbeck though. He completely outplayed his counterpart and nothing came of it.

Both QB’s pretty much STANK it up as regards passing. They both made more plays running then they did passing.
FRANCHISE QB’s?
HAH!!!!

Joey2zs-I disagree with your first paragraph but everything else is right on. The push off was there.

I have a question for everyone- At the end of the 2nd qtr there was a nice long Seattle pass that was called incomplete after a close reception and a hit that dislodged the ball which bounced out of bounds. I thought Holmgren should have challenged it as a reception, my brother said since it was blown dead it could not be challenged. Did anyone else remember the play? I have already dumped this game from the DVR so I don’t remember who the receiver was but the receiver had 2 feet down and was turning up field when he was hit. If Seattle would have been successful with a challenge they would have been in FG range.

Wow, that was truly the worst SB. QBs were terrible, receivers dropped balls, coaches called a terrible game (esp Holmgren), refs blew a few all in favor of one team, and even the commercials were forgettable.

Quick comments:
1. If I told you the Seahawks O-Line would play that well, would you have expected fewer than 21 points from them? Their skill-players were just that bad.
2. Ten years ago, Dilfer was not that bad, folks. A caretaker QB who did what he was asked most of the time. Gets a bad rap, but was above average in his day.
3. Name one Seahawks receiver who played well in the 2nd half. Exactly.
4. Holmgren and Hasselbeck executed the worst two-minute drills in the playoffs ever.

Thank goodness the offseason is here now, so we can get back to Cowboys football!

Sean,

I remember that play. I believe it was Stevens (who else?) who got smacked as he was turning and the ball flew out.

Since the referee blew his whistle, stopping play, as he called the pass incomplete, I don’t believe the play could be reviewed — just like when a referee blows the whistle, ruling a player down by contact, when it might otherwise be a fumble. The fact that the ball went out of bounds would not be relevant, just as it would not be on a player ruled down by contact.

At any rate, I too, questioned whether it should have been a catch, as the receiver got both feet down and had made his turn. But, it was a close call, and even if the play could have been reviewed, I doubt that it would have been overturned. The question would have been whether or not Stevens had made a ‘football move’ to complete the reception. [Two feet only really applies to out-of-bounds plays. Within the field of play, not only do you have to have both feet down, but you have to make that ‘football move’ … whatever that is.]

Mr Bill- I saw him turn up field which in my mind is a “football move”. If they would have challenged The only two outcomes would have been 1) incomplete as called, or 2) catch but ruled dead before fumble. No downside for Seattle.

Well, I slept on it and now believe it was the refs, the coach and the TE that blew it for Seattle. Stevens was a complete bust. Holmgren called way to many first down passes and in so doing kept Alexander’s production way down. On a few important downs Sean was on the sideline. He should get out of Seattle and go to a team that knows how to use a good RB. The refs? Geeze, The FBI should investigate that ref that called the illegal block on no 8 and that fantom holding call.

I have checked around various league newspapers and team Web Sites and this is not a Super Bowl to be proud of. Obviously, the officiating was questionable at best and it seemed nearly all the calls went the Steelers’ way.

I think that either Novacek or Witten playing TE for Seattle would have won the game for Seattle.

I going to visit the Seahawks’ Web Sites and their newpapers and ask them how their “12th man” fans feel now about selling their tickets at $2500+. Disgraceful.

Mr. Bill:

You are right. Randy Galloway should suck it up and accept Bledsoe (much to the displeasure of Jarhead and others). Bledsoe with either team would have won this game. Hell, with Novachek or Witten the Seahawks would have won this game.

About the penalties, wup-te-doo! Non-call are just as important as calls. How many of you guys realize that the Steelers were not penalized at all in their first SB against the Cowboys? I remember watching Tom Landry’s review of the first Super Bowl against the Steelers and time and gain (at least 5 times) the Steelers ‘HOF’ linebackers Hamm and Lambert were tackling Cowboys’ receivers coming out of the backfield as primary receivers for the play and they, totally out of position, just reached back and snatched them to the ground! I will never forget it and I am mad as hell about it still and want to see the Steelers again in the Super Bowl to try to even the score.

Did you hear that Joe Montana asked for $100K to appear at the Super Bowl for the pre-game introduction as a SB MVP and didn’t show when he didn’t get it? Wow! What a great guy!

Oh, BTW, Harvey Martin, could not make it and the powers that be in the NFL did not even mention him as the co-MVP of SB X11!!!

As long as we’re talking about Steelers winning Super Bowls with the help of officials, how about that famous “incidental contact” penalty? That really did decide the outcome of the game and is the difference between the Cowboys having 6 rings to the Steelers 4, instead of 5 each!!

Correction to my comments on the pylon being out of bounds.

… In fact, since the pylon is on the sidelines, if a player receiving a pass came down with his second foot ON TOP of the pylon, the pass would be ruled incomplete — out of bounds, just as if his foot had landed on the sideline UNDERNEATH the pylon.

WRONG!!!

The explanation I just read is that the pylon in no way establishes ‘out of bounds’, one way or the other. It is what happens to the foot next that counts. If it touches the ground out of bounds, it is ruled out of bounds, and the pass would be ruled incomplete. If, somehow, it lands in bounds, it would be ruled a catch.

It seems to be treated like a player who lands on top of another player. He’s not down yet, because he hasn’t actually touched the ground, just the player who is on the ground. That makes some sense, as a runner going down the sidelines might have his foot swing over the sidelines, but land in bounds. He is not out of bounds. Similarly, when he kicks the pylon, he’s not out of bounds yet, and if the ball goes over the goal line before that foot lands out of bounds, it’s a touchdown.

Therefore, if a receiver gained possession of a pass, got one foot inbounds, landed with the front part of the other foot on top of the pylon, then managed to stop. If he then dropped the heel of the second foot in bounds, assuming no other part of that foot had touched the ground out of bounds, he would have completed a successful catch, even though the rest of his foot was hanging over the sideline.

Scooter,

… and ask them how their “12th man” fans feel now about selling their tickets at $2500+. …

Is that what happened? I hadn’t heard that before. It certainly explains why there was so great a percentage of Steelers fans at the stadium. They bought their tickets from Seahawks fans over the internet.

I think I’ve noticed a trend among the teams that have a great travelling following. The crappier the home town is the more people go to away games to get a reprieve. That explains the large turnout in Dallas by Filthy fans.