Get it done Steelers!!!

[Laker Fan]

I hope when next I check in here, The Pittsburgs Steelers, my second favorite football team (my third is ANYONE playing the Cowboys), will have won their 5th world championship.

GO STEELERS!!!!!

[rickortreat]

Unbelievable.  Both teams gave the game away, making so many mistakes.  But in the end, the Steelers made fewer.

Finally, they get "one for the thumb" but none of the old Steelers are still around playing.

Even so, you can bet Lynn, Franco and Terry are thrilled that the Steelers win another Championship.
 

[Reality]

Unbelievable.  Both teams gave the game away, making so many mistakes.  But in the end, the Steelers made fewer.

 

Anyone care to discuss end of half and end of game Holmgren Seahawks clock management.  Was John Gotti overseeing the Hawks strategy?

7-3 Pittsburg when Hawks get ball with 1:55 left and a chance to get a score before the half.  Hawk ball on their own 27.

Hawks work the ball over midfield to Pitts 40.  Beautiful.  They tried a pass on 1st and 10, incomplete.  Pitt timeout.  48 seconds left.  End of timeout.  

Handoff to S.Alexander left tackle for 4 yards to the PITT 36.  Beautiful.  I have no problem with the run call.  They have a timeout left.  Only took 4 seconds so 44 ticks left.  Would-be 54 yard field goal attempt so need to get some more yards, right?

The Hawks lineup after Alexanders run.  No timeout call.  Hassleback now saunters back n forth between under the center, over to talk to the wideout, now back to talk to the halfback, now back under center, now back in the shotgun, now over to talk to other wideout.... the clock is at freakin 15 seconds!  From :44 to : 15 and they STILL have not snapped the ball!  Now that Seattle is finally ready to snap the ball, Pitt simply calls timeout.  :13 on the clock.  Seattle took 31 seconds and still had not hiked the ball.

3rd down play is finally run.  The Hawk reciever is out of bounds on the catch.    
4th down 54 yd attempt.  Doink.  A little wide right.

4th qtr.
21-10 Pitt, Hawks get ball with a chance to attempt win.  Need to score, onside kick and score.  Its been done before.  At least give it a try, right?
1:55 left Hawk ball on own 29.  

They work it past midfield into Pitt territory.
4th and 10 at PIT 39 (:47) M.Hasselbeck pass to B.Engram to PIT 26 for 13 yards.  
Beautiful right?  Ball up to Pit 26.  Hasselbeck spikes the ball to stop the clock at :35.  Take one shot at the endzone (use only 5 seconds) or boot a very makeable 43 yd field goal right here and now for 21-13 deficit.  

2nd and 10 at PIT 26 (:34) M.Hasselbeck pass incomplete to S.Alexander.
He was inbounds and would have easily been takled had he not dropped the ball. :crazy:      
3rd and 10 at PIT 26 (:27) M.Hasselbeck pass to J.Stevens to PIT 23 for 3 yards. :crazy:    Oww that really helped.  3 yards and clock keeps running!  
     
4th and 7 at PIT 23 (:08) (No Huddle) M.Hasselbeck pass incomplete to J.Stevens (B.McFadden).

I really did not care who won.

     
   

[Skandery]

I'm happy for THE STEELERS!!

 :cheers:  :cheers:  :cheers:  :cheers:


Cowher deserves one for being a great coach, always taking the blame for losses, and being a no-nonsense, hard-nosed (and superhero-chinned) guy.  

Dan Rooney deserves one for being the kind of owner that shows patience and loyalty with his people and his team.  How many owners can people name that would stick with their coach after multiple (I think three) losses in the AFC Championship and one in the Superbowl, not in today's NFL!  

Jerome Bettis deserves one for the countless times he put the team on his back as they took a ride on the Bus.  Going out on top in his hometown, storybook ending.

Hines Ward deserves one for being one of the most complete, elite receivers of the modern era (despite few physical gifts), a consummate teammate, a team leader, and most of all a humble professional in this day and age of whiny, pampered, snot-nosed, money-grubbing wideouts.  I can't think of anyone more deserving of the Superbowl MVP.  BTW, when McNair's retirement becomes official Hines Ward will be my favorite player. :up:

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

I had started this thread over in General Topics on August 27 last year, only Rick replied.  I love it when the universe rewards good people and good intentions, Hines' story should go down as one of the great stories in the annals of sports.

http://www.phillyarena.net/forums/index.php?showtopic=2308

 

[SPURSX3]

I was cheering for the Steelers.  It was good to see them win.

[Reality]

The end around touchdown pass from college QB Randle El to Ward was right on  the money.  

[jn]

:cheers:  :cheers:  To the Steelers.  They are definitely high on my list of favorite franchises.  Great, great fans too.  I'll see if I can find the newspaper column a buddy of mine (who has the three diamond logo tattoed on his forearm) wrote about walking miles through a snowstorm to get to a Steeler bar for a game.  

Big thumbs down to the refs however.  I still the Pittsburgh would've won in a correctly called game but wow, a few of those calls against Seattle were embarssingly bad.  

[Skandery]

The end around touchdown pass from college QB Randle El to Ward was right on the money.

The end around touchdown pass from college QB Randle El to college QB Ward was right on the money.

Big thumbs down to the refs however. I still the Pittsburgh would've won in a correctly called game but wow, a few of those calls against Seattle were embarssingly bad.

Agreed...reffing was BAD...call against Darryl Jackson in the endzone was horrible.

[Guest_Randy]

I think the Steelers deserved to win (obviously I was cheering for the Hawks) -- however, the officiating was one of the WORST that I have EVER seen in the NFL and the NFL should be EMBARRASSED by the officiating.  In fact, it got to the place (because of how MANY horrible calls that there were against the Hawks -- not to mention the lack of bad calls against the Steelers) that my wife leaned over to me and said "do you think the refs WANT the Steelers to win?"  Usually the cynicism is from me -- it has to be pretty blatant for my wife to respond like that.

On a different note, it was great to see Bettis and Ward get a ring -- they deserve them and Ward is a class act (umm, is there any way to skip the ring for Porter?  Now WHAT did that guy do again yesterday?  Other than mouth off?)  Of course, I say the same thing about Alexander and Hasselback.

[JoMal]

Compared to the Raider/Patroit AFC championship game in 2002, this game was pristinely called.

Since then, I have absolutely no doubt whatsoever that a hefty influence from referee calls and non-calls occurs for the "favored" team. Why it was the Steelers this year, who knows. Its like the Academy Awards. Regardless of who really appeared to be the best that year, so and so now "deserves" to win, so does.

But overall, those calls were borderline at best, not decisive. The OPI call on Jackson in the endzone, was, unfortunately, an OPI-type call that does not always get called. He shoved the defender to clear space and the ref was standing about 8 yards away with a very clear view of it. Maybe he could have let it go, but I think in the Super Bowl, they should strive to get it right and that was a foul, though hardly a blatant one that would have made a deference in him catching the ball.

The one I had a hard time with was that weird blocking foul called on Hasselbeck as he was tackling the guy who just intercepted him. BAD call.  

[Laker Fan]

Alexander was an absolute NONFACTOR, he had 95 yards but in no way influenced or impacted the game, and I have been saying for the last 2 weeks that if Pittsburg could render Shaun Alexander ineffective, they would win this game.

The pass interference call against Jackson was questionable only in that it was barely stood the defender up, but as he pushed off, he extended his arm while making contact, offensive pass interference, end of story, if he hadn't extended out his arm in that push, Seattle scores.

Roethlisburger's touchdown is the one call that I would say is absolutely questionable. However, from the 3,000 replays I saw it looked like the ball just barely broke the plane before he tucked it back under although his arm was pretty much concealing where the ball was in relation to the plane of the goal line before his elbow hit the ground. Bottom line, not enough to overturn.

Everyone in the world knew Cowher would pull the flea flicker out, everyone except Seattle, how Hines Ward got that open was amazing, Pittsburg sold that sweep so perfectly it was as if Seattle agreed before the game to bite.

Bottom line? Terrible officiating aside, Seattle had Pittsburg on the ropes early and let them go, Jerramy Stevens, for all his mouth, like Joey Porter, was a nonfactor, dropping 3 critical passes. Seattle made too many mistakes, Pittsburg, always a master of capitalizing, did just that. The Seahawks beat themselves, poor clock management, befuddling non-use of a league MVP, recievers who couldn't hold on to balls Hasselback was putting RIGHT ON THEIR NUMBERS. Seattle choked, against a Steeler team that looked completely lost in the first quarter, Seattle smelled blood in the water and swam away.

Congrats to the Steelers, they got up off the mat and got it done.

[Guest_Randy]

Jackson obviously shoved off -- but we seem to ignore the defender using his hands on Jackson before the shove off (quite illegal that far from the line of scrimmage).  Just kind of funny that they choose to blow the whistle on one and ignore the other.  IMO, this should have been off-setting penalties and at LEAST repeated the down.

[Reality]

Its like the Academy Awards. Regardless of who really appeared to be the best that year, so and so now "deserves" to win, so does.

The one I had a hard time with was that weird blocking foul called on Hasselbeck as he was tackling the guy who just intercepted him. BAD call.

Just prior to the bogile Hassleback "blocking" foul was a SeaHawk reception giving Seattle 1st and goal at the 2.  Negated by a holding call.  Bogus?  Or did ABC even show it?

2.  Seattle reciever who caught ball with one foot down.  Foot 2 then went right against and over the pylon.  Is that not a touchdown?  Foot 2 proceded to go out of bounds.

Monday Night Football had a play where Michael Vick raced to the pylon.  Went airborne.  Ball was in left hand, but he touched the pylon with his right hand.  Touchdown.  

Q.  Does the ball have to touch the pylon or any body part?  I thought it was any body part.

[Skandery]

The one I had a hard time with was that weird blocking foul called on Hasselbeck as he was tackling the guy who just intercepted him. BAD call.

Actually this was one of the calls I didn't have a problem with.  From the angles of the replay Hasselbeck had intended to tackle the guy with the ball but completely wiffed on the dive and ended up tackling the blocker (to the right of the ball carrier) below the waste.  In my book, that's a penalty, by the language of the rule, no matter the offender's (Hasselbeck) intention.

Bottom line, not enough to overturn.

 

Exactly... which is why it was a good call.  

Terrible officiating aside, Seattle had Pittsburg on the ropes early and let them go, Jerramy Stevens, for all his mouth, like Joey Porter, was a nonfactor, dropping 3 critical passes.

Right on, I counted three also, Jerramy Stevens, what a waste of god-given athletic ability.  To Porter's limited credit he did assist on a crucial sack.

Seattle smelled blood in the water and swam away.

Well put!  

[Skandery]

Just prior to the bogile Hassleback "blocking" foul was a SeaHawk reception giving Seattle 1st and goal at the 2. Negated by a holding call. Bogus? Or did ABC even show it?

The Hasselbeck "blocking" foul wasn't bogile, but the holding call negating the Seattle reception was.  Just one of those "Its the Superbowl....let them play!... type of calls."

2. Seattle reciever who caught ball with one foot down. Foot 2 then went right against and over the pylon. Is that not a touchdown? Foot 2 proceded to go out of bounds.

Darryl Jackson's right foot clearly stepped to the outside of the pylon and out of bounds.  No question about it.  Had his right foot gone directly over the pylon, it would have been a Touchdown reception.  Horrible, horrible sense of presence by Darrly Jackson.  Jimmy Smith made that catch in Week 2 to send the game into overtime.