An ESPN poll on the Superbowl officiating!

Saint_LB · 02-08-2006, 12:46 PM

Originally Posted by Tobias-Reiper

Lemme preface: didn't care who won; watched to be entertained; wasn't entertained that much (game stunk)

I think this is more the media going into one of their crusades to have something to ***** about and create controversy.... referees make bad calls every game. As stated before by BJ, it is very different to make a judgement decision on a play you see in fractions of a second than to make a judgement decision after you have seen the play 15 times from 15 different angles in slow motion going backwards and forwards zooming in on a blade of grass.

As far as the SB, my impression is that the referees were calling the game very tight:

The Matt Hasselbeck fumble was a fumble. Farrior grazed Matt's hip with his fingertips, which obviously did not cause Matt to go to the ground, heck didn't even change Matt's trajectory, and Hasselbeck took at least 3 steps after he was touched. How many steps can a player take after he's been grazed by another player's fingertips? This is not a question of someone's knee being on the ground and being touched. Yet, the referees called down by contact.

The pass interference against Seattle was another example of the game being called too tight. If you look at the replay you'll see that the receiver had his hand on the DB's chest and as he made his cut the other way, the receiver's hand stayed there and his arm became fully extended before contact stopped. Unless you have some device on the DB's chest to measure the force that's being applied by the receiver, that sure looks like the receiver is pushing off.

The holding call when madden said "I didn't see holding", the Seattle tackle was behind the Piitsburgh player holding on to his shoulder with his arm. Speaking of that, that RT had many blatant holding penalties throughout the game that were not called. For example, on that pass to Jureviscious, the guy had a choke hold on the Pitt end, and the referees didn't call it.

On Ben's TD run, I thought the ball did cross the line after seeing the replay in slo-mo 10 times, but that one is obviously one of those that can go either way, even after looking at the replay 100 times.

As for Seattle *****ing about the referees:
Tell Softy Stevens not to drop passes in the endzone.
Tell Holmgren to manage the clock better during 2 minute warnings.
Tell your kicker not to miss 2 field goals.
Train your DB's so they can actually run 100 yards at full throttle and not be chased down by linemen.

How do you call illegal block below the waist on a guy that is trying to tackle someone. On the play where Seattle was called for holding, the DE was actually offsides on that play, and even if the guy did hold it was only to protect his QB from getting killed by a guy that had an illegal head start. On the play that Ben scored on, the ref was getting ready to spot the ball, and then mysteriously signaled TD after Ben moved the ball across the line. On the offensive pass interference, the ref did not throw the flag until the Pitt DB started complaining, not as soon as the alledged push-off occurred. If it were just one or two things, I could understand, but, to me, it was obvious who the zebras wanted to win...just like it was obvious that they wanted Indy to win two weeks prior to that game. I think the NFL is getting too much like the WWF....and, just like in wrestling, there will always be people who believe it is real no matter how hokey it looks.

FatiusJeebs · 02-08-2006, 01:18 PM

I'll tell you what happened. They actually hired the officiating crew from Saints/Rams game. And I know y'all remember that garbage!! ;0)

Saint_LB · 02-08-2006, 01:50 PM

You see, guys, here is my position on the whole thing. If you look at all of the people on the field at any given moment, the only ones who probably aren't millionaires is the refs. This makes them the idea candidates to pay off if you are interested in changing the outcome of a game. All they have to do, in most cases, is just make a call here or there that would negate a big play by one team, and usually nature will take care of the rest.

I don't really know what's up with the officials today, but I saw enough this year to lead me to believe that certain games are marked. It appeared to me that this may have been true in our first game against Carolina. It was one of the few games in the whole history of the Saints that it actually looked like the refs were trying to help us win. There were many other games this year that made me wonder. Anyway, my whole thing is this. I feel that if enough people start comparing the NFL to the WWF, then the NFL might get off their butts and do something about it if it is just poor officiating. I know they don't want that reputation, but if people just continue to take it without creating a stink, it may never change. Something really needs to be done.

gandhi1007 · 02-08-2006, 05:15 PM

Oh, with the way the media is carrying on with it, I have a feeling Tags will be talking with the head of refereeing. I would not be at all surprised if somebody lost work in playoff games. As well they should. You get payed (whether little or not-it's your job) to call a game fairly. If you can't do that job, then you should be canned. There are plenty of guys in college or high school for that matter that can call a game better than that crew did in Super Bowl XL.

SaintPez · 02-10-2006, 06:36 PM

I dont know why people seem so shocked. The officiating in games has been gettiong progressively worse over the years. I bleed black and gold, But being way up here in Baltimore, I have to watch a lot of non saints games.....making a lot of football I watch where I dont care who wins really.
I cant recall a single weekend where I didnt see officiating that was either god awful, or someone was getting paid!
This just happens to be a superbowl that had the same awful calls. I saw a post where someone stated that Seattle blew the game with dropped passes etc...
Do you think if they caught those passes that a flag would NOT have been thrown? Until I see at least ONE SINGLE weekend where I can see a game where I honestly dont care who wins, and I can say it looked like a good officiated game, Ill have to think good old TAG is behind these "fixed" games.
Come on...even with instant replay they are blowing calls?
in my opinon...no way they can do that so much and be honest.

02-08-2006, 12:46 PM	#11
Saint_LB Deuce Join Date: Sep 2004 Posts: 2,894	Originally Posted by Tobias-Reiper Lemme preface: didn't care who won; watched to be entertained; wasn't entertained that much (game stunk) I think this is more the media going into one of their crusades to have something to *** about and create controversy.... referees make bad calls every game. As stated before by BJ, it is very different to make a judgement decision on a play you see in fractions of a second than to make a judgement decision after you have seen the play 15 times from 15 different angles in slow motion going backwards and forwards zooming in on a blade of grass. As far as the SB, my impression is that the referees were calling the game very tight: The Matt Hasselbeck fumble was a fumble. Farrior grazed Matt's hip with his fingertips, which obviously did not cause Matt to go to the ground, heck didn't even change Matt's trajectory, and Hasselbeck took at least 3 steps after he was touched. How many steps can a player take after he's been grazed by another player's fingertips? This is not a question of someone's knee being on the ground and being touched. Yet, the referees called down by contact. The pass interference against Seattle was another example of the game being called too tight. If you look at the replay you'll see that the receiver had his hand on the DB's chest and as he made his cut the other way, the receiver's hand stayed there and his arm became fully extended before contact stopped. Unless you have some device on the DB's chest to measure the force that's being applied by the receiver, that sure looks like the receiver is pushing off. The holding call when madden said "I didn't see holding", the Seattle tackle was behind the Piitsburgh player holding on to his shoulder with his arm. Speaking of that, that RT had many blatant holding penalties throughout the game that were not called. For example, on that pass to Jureviscious, the guy had a choke hold on the Pitt end, and the referees didn't call it. On Ben's TD run, I thought the ball did cross the line after seeing the replay in slo-mo 10 times, but that one is obviously one of those that can go either way, even after looking at the replay 100 times. As for Seattle ***ing about the referees: Tell Softy Stevens not to drop passes in the endzone. Tell Holmgren to manage the clock better during 2 minute warnings. Tell your kicker not to miss 2 field goals. Train your DB's so they can actually run 100 yards at full throttle and not be chased down by linemen. How do you call illegal block below the waist on a guy that is trying to tackle someone. On the play where Seattle was called for holding, the DE was actually offsides on that play, and even if the guy did hold it was only to protect his QB from getting killed by a guy that had an illegal head start. On the play that Ben scored on, the ref was getting ready to spot the ball, and then mysteriously signaled TD after Ben moved the ball across the line. On the offensive pass interference, the ref did not throw the flag until the Pitt DB started complaining, not as soon as the alledged push-off occurred. If it were just one or two things, I could understand, but, to me, it was obvious who the zebras wanted to win...just like it was obvious that they wanted Indy to win two weeks prior to that game. I think the NFL is getting too much like the WWF....and, just like in wrestling, there will always be people who believe it is real no matter how hokey it looks.
Saint_LB Deuce Join Date: Sep 2004 Posts: 2,894

02-08-2006, 01:18 PM	#12
FatiusJeebs 500th Post Join Date: Jan 2006 Posts: 973	I'll tell you what happened. They actually hired the officiating crew from Saints/Rams game. And I know y'all remember that garbage!! ;0)
FatiusJeebs 500th Post Join Date: Jan 2006 Posts: 973

02-08-2006, 01:50 PM	#13
Saint_LB Deuce Join Date: Sep 2004 Posts: 2,894	You see, guys, here is my position on the whole thing. If you look at all of the people on the field at any given moment, the only ones who probably aren't millionaires is the refs. This makes them the idea candidates to pay off if you are interested in changing the outcome of a game. All they have to do, in most cases, is just make a call here or there that would negate a big play by one team, and usually nature will take care of the rest. I don't really know what's up with the officials today, but I saw enough this year to lead me to believe that certain games are marked. It appeared to me that this may have been true in our first game against Carolina. It was one of the few games in the whole history of the Saints that it actually looked like the refs were trying to help us win. There were many other games this year that made me wonder. Anyway, my whole thing is this. I feel that if enough people start comparing the NFL to the WWF, then the NFL might get off their butts and do something about it if it is just poor officiating. I know they don't want that reputation, but if people just continue to take it without creating a stink, it may never change. Something really needs to be done.
Saint_LB Deuce Join Date: Sep 2004 Posts: 2,894

02-10-2006, 06:36 PM	#15
SaintPez Registered Join Date: Dec 2002 Posts: 82	I dont know why people seem so shocked. The officiating in games has been gettiong progressively worse over the years. I bleed black and gold, But being way up here in Baltimore, I have to watch a lot of non saints games.....making a lot of football I watch where I dont care who wins really. I cant recall a single weekend where I didnt see officiating that was either god awful, or someone was getting paid! This just happens to be a superbowl that had the same awful calls. I saw a post where someone stated that Seattle blew the game with dropped passes etc... Do you think if they caught those passes that a flag would NOT have been thrown? Until I see at least ONE SINGLE weekend where I can see a game where I honestly dont care who wins, and I can say it looked like a good officiated game, Ill have to think good old TAG is behind these "fixed" games. Come on...even with instant replay they are blowing calls? in my opinon...no way they can do that so much and be honest.
SaintPez Registered Join Date: Dec 2002 Posts: 82

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02-08-2006, 05:15 PM	#14
gandhi1007 Part Time Pimp Join Date: Oct 2005 Posts: 1,967	Oh, with the way the media is carrying on with it, I have a feeling Tags will be talking with the head of refereeing. I would not be at all surprised if somebody lost work in playoff games. As well they should. You get payed (whether little or not-it's your job) to call a game fairly. If you can't do that job, then you should be canned. There are plenty of guys in college or high school for that matter that can call a game better than that crew did in Super Bowl XL.