SuperBowl Wrap-up

I liked this one for a bunch of reasons.

A couple of choice bits:

So, that officiating … really not nearly as bad as a lot of people want to make it out to have been. The refs made a lot of good calls that get blown all the time: they rightly picked up the flag against Michael Boulware for helmet-to-helmet contact; they correctly overturned Hasselbeck's fumble; they didn't flag anyone for any ridiculous almost-but-not-quite-out-of-bounds late hits. Most of the whining has been that certain things that are in fact penalties should not have been called. Sorry … what? That's the best you can do? "Yeah, he did it, but it shouldn't have been flagged." Oh, okay.

-Let's see if I can cover these without wasting too much time: Darrell Jackson pushed off. Roethlisberger's ball probably crossed the plane, and if it didn't, there was no way to tell from the replay. If a pass rusher is between a lineman and the quarterback and his progress is impeded, he's being held. No, one foot in-bounds and one calf touching a pylon is not a completed catch, no matter what John Clayton said three years ago. Not every horse-collar tackle is illegal, and Porter's wasn't the sort that is. Am I missing any?

The truth is, most of the whining is as bad as it's been because of the apparent results of the plays that they negated. Not nearly as big a deal would have been made about the push-off on Jackson if it hadn't been an apparent touchdown. No one would have questioned the hold on King of Holding Sean Locklear if it hadn't wiped out an apparent long gain. Of course, such whining ignores the possible contributions that said penalty-drawing actions made to the plays in the first place. Would Hasselbeck have completed the pass as he was being drilled by Clark Haggans ? I tend to doubt it. Would Jackson have been able to change his momentum enough to catch the ball without pushing off? Who knows. Physics suggests otherwise. Would Hope have had a chance to jar the ball loose if he hadn't been pushed? Seattle's receivers' tremendous demonstration of good hands throughout the game suggests that he might have.

I'm still waiting to hear the uproar over the catch-and-fumble that Jerramy Stevens got away with, or the block in the back on Roethlisberger after his second interception. I'm not saying that Pittsburgh didn't, overall, get the benefit of the officiating. It wasn't nearly by the margin that a lot of people want to make it out to have been, though.

But this one is my favorite:

Hines Ward doesn't care who the safety is.