Reaction to officiating in Super Bowl XL

The officiating in Super Bowl XL was met with harsh criticism from both the fans and the media soon after the game. Some columnists decried the officiating for costing the Seattle Seahawks the game, while other columnists and the National Football League said the calls were largely correct. Others suggested that the calls would not have made a difference anyway, and that there were also calls that went against the Pittsburgh Steelers. The Steelers won the game, 21-10.

Initial reaction

Shortly after the game, Kansas City Star writer Jason Whitlock encapsulated many views when he wrote the day after the game, "Bill Leavy and his crew ruined Super Bowl XL. Am I the only one who would like to hear them defend their incompetence?" [Jason Whitlock, Kansas City Star. February 6 2006. http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/sports/football/13801313.htm]

Initially, fans reacted negatively as well. A February 7 online ESPN poll found that, with 103,167 votes cast, 61.7% of voters felt that "officiating mistakes affected the outcome of Super Bowl XL." [ [http://sports.espn.go.com/chat/sportsnation/story?page=thepulse060206 ESPN: Pulse: Bad Calls! - SportsNation ] ]

Seahawks coach Mike Holmgren himself took issue with the officiating at a celebration for his team on February 6 at Qwest Field, saying, "We knew it was going to be tough going against the Pittsburgh Steelers. I didn't know we were going to have to play the guys in the striped shirts as well." [ [http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/playoffs05/news/story?id=2322700 ESPN - NFL will review Holmgren comments - NFL ] ]

Others argued that the calls were largely correct. Kevin Blackistone, a columnist with the Dallas Morning News, expressed this view on ESPN's "Around the Horn": "The litmus test for this is the fact when you talk to the Seattle Seahawks after the game, they didn't talk about the referees. They talked about problems they had of their own making." [ [http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/football/258540_hrail07.html What the experts are saying about the Super Bowl officiating ] ]

In response to the criticisms leveled at the officials, the NFL, just two days after the game, released a statement defending the officials' performance. "The game was properly officiated, including, as in most NFL games, some tight plays that produced disagreement about the calls made by the officials," NFL spokesman Greg Aiello said in a statement. [ [http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/football/258739_nfln08.html NFL Notebook: Game 'properly officiated' ] ]

The game ended a playoffs season that was plagued by complaints about officiating, most notably during the divisional playoff games between the Steelers and Colts, the Broncos and Patriots, and the Bears and Panthers. [ [http://web.archive.org/web/20060118015102/http://msn.foxsports.com/nfl/story/5251620 FOXSports.com - NFL on FOX Insiders- Bad officiating was story of weekend ] ]

Calls against the Seahawks

The following is a list of the most oft-criticized calls that went against the Seahawks:
*First Quarter, 2:08 left, score tied 0-0: Seattle quarterback Matt Hasselbeck threw a 16-yard pass that wide receiver Darrell Jackson caught in the end zone, but the play was called back on an offensive pass interference call. Back Judge Bob Waggoner, a Pittsburgh native [ [http://www.usatoday.com/sports/columnist/oconnor/2006-02-06-oconnor-xl_x.htm USATODAY.com - Super Bowl referees foul, but then so was everything else ] ] , flagged Jackson for pushing off Steelers safety Chris Hope. Seattle had to settle for a Josh Brown field goal. Critics claimed both Jackson and the defensive player were jostling for position and that officials should not have flagged either player. Michael Smith of ESPN wrote that "Jackson extended his arm, yes, but both players were fighting for position, and he didn't create any separation by doing so." [ [http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/playoffs05/columns/story?columnist=smith_michael&id=2320683 ESPN - Game's third team upstaged Steelers, Hawks - NFL ] ] Adding to the controversy was the fact that Waggoner's flag was thrown several seconds after the play ended, which some incorrectly saw as proof that Hope had lobbied for the call [ [http://www.sportscolumn.com/story/2006/2/6/01851/69883 Sportscolumn.com - Sports News - The NFL refs blew the game petition ] ] , when in fact Waggoner simply had trouble grabbing his flag.

*Second Quarter, 3:58 Left, Seahawks lead 3-0: Roethlisberger pass to H.Ward to SEA 3 for 37 yards and tackled by Boulware. - This play broke down and ended up with Roethlisberger scrambling to his left. His linemen thought he was going to rush for a short gain and began to set up their blocks downfield, but instead Roethlisberger heaved up a pass to Ward and completed at the 3 yard line. On the play, multiple Steeler lineman were over the line of scrimmage - no call was made by officials. The correct call would have been ineligible downfield, nullifying the potential go-ahead score by the Steelers.

*Second Quarter, 2:00 left, Seahawks lead 3-0: On third down from the Seattle one-yard line, Pittsburgh quarterback Ben Roethlisberger took the snap, faked a handoff, and dove toward the left side of a pile along the goal-line before being hit by Seahawks linebacker D.D. Lewis. He then extended his arm that was holding the ball to the goal line, though it is unclear as to whether the extension was before or after he was officially down. After first raising one hand (as if to indicate that the quarterback was down), head linesman Mark Hittner raised a second arm to signal a touchdown. The play stood after review, to the considerable ire of Seahawks coach Mike Holmgren, who berated Leavy on the way to the locker room following the first half. [ [http://www.dallascowboys.com/news.cfm?id=3DF78390-FF85-6B4A-2563F5AE08B912E7 DallasCowboys.com - News ] ] The play was hotly debated in the media between those who thought the play should have resulted in a fourth-down-and-inches situation [ [http://msnbc.msn.com/id/11242265/ JT the Brick: Bad Super Bowl getting worse - JT the Brick - MSNBC.com ] ] and those who thought the ball crossed the goal line. [ [http://www.jaguars.com/story/5015.asp jaguars.com > News > Ask Vic > Not a true sixth seed ] ] Roethlisberger appeared on the The Late Show with David Letterman the day after the game and told the host that, immediately after the play, he had told Cowher, "I don’t think I got in," but that the team was "ready to go for it on fourth down anyway." [http://msn.foxsports.com/nfl/story/5313884] He later explained that he was referring to his initial impression only, and believes "the ball crossed the plane." [ [http://www.benmaller.com/archives/2006/february/09-roethlisberger_i_crossed_goal_line.html Ben Maller : Archives ] ]

*Fourth Quarter, 12:35 left, Steelers lead 14-10: Hasselbeck completed an 18-yard pass to tight end Jerramy Stevens at the Steelers 1-yard line. The play was nullified by a penalty against Seattle right tackle Sean Locklear for holding Pittsburgh linebacker Clark Haggans. Critics of the call dubbed it a "phantom hold," [http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/sports/justice/texans/3640886.html] but others argued that, since NFL rules prohibit the encircling of a defender with hands or arms (i.e., "hooking") and since Locklear did appear briefly to have an arm around Haggans’ neck, the call was correct and not unusual. [http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/seahawks/2002795956_theplays10.html The Seattle Times: Seahawks: Explanations of six key plays ] ] In addition, there is a dispute whether Haggans was offsides during the play, but in slow motion, "it looks like he crossed the line right at the snap, not early".

*Fourth Quarter, 10:54 left, Steelers lead 14-10: Three plays after the nullified pass to Stevens, Hasselbeck threw an interception to Pittsburgh cornerback Ike Taylor, who returned the ball 24 yards. A 15-yard personal foul was whistled against Hasselbeck for a "low block," advancing the Steelers to their own 44-yard line. During the American television broadcast, commentator Al Michaels said, "We think this was a bad call," suggesting that Hasselbeck was not blocking another Pittsburgh player but was instead making a low tackle on a ball carrier, which is legal. However, NFL Network announcer Rich Eisen in a column he wrote for nfl.com claims it was the right call by the rules, even if the rule itself may be defective. [http://www.nfl.com/nflnetwork/story/9235142] Mike Pereira, the Director of Officiating for the NFL, has said that "the call was not correct" and "should not have been made." [http://play.rbn.com/?url=nfl/nfl/open/nflfilms/demand/s2005/nfln-ta/off/official_review_300k.rm]

*Fourth Quarter, 4:45 left, Steelers lead 21-10: With the Steelers' hoping to convert a first down on third-and-six in order to take more time off the clock, Roethlisberger was forced to call a timeout when Pittsburgh had difficulty getting a play off as the play clock ran down. The Steelers were awarded a timeout, but some contended that the play clock hit zero seconds before Roethlisberger called for a timeout, which would have constituted a delay-of-game and resulted in a five-yard penalty against Pittsburgh. [http://msn.foxsports.com/nfl/story/5311162]

Calls against the Steelers

Although the negative media reaction against the officials was largely due to calls that did not go the Seahawks way, others suggested that there were calls that didn't go the Steelers' way. Gregg Easterbrook of NFL.com wrote:::"Four of the six big officiating decisions went against Seattle. Does this mean a pro-Steelers bias, as some in the sports yak world are saying, or perhaps a slap at Mike Holmgren by the officiating guild? ... The two decisions that favored the Hawks were the fourth-quarter replay reversal that gave possession, initially awarded to Pittsburgh, back to Seattle; and the no-call of a block in the back by Seattle during Kelly Herndon's record interception return. Of the four big decisions that favored the Steelers, two seemed correct to me." [http://www.nfl.com/news/story/9213999]

Pittsburgh was not called for any penalties during the second half while Seattle had three, including two of the disputed calls mentioned above. [ [http://www.nfl.com/gamecenter/playbyplay?game_id=28857&displayPage=tab_play_by_play&season=2005&week=POST21 NFL.com Play-by-Play: Super Bowl XL] ]

References