Archives
Was This The Worst Super Bowl Ever???
I like to think that I am not so myopic about current events. I don't like to think something is the "greatest" or "worst" ever just moments after the game ends. I mean, there have been some movies that I watched at the theater that I really enjoyed....then see them a few months later on DVD and realize how bad they really were.
But I am gonna right now.
So, Super Bowl XL. Was it good?
When I think of SUPER Bowl...I think of at least one darn good team in the game. Sure, there have been some blowouts....but the team doing the blowing out was like a machine. This looked like it could've been that Cardinals-Niners game in Mexico City.
Well, the MVP caught 5 passes....albeit for 123 yards.
The winning QB threw 9-of-21 for just 123 yards.....no TDs and two interceptions. Pittsburgh completed only 10 passes in the game [the record for a winning team is 6 by Miami in SB VIII]....with the wide receiver throwing more TDs [1] than the starting QB [0]. Roethlisberger's QB rating was 22.6. Ouch!!
Big Ben's QB rating was just 1 point higher than the Steelers' point total. Double OUCH!
Seattle had the ball for 7 more minutes.....gained nearly 60 more yards.....and won the turnover margin. Yet lost by 11. Maybe it had something to do with all those Seahawk defenders leaving the game with various injuries.
What also lends itself for the game being a dud was the crappy hype for the game. In the weeks leading up to the Super Bowl, the main story was Jerome Bettis and the Joey Porter-Jeremy Stevens verbal battle. Well, Bettis wasn't that huge of a factor in the game [he did get 43 yards...12 of which on one play]. Joey Porter didn't do much....recording just 3 tackles. Stevens was a bit more in the limelight...catching a TD pass and dropping four passes. He also had a big catch negated by penalty.
Even Troy Polamalu was pretty much a non-factor.
No one hyped Hines Ward all week....he ended up with the MVP trophy. I mean, this was a guy who was in the EXACT same position as Terrell Owens, yet sucked it up and kept his mouth shut and got two major trophies today. No one really hypedup Hasselbeck too much....and he almost threw for 300 yards.
There were two missed FGs.
Or what about Seattle's masterful job at screwing up the 2-minute drill before the half? Or screwing the 2-minute drill at the end of the game?
And what about Shaun Alexander?? Sure, he had a game high 95-yards rushing...but where was he? This is the MVP of the league...and he stands on the sidelines during crucial moments of the game?? Reminds me of USC not having Reggie Bush on the field on that late crucial 4th down play of the Rose Bowl. Why is this guy the "most valuable player" when you can't use him unless you are running the football????
And the officiating will be in question for quite some time....especially in the Pacific Northwest. We can all debate about whether or not Big Ben broke the plane of the goalline....but how in the heck could the line judge determine that he did!?!?! There is nothing that the naked eye in the moment could see that would lead you to believe the ball got in. Heck, looking at the replay, you can barely [if at all] see any arguement the ball did get in. There was the "interference call" on Darrell Jackson's apparant TD grab. A few series prior, there was a holding call on a big catch of his. There was another holding call that even John Madden thought the officials screwed up. There was the no-call on Big Ben after he clearly signals for a timeout after the play clock hits zero [they gave him the TO]. They called a fumble when a guy tagged-up Hasselbeck as he was going to the ground.
But the biggest pile of crap was Matt Hasselbeck getting a 15-yarder for tackling the guy that picked off his pass. He was flagged for a "low block"....when he was tackling a guy??? Horrible!!
And Pittsburgh won by making three big plays. The magestic Big Ben pass on 3rd-and-28 to Ward [which should've had some illegal men downfield flags as The 12th Man brilliantly noticed]. The Willie Parker TD run. And the Antawn Randle-El toss to Ward for the knockout punch. Well, on the Parker run and Randle-El pass...both were blown plays by backup safey Eric Pruitt who was only in the game due to Seahawk injuries in their secondary.
And it isn't just THE GAME THAT SUCKED!! Aaron Neville singing the National Anthem sounded like the ol' Katerine Hepburn after downing a pot of coffee. The Rolling Stones looked like the California Raisins and had their halftime show censored. Even the commercials were subpar [there were some good ones though].
So....how bad was it? Well, in the pantheon of bad Super Bowls....it may rank up there with the Ravens-Giants [who most people forget ever happened]. Many people will put it up there with the Colts-Cowboys Super Bowl V that was so sloppy....but that game was saved with a late FG to win the game. The Broncos-Falcons game was pretty bad as well....but had the Elway factor to it.
But it may not be as bad as Super Bowl VI that the Cowboys beat the Dolphins 24-3. The three points is the lowest total in Super Bowl history. Roger Staubach was MVP with just 119 yards passing. Of course this game jump started the Cowboys' place as America's Team.....and jump started the Dolphins into the next season where they went 17-0.
Unless the Steelers use this as a lauch pad for something of significance [which could happen]...this game may be a bit forgettable.
sportzassassin at 2:44:00 AM EST Blog about this entry |
Add to del.icio.us | 
digg this
-
Key plays ladies and gents, key plays. Seattle blew several. Pitt blew more. Seattle outplayed them everywhere. 3 big plays, that's it. Enought to win, yes. Do they deserve it; yes. But lay off the Seattle fans with an obvious gripe. Whether it was one bad call or 10, the holding call which everyone knows was NOT THERE, would have put Seattle up, or at least within one, and not set up the trick play, which no one is taking away from Pitt, but it shouldn't have been there. I see these lists and.....Pittsburg didn't stop Seattle consistantly like Seattle stopped them...Pitt just busted a few big plays. Here's one for your list......SEATTLE DROVE ON THAT POSSESION FROM THERE OWN 2..........IT WASN'T PITTSBURG WHO STOPPED THE 97 YARD DRIVE...IT WAS THE GUYS IN STRIPES. Then they called a BS foul on Hasselbeck, which I believe is what was the icing on the cake starting the controversy. Like I said before....everyone of you telling the Seattle fans to get over it would be doing the EXACT SAME THING if the tables were turned exactly the other way. It's not what was called, it's the timing of the calls; a few of which were obviously BS. And by the way, to the one who wrote the list including the BREAKS and the INT of Big Ben....you make no sense. How can you rip seattle for making a play...and not blast Ben for blowing it? Congrats Pittsburg on the win; I will not take that from them. But just on that ONE call, the face of the game is totally changed.
-
I Have been a Steelers fan since I knew what afootball was. Not only am I proud of the players and coaching staff for doing what no football team in Nfl have done, I cant say enough about the Roney family . They get up every day put their pants on , like they say just like all of us. This victory just goes to show what you can accomplish if all becomes one, and you work to achieve one goal.
With that said its just a" football game" Their is a lot of very challenging events taking place day in and out with larger consequences such as life and death .
Eating at us all why cant we take some of this wasted energy and apply it to helping people not putting them down. We want to go fight others battles for them while we just let this Great U S A go down the tubes.
God Bless All
Jim Runyan
Hotwax1069@aol.com -
What does it really matter if the Steelers weren't playing up to par, they still won the damn game. I could see if the Seahawks lost by one point but it was 11. To bad the Seahawk fans don't stand behind their players like Pittsburgh does. We've gone to other Super Bowls and lost, so what.. there's always next year or as you know 26 years down the road. The Seahawks and their cry baby fans can't accept the fact they finally got to the Super Bowl and screwed up. With the comments the Seahawk coach is making I can understand why the team lost without pride. Tuck your tails, wipe your nose and eyes, take your ball and go home. Tell yourself it was the refs fault, the players getting hurt, Pittsburgh cheated, ya had to itch your balls, got gas at the wrong moment, sneezed, or shit yourself, YOU STILL LOST for pete sake get over it. Sissys!!!
-
1. The Refs didn't constantly punt deep into the end zone, repeatedly giving Pitt the ball at the 20 yd line...that of course was Seattle.
2. It wasn't the Refs who received a Christmas gift wrapped easy INT lobbed in perfect position to return deep into Pitt territory...the lucky beneficiary of that break would be Seattle.
3. It wasn't the Refs who got a break when a Steeler DB dropped an easy int early in the game...that too would be a break for Seattle.
4. It wasn't the Refs who caught a break when a Steeler WR dropped a very catchable TD pass...that break again would go to Seattle.
5. It wasn't the scapegoat Refs that received a break when a WR caught the ball, turned, stepped, was hit hard enough to cause a fumble, and then ruled INCOMPLETE...that would be of course, another chance for Seattle.
(this was an interesting call considering that after Troy's famous overruled Int, the NFL stated that it WAS a catch. If so, than this definitely WAS a catch)
6. The Refs werent the ones who caught a break when at the conclusion of a 2nd qtr play, as a Pitt DE was walking away, the Seattle Center blindsided the defenseless player, leveling him to the ground. This mysteriously unseen crime was again another break for Seattle.
7. It wasn't the Refs who got a break when Pitt QB Big Ben was blocked in the back as he pursued the DB who he'd tossed an int to...that again would go to Seattle.
8. It wasn't the Refs who stopped Seattle RB Alexander in a few key situations. That would be the Pittsburgh Steelers.
9. It wasn't the Refs who converted many of their 3rd downs yet stopped their opponent on 3rd down often...that would be the Pittsburgh Steelers.
10. And the very bottom line is this...On plays when there weren't any penalties...One team made plays and one team didn't. The end result was the final score, 21-10.
Get over it Seattle, lose with a little dignity.
Congratulations to the World Champion Pittsburgh Steelers.
________
7/16/07 4:52 PM
SEHAWKS 14
REFS 21
bitches speak the word man