Is it just me...

[mklingbeil]

Or was Santonio Holmes out of bounds on that last catch? If you look at the replay, he had both feet close to the end line, but when he finally got possession of the ball, his right foot was placed behind his left foot (which was definitely in) and never came down before he was pushed out. Since this year there is no push out rule, shouldn't that have been incomplete?

If I am correct, this is just one in a bunch of bad calls that went the Steelers way (see second to last play). Arizona had to use two red flags to overturn terrible calls, the Steelers none. Now, taken alone you might just say unfortunately the bad calls went against the Steelers opponents THIS game, however, remember how one-sided the refs were against the Seahawks?

I have a theory the reason for this. The teams that seem to receive the calls more often are the Steelers and the Cowboys, who also are the two most popular teams in the NFL. The Cowboys are not getting the calls like they used to, I think mostly because they have evolved from "America's Team" to "America's Most Wanted." Seriously, this season is probably the first season EVER the Cowboys had more bad calls against them then for them. The Steelers CONSTANTLY get better calls (see the BS call against the Ravens). I think it is because the NFL brings in more money when a popular team wins versus a newcomer like the Cards.

We can also look to other sports for verification. How many times did Larry Bird foul without it getting called? It is easy to be a legend if you are allowed a less stringent rule set than your opponent. In the NBA, they will not call things against stars or great teams that they would lesser players and franchises.

I must admit, that call was close. But that is kinda my point, if the call is close, it seems to go in the Steeler's favor, right? Now, I could be wrong, and if he did touch the ground...amazing catch! I just watched it a few times, and I don't think he did (with possession).

What do you think...did he get them down?
Mark

[Reginald Rutledge]

Mark,

Usually when I look at a game, I look at it from an officiating perspective. The funny thing is I was watching the game with Rose and she pointed out that he had one foot in and the other one was not.

The problem is that even if the red flag was thrown, it would have more than likely been inconclusive because even in slo-mo, you could not conclusively say that it was only one foot in or even out of bounds.

Although I sometime try to defend officials about favoritism, I did see it as a high school official. I see it in the college game, especially in basketball. I was watching Texas/KState Saturday and the officials did everything in their power to give Texas a win. You could tell something was fishy in Denmark!

I sometimes get so frustrated with sports because officiating can be subjective. I am human and sometimes when I officiate a great player, I get caught up in the moment. A "carry" by a great basketball player may not be called as compared to an average or less-skilled player. I am not saying that is right but even officials get caught up in the moment.

However, even with the greatest technological advances, they may need to invest in ground cameras to further show whether the feet are in. These should be planted in endzones and down the sideline if you want to squash that part of controversy. You still would have grey areas in other parts of the game to argue too.

I did think the officials were overly harsh on the Cards in key situations but also, the Cards did have a hand in it too.

Just my opinion.

Reg

[TVsCHACHI]

It's on YouTube,

his right foot is clearly down behind his left, he had posession and both feet were inbounds. Easy call.


The TD call with Big Ben was close, this stuff is all in a split second, it was a good challenge but not a blown call.


How many holding calls did they miss on James Harrison? He was held all day, when he wasn't he got to Warner. They called a few, give them that.



As for XL, the push-off penalty is the biggest controversy. Ben's TD is not.
Roethlisberger broke the plane with the ball before his knee touched.



The roughing the passer penalty in AFC Championship game was bad, but once called you cannot go back. Punters commonly fall, the Raven was in motion, a bad angle can make all the difference.



What about the horrible call against Troy's pick in the Steelers Colts game 2005, that should have ended it right there. Do you think the refs wanted the Colts to go to the big game in 2005?


To say the officiating is lopsided is strange, refs make bad calls, sometimes they apologize, they are human. It's a give and take, it sucks when it's against you but everybody breaths a sigh of relief when it's your boys who dodge a bullet.


Santonio was clearly in.

[TVsCHACHI]

Harrison broke the plane before his elbow touched.

YouTube it.

[Taylor]

while I was watching I thought that Santonio Holmes had 1 foot on the other, but that was just while watching the game, not while watching replays on ESPN though.
If he did, there was definitely not enough evidence to support it.

[edvaughn]

Yes the Cardinals shot themselves in the foot on the last drive - as an Eagles fan I saw the same thing in the Championship game.....we got the lead the the defense let the Cards march down and get a Td "And" a 2 pt conversion!!

I believe the one foot was in but the other was resting across the heal of the other and therefore couldn't have reached the ground - but if you let a lteam march down like that and with that being a hell of a catch on "3" defenders - he deserved that and the cards deserved to lose that one...3 defenders and he catches it in the back corner......OHHHHH - GIVE "THAT" TO HIM" HE DESERVES THAT!!!!!!......What a catch!!!!

[Tomkat]

I agree with alot of bad calls, however, I do think his right foot got down. At first, it was on top of his left, (like his legs were crossed), but I do think it did get down. The real question is this - on Harrison's TD, did his right elbow touch before the ball crossed the goalline? All anyone talked about was his knee and whether or not it was down, but an elbow counts the same as a knee.

[Lindyhopper49]

That last one definitely was a TD. They showed a Front on shot and he pretty much landed on both toes then the right one came up after...

the cardinals didnt do themselves any favors... they had plenty of penalties...

[Collegefootballfan]

[Electric Coach]

It did appear that the Cardinals had to work a little harder during this Super Bowl. From a business perspective, a Cardinals win probably would have hurt the NFL’s pocket book. I say that because they have no fan base. I have been to a lot of places and I have never met a Cardinals fan. I don’t recall the last time I saw a Cardinals T-shirt, cap, or sweat hoody, etc. Mark I agree with you in regards to the business side of the game.

Holmes had both feet in bounds when he made that catch. As far as bad calls are concerned, referees sometimes make calls based on their perception of a particular person or team. An example would be a defensive end that is known for his lack of speed. This defensive end in rare form manages to get a jump on the snap. As a result, he sacks the quarterback. The ref calls the defensive end as being off sides. This would have never happened to a player like Dwight Freeney; it is expected for him to get to the QB.

Do you remember the NBA finals when Michael Jordan shot a last second jumper over the Jazz. It was that shot when he held the pose with his shooting hand still in the air. That shot shouldn’t have counted because Jordan pushed off using his shoulder. That was an offensive foul. It’s two reasons why I think the refs didn’t call offensive foul on Jordan. The first reason is the refs believed that the Jazz’s defender wouldn’t have stopped Jordan even if he didn’t push off. The second reason is it was an exciting moment that the ref would have spoiled if he made the call.

Maurice

The Electric Coach