Its Official: NFL ADMITS TO OFFICIATING ERRORS IN SUPERBOWL!

[Brian in Mesa]

How come every Cardinal fan watching the game thought that should be the play call but it wasn't? You throw it high enough that either Larry catches it or its incomplete. No DB has been able to jump with him all season.

I think Larry should have been in the endzone (yes on D) with Holmes on Pittsburgh's final drive.

Larry would have come down with the ball, or at least he'd have batted it away.

 

[AZCardsWin]

Some of you PM me that the original link is now not working - maybe the NFL is trying to shut us down from being heard- LOL

But I found a new link that works:
http://youtube.com/watch?v=HPiDljTt2Uw


Also a great read from the Washington Post today:
http://views.washingtonpost.com/thel...-blunders.html

 

[dylanbw]

Some of you PM me that the original link is now not working - maybe the NFL is trying to shut us down from being heard- LOL

But I found a new link that works:
http://youtube.com/watch?v=HPiDljTt2Uw


Also a great read from the Washington Post today:
http://views.washingtonpost.com/thel...-blunders.html

That link is not working, but here is the blog piece from Gene Wang of the WP:

Super Bowl Blunders

Super Bowl XLIII was memorable not only for its riveting fourth quarter but also for a handful of critical officiating errors. One of the most egregious came immediately following Santonio Holmes's acrobatic, six-yard touchdown catch with 35 seconds left that gave Pittsburgh a 27-23 victory.

We might as well start there since that play decided the outcome.

Holmes did a nice LeBron James imitation during his celebration, using the football as a mock shaker and throwing imaginary powder into the air. NFL rules specifically state, however, that using the ball as a prop is prohibited. Holmes should have been assessed an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty, and that would have impacted Arizona's starting field position on its final possession.

Earlier in the fourth quarter, officials called Steelers linebacker James Harrison for unnecessary roughness when he made contact with punter Ben Graham. Officials said the contact took place after the change of possession, and Pittsburgh began inside its 1-yard line as a result.

Replays showed Harrison did much more than make illegal contact. Well after the punt, Harrison appeared to take a swing at Graham while holding him down. That ought to be cause for ejection, but perhaps officials figured the magnitude of the game precluded tossing the NFL's defensive player of the year.

In any case, it was an ugly sequence in one of the more memorable Super Bowls of all-time.

Another questionable call unfolded midway through the third quarter. On first and 10 at midfield, Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger came under a heavy rush and tossed the ball toward the left sideline.

Officials called linebacker Karlos Dansby for roughing the passer on a borderline late hit in the back. A more appropriate call would have been intentional grounding, as Roethlisberger was not outside the tackle box and did not have a receiver near his pass.

The Steelers advanced 15 yards because of the penalty, and they got a 21-yard field goal out of the drive.

There was even some controversy on the Cardinals' final play when linebacker LaMarr Woodley sacked quarterback Kurt Warner, causing what officials ruled a fumble. Defensive end Brett Keisel recovered, and Roethlisberger knelt to run off the final five seconds.

Replays showed officials probably made the right call, but considering the stakes, shouldn't they have at least looked at it again to be unequivocally sure?

It was an appropriate ending to a Super Bowl with spotty at best officiating and to a season in which poor officiating was rampant.
---
Obviously it was Francisco, not Graham, who was assaulted by Roid Rage Harrison....otherwise, good read....

 

[SoCal Cardfan]

Obviously it was Francisco, not Graham, who was assaulted by Roid Rage Harrison....otherwise, good read....

Yeah, that's an easy mistake to make, When you see a FOOTBALL player being that big of a wuss, it's only logical to assume it's a kicker.

 

[CardLogic]

There is an issue that I haven't seen raised and it could very well be the cause of the overall poor job by the officiating crew. There were many questionable calls, including several against the Steelers. Though I do believe the Cardinals got the worst of it in this particular game.

I think that a lot of the problems arising from the officiating could possibly be due to the crew not being a coherent group. The officiating crew for the Super Bowl was made up of officials from a number of different crews. An "all-star" crew of sorts, men from various different crews that had been judged to have individually performed well during the season. Consequently, this was not a crew which had worked together all year. In fact it was the first time they had worked together as a crew.

An officiating crew together for the first time working the biggest game of the season. It's a recipe to create exactly the scenario which we all witnessed.

The Super Bowl should be officiated by the CREW judged to have the best performance throughout the season, not individuals. After all it's not a conglomeration of the best performing players on the field, it's the best TEAMS.

Reward individuals with the Pro-Bowl, not the Super Bowl. Doing so results in something far less than super!

 

[Preacher]

He never twisted the mask, I see what you are saying and the play is clear as day he had a great hold on the thing but he never twisted this head and DRC did twist his so that's why I think it was called that way.

I think you're right, the 5 yard face mask penalty was taking out of the rule book. So either it is a major face mask penalty (manipulating people by the facemask) or no penalty at all.

 

[AZCardsWin]

That link is not working, but here is the blog piece from Gene Wang of the WP:

Super Bowl Blunders

Super Bowl XLIII was memorable not only for its riveting fourth quarter but also for a handful of critical officiating errors. One of the most egregious came immediately following Santonio Holmes's acrobatic, six-yard touchdown catch with 35 seconds left that gave Pittsburgh a 27-23 victory.

We might as well start there since that play decided the outcome.

Holmes did a nice LeBron James imitation during his celebration, using the football as a mock shaker and throwing imaginary powder into the air. NFL rules specifically state, however, that using the ball as a prop is prohibited. Holmes should have been assessed an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty, and that would have impacted Arizona's starting field position on its final possession.

Earlier in the fourth quarter, officials called Steelers linebacker James Harrison for unnecessary roughness when he made contact with punter Ben Graham. Officials said the contact took place after the change of possession, and Pittsburgh began inside its 1-yard line as a result.

Replays showed Harrison did much more than make illegal contact. Well after the punt, Harrison appeared to take a swing at Graham while holding him down. That ought to be cause for ejection, but perhaps officials figured the magnitude of the game precluded tossing the NFL's defensive player of the year.

In any case, it was an ugly sequence in one of the more memorable Super Bowls of all-time.

Another questionable call unfolded midway through the third quarter. On first and 10 at midfield, Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger came under a heavy rush and tossed the ball toward the left sideline.

Officials called linebacker Karlos Dansby for roughing the passer on a borderline late hit in the back. A more appropriate call would have been intentional grounding, as Roethlisberger was not outside the tackle box and did not have a receiver near his pass.

The Steelers advanced 15 yards because of the penalty, and they got a 21-yard field goal out of the drive.

There was even some controversy on the Cardinals' final play when linebacker LaMarr Woodley sacked quarterback Kurt Warner, causing what officials ruled a fumble. Defensive end Brett Keisel recovered, and Roethlisberger knelt to run off the final five seconds.

Replays showed officials probably made the right call, but considering the stakes, shouldn't they have at least looked at it again to be unequivocally sure?

It was an appropriate ending to a Super Bowl with spotty at best officiating and to a season in which poor officiating was rampant.
---
Obviously it was Francisco, not Graham, who was assaulted by Roid Rage Harrison....otherwise, good read....

Wow. That article hits the bullseye for sure! Great read.

 

[scXfreakX]

Well, its good that they admitted it. This game's officiating was very fishy. Way too many penalties. I saw the refs more than the players.

 

[AZCardsWin]

Not sure if all of you saw ESPN news yesterday. They had Tiger Woods on discussing the Super Bowl and he too couldn't resist talking about the referees having a big impact.

ESPN News ticker was running the VP of Officiating Mike Periera comments on the missed S.Holmes celebration penalty all day. Almost like the NFL is trying to cleanse its soul.

Anyway, I saw this write-up last night. Another very good read:
http://www.realfootball365.com/articles/cardinals/13600

 

[Perfectionist]

Even on fox news this morning they were talking about the officials and what could have been. Nothing will ever change the score. We just need to get back and win the whole thing.

 

[AZCardsWin]

Even on fox news this morning they were talking about the officials and what could have been. Nothing will ever change the score. We just need to get back and win the whole thing.

I agree that getting back to the Super Bowl is they key. But damn, thats so hard to do- LOL