Super Bowl Jottings: Win vs. Whine, A Beautifully Ugly Win

I’m baaack! Sorry for the extended absence, I’ll get into that later. I’d rather start out writing about the Super Bowl I’m sure we all just witnessed. To say the least, there are some folks out there not giving full credit to the black and gold and are instead giving it to the black and white. Again, I’ll cover that real soon. What I’m wondering is if I need to change my cell phone number now. You see, the last four digits of my number are 3119 or, if you remember the year 1980, the final score of the last Steelers Super Bowl victory. That was, until this past Sunday. It’s been a great year so let’s get to some jottings.

Let’s start out by going over all of these calls that the media and Seahawks fans seem to have a problem with.
1. The offensive pass interference call negating a Darrell Jackson TD: I’ve just finished re-watching the game and spent a little extra time on this one. It didn’t take a lot of time because every time I watched it the result was the same. It was pass interference on the receiver. No doubt in my mind on this one. Not only was Jackson dumb enough to do it right in front of an official, he was also able to use the move to get himself into position for the pass. When he pushed off, it caused Chris Hope to be pushed back to the point where he had to reset his feet a foot or so backwards. Believe me, I know what questionable calls look like and this is not one of them. I guess the easiest way to see that this was a penalty is to ask yourself, if the defender had the same kind of contact with a receiver, would he have been flagged for it? Yes. Hell yes.
2. The holding call on RT Sean Locklear: This one is easy. It was holding on that play. Not the most flagrant holding of the day but a penalty nonetheless. The problem was, Locklear spent a good part of the game holding and it has been said in many places that he had already received at least a couple of warnings from the officials. My best bet as to why that one was called was because Haggans had such a quick jump off the snap (another controversy I’ll tackle in a sec) that if he weren’t held, he would have blindsided the QB. Those catch the ref’s attention and drew his flag. Once the guy is past you, you can’t still have your arm up in his shoulder pads especially if you pull him down to a knee. It was that contact with the ground by Haggans that most likely drew the call. If this had happened on any other play rather than one that lead to a big gain for the Seahawks it would have been forgotten.
3. Offsides on Haggans (and others): No offsides at all, they were just going on the snap count like every else on the offense. Maybe Hasselbeck should learn to change up his snap counts once in a while.
4. The Roethlisberger TD: Was it or wasn’t it a TD? I’ll tell you what; it doesn’t get much closer than that. On some replays it looks like a small part of the ball went over and on some I have my doubts. Truth is, it wasn’t a bad call at all, it was a judgment call. It was also a judgment call that withstood a replay. Any Seahawks backers that want to try and turn this into a bad call is trying to gather reasons for why they lost. Besides, it’s not like the Steelers wouldn’t have had the ball at the fraction-of-an-inch line with one more shot to get the score. Given their track record of late, I would have bet on a successful QB sneak on the next play. [Late note: There has been a picture published of the play and the ball-in this picture anyways-was over the line by a small amount. Sorry Cryhawks fans, that’s one whimper that won’t hold water.]
5. The penalty on Matt Hasselbeck’s attempted tackle: Steelers fans know this rule well having already been called for it twice this year including once on Monday Night Football (Hartings and the Colts). I’m not a big fan of the low blocking rule but I can see why it is in the books, in an effort to protect the knees of the players. Did Hasselbeck do it? This one looks more like a poor attempt at a tackle than an attempt to take blockers out at the knees to me. That said, let’s get a little real here shall we? Did that call cost Seattle the game? Of course, it was only a 15 yard penalty, but it’s yet another iffy call that the media and Seahawk fandom can use to build their weak case. See? I gave the Seahawks one.

OK, let’s mention a few things that the national media/Seahawks conveniently left out.
1. The fumble that wasn’t: One of TE Jerremy Stevens many dropped passes on the day was actually a complete pass and a fumble. Chris Hope, making a rare and effective hit, knocked the ball loose where James Farrior would have had a more that likely recovery. Problem was, the official (you know, the bad guys according to too many) blew his whistle very quickly and the play was over. What it should have been was a recovery and a return to somewhere around midfield setting up a short field for the offense. What is was, was an incomplete pass followed by a punt and a possession by the Steelers starting deep in their own territory. Using the Seahawks fans’ reasoning I could conclude that since the Steelers would have had a short field (which would have had to have lead to a score) at worst and a possible fumble return for a TD at best, this really hurt the Steelers bad and that the refs were in on the fix. What it amounted to be was a break that didn’t go the Steelers’ way and they overcame it.
2. The many uncalled holding penalties. I’m not going to harp on this but let’s just say that the Seahawks O-line found a great way to contain the Steelers rush and whatever the ref doesn’t see is legal. They just weren’t as dumb as Darrell Jackson who decided the best place to push off was right in front of the ref.
3. The illegal pick play that gave the Seahawks their lone TD. The pitiful duo of Al “do you believe in miracles?” Michaels and John “I still hate the Steelers since the Immaculate Reception” Madden loved talking up the calls against the ‘Hawks but seemed to want to move past this one pretty quick. Also, I haven’t heard any other media source bring it up when talking about the officiating. For those who may not know what I’m talking about I’ll explain. Stevens’ route into the end zone was a fairly simple up and out (I think, it wasn’t a great route). What made it work was the outside receivers’ route. Darrell Jackson’s route was run straight at Troy Polamalu who was intending on covering Stevens. With the extra time it took Polamalu to get around that pick, Stevens was able to run freely into the end zone and finally haul in a pass for the score. I can only imagine the outcry if this one was called as well but when you get right down to it, it should have been. In the NBA it is a great pick, in the NFL it is illegal and considered interference.
4. Speaking of interference, what was the story on that interference call on Heath Miller? I noticed this one immediately because when it was reported by the official, it made no sense whatsoever. The ref started out his call by saying “before the pass…” Once he says that it makes it impossible to be interference because the ball needs to be in the air for that call. What he could have called was illegal contact but even that would have been questionable because Miller was not that far downfield and looked to be within five yards of the line of scrimmage. As it turned out, it didn’t matter because the Steelers did what the Seahawks could not do and that was overcome a setback to make a play.

I guess I could go on and continue to nitpick but I think you get the point. In a nutshell, the refs didn’t do any team any favors but did in fact call about 98% of the game correctly. Seattle’s problem wasn’t the officiating; it was their bad timing in committing their penalties. Outside of maybe that call on Hasselbeck, they were all dead on.

• When you look back at this Super Bowl in a few years from now I hope the performance of Dick Lebeau and his game plan will be fully appreciated. Normally I’m not a fan of the bend but don’t break style of defense but the way he employed it was very impressive. He let Seattle have the easy, cheap underneath stuff on their side of the field counting on a mistake sooner or later to end the drive. That’s exactly what the Seahawks did whether it was a bad pass, dropped pass, stupid penalty or a field goal try from a different zip code. In fact, the only TD Seattle could muster was from an interception return and even that score could have been overturned. In the second half we got to see more of the blitzing style of defense that the Steelers’ defense has become known for and the variety was the key. I mean, how many other defensive coordinators would have a 5-9 corner, Deshea Townsend, blitz up the middle? Lebeau has been a major force in the Steelers’ run this season and I just hope he gets his due credit.
• On the opposite end of the coaching spectrum was Mike Holmgren. As far as I can tell, he only bothered to coach one quarter, the first, during the game. After the Roethlisberger TD, he seemed to unravel. His west coast offense with its control passing game started to turn into a deeper passing, towards the sidelines type of offense. Needless to say, it wasn’t nearly as effective with many passes sailing out of bounds and the ones that were caught were with the receiver out of bounds. His play calling after the Locklear holding penalty, run wide right then run wide left then chuck it deep to your fourth string receiver, was stunningly stupid. Add to that his horrific use of the clock at the end of both halves and you have a game that Holmgren under performed in. I have reason to believe that all his bluster about the officiating is much more than trying to play to the crowd in Seattle. I think a lot of it has to do with him covering up his own miserable performance. Regardless, the result is and will always remain the same no matter who he tries to blame.
• Darrell Jackson had five catches in the first quarter and none after. I have to credit coaching on both sides for this. Lebeau stopped giving up 10 yards for free and Holmgren mistook him for a deep threat. •
• Anybody miss Plaxico Burress now?
• I love the folks out there telling us how much better the Seahawks played than the Steelers. I’m sorry, if you give up 181 yards rushing in the Super Bowl, you have no room to complain about losing.
• If I had to select a MVP other than Hines Ward I might go ahead and tab Alan Faneca for the honor. He was killing people all day and his block on the Willie Parker 75 yard TD run was the key play. For all those trying to tell us for two weeks that Seattle’s Steve Hutchinson was the best left guard in the game well, all I have to say is watch the Super Bowl and see. Actually, I’m not even sure Hutchinson would make the Pro Bowl in the AFC with Faneca and KC’s Will Shields and Brian Waters in his way.
• In what was probably his last game as a Steeler, Chris Hope had his moments. For those of you that have read my articles in the past you already know how little I think of Hope but he did have a nice game when it counted. Not great mind you, he still hits way to high and has a tendency to bounce off of running backs but he was more than serviceable in the big game.
• Watching the Super Bowl and the playoff games before it I’m not sure that I can name a player that has progressed more than Max Starks. Earlier in the season he had a few shaky games before improving to be considered reliable. With the way he attacks the second level of defenders now (watch the Willie Parker run to see what I mean) is a good indication of a better understanding of the game and the confidence to use his talent. He should have a great follow up to what was his first year of starting next year. With his physical tools he may be just a few years away from getting Pro Bowl recognition.
• Not to be left out, I have to give credit to the little thought of Kendall Simmons as well. After having a very difficult start to the season he really gelled with Starks as the season went on. The most important thing though is that he proved he can pull from his position again, a key in the Steelers running game. He may not be ready to loose his job next year yet.
• It goes without saying how much Jerome Bettis has meant to the Steelers over the years. It was great to see him go out on top in his home town (gee, ever heard that mentioned before?). I would be very surprised if his trip to the Hall of Fame didn’t come on the first ballot. He can thank Ben Roethlisberger and that amazing tackle of his against the Colts for that. What I personally would love to get my hands on as a classic reminder of the Bus is a nice photo of him running over the Bears’ Brian Urlacher in the snow at Heinz Field going in for a score. That sums up much of his career in one shot in my opinion.
• With his play in the Super Bowl, Antwaan Randle El probably priced himself out of Pittsburgh. His versatile play has been very valuable to say the least and if he does find more money elsewhere he will surely be missed. The worst part about it is that the Patriots are said to one of the most interested parties. Who knows though, maybe the Steelers will figure out that their franchise QB needs plenty of weapons to throw to and they could find a way to make it happen. It’s a bit of a long shot but you never know. Even if he does end up leaving, the Steelers have the makings of a nice receiver corps with the great Hines Ward along with strong playoff performer Cedric Wilson, kick returner and deep threat Quincy Morgan (if he re-signs, I think he will) and the late emerging Nate Washington (great effort against the Broncos in limited time). Add in a draft pick (or hopefully Randle El) and the Steelers look set for the next couple of years at least.
• Why was everybody so interested in Steve Young’s pro Seattle comments at halftime? It should come as no surprise whom he was going to side with. After all, how many years was Holmgren his offensive coordinator in San Francisco? Quite a few to say the least. It’s a shame that some of these commentators don’t first acknowledge their biases before making their statements; it would shine a lot of light on what they are saying.
• Seattle found out in the Super Bowl how much damage could be caused by drafting “knuckleheads”. By that I mean the players who come into the league with known character issues. In their case, two players stand out in my mind. The first is Jerremy Stevens the ball-dropping machine. To say that he is a knucklehead is a huge understatement already having been in trouble with the law consistently since he entered the league. During the week he got in a war of words with the master himself Joey Porter and it sure looked like Porter got into and stayed in his head throughout the game. Those who are weak mentally tend to let things like that happen to themselves. The other player I noticed a lot in highlights was a guy who wasn’t even active for most of the season. I’m talking about injured safety Ken Hamlin. He wasn’t in the game but NFL films seems to have fallen in love with him and he shows up in all kinds of game highlights from the sideline in his game jersey adding his commentary (not pro Steelers of course). The reason he wasn’t able to suit up was that this character challenged individual (well known before the draft) was dumb enough to get into a bar fight during the season and was beat up so bad he had his skull fractured. One night out, one end of a season. Where it played into the Super Bowl was when his backup, Marquand Manuel went down with an injury. That only left a young, undrafted free agent named Etric Pruitt to make mistakes on big plays like the Willie Parker run and the Randle El option pass. It’s tough enough drafting as it is but when you go out and select known malcontents, the price has to paid sooner or later and the Seahawks bill came due in Detroit.
• The Steelers will have quite a few free agent issues to deal with in the off season and the problem with being a defending Super Bowl Champion (doesn’t that just sound nice) is everybody wants a piece of what you have. So, don’t expect this team to look exactly the same. Here are my guesses as to who stays and who goes.
  
  Staying: Verron Haynes, he’s found a solid niche with the Steelers and doesn’t have enough value elsewhere to get priced out of the market. Charlie Batch, hometown guy will get to keep his #2 job and get paid nicely for it. I don’t think he’s an option for anybody’s #1 spot. Quincy Morgan, after bouncing around a bit, he may be ready to take what the Steelers offer for the chance at the #2 spot and to stay the main kick off return man. Jerame Tuman, where else is he going to go so a vet’s minimum deal is in his future. Kimo von Toasteroven, will get a fair contract to finish his career in the ‘burgh. He’s also a little old for somebody to chase with big dollars. Deshea Townsend, the Steelers like his locker room presence and leadership and I really don’t think teams will chase an aging, smaller corner with starters money. Ike Taylor, as a restricted free agent the Steelers will offer him a tender that allows them to match any deal. It would take an amazing deal to keep the Steelers from doing just that and then they would receive a first round pick for the signing. I don’t think any team is ready to spend that kind of money and a first rounder on a guy who’s started only one year. Clint Kriewaldt, the Steelers have been good to him and he has returned the favor. I think each would be best off with each other.
  
  Leaving: Antwaan Randle El, I sure hope he doesn’t but things just don’t look good. Teams with a lot more cap room and need at WR will look at him as being the answer. They might be a bit disappointed if they just run him out there as a #1 or #2 receiver but if used right, he’s dynamite. Brett Keisel, I think the secret is out with him and somebody will pay a lot more than the Steelers can to have him start. With his health history, caution might be the key word but teams are always willing to risk for a pass rusher. Chris Hope, playing on a Super Bowl is his ticket to the big money he desires and there would be no way he would take a discount to stay in Pittsburgh. Personally, I don’t want him back, his tackling is poor and his coverage always seems to be late. Look for the Cardinals or the Saints to over pay for the right to have a SB champ at their FS position. One of the centers will also be on his way out. If Hartings is willing to accept a dramatic pay cut he will be welcomed back and Chukky Okobi and his $2 million contract will be jettisoned. If not, Chukky gets his chance (finally). I’m hoping that Hartings stays and the Steelers grab his future replacement in the middle rounds. I’m also guessing that Duce Staley will be gone. I’m not sure he’d be willing to take a pay cut and I also don’t think the Steelers can afford to pay him millions and hope he stays healthy (for once). Tommy Maddox, after his charity stopped returning my phone calls after the Jacksonville game I had a feeling he was looking to be out of Pittsburgh. Now, I’m not sure of all that went down with his family and the fans after that game but I don’t think it matters because teams don’t pay third string QBs seven figures. It’s a shame too; he’s a good egg. Willie Williams, if he doesn’t retire he won’t be retained. I think he’d be a great coach and should be kept around in that position if possible. Chris Gardocki, he was great in the big games but the Steelers might need to go cheaper and younger at his position. Not so sure on this one though, something could be worked out. Barrett Brooks, not good, not good at all.

I think that’s all of ‘em, I’m just working off the top of my head here.

OK, now here comes a quick explanation as to why I’ve been very quite the last several weeks. As the late season winning streak was taking place I started to look ahead and what faced the Steelers. I was already working on the assumption that they would make the playoffs (easy late season schedule) and then took a peek as to who they might face in the playoffs. The way it was setting up it looked like a revenge tour for the season with Cincy, Indy and either New England or Denver waiting for them if they got to the AFC Championship game. That’s when I started to write an article with the word destiny in it a lot. Now, I would like to tell you that I am not a superstitious man. I would like to but I can’t. That said, I deleted the article and figured I’d wait until the next week to write again. After the Steelers won again I just figured I would leave it alone and just wait. For what I wasn’t sure but I had my hopes. Now, I’m not going to sit here and say that I predicted any of this (I wish I could but I did not think we’d get past Indy). All I will say is that I just wanted to leave well enough alone and just be an interested observer without having to worry about having to rip into Chris Hope again. So, I started to dig into the draft a bit more and just sat back and enjoyed what we all just went through.

Hope that explains it a bit, if not just blame it on me being lazy and we’ll go from there.

Anyways, I really need to get this posted so I’m going to end it here.

Nuf fer now,

Tim “By the way, I’m going to post these first on my Fox Web blog site for everybody to read so there is the ability for people to respond to me and each other. I would like it to be an open forum for all other opinions and thoughts and I will be posting smaller items more frequently. Just try and keep it clean and don’t rip me too much. Hopefully we will have this ability on our web site soon but until then, we’ll use Fox Sports’." Campion