_2.gif "Time.com 50 Best Websites 2008")
One of the most exciting plays of this year’s playoffs should have been called back because of a holding penalty.
Ed Bouchette of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports that the NFL now acknowledges that Jaguars quarterback David Garrard’s 32-yard run on fourth-and-2 late in Jacksonville’s playoff win over the Steelers was aided by a block that should have been flagged for holding.
Per Bouchette, VP of Officiating Mike Pereira admitted that the crew working the game erred in not calling a holding penalty against Jacksonville on the play, which set the Jaguars up for the winning field goal.
Steelers coach Mike Tomlin declined to comment yesterday.
Although the missed call was disappointing to Steelers fans, there are plenty of more flagrant holds that don’t get called, and that non-call was far from the only reason the Steelers lost.
In fact, part of the reason Tomlin declined to comment may be that he realizes his own odd decision to call for Ben Roethlisberger to run up the middle on third-and-6 with 2:56 left in the game hurt the Steelers as much as the missed holding penalty. That quarterback sneak netted the Steelers one yard, and the punt on the next play put the Jaguars in position for the game-winning drive.
April 2nd, 2008 at 1:43 pm
Gee, wonder why they didn’t do the same after the Steelers robbed Seattle in the Super Bowl?
(report as inappropriate)
Rating: 2.15 / 5 with 12 rating(s)
April 2nd, 2008 at 1:47 pm
I’m pretty sure there won’t be much of an uproar over this.
Also, Steelers fans probably understand what happened in that atrociously officiated Super Bowl victory over the unfortunate Seattle Seahawks. Now THAT was bad.
(report as inappropriate)
Rating: 1.6 / 5 with 10 rating(s)
April 2nd, 2008 at 1:57 pm
this has only been completely obvious since the post-game when all the local stations had still shots of garrard breaking through with at least 3 holds in the hole in which he ran through.
no biggy though, our conciliation prize would have been to go up to foxboro the next week and have brady set a record passing performance against the steelers instead of the jagoffs.
so it would have ended the next week anyway, but im glad all the controversy actually had truth and it wasn’t all just steeler-biased fans who thought it was holding.
(report as inappropriate)
Rating: 4.25 / 5 with 4 rating(s)
April 2nd, 2008 at 2:05 pm
It all balances out in the end - remember the Steelers were nearly robbed by the officials in the Colts play-off game.
(report as inappropriate)
Rating: 4 / 5 with 3 rating(s)
April 2nd, 2008 at 2:08 pm
what was the atrocity? that their kicker missed 2 FG’s, jeramy stevens dropping passes all game long, jacksons OBVIOUS PI on chris hope for the TD, allowing a 75 yard td run, getting tricked on a randle el pass, or hasslebeck throwing a key INT late in the game when the momentum was all theirs? also, they averaged 6 penalties a game, and they had 7 in the superbowl, it’s not like in this one game they had twice or three times their average… let it go, seattle could have played better, they didn’t, they lost, get over it.
(report as inappropriate)
Rating: 3.65 / 5 with 6 rating(s)
April 2nd, 2008 at 2:17 pm
Exactly. I officiate basketball and there’s a saying to coaches who complain that a call “cost them the game.” … Did your team make all their free throws and make all their lay-ups? Of course not. There are hundreds of plays in a football game, and each one of them has an impact on the game. This was not the only missed call that day, and even if it were… Pittsburgh had other opportunities.
(report as inappropriate)
Rating: 4.25 / 5 with 4 rating(s)
April 2nd, 2008 at 2:23 pm
Refs only called holding if they can see jersey (or other equipment) in the offensive lineman’s hands or if the defender falls down regardless of whether or not the defender actually tripped over his own two feet or was just out of position. Offensive holding is a joke.
(report as inappropriate)
Rating: 5 / 5 with 1 rating(s)
April 2nd, 2008 at 2:23 pm
Gotta love people that are still complaining about Super Bowl XL. They love to focus on the penalties rather than the real reason the Seahawks lost the game:
–Numerous dropped passes
–Missed field goals
–Mismanagment of the clock at the end of the 1st half and the end of the game
–Inability to stop the trick play the Steelers ran that everyone knew was coming at some point in the game
–Inability to stop Willie Parker’s 75-yard touchdown run
–Interception by Hasselbeck
–Continuously punting the ball into the end zone rather than inside the 20
Those are the REAL reasons the Seahawks lost, but it’s much easier to blame the officials I guess rather than place the blame on the players and coaches.
(report as inappropriate)
Rating: 4.2 / 5 with 5 rating(s)
April 2nd, 2008 at 2:24 pm
Maybe Tomlin didn’t want to comment because he in line at the cafeteria, waiting to get his hamburger.
(report as inappropriate)
Rating: 5 / 5 with 3 rating(s)
April 2nd, 2008 at 2:27 pm
You two need to go spit in some burgers and get over it.
Pretty nice to see that unlike some others *cough*, the Steelers brass had the common sense (and maturity) to decline to comment on the matter.
As long as humans referee games, there will be errors - missing calls, phantom calls, poorly-interpreted rules. That’s a fact of life in the NFL, until they get some kind of human recognition driven laser guided automatron refereebots. Every year, every game, every superbowl will have blown calls, with some being real whoppers.
Remember Vinny’s freaking HEAD being misidentified as a football in the playoffs a few years ago? Glad that didn’t happen against the Seahawks, or we’d still be hearing the skwawking about it. Good grief!
(report as inappropriate)
Rating: 4.5 / 5 with 6 rating(s)
April 2nd, 2008 at 2:29 pm
In fairness, there was definitely holding. No doubt about it.
All the Steelers fans I’ve talked to, however, don’t consider that one play to be their undoing — they blame their rookie head coach for trying for two when they were 12 yards out. They blame the overall playcalling, not one penalty.
And those of you who bring up Super Bowl XL… c’mon, you must really dislike the Steelers, because the only bad call on that game was the Hasselbeck block after the interception. Hell, I don’t like them and I can see that.
(report as inappropriate)
Rating: 4.4 / 5 with 5 rating(s)
April 2nd, 2008 at 2:46 pm
Oh the sweet irony of the Steeler’s crying about a call not going their way.
(report as inappropriate)
Rating: 1.75 / 5 with 8 rating(s)
April 2nd, 2008 at 2:55 pm
As a Jag’s fan this was definitely a huge play that was rightfully controversial. So were some of those decisions by Coach Tomlin. What can you do right?
All in all great game from two teams that always have classics when they go head to head. I look forward to those Steelers games like nothing else on our calendar.
(report as inappropriate)
Rating: 5 / 5 with 1 rating(s)
April 2nd, 2008 at 2:58 pm
who cares?!?
(report as inappropriate)
Rating: 1 / 5 with 2 rating(s)
April 2nd, 2008 at 3:00 pm
Meh, it’s a rightly controversial play. So were some of coach Tomlin’s calls. You can always second guess things and other posters are right, you can’t expect perfection from the refs. It’s just a game, right?
I’m a big time Jag’s fan and I look forward to games against the Steelers like no other on the schedule. Always know you’re in for a classic, regardless of the outcome.
(report as inappropriate)
Rating: 4 / 5 with 2 rating(s)
April 2nd, 2008 at 3:09 pm
I’ve really not seen much “crying” about it except maybe for Larry Foote’s comments after the game. Good teams overcome bad calls. Teams that aren’t good enough don’t.
(report as inappropriate)
Rating: 4.25 / 5 with 4 rating(s)
April 2nd, 2008 at 3:12 pm
CapsLockKey stated, “Oh the sweet irony of the Steeler’s crying about a call not going their way.”
I find it amusing that the point of the story is that Steelers Organization didn’t make a big deal out of the missed call. They didn’t say anything during the game and haven’t since. See, it is called playing the game and taking the good with the bad. I am so glad I don’t hold bitter feelings over something so petty that I let it cloud my analytical and critical ability to properly judge the content of an article(s).
(report as inappropriate)
Rating: 4.15 / 5 with 7 rating(s)
April 2nd, 2008 at 3:14 pm
Yeah, and unlike all the schmucks here writing anti-Steeler stuff, you won’t hear Steeler fans whining about refs costing their team the game. That’s the difference, CrapsLockKey, KYJellyUser and all you other little whiner girls.We all knew back then it was holding. At least the league had the guts to come out and admit it.
(report as inappropriate)
Rating: 4 / 5 with 8 rating(s)
April 2nd, 2008 at 3:17 pm
JagsFan85… glad you recognize the truth about Super Bowl XL. The average run of the mill, unsophisticated fan swallows the hysteria, when in fact the NFL came out publicly with tapes of the calls against Seattle, and showed calmly why each one was good (except the Hasselbeck one).
The difference is, you won’t hear Steeler fans crying about the calls costing them a game — who was crying, CrapsLockKey dude? It’s PFT that reported the news here. We all knew it was holding back then, so this isn’t exactly news. I’m afraid you’ll have to make up garbage elsewhere.
(report as inappropriate)
Rating: 1 / 5 with 2 rating(s)
April 2nd, 2008 at 3:20 pm
SPACE MONKEY WROTE: “Remember Vinny’s freaking HEAD being misidentified as a football? Glad that didn’t happen against the Seahawks, or we’d still be hearing the skwawking about it.”
Uh, Dude. That was against the Seahawks. Cost them a playoff berth and cost Dennis Erickson his job.
(report as inappropriate)
Rating: Not yet rated
April 2nd, 2008 at 3:26 pm
Right on, fellow Jag’s fan!
Every team gets bad calls from time to time. Good teams find a way to overcome — hell, the Steelers before XL had to overcome the braindead Polomalu non-interception, and they did.
The Steelers just weren’t the best team last season. Oh well.
And I’ve got to agree — as much as I dislike them, I always know we are in for one heck of a game when we have to play ‘em!
(report as inappropriate)
Rating: 3.5 / 5 with 2 rating(s)
April 2nd, 2008 at 3:27 pm
Mr. MDS,
Thanks for the last two paragraphs but be a bit more objective here. In reality, the Steelers had some problems in that game and they would have been blasted by the Pats anyway, but it’s 4th and 2 and the league is admitting a mistake in not calling holding. If it’s called there the Steelers probably win. It comes down to that play, the poor play calling to that point is irrelevant. I know this is kind of a blog-style site but do we really need your opinions on whether we should be upset about it or not? Anyway, I don’t know why the NFL even releases these statements in the first place. What purpose do they serve?
(report as inappropriate)
Rating: Not yet rated
April 2nd, 2008 at 3:31 pm
Anyone who watched the game knows it shouldn’t have even been that close. The Steelers are fortunate to have that call to complain about.
(report as inappropriate)
Rating: 1.65 / 5 with 3 rating(s)
April 2nd, 2008 at 3:37 pm
Stiller43, I am not a Seahawks fan. It’s all about the Bears.
But honestly, everybody saw what happened that game. The incorrect pass interference call against Darrell Jackson. How Ben Roethlisberger never crossed the goal-line in the second quarter, and the initial call was down by contact. The PHANTOM HOLDING call that was huuuge. There was plenty worse than that. It took the Seahawks from the 1-yard-line allll the way back to wherever. And arguably that timeout called by Big Ben really shouldn’t have been allowed, as the play clock said 0 I think. But regardless, all of this going against the Seahakws? Get real, Stiller. Everyone knows what happened that game. Not that we aren’t all happy for The Bus and the Steelers. There is absolutely no doubt in my mind, nor a lot of other persons’ (60 something percent of ESPN.com people that took the poll after the game) and most sports columnists, too, that if the refs had called a fair game, the outcome would have been different.
(report as inappropriate)
Rating: 2 / 5 with 3 rating(s)
April 2nd, 2008 at 3:49 pm
And brian_21, you are as wrong as you are passionate.
Since you chumleys all insist on digging up XL, pay attention: the NFL publicly replayed the ref calls on nfl network. It showed how Jackson DID push off (better watch that play again, bri bri). It showed how Locklear DID hold (my God the guy practically choked Haggans from behind). And if you can prove that Roethlisberger never crossed the goal line, I want to know how. OH do I want to know how.
Of course, you’ll no doubt ignore the blatant block in the back of Roethlisberger during Seattle’s interception return, won’t you? Nah, in the minds of America’s paranoid and deluded, stuff like that never happened. Only the Steelers benefitted from the refs, right? Right.
Again, I invite you to contact the NFL — I’m sure they’ll be happy to provide you with the tape of their presentation.
(report as inappropriate)
Rating: 4 / 5 with 2 rating(s)