Steelers, are you shitting me?
The first Colts offensive play, and you let Marvin Harrison get wide open 7 yards behind the defense and catch a bomb for an 80-yard touchdown?
The first play!?!?
From the look on Bill Cowher’s face after that play, I suspect that if that happens again, he will literally bite off a DB’s head and punt it through the uprights.
That would make this the greatest Monday night game EVER. Especially if the Cowboys then try to sign him as their new kicker.
The NFL has admitted that the two Giants TDs were errors.
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/sports/2002652274_webhawks28.html
Publicly, no less.
Wow. The Shockey TD, sure, but all the angles I saw on the Toomer TD looked like he got both feet in.
I’m surprised the NFL admitted it, because for once I thought the officials did the right thing by sticking with two borderline, possibly erroneous, calls instead of overturning them with a distinct lack of indisputable evidence.
I’m guessing they admitted the mistakes only because Seattle won anyway. No fucking way do they say they made a mistake if Seattle loses (did the NFL ever admit that Vinny never even got close to the goal line in the AFC playoffs back in 1998?).
As for MNF – the Steelers looked REALLY bad early, but they settled down and I thought played pretty well later. Edgerrin James is the weirdest runner I’ve ever seen. He dances around and seems indecisive, trying to make multiple cuts, but manages to get medium yardage every time, but he never breaks off a huge run. He’s not the homerun threat I thought he’d be, but he’s not what you think of as a medium range runner (i.e. someone who always gets you the 4+ yards you need).
And goddamn does he need to learn how to block. He couldn’t even stop a corner on the blitz even though he hit him.
Bob Sanders is a bad man, and so is Freeney – although Freeney seriously needs to expand his repertoire to include something other than spin moves and loops. Spinning INTO the guard isn’t particularly effective you know?
I also thought that the Steelers D did a pretty good job containing the Colts offense after that first play by relying on a 3 or 4 man rush.
I also appreciate that Cowher didn’t prolong the inevitable at the end of the game.
Roethlisberger is pretty goddamn good, but he’s not a quick read type of QB. I still find it kind of odd that Maddox/Batch average more passing attempts per game than Big Ben, even though everyone bitches about how Big Ben is a much better passer.
Interesting story on the NFL admitting officiating mistakes in the Seattle/NY game. Regarding Testeverde’s TD that wasn’t against my Seahawks… I’m pretty sure that’s the play that guaranteed Instant Replay would become a league rule. What I really hate about Instant Replay isn’t the plays that do or don’t get overturned… it’s the way officiating crews now make their calls on the field with IR in mind. In other words, they seem to err on the side of giving a team a TD or a reception on iffy plays with the expectation that IR will reveal the truth of the matter. In this way, I believe IR has corrupted the game. I’d rather see it done away with and have the officials go back to calling 'em as they see 'em rather than this hybrid crap we have going on.
Heard an interesting story on the radio this morning about the Colts. Apparently Peter King of SI has a story where he interviews Dungy about his plans for his stars’ playing time if/when Indy clinches home field through the playoffs. Dungy apparently states in clear terms that he will rest players if/when they clinch home field. Which could turn the x-mas eve Seattle/Indy matchup into a real snooze fest rather than the potential Super Preview it’s already being hyped as.
To follow up on the Seattle / Giants TD calls:
The thing I originally found odd about the Seattle Times story is that it never explained why the Toomer call was incorrect. Well, now this comes out.
KIRKLAND, Wash. (AP) – The NFL denies telling the Seahawks that officials erred when they ruled two New York Giants touchdown receptions complete in Seattle’s 24-21 overtime win.
Seattle coach Mike Holmgren said Monday that the league took the rare step of admitting officiating mistakes in the game Sunday. The league said in a statement released Tuesday that reports that it told the Seahawks of officiating mistakes on the two touchdown receptions were inaccurate.
“Our officiating department never discussed with the Seahawks the Amani Toomer touchdown reception, which was properly called,” the statement said. “The Jeremy Shockey touchdown catch at the end of the first half was not overturned because the referee determined that there was insufficient visual evidence to reverse the call.”