A Sea Of Red

what a game! im still baffled by the polamalu interception, and "that idiot kicker who got liquored up" missing a FG her normally makes, and the perfect hit on the bus that caused the fumble, but just a good, crazy game. yes i thought we would lose, so i take my medicine, but im glad we are gonna play in the AFC Championship. it is gonna be a great game! GO STEELERS!!!!

That call blew my mind...How did he not have possession? He had the ball secure, rolled over and started to get up before losing it. If he just had stayed on the ground, it would've been a completion, so I don't know how you can call it incomplete when he lost it trying to stand up...

Unbelievable game! I called double digit Steeler victory and people thought I was nuts. In Pittsburgh right now, they are calling it "The Immaculate Tackle" (Big Ben's tackle on Sanders). Can't say enough about the victory other than - "Here we go Steelers, Here we go!"

The last six minutes of that game had a half dozen plays that brought me out of my seat.

Of course the call was blown. Otherwise it wouldn't merit a poll in the first place.

i'm glad that wasn't bettis' last nfl carry...hes a great guy...

it was a great game...the gods of football showed its vengeance upon vanderjagt for his loudmouth and douchiness...

manning calling out his line after the game was pretty classless, he was the one manning i still liked but now i can safely say the entire family thinks they are above the nfl and are morons...

i also love the fact that the chargers have turned into contenders making archie look like a retard...

is anyone else glad that indy and NE are out of it?...if only because espn has a giggly crush on them just assuming these guys would roll up denver and pitt....completely idiotic....

it was almost as bad as their USC "is it the greatest team ever" polls they did the entire week leading up to the BCSC

Indy yes, but even more so the PATS.

still have a bad taste in my mouth after the last Super Bowl- glad they're not gonna be around for this one either.

As much as I disagree, the call with that interception was the right call. The rule book says:

"In the act of making a catch, if a receiver makes a catch and goes to the ground UNTOUCHED by a defender, the receiver must have secure possession when he gets to his feet or when contacted by an opponent."

It's one of those rules (like the Tuck Rule) that only apply to the NFL and is pretty stupid.

SuperJon - that is one heck of a find. I may have to call in to one of the Pittsburgh stations on that one because the people in Pittsburgh are livid about that one - me included!

A guy I know who's a ref told me that. It's amazing that I go to one message board I'm on and that's there but the ESPN guys and junk like that can't even figure it out.

yes it is the rule, but it is a stupid one. just like the pats/raiders QB fiasco awhile back with the arm going forward. yes a rule, but just a stupid one. all i care is that the steelers won!

glad to see the NFL sack up and admit their mistakes! im glad it did not cost the steelers the game.

NFL: Ref Botched Call on Steelers Pickoff

Published: 1/16/06, 4:45 PM EDT

NEW YORK (AP) - The NFL said the referee made a mistake: Troy Polamalu caught the ball. The league acknowledged Monday that referee Pete Morelli erred when he overturned on replay Polamalu's interception of a Peyton Manning pass Sunday in the playoff game between Pittsburgh and Indianapolis.

Mike Pereira, the league's vice president of officiating, said in a statement that Morelli should have upheld the call, made with 5:26 left in Pittsburgh's win over the Colts.

After the reversal, the Colts went on to score a touchdown and a 2-point conversion, cutting the Steelers' 21-10 lead to 21-18. That led to a wild final few minutes and Pittsburgh clinched its win only when the Colts' Mike Vanderjagt missed a 46-yard field-goal attempt.

On the play, Polamalu made a diving catch of Manning's pass, tumbled with it in his hands and got up to run. When he did, he fumbled the ball, then recovered. Colts coach Tony Dungy challenged and Morelli ruled Polamalu had not completed the catch.

About a dozen TV and scoreboard replays indicated otherwise. Had the call stood, the Steelers would have had the ball at their own 48 with an 11-point lead.

"The definition of a catch - or in this case an interception - states that in the process of making a catch a player must maintain possession of the ball after he contacts the ground," Pereira said.

"The initial call on the field was that Troy Polamalu intercepted the pass because he maintained possession of the ball after hitting the ground. The replay showed that Polamalu had rolled over and was rising to his feet when the ball came loose. He maintained possession long enough to establish a catch. Therefore, the replay review should have upheld the call on the field that it was a catch and fumble.

"The rule regarding the performing of an act common to the game applies when there is contact with a defensive player and the ball comes loose, which did not happen here."

The NFL almost never makes public the result of its reviews, although it did three years ago, when Pereira said officials should have called pass interference against San Francisco on the final play of a wild-card game with the New York Giants. The correct call would have given New York a second chance to kick a game-winning field goal in a 39-38 loss.

After the game, Pittsburgh linebacker Joey Porter said of the ruling:

"I know they wanted Indy to win this game; the whole world loves Peyton Manning. But come on, man, don't take the game away from us like that."

NFL spokesman Greg Aiello had no comment on Porter's statement.

In the past, players who have made such statements have been subject to fines.

SMOOTHIE- glad to see you've switched to (Eagles) green as opposed to the hideous blinding red you used to blast us with. You've finally crossed over to the right side of the tracks, man!

what is an even stupid rule...

3rd and goal at the one...false start...go back to the 6.....3rd and 6...offsides...since its the exact same penalty you'd think they'd get to go back tot he 1 right??...nope half the distance to the goal line....they need to fix that

I thought the same exact thing when I heard saw that penalty.

medic, it was the best color at the time.....it had nothing to do with that hideous team in south jersey....uh philly.

Its the best color, period SMOOTHIE. And Broad/Pattison is squarely in South Philly, nowhere near Jersey- give SCAR a quarter and maybe he'll buy ya a map!

Cowher calls Porter's remarks 'ridiculous'

PITTSBURGH (AP) - Following a trying weekend filled with reversals, replays and reprimands, NFL officials got a strong show of support from an unlikely source: Pittsburgh Steelers coach Bill Cowher.

Cowher not only refused to criticize the officials for reversing upon review a possible game-clinching interception by Steelers safety Troy Polamalu against the Colts - the NFL later said the reversal was wrong - he gave them a vote of confidence on Tuesday.

"Our officials are doing the very best that they can do. Obviously, at times, there's going to be mistakes made," Cowher said. "To me, those guys are human like the rest of us, and we're moving on."

Cowher also dismissed linebacker Joey Porter's angry comments that the officials were determined to get Indianapolis into the AFC championship game, calling them "ridiculous."

Porter criticized the officiating repeatedly during postgame interviews, saying, "At one point, I didn't think the refs were going to let us out of here with a victory."

Cowher, no doubt trying to temper Porter's unusually strong comments, said that the Steelers have a 15-minute cooling off period for players but that, "we've got some guys who could probably use a little longer than that."

"Joey's comments at the end of the game were certainly made out of frustration," Cowher said. "But there's no conspiracy, or things of that nature, that's ridiculous."

The call that most upset the Steelers during their dramatic 21-18 win Sunday over the top-seeded Colts in Indianapolis came when Polamalu made a diving interception of a Peyton Manning pass with Pittsburgh trying to preserve a 21-10 lead with 5 1/2 minutes remaining.

After Polamalu made the catch, he rolled over with the ball in his hands and fumbled as he was getting up to run, then fell on the ball. The call on the field was an interception, but referee Pete Morelli reversed it after the Colts challenged, ruling Polamalu had not completed the catch.

The call stunned the Steelers - numerous replays showed Polamalu controlling the ball throughout and fumbling only upon getting up to run - and the Colts went on to score a touchdown and a 2-point conversion to make it 21-18 with 4 1/2 minutes remaining.

Mike Pereira, the NFL's vice president of officiating, said in a statement Monday that Morelli misinterpreted the rule determining a catch, and that the call on the field should have been upheld.

Cowher declined Tuesday to talk about that call or any others.

"I know a lot of talk has taken place with the officiating," he said. "The biggest thing to understand is that all of our questions have been answered. The league got back to us about that. It's important now that we move on."

The Polamalu play was one of only a series of disputed rulings during the NFL's four divisional playoff games last weekend. Two touchdowns were reversed in the Panthers' 29-21 win over the Bears in Chicago, and there was considerable debate whether Champ Bailey fumbled out of bounds at the end of his pivotal 100-yard interception during Denver's 27-13 victory over New England on Saturday night.

Patriots tight end Ben Watson ran from one corner of the field to another to knock the ball out of Bailey's hands just as Bailey was about to score. If the officials had determined the ball crossed the goal line before going out of bounds, it would have been a touchback and New England would have gotten the ball at its own 20.

Instead, the officials determined Bailey fumbled out of bounds, and Mike Anderson went on to score on a 1-yard run to put the Broncos up 17-6.

Sly Fox wrote:The last six minutes of that game had a half dozen plays that brought me out of my seat.



Of course the call was blown. Otherwise it wouldn't merit a poll in the first place.

+1

bradyfan wrote:

Sly Fox wrote:The last six minutes of that game had a half dozen plays that brought me out of my seat.



Of course the call was blown. Otherwise it wouldn't merit a poll in the first place.

+1

Sooooo. Going with a recent post........

Holy Post Resurrections, Batman! When this post was originally made, we had just been online for a couple of weeks.