Throwing the flag on Super Bowl officiating

By Adam Sweeney | Thursday, February 05, 2009 | ( 0 )

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After such an entertaining and controversial Super Bowl, I decided to take a few days to let cooler heads prevail. Depending on which side you're on, Pittsburgh or Arizona, you either feel you watched a testimony to your team's greatness or saw one of the biggest rip-off jobs in NFL history last Sunday. But were the Cardinals stripped of what should have been their first title in 61 years? Yes and no.

The 2008 season saw some officiating that made us shake our heads more than Ben Roethlisberger after a concussion (Ed Hochuli, we're looking at you). But in a Super Bowl, you should be able to let the players determine the victor. What many seem to forget is that this isn't the biggest stage in football for just the teams competing; rather, it is a fiesta for those who throw flags. Thus, could there be a hint of selfishness seeping into referees' veins? It's unclear. What is clear is that the Steelers were on the winning side of many of the refs' decisions. Whether it was a bogus roughing-the-passer call on Karlos Dansby or a face-mask penalty on Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie, when Santonio Holmes was committing the same crime, it just seemed that the refs were seeing red, as in the color of the Cardinals' jerseys.

The biggest controversy has come from the last play from scrimmage (Kurt Warner's alleged fumble). I have watched that play at least 50 times, and it seems that Warner had the ball in his hand as his arm went forward. What is absurd is that the officiating crew would not take time to review the play ON the field. Yeah, yeah. NFL vice president of officiating Mike Pereira says that the booth reviewed the play during the game; perception is reality, though, and the NFL could have saved face if it had only taken a few seconds to appease the fans and show us a visible reviewing process. And had the play been ruled an incomplete pass, after a 15-yard personal foul penalty on Pittsburgh the Cardinals would have been at the Steelers 29. Win or lose, who wouldn't have loved to see the game end on a jump ball in the end zone? It would have been the most exciting ending to the Super Bowl since the Tennessee Titans came one yard short against the St. Louis Rams in Super Bowl XXXIV.

My real issue with the officials comes from other calls and non-calls. There is no way, for example, that Steelers linebacker James Harrison should have been allowed to stay in the game after his beat-down of Aaron Francisco in the fourth quarter. That action should have led to an automatic ejection. You think Harrison didn't impact the game after that play? Be serious. And the fact that the refs essentially let that play go but called Adrian Wilson for roughing the holder still doesn't sit well.

Harrison also was lucky not to have refs call a series of illegal blocks and holds on his 100-yard interception return. Still, that was caused by a horrible play call by Cardinals offensive coordinator Todd Haley, not to mention a poor throw by Warner.

One of the biggest non-calls of the game came after Holmes celebrated his game-winning touchdown, doing his best LeBron James impersonation. Using the ball as a prop is a 15-yard penalty on the ensuing kickoff. In a game that was down to the last minute, that would have been huge for the Cardinals. Just one year ago, the Patriots' Randy Moss was penalized in the Super Bowl for an unsportsmanlike conduct play in nearly the same situation, and it ended up being huge.

The Cardinals and their fans definitely have a legitimate argument here when it comes to the officiating. But here's something that any Cardinals fan cannot argue: There were plenty of other reasons their team lost the game. For instance, Arizona's defense let the team down in a crucial situation. In fact, thanks to a holding penalty on the Steelers' last drive, Pittsburgh was sitting with a first-and-20. It didn't make a difference, though, as the Steelers sliced through the Cards.

Offensively, Haley didn't employ a spread formation or no-huddle consistently until the fourth quarter. When he finally did, the Cards were able to beat the vaunted Steelers' defense with regularity. The spread is a perfect way to combat a blitz-crazy team like the Steelers. Didn't Haley not get the memo?

The truth is that the Cards were dominated the entire first quarter; they gave away a golden opportunity to tie or lead going into the half, and they did not make a stand when it counted most. Yes, it is tremendously difficult to beat a team when officials flag you to the tune of the most penalty yardage in Super Bowl history. In the end, however, the refs won't be blamed for the 27-23 outcome in favor of Pittsburgh; rather, the Cardinals will have to look within to understand why this game slipped away.

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	About Adam Sweeney Adam Sweeney spent 4 years as an opinions and arts & entertainment columnist with the Lone Star Lutheran, also working with Sports Illustrated.com. Along with his work on Realfootball 365 he currently is a contributor for Film School Rejects, SLAM Online, Talkhoops.net, and C-Heads Magazine.
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