Number Five
Okay, so the Seattle Seahawks did the following:
- Outgained Pittsburgh 396-339 in total offensive yardage.
- Held the quarterback with the best QB Rating throughout the playoffs, Ben Roethlisberger, to a mere 9-of-21 passing for 123 yards, despite losing three defensive starters throughout the course of the game to injury.
- Got 95 yards from Shaun Alexander.
- Intercepted Roethlisberger twice, including Kelly Herndon returning one a Super Bowl record 76 yards.
Considering these points and countless more which I cannot immediately remember, how on earth did the Steelers win this game?
- Seattle's 70 penalty yards, including an offensive pass interference in the endzone by a player who should know better, Darrell Jackson. You can argue the legitimacy of that penalty all you like, and I'm sure many people will. However, as a receiver, in the endzone, with the backjudge standing right there, you cannot extend your hands toward the defender for any reason unless you're trying to make a play on the ball, because you're putting yourself in a position to get flagged for a penalty even if you didn't actually disrupt the defender. DJax also stepped out of bounds not once but twice when he should've had at least a first down - in one case, a touchdown.
- Jerramy Stevens' 3 drops. Way to go. In fairness, the Steelers dropped some passes too, but those drops turned out to be less-than-crucial. Stevens will be crucified for this loss, especially in light of his (meaningless) trash-talking during the week. In a way, I feel badly for him.
- Seattle, converting only 5 of 17 third down tries never gets it done.
- Big plays. The longest run in Super Bowl history for Willie Parker (75 yards) and the reverse TD pass by Antwaan Randle-El to Hines Ward.
For the record, Ward had maybe a step and a half on the coverage; if Andre Dyson is in the game, I don't know that it's that easy to get seperation. Not saying the wounded Seahawks cornerback definitely could have made that play, but...
- Lots and lots of luck. There's no way Clark Haggans was held on that play that should've gotten the Seahawks down to the two yard line. I'm not sayin' the Seahawks wuz robbed, but it was about as close to robbed as you can get in a 21-10 loss.
- The single biggest factor? When the Steelers D had a chance to make a tackle, they wrapped up the ballcarrier and just took them down. That's how you keep scoring down, simple as that.
As a final note, I blame nothing on Seahawks placekicker Josh Brown. I hope he doesn't end up goated for this one. The guy missed two field goals, but come on. They're 54 and 50 yarders. Indoors, field turf...that doesn't matter. You can't expect a fairly good kicker to hit both but fifty, maybe sixty percent of the time, let alone hit one.
I break down the game footage on Monday; analysis follows on Tuesday.
- Outgained Pittsburgh 396-339 in total offensive yardage.
- Held the quarterback with the best QB Rating throughout the playoffs, Ben Roethlisberger, to a mere 9-of-21 passing for 123 yards, despite losing three defensive starters throughout the course of the game to injury.
- Got 95 yards from Shaun Alexander.
- Intercepted Roethlisberger twice, including Kelly Herndon returning one a Super Bowl record 76 yards.
Considering these points and countless more which I cannot immediately remember, how on earth did the Steelers win this game?
- Seattle's 70 penalty yards, including an offensive pass interference in the endzone by a player who should know better, Darrell Jackson. You can argue the legitimacy of that penalty all you like, and I'm sure many people will. However, as a receiver, in the endzone, with the backjudge standing right there, you cannot extend your hands toward the defender for any reason unless you're trying to make a play on the ball, because you're putting yourself in a position to get flagged for a penalty even if you didn't actually disrupt the defender. DJax also stepped out of bounds not once but twice when he should've had at least a first down - in one case, a touchdown.
- Jerramy Stevens' 3 drops. Way to go. In fairness, the Steelers dropped some passes too, but those drops turned out to be less-than-crucial. Stevens will be crucified for this loss, especially in light of his (meaningless) trash-talking during the week. In a way, I feel badly for him.
- Seattle, converting only 5 of 17 third down tries never gets it done.
- Big plays. The longest run in Super Bowl history for Willie Parker (75 yards) and the reverse TD pass by Antwaan Randle-El to Hines Ward.
For the record, Ward had maybe a step and a half on the coverage; if Andre Dyson is in the game, I don't know that it's that easy to get seperation. Not saying the wounded Seahawks cornerback definitely could have made that play, but...
- Lots and lots of luck. There's no way Clark Haggans was held on that play that should've gotten the Seahawks down to the two yard line. I'm not sayin' the Seahawks wuz robbed, but it was about as close to robbed as you can get in a 21-10 loss.
- The single biggest factor? When the Steelers D had a chance to make a tackle, they wrapped up the ballcarrier and just took them down. That's how you keep scoring down, simple as that.
As a final note, I blame nothing on Seahawks placekicker Josh Brown. I hope he doesn't end up goated for this one. The guy missed two field goals, but come on. They're 54 and 50 yarders. Indoors, field turf...that doesn't matter. You can't expect a fairly good kicker to hit both but fifty, maybe sixty percent of the time, let alone hit one.
I break down the game footage on Monday; analysis follows on Tuesday.