Comments

1
The owners of the NFL have put their union busting ideology over the long term health of their company.
2
If you want a do-over on the last play, take your pick of the other game-changing calls, do-overs, and f-ups.
3
I wasn't able to see it (listened on the radio) but the comentators were also implying that an earlier call (before the Packer touchdown) went the Packer's way (giving GB a 1st down). Had that been called correctly and GB been forced to kick a FG the Seahawks wouldn't have needed a TD on the final play, just a FG (and they were within range). So the theft went both ways.
4
ESPN has been undergoing a strange self-therapy for the last half hour. Their soap opera drama must be run-off from the thrilling Obama-Romney epic from 2012.
5
@3 No, I'm not playing this "bad calls go both ways" crap. That's not an excuse. Not this season. These officials are not qualified to call NFL games.

If the NFL wants to be the big deal they claim to be, they need to end this lockout and put a quality product on the field.
6
No one ever deserves to beat the Packers. Yeah, I said it.

Any team that doesn't resort to blackmail to force taxpayers to build a new stadium has the moral high ground in every professional situation. Also, teams that publish their entire payroll.
7
All this hand wringing is ridiculous. One call, no matter how big, does not decide a game. If a single call on action that happened in less than 2/10 of a second is all that separates you from victory or defeat, you can't say you lost because of the officiating. You lost because you put yourself in that position.
8
Nice to see the Seahawks on the other side of a screw job for a change, but still it's time for the real refs to come back.
9
The referees' unions bosses are popping champagne corks right now. Tomorrow they will be like, "We have some new demands."
10
Yea!!!!! Go back to cheeseville cheese heads. I love this new NFL. No play is ever what it seems.
11
I feel dirty.
12
Lighten up, Goldy. Fuck the Packers. Fuck the Steelers. And fuck the scab refs. They'll be gone by Thursday.
13
I'm afraid he's right. We played a hell of a game. But we didn't win it.
14
@7- No, that's bullshit reasoning. You're trying to diminish the importance of a single play because of the short time frame it exists in relative to the game as a whole. Single moments matter in life. You wouldn't say that if the Higgs Boson was as important as people make it out to be, then it would stick around a little longer, would you?

A single play or call can make a game. It happens all the time. A little extra effort applied at just the right moment can change everything. It doesn't make the rest of the game inconsequential, but neither is the reverse somehow true.
15
@7: what 14 said: that is total bullshit reasoning. Single plays make a difference all the fucking time in sports.
16
It was a weird game. If it gets the refs back, that's a win for everyone. @6 The reason the Packers are awesome is they are community owned. Which is how all major sports teams should be, really.
17
Sports threads on Slog: If the Seattle team lost, cheer. If the Seattle team won, explain why they shouldn't have.
18
I agree that the refs are sucking, but that call giving the packers the 1st down at their one was more clearly bogus than the one at the end of the game. The visual and technical factors were much clearer in that 1st down call. The touchdown call looked crazier because of the number of guys, but all the weirdass technical definitions of football rules make it harder for me to tell. That is why I like baseball.
19
@7 - If only it were one call, then sure, but right before the contested call, Tate violently shoved a defender to the ground with both hands in plain view. I'm not sure I've ever seen a more blatant instance of pass interference, called or not.

Also, it took minutes for the refs to realize the free kick after a touchdown is REQUIRED, even when time is expired.

Thank God this strike is finally over.
20
@11
I hear ya. This whole tizzy has rambled enough through my brain, that I've started thinking about Marv Albert's sex scandal from 20 years ago.
21
Refs made right call.

To complete a pass you have to maintain possession all the way to the ground.

GB caught the pass in the air, first, yes, but on the way down Tate grabbed it and it became joint possession. Joint possession ties go to the passing team.

We won fair and square.
22
You wouldn't say that if the Higgs Boson was as important as people make it out to be, then it would stick around a little longer, would you?
That was kinda brilliant.
23
@21 Yeah, you tell yourself that if it makes you feel any better. But you'd be singing a different tune if those uniforms were swapped on that play.

@19 Remember, It is a lockout, not a strike. And I doubt it's over. NFL owners obviously don't care about the product on the field. Time for the players to strike in solidarity.
24
In a stunning reversal of political philosophy, Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker sides with the NFL Referees Union, calls on NFL owners to meet their demands.
25
@23

Possession: When a player controls the ball throughout the act of clearly touching both feet, or any other part of his body other than his hand(s), to the ground inbounds.


http://www.nfl.com/rulebook/definitions

So catching it, even first, in the air is not possession. By the time feet touched the ground, it was jointly held.
26
@25 I know the rules. Watch the video. It was never jointly held.

But again, you keep telling yourself that if it makes you feel better both about the win, and about the NFL's blatant disregard for its product, its players, its officials, and its fans.
27
@25 Jesus fuck you are a blathering idiot!

Rule 8, Section 1, Article 3, Item 5 of the NFL rulebook discusses a simultaneous catch.

"If a pass is caught simultaneously by two eligible opponents, and both retain it, the ball belongs to the passers. It is not a simultaneous catch if a player gains control first and an opponent subsequently gains joint control," the rule states.

Jennings gained control first. That should have ended the game.

I won't even discuss the blatant offensive PI a split second sooner that was missed. Two hands shoved into GB defender sending him sprawling. Game over right there prior to any ball possession.
28
PI is almost never called on a play like that. Smart move by Tate to push that dude out of the way. He drops too many balls, but Tate is a crafty player.
29
So, Goldy, more importantly: What is Paul G. Allen's position on the referee lockout?
We Seahawks fans, and all NFL fans, want to know.
30
@23, no Goldy, strike, lockout, whatever. It's over. If it were the Browns who got fucked in the middle of a Sunday afternoon packed with games, sure. But Aaron Rodger's Packers, on Monday Night Football? It's over.
31
The officials seem to be getting worse and more confused each week. And what's glaring is the amount of penalties they didn't call - on both sides. The players have clued into the fact that they can push the envelope due to the confused refs. I agree it's always great to get a W, but it really makes you appreciate the pro ref squad. They've played this perfectly.
32
As a Vikings fan who wants Mike Carey back on the field, I could not be happier with how that game ended.
33
@5: Of course the replacement refs are a joke. Nobody is disputing that. But the bad calls didn't just benefit the Seahawks. At least one Packers score was directly attributable to a very questionable PI call. That earlier penalty on the Hawks completely changed the momentum of the game. If the Seahawks had stopped the Packers there or held them to a field goal, things might well have been looking very different after that.

Is it my favorite Seahawks win ever? No. But you have to give the Hawks credit for playing great defense and keeping the game low scoring enough that they were even in a position to have a chance to win the game at the end.
34
@25 - I quoted you on my Facebook page. I have 200,000,000 friends. I would like a PBR and a shot of Jaegermeister. Cheers!!!
35
We're going to be seeing a lot of that picture of the two refs standing next to each other, one signaling interception, one signaling TD.
36
Also: it's not about TD or no TD. It's about incompetent refs endangering the lives of the players. Someone's going to be paralyzed soon.

http://www.buzzfeed.com/ktlincoln/why-th…
37
Seahawk fans understand the agony of incompetent refs deciding the game. The best quote of the night, "Now I know what it's like to be a Steeler fan."

Yes, there WERE bad calls that went against the Hawks tonight. That doesn't excuse anything. It's a win that will be endlessly replayed for the rest of the season. For that, I wish it doesn't adversely affect the Hawks too much.

BUT. It was perfect. On Monday night, a game-deciding call, the entire nation is paying attention, and the NFL (& their scab refs) smell like week-old shrimp. If this doesn't force the owners' hands, nothing will.

It may be a "cheap" win, but it's a gift-wrapped golden present to the striking refs.
38
Can we replace these bullshit players with scabs, too?
39
It's obvious these refs aren't qualified to call a game, but never fear! We've got a busload of armchair quarterbacks on slog that clearly are. I expect Goldy has already turned in his application! But seriously, these refs have professional training and experience calling games, and you think your television and your single year of junior varsity high school football makes you qualified to second guess them? People complain about bad calls in football every day, you're just extra sensitive because you know these aren't the original refs; suddenly every bad call is a bad call because they're not good enough. But if these refs aren't good enough, then you're not even qualified to watch.
40
haha i couldn't care less about the football (RIP hank jr.!) but at least those dumbfucks i saw walking around capitol hill at noon with a BLOCK OF CHEESE ON THEIR FUCKING HEADS WHAT THE FUCK went home pissed.

fuckin' cheesheads.
41
The entire game was a mess, too many phantom interference or holding calls, including the final play, but go ahead and bitch about the final play of the game and toss in the old reliable "OMG UNIONS NEED TO BE SAVED!". Once the Refs come back, most of you can go back to ignoring the Seahawks and the rest of Seattle sports, unless they win some championship game then you can stand up and cheer like you were paying attention the whole time.

24 penalties total, with 14 of them levied against the hawks. Seahawks defense was freaking awesome during the whole game, especially the first half. 8 sacks on Rodgers, which had him being sacked 3 in a row, which no ref can screw up.
42
It's just a game and controversy makes it more interesting.

Real life isn't all about following rules which are flawlessly enforced. You are not always going to get what you want and it's easy just to place blame on someone else. What about the fact that GB only scored 12 points? That's more of the reason why they lost than the refs getting one out of about 1200 calls right or wrong.
43
@42 Thanks for your opinion, person who clearly did not watch the game. Sit with @7 in the corner and hang your head in shame.
44
Man, I was pulling* for the Seahawks too, but I didn't want to see them win that way. Bullshit calls hurt everyone.
The replacement refs have lost control of the games they officiate. Pretty soon, players will start getting injured as a result of overly aggressive hits and tackles that players can suddenly get away with.

*I'm a Bears fan. If the Bears are out of the running, I'll pull for the Packers, as they are worthy and honorable opponents, and better that they win the NFC North than the Lions or Vikings. But on gameday, the cheeseheads can kiss my shiny metal ass.
45
@ 43, I laughed for realz.

@ 42, the fact that Green Bay played rather poorly doesn't matter. There's a thing called "winning ugly," which is how the Packers should be referring to this today.

The replacement refs have been blowing all kinds of calls in just about every game played this season because they're mostly from Division III NCAA if not high school. That's because the only qualified replacements, the Division I refs, have refused to cross the picket line. The NFL did very little to prepare them, compounding the frying-pan-to-fire nature of going from slow paced games played by guys barely eligible for competitive football to the fastest, strongest, most agile and most coordinated athletes in the world.

@ 35 repeats what every football blogger and columnist is saying - that image of the two refs giving different calls is going down in sports image history. It's the anti-Immaculate Reception.
46
@ 44, how you like Cutler now? I'm soooo glad that clown isn't in Denver anymore.
47
@7 One play LITERALLY did decide the game.
48
Here's what I don't understand: why the hell is the AFL-CIO not turning this into a huge pro-union media blitz? "You see, America? This is what you get with scab labor!"

Hell, even Scott Walker has gone pro-union on this issue. That's gotta tell you something.
49
Fans AND players should boycott all games on Sunday.

Those "union" football players should be worried about the season and post-season play. Because now the refs are totally wrecking outcomes and you'd think that would move them to finally say no to scab refs.

The fans should just do it because of how lousy the games are becoming to watch.
50
Apparently some of these refs weren't good enough for the Lingerie League: http://deadspin.com/5946112/the-lingerie…
51
I could see this fiasco coming a mile away. It was the perfect storm: MNF spotlight, marquee team, boiler room crowd, tight game. The scab refs are being openly intimidated by the players, coaches and crowds. Their lack of experience makes them tentative in all their actions. The games have been getting progressively sloppy. A really bad call on a win-or-lose play would set off a riot on the field and/or stands.

Midway through the 4th quarter, I thought the Seahawks were toast, and they would have been in a normal game. But NFL football is all about rules, and when the rules aren't being enforced, it's no longer a normal game. This wasn't a comeback by the Seahawks, it was a collapse of the game structure. It was ugly to watch, like a car wreck with blind EMT's attending to the injured.

Free "Mean" Gene Steratore!
52
This thread is probably over by now, but Goldy, this “our team didn’t deserve to win” and “I'm not playing this bad calls go both ways’ crap” bugs the shit out of me. The officiating ruined the game and we’ll never know who “deserved to win,” but the Packers DID NOT deserve it any more than the Seahawks did. And if someone’s got to get the ugly win, I’m glad it’s “our team” this time around.

The Seahawks dominated the Packers and their golden boy for 3 ½ quarters, sacking him eight times and allowing only six points from field goals. Then the packers get two game-changing calls to allow them to get their only touchdown of the game. A BS pass interference call on third down at midfield that allows their drive to continue, then a reversed spot to give them a magic first down and goal to score. They had a chance to run out the clock but couldn’t and gave Seattle that last shot.

That there changed the game, and as I saw the result of the Seahawks’ final drive, I knew then no one would care about THOSE calls. It was gonna be “the Packers got robbed.”

Fuck that. This game was a mess, but someone has to get the W. The Seahawks “deserved it” as much or more than the Packers did.
53
@ 52, spoken like only a diehard fan who knows his team "won" in only the most technical sense can.
54
@53--
I'm admitting the officiating made the outcome unknowable.

But I don't know why everybody thinks a team that could only score 12 points, six of those the result of bad officiating, more "deserving."

Yeah, it was "technically" a win for Seattle. I'm not thrilled about it.

But I'd be just as pissed as a Packers fan is now if the Seahawks "lost" after that officiating. And I'd be called a whiner.

So complain about the officiating. But you're a whiner if you think the Packers "deserved" to win.
55
Fucking Packers fans are a bunch of fucking cry-babies. Go Hawks!
56
Wow Goldy, you saw the video?? That must mean you had a better perspective of the instantaneous play than the man on the field in the zebra costume! /s Fuck you for suggesting that the Hawks didn't deserve the win. Would a decisive win have been better? Of course. Did the Packers deserve the win after playing the game they played? FUCK NO.
57
I was ready to let this go, but the absurdity of 55 and 56 compels me.

Wake up Hawks apologists - even Marshawn Lynch knows that that should have been a loss.

http://sports.yahoo.com/news/nfl--seahaw…
58
#27

If a player leaps in the air, gains control of the ball before touching the ground, and then loses control of the ball by the time his feet hit the ground is that a completed pass?

Nope.

So Let It Be Written...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3bQnxlHZs…

Seahawks!

59
@46: He's doing pretty good so far, considering his O-line. How's Manning doing for you? Oh, 1-2 so far? Too bad, he used to be great.
60
@40, not only that, but those hats AREN'T EVEN REAL CHEESE. What a bunch of maroons.
61
Ha ha ha ha .... Better luck next time GB! Take the win Sea town, don't apologize, ESPN didn't give a rat's culo when the "legit" refs stole a Superbowl. Take the win, let them weep and drink on....
63
fuck the packers the nfl union busting and anything else while we're at it, remember that fucked up superbowl in detroit. go motherfucking hawks! yay television drugs!
64
Why don't we have the teams in BC, WA, OR, and CA leave the NFL and form the Cascade Football League?
65
@ 59, LOL. Not ready to admit that he's a big baby? Don't worry, just wait until his next tantrum costs the Bears.

@ 62, if this is simply "the calls go both ways," then what's Marshawn Lynch's problem? Why is this the big sports news of the day? Why are people comparing it to notorious blunders like the Heidi Game? Why are politicians sounding off? Why would anyone who isn't a Seahawks or Packers fan care?

A: Because it was that bad. Nobody says this "exists in a vacuum." There have been a huge number of bad, blown calls in every game for three weeks. Some of them have also affected the outcome of games. This one was simply the most dramatic and the worst of all. This one CAN'T be shrugged off like that. This one's going to haunt the Seahawks - mark my words.
67
@64, tell us more about these teams in OR. tell us more about this exciting four-team league you propose.

No, on second thought, don't tell us anything. Cut off your hands.

BTW, the NFL doesn't give a shit if their product is ridiculous and dangerous unless you people start changing the channel. But you won't; you'll keep watching, and keep complaining, and nothing will happen. Until somebody gets his neck broke by the epidemic of uncalled helmet-to-helmet hits. NFL is on its way to pro wrestling status.
68
@ 66, so why did Marshawn Lynch get quiet when he saw the replay? Read the link I provided if you haven't yet.
69
@65

"It's not like we did anything wrong," Lynch said, shaking his head, as he stood on Second Avenue. "We have nothing to apologize for." He's right - the Seahawks don't. The owners do, however, and so does Goodell.

I don't see what "problem" Lynch has. Maybe he admits it's a blown call, and it probably was, but that's the game.

As @66 says, no one seems to be up in arms about the Packers taking the lead with the help of two blown calls. If they had won with that crap, I'm sure this would barely be a story.

To answer your last question: it's Monday Night Football, and it's the Packers. Therefore big deal. If it was Seahawks getting screwed--not a big deal, of course.
70
@ 67, you're pretty much on target there. The bad officiating is proof of the NFL's lack of regard for the game's integrity. Player safety, though - that's virtually a part of American sports culture. Football may be inherently more dangerous than most sports thanks to head to head contact, but athletes in every sport put their physical health on the line if they want to succeed. The NFL is the worst offender, but they're not alone.
71
@ 69, Lynch is saying the things an athlete in his position is supposed to say. Do you credit that with being the truth, or do you think his freeze-up when he saw the replay is more indicative of what he thinks?

Of course he doesn't have to apologize. No one is asking him to apologize. It's Roger Goodell who should do that.

Anyway, yes, having this happen on Monday Night Football increases the visibility. But the rest of your dismissal is a fantasy. If anything, besides being a blown call that gave the Seahawks the game, the thing that really made this memorable is the image of the two officials hesitating, then making contradictory calls. It would be just as big a news story if it happened at a game between Jacksonville and Minnesota on Sunday.

Don't take my word for it, though. Watch as this earns a place on future "10 most controversial NFL moments" lists.
72
You've heard my argument. Neither I, nor Mr Lynch are disputing the fact that the call was at best debatable, at worst absolutely horrible. And sure, this could end up being in some top 10. It occurred during a Monday Night, nationally-featured game, and it happened to those poor, poor Packers who never can catch a break.

My original point way back was that the Packers also benefited from two horrible calls that got them the six points that could have been the difference in their favor. But since it was the Packers, the darlings of professional football, that would have been a-ok. You'd have to be some sort of a whiner to be complaining about that.

Oh, and by the way. One official signaled touchdown, the other was signalling to stop the clock. Which was stupid, time having expired, but not contradictory. Whatever.
73
Boycott?
74
You know why people who aren't Packers or Seahawks fans care about this? It is because as far as the NFL and its pundits go the Packers are NFL royalty. Along with the Patriots, Giants, Steelers, Cowboys and Bears. And what happened last night was that the kings were slain by the knaves.

The Golden Boys were upset by the Also-rans as far as the media is concerned.

Packers get screwed on Monday night; OMG the sky is falling!

Seahawks get screwed in the Super Bowl; Bad calls happen, get over it.

If you have the same scenario, same teams, Packers on O and the Hawks on D, this is a non-issue and the Seahawks are called whiners.

Not only that but I counted offensive holding on the Pack that wasn't called during the second half and lost count in the twenties.

I'd rather win ugly than lose pretty.
75
"@ 66, so why did Marshawn Lynch get quiet when he saw the replay?"

That being a bad call is disputed by hardly anyone. Green Bay got their own touchdown thanks to bad calls, so it's a wash. The refs gaveth and the refs tooketh away. Seattle wins both a tightly poorly called game. The End.
76
*a tightly AND A poorly called game
77
Anyone who thinks Green Bay winning would have made this right is blind or lying. The calls on Green Bay's TD drive were ridiculous. As ridiculous as the last call of the game? Some people are saying 'yes'. The challenge was horseshit, the spot on the Rodgers carry was horseshit. The win is tainted, but it wouldn't been fair just because Green Bay won.

Now, getting on one knee and thanking Jesus for that win seems like pushing it to me. The Vegas bookies are the only ones who should be doing that, and I'm not sure Jesus delivered the win for them either. Could have been the Lingerie Football League refs.
78
"the replacement refs call an unbelievably bogus defensive pass interference to keep a Seahawks drive alive"

And before that, the replacement refs call an unbelievably bogus defensive pass interference to keep a GREEN BAY drive alive, then follow that up with an impossible 6 inch re-spot to give GB a first down on the one yard line.

Listen bitches, both teams' final TDs are tainted, so even if you take them away, Seattle still wins 7-6. Sooooooooooo... shut the fuck up!
79
@74

Pretty much. The idea that Seattle, Seattle! could win! The nerve! Now we know the system is truly broken!

Please wait...

Comments are closed.

Commenting on this item is available only to members of the site. You can sign in here or create an account here.


Add a comment
Preview

By posting this comment, you are agreeing to our Terms of Use.