Pointless Prediction UPDATED
Pittsburgh 31, Seattle 20.
Not a lot of logic or analysis here. I think Pittsburgh made the "two best teams in football"--Indianapolis and Denver--look pretty silly, and I'd like to think that the only way my Broncos get beat is by the very best team out there.
But, in the interest of full disclosure, I also have a very old bias in favor the Steelers. The first football game I actually remember watching was Super Bowl X, the one in which Lynn Swann made two of the most spectacular catches in Super Bowl history, plus a game winning catch on a intercontinental bomb from Terry Bradshaw. If memory serves, Swann had four catches in the game for 160 yards--40 yards per catch. . . in a Super Bowl! At any rate, that display of athleticism and competition grabbed me, and I've been a football fan ever since--with a somewhat irrational sympathy for the Pittsburgh Steelers.
And, by the way, a sincere hope that Lynn Swann is the next Governor of Pennsylvania.
UPDATE: Well, I had the winner and the margin right--I was just off by 10 points. Congratulations, Pittsburgh, Bill Cowher, and Jerome Bettis.
As far as the game goes, I was pretty disappointed. The Seahawks played a very good game, but couldn't get the big play when they needed it, while the Steelers made the most of the very few opportunities they had.
Oh, and, yeah . . . the officiating was TERRIBLE!! I'm not sure the Seahawks win if all of these don't go against them, but here's five that changed the game:
A. Incomplete pass on Jeremy Stevens fumble early in the first--three feet down, a turn of the hips, and a fumble which, if you watch the replay to its conclusion, goes out of bounds, instead leads to the end of a drive and a punt
B. Pass interference on Darrell Jackson's TD--technically, the right call, but not a call you're gonna see even 1/3 of the time
C. Ben Roethlisberger's TD--didn't look to me like he scored, and if the line judge calls him down on the inch-line, that call would've stood up to review, also
D. holding on 23-yard completion to Jeremy Stevens to the Pitt 1 yd line--phantom hold, clearly bad call, which translated two plays later into the really big interception
E. low hit 15-yd penalty on the interception return--problem is, the low hit WAS ON THE BALLCARRIER, which makes it . . .oh, what's the technical term? . . . a TACKLE!
Of course, none of those explain Jeremy Stevens' three dropped passes or Darrell Jackson's inexplicable inability to find the sideline or Seattle's wierd decision not to keep throwing to Darrell Jackson, not to mention two missed field goals (granted, of 50+ yards). | |
