First off, I wanna give a shout out to Indianapolis coach Chuck Pagliano as he deals with his newly diagnosed leukemia. We’re all praying for a speedy recovery.
Now that four weeks are in the books in the NFL season, save for the Monday night game, it’s time for a little bit of self realization from coaches, players, and fans. The first three weeks of the season we saw replacement referees handling the duties of calling the game. This past week, the regular refs came back, largely in part for the fiasco that was Monday night’s contest between Seattle and Green Bay.
If you haven’t seen the play, here it is:
Now people have been going back and forth about the call itself. “It was an interception!” “It was the right call!” “The Seahawks cheated!” “Packers’ fans need to get over it!”
I’m not here to discuss the call itself because the call doesn’t matter, it was in the past. I’m here to discuss where to place blame when it comes to a loss.
Disclaimer: I am a true Seahawk fan to my heart. However, what I might say may offend other Seahawk fans. For that I apologize. I don’t care, but I still apologize.
A lot of people blamed the refs for Green Bay’s loss in that game, when in all actuality; the only ones responsible for the loss are the Packers themselves. Now I know what you’re thinking, “This is coming from a Seattle fan so why should I care what you think?” I answer you with this…ANY team that loses has no one to blame but THEMSELVES. That includes the Seahawks in Super Bowl XL. The refs should never be blamed for the outcome of a game because any team can win a game IN SPITE of the refs.
Look people, calls are blown all the time. None more evident than the calls in Super Bowl XL or last Monday’s game. However, let’s take a look at the facts of both of those games. Let’s start with Super Bowl XL.
FACT: Josh Brown missed three field goals in that game. FACT: Matt Hasselbeck threw two interceptions
in that game. FACT: Seattle receivers drop too many passes that
would have either converted first downs or been touchdowns. FACT: Seattle’s inability to stop Pittsburg
on third down help to set up the game changing score of the Super Bowl. FACT: Seattle’s
inability to score in the red zone, or even convert red zone opportunities to
points doomed the Seahawks in Super Bowl XL.
Now let’s look at last Monday’s game.
FACT: Green Bay got in to the red zone only twice in the
game. FACT: The Packers allowed Aaron
Rodgers to get sacked 9 times, 8 of which came in the first half…four came from
one player while two more came from a rookie.
FACT: The Packers only scored one touchdown, even though they had
possession of the ball almost the entire second half. FACT: Green Bay was unable to get a first
down on their final drive, which would have allowed them to run out the clock.
The point that I’m making is that the only people who
complain about the refs are the teams that lose. Why don’t the winners complain? Because even with their mistakes, or the refs
mistakes, they are still in a position to decide their own fate. Despite what you think about the final call
last Monday, had Green Bay fixed the mistakes I pointed out, the refs would be
a non-issue. Just like in Super Bowl
XL. Players need to quit complaining
about things that are out of their control and take responsibility for things
that are in their control. And we as
fans need to stop harping on things that COMPLETELY out of our control. The team that won the game deserved to win
the game. The Seahawks deserved to win
on Monday and (I really can’t believe I’m
about to say this…) the Steelers deserved to win Super Bowl XL.
It’s time to start taking responsibility for our favorite team’s
shortcomings, such as Seattle’s anemic offense, Green Bay’s inability to keep
Rodgers upright. On any given Sunday, any
team can beat any team. Hell, who would
have guessed that the Vikings would be 3-1 after four weeks, or the Saints
would be 0-4?
Thanks for reading, and as always, love, peace, and chicken
grease.
