I can’t really blame him. Frankly it would be better for Holmgren and Seattle players to keep their mouths shut and let the press rip the refs, but it has to be hard to keep quiet in light of the pathetic performance of the officials in the Super Bowl. This is not a knock on the Steelers – they took advantage of the great hand that was dealt to them. But the NFL has to be embarrassed by the product on the field.
The problem for the NFL is that this game was not an aberration. The product on the field has been deteriorating for years. The biggest culprit is free agancy. Many players leave just as they become comfortable with a system. In today’s complicated game, the result is that even the good teams can look mediocre at times.
The problem with the officiating is now critical with the Super Bowl being decided by a host of questionable calls favoring one team. Part of the problem lies with the league trying to hard too manage the game through penalties. Protecting players is important, but clean hits that were celebrated ten years ago now get called as 15-yard personal fouls (one of the few officiating problems that did not get exposed in the Super Bowl). It’s impossible to watch a game without seeing a kick return getting called back for a lame penalty. Holding calls seem to be random. Seattle gets called on one of the biggest plays of the game, while I don’t remember one holding call on the Steelers.
The NFL needs to get their act together. For years the NFL has been lauded as the best of the professional sports, and they’re still making tons of money. But the product is deteriorating, and television ratings have been slipping over the years. They need to re-examine the officiating process, including replay. Why is the official on the field making the call while peering into a small screen on the sidelines? Why can’t penalties in the end zone be reviewed? Why can’t 50-yard pass interference calls be reviewed? Why are the blocking rules on kick returns so stringent? Wouldn’t the game be better if fewer spectacular returns were brought back by penalties?
