The Seahawks win their first loss of the season against Green Bay among a televised audience during Monday Night Football. Green Bay will lose to the officiating, not Russell Wilson and Golden Tate, 14-12.
The positives came from the first half.
Seattle’s defense showed up tough today sacking Green Bay quarterback Aaron Rodgers eight times and rushing him out of the pocket several more. He threw for 226 yards with no touchdowns and no INTs. It was Seattle’s offense that was sluggish. After going three and out on many attempts, Wilson finally hooked up with wide receiver Golden Tate for a 41 yard touchdown to finally put the score 7-0. Rookie Bruce Irvin made all the non-believers see exactly what he was made of tonight, sacking Rodgers four times. Defensive back Chris Clemons notched up his sack count, as well as Brandon Mebane, reeking havoc in the back field of the Packers.
Green Bay could do nothing against the “Legion of Boom” in the first half. It seemed that the ‘Hawks were going to keep Rodgers on his heels all night. But Wilson still needed a spark even after throwing the TD to Tate.
Que the officiates…
After several very poor calls on both sides of the ball, i.e. defensive pass interference against what was clearly an offensive PI, some over-exaggerated roughing the passer calls, and of course, the “game winning touchdown,” the stand in ref’s clearly stole the game from the Packers.
Let me get one thing straight, I love my Seahawks. I hated this win.
With eight seconds left on the clock, Wilson throws up a hail mary into the end zone. Tate makes the leap for the ball is clearly beaten by Greg Jennings who appears to have the interception. Tate and Jennings hit the ground at the same time each having a clear hold on the ball, so much so that the referee’s both have conflicting calls.
After a moment, both line judge confirm that the pass would be a touchdown.
Que me running around my room and frightening my family members.
But somethings doesn’t sit well. Upon further review, it appeared that Jennings made the catch and intercepted the ball, but Tate held on all the way to the ground. The rule book states that if a defending receiver and an offensive receiver simultaneously catch a ball and there is no way to overturn the call, the tie will got to the offense. My complaint is that Tate was clearly beaten at the peak of the jump.
After a booth review and a moment of silence, Seattle is declared the victor of the match.
The saddest part about this whole thing (besides the obvious over sight of the officials) is that Seattle’s defense was amazing against one of the, if not THE, best quarterbacks in the NFL right now. They held him to 0 touchdown passes for the entire game and kept him at 223 yards in the air and keeping running back Cedric Benson to 45 yards rushing.
But the catch will steal the show.
When will this be enough? One can hope that the only positive thing that can come from this game, other than the Seahawks win, is that the league will recognize how bad this is getting. These officials are not apt to watch a pro game of this speed. What has to be done to get the true officials back in the game? how much more can the NFL’s integrity be threatened by such poor judgement calls by the people who are supposed to be the “end all be all” in decision-making.
Any way you cut it, whether you are a Packers fan or a Seahawks fan, this game was ugly and an obvious sign that something needs to give. It’s time that the NFL knuckles under and brings back, not only the officiating, but the integrity of the game as well. There is so much more at stake than just a little money.
Original Story:
http://seattlesportsnut.com/seahawks-...
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September 25, 2012
