Mike Holmgren is a bad coach. HE was the reason why Seattle lost yesterday. Better clock management and more organized and focused special teams play would have made this Super Bowl a VERY close game. Both these elements of the game fall squarely in the responsibilities of a head coach.
Instead of taking responsibilities for his shortcomings as a coach*, Holmgren has decided to lash out at officials. Yesterday, at the Seattle welcome-back parade, he said, "We knew it was going to be tough going up against the Pittsburgh Steelers. I didn't know we were going to have to play the guys in the striped shirts as well."
I have absolutely no problem with Seattle fans being upset with the officiating. There were several big calls, and all broke towards the Steelers. I think the fracas over the endzone TD run by Roethlisberger is overblown considering that the Steelers would have gotten the score on 4th down. The offensive pass interference was tough, but within the letter of the rules (and INCREDIBLY stupid play by Seattle WR Darrell Jackson...he was open and should have known better). The holding call and the penalty on Hasselbeck's tackle are certainly more questionable. Fans have a right to be upset. However, the simple fact is that Seattle couldn't score when they were in the read zone and they kept giving up 15-20 yards per possession on bad punting. NO team will win the Super Bowl playing that way. Also, the Seahawks had no answer to the "big trick play" which is the Steelers' hallmark...trick plays are easy to stop if you know they are coming and the Seahawks ought to have had a better answer than they did (again a coaching issue). My point is, there were bad calls, but they didn't decide the game. But, I understand why Seahawks fans think it did.
HOWEVER, Mike Holmgren is not a fan, he is a coach. He should be embarrassed by HIS performance and not looking to cover his ass by blaming the refs. Coaches are supposed to be leaders and the right message at this point is, "we have a great team, by far the best team in the NFC, and we're going to be better next year." Instead, he sold the fan's feelings up the river. His whining and bitching exploits the raw emotions of the Seattle fans for his own ends (covering his ass). Moreover, it undermines the league. Like it or not, head coaches have a responsibility to the integrity of the game. Teams are robbed all the time by bad officiating. If every coach behaved the way Holmgren has, the sport would be an ugly mess. The Seahawks organization, if it really cares about the quality of officiating, has a legitimate case to make to the NFL regarding reform (full-time refs, more cameras, microchips in the footballs?). The Seahawks should have pursued this in private, where it could have had an impact. Instead, Holmgren runs his mouth like a sore loser. He should be ashamed of the way he coached the game and ashamed of the way he has behaved since he started mouthing off at the refs during halftime.
*I was just watching ESPN News and they showed stats from Holmgrens two Super Bowls (other was with Green Bay). Both games featured scoreboards that didn't reflect how close the two sides were statistically (the Seahawks "outperformed" Pittsburgh in the stats sense). Why do teams lose when they are running and passing better than the other team? The answer is almost always bad coaching.
posted by JS @ 10:50 AM
4 Comments:
Right, Holmgren is such a bad coach that his team moved up and down the field at will on the "tough, physical Steeler defense" that everyone heard about ad nauseum until the game finally started. The two biggest playmakers on that defense (Polamalu and Porter) were largely missing - I'm sure it had nothing to do with Holmgren's gameplan. The reason Seattle couldn't score in the red zone is because the officials kept kicking them out of it when they would get in.
I'm a Steelers fan...so I'm not unbiased here. But, to me, what you talk about--the Seahawks moving up and down the field w/o scoring--has a lot to do with gameplanning. Every Steelers playoff game saw the other side moving the ball by passing. The Steelers seem to allow these short passing routines in order to lull the other side into an indentifiable pattern, which the Steelers then exploit. Look, there were a couple bad calls, but the Seahawks punted way more than they were "kicked out of the endzone." To me, that's the sign of a team that falls apart in scoring position.
No.....first guy, you are wrong...
Seattle had to stop running to porter's side. That's also seattles stronger side with Walter Jones. Porter busted up plays by forcing overrated Alexander (who dropped 3 passes- 2 less than stevens) inside the gap.
Once they went outside Clark haggans and James Harrison were on the other side.
Troy dropped into pretty good pass coverage all night, until he gave up the TD pass on an illegal screen by your slot wideout.
Your team isnt very good and you lost....
now you are making fools out of yourselves the first time you get in the spotlight. losing the Superbowl is hard enough, why make it worse?
Are the Steelers physical? Ask that wet noodle Linebacker of yours who got folded up like a sack of crap by Alana Faneca.
SCS
Holmgren's failure as a coach was best highlighted by the ending drives of both halves. Each was dismal, in play calling, time management, and execution.
The Steelers seemed to have no offensive gameplan in the first half, but adapted and made the plays when they had to. When the pressure was on Seattle, they completely chocked. The responsibility for the utter team failures in the two-minute drills to competently attempt moving the ball while preserving time falls sqaurely on the coach's shoulders.
-JTB
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