2005-2006 NFL Playoffs in Review

The 2005-2006 NFL playoffs were plagued by questionable (and sometimes downright confusing) officiating and further obscuring of the issue of possession. Here is a summary of our contributions.

The Playoffs are Broken laments the Chris Simms to Edell Shepherd touchdown pass in the first round game between the Washington Redskins and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers that was ruled incomplete without adequate explanation from head referee Mike Carey. This play largely inspired both this blog and its title.

Winning Ways explores Joe Gibbs' playoff coaching record.

Pass Interference? Yes is one instance of congratulating the officiating. We give two pass interference calls in the second week of the playoffs our approval.

Replay considerations proposes computer modeling for instant replay in the context of the Champ Bailey interception return in the Denver Broncos win over the New England Patriots. Ben Watson pushed Bailey out of bounds and Bill Belichick challenged the spot of the ball thinking it may have gone out of bounds through the end zone, which would have resulted in a safety.

R-E-S-P-E-C-T questions the Steelers' complaints after the AFC Championship Game that no one gave them any respect. As the #6 seed in the AFC, they got what they deserved. Certainly they played well in their run to Super Bowl champions, but they also benefitted from some good luck. Carson Palmer went down on the second play from scrimmage in their first round win over the Cincinnati Bengals, then officiating handed them their Super Bowl victory.

More Pittsburgh good luck is the subject of What if? Specifically, it discusses a few plays that could have changed the AFC Championship Game in favor of the Broncos.

On Officiating argues for better officiating in general throughout sports, but has its roots in comments players made about officiating in the NFL playoffs.

Halftime thought experiment asks why replay should only be allowed to overturn the call on the field if the evidence is incontrovertible. The basis for the question is a play where the official, because he must make a call, has to guess. This seemed to happen on a Ben Roethlisberger "touchdown" run during the first half of the Super Bowl.

Asinine intervention enumerates the egregious officiating mishaps that marred the Super Bowl and stole from the Seattle Seahawks a chance at the franchise's first championship. There were only ten penalties called in the game, and at least three of them were totally unnecessary. Two of them were false starts during Pittsburgh's first possession. That means the entire officiating crew was employed for three hours of football for the purpose of five flags (those false starts required only a single line judge). And they messed it up and threw three extra ones. Not a very good performance.

Skating Through recounts the same officiating blunders from a slightly different perspective. The title is a reference to our signature article, What are we raving about? After these playoffs, football looked a lot more like figure skating.

No, I think it's a zebra refers to the beer commercial with horses playing football. It enumerates even more officiating mistakes and reacts to NFL spokesman Greg Aiello's Monday morning comments. He claimed the game was properly officiated, which everyone outside of Western Pennsylvania knows is tantamount to saying that professional wrestling isn't scripted.

Instant replay for the crowds is merely a link to an article about the SkyBox, a device that would give fans in the stadium better information than the referees have. As if the jumbotron wasn't enough.