A Letter to Mike Holmgren

Understanding that I am far from non-biased, I still found it necessary to respond to comments made during yesterday's Seahawk postseason celebration. During the celebration, Holmgren 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." Holmgren got what he wanted from the Seattle crowd (cheers), but has received some negative reaction from many others. My letter can be counted among that reaction.

Dear Coach Holmgren,

Congratulations on a fantastic season and for winning the NFC title. Whether due to "east coast bias" or not, your team seemed to dominate the entire conference, yet doing so without much recognition from the press. There was little doubt last Sunday that the team representing the NFC in the Super Bowl was the best team in the NFC.

I would also like to commend you for the class your franchise has shown in winning. The team has conducted itself with sportsmanship during contests, and has been a good example to its community as law abiding citizens. Equally impressive was that your team appeared to accept defeat with the same class and grace on Sunday. I was, therefore, quite disappointed to hear your comments on Monday.

Though I am sure I missed many of what could be contested as "poor calls" on Sunday, I would like to make the following observations about the game:

Darrell Jackson did push off. Whether his shove was truly enough to impede the corner is not really in question. The bottom line is, he placed his hand in the chest of the defender and then fully extended his arm to create separation. Receivers know that a hand placed in the middle of a defender's torso (chest or back) will result in a penalty. Eight out of ten times, that penalty is called.
The holding call. I will readily admit that I hardly understand what does and does not constitute holding in the NFL. I agree that it did not look like a violation to me. However, I have regularly heard announcers (usually former players) confess that holding happens on every single snap in the NFL. It appears to be one of the more subjective penalties. This doesn't make a blown call right. However, it also should place in perspective that this call should not have changed the course of the game.
Pittsburgh had 0 first downs in the first quarter. You may want to consider having a conversation with Tom Rouen. His continual punts into the end zone allowed the Steelers to start every stalled drive on the twenty, thereby keeping your team from gaining field position. You dominated the game in the first quarter and had a 3 point lead. That is not the referees' problem.
The clock is objective. The refs do not increase or decrease the value of a second. Your team squandered a scoring drive in the first half (even taking an unused timeout into the half) and poorly managed the clock at the end of the game. Just a field goal in either of those situations (granted, early at the end, with an on side kick to follow) would have radically changed the stategy your team needed to execute.
The better team should win. I am aware, Mr. Holmgren, that my bias may come through. But I believe there were more frequent and more costly poor calls in the Indianapolis/Pittsburgh game. Yet Pittsburgh persevered. Had Pittsburgh lost, the officiating would have hurt, but costly turnovers could not be ignored. I think maybe first, your coaching staff should consider dropped passes, touchback punts, missed field goals and interceptions, and poor time managment before the officials are blamed. Correcting just half of those problems may have resulted in a different outcome, regardless of the referees.

In the end, criticism of the officiating is understandable. There are going to be mistakes in any game. Unfortunately, those mistakes can sometimes pile up against one team. However, to present the officiating as a foe you had to overcome undermines the integrity of the entire league. It may create caustic situations with fans and officials during future games. It even makes you look less noble for being willing to accept blame for your mistakes.

In the end, your comments may have been "Seattle friendly" but I don't see how they were "football friendly." However, I'm sure the fine the NFL will exact upon you will go to a charitable cause, and for that, I am thankful for your "contribution."

Sincerely,

Danny Wright