Leave it to the NFL to have one of the greatest playoff games in it's history partially ruined because of wonky rules and awful officiating. Baseball maybe; but not in the NFL, land of a thousand rules and infinite number of reviewable plays. Had this been a Week 17 game between the Rams and Redskins it would have been a little less egregious, but for a PLAYOFF game to end the way it did is completely unacceptable. Obviously my fan boy is showing, but I can't help but feel that this game will forever be stained because of a clear miss (misses?) on an official's part directly led to the end of a game.
Can't blame it all on the referees, in fact they'd be about 11th on my list of reasons the Packers lost, with Dom Capers being reasons 1 through 10. Throughout the game I was having periodic flashbacks to both games against the Vikings watching Green Bay drop 7 in zone coverage and bring 4 on the pass rush. Logic would seem to point to a 4 man rush against a 6 man line will favor the offense 100 out of 100 times. Kurt Warner is not the devil spawn of Michael Vick and Warren Moon so he's not going to burn you with his legs if you can get pressure and collapse the pocket. He can however laugh at you're soft zone coverage while he systematically dissects you if there is no one in his face.
Need proof? Think back to the 49ers game. Anyone think that San Fransisco's front 4 or defensive secondary is anywhere near as talented as the Packers'? No, didn't think so. The difference in why the Niners were so successful as opposed to the dismal Green Bay performance was pressure. San Fransisco brought heat throughout the game and forced Warner to rush throws, throw in to coverage, or simply throw the ball away. Pressure makes Warner turn the ball over, it's a proven fact throughout his career. No pressure on him equals him throwing more TD's than incompletions. But I digress, back to the scrubs wearing the stripes.
Home cooking happens, it's undeniable. Take this article from Yahoo! Sports for example; it's a different sport but the results are there. That's not to say there is some giant conspiracy to keep the Packers from winning the Super Bowl, but to see the number of calls that should have gone against the home team that were either completely overlooked or just wrong, it makes you wonder what is going on down on the field. Of course, there is no good argument without facts and/or substantial evidence. With that in mind I'm going to open up the NFL rule book for you and let you decide if I'm completely off base with my home cooking ideas.
