CHENEY, Wash. -- Seattle Seahawks rookie Kelly Jennings
dived and intercepted Matt Hasselbeck's pass on the sideline.
As Jennings rolled onto the turf during a Thursday morning
drill, he briefly lost control of the ball. Line judge Tom
Symonette, visiting the Seahawks' training camp with three
colleagues, ruled the would-be interception an incompletion.
The few hundred fans lining the field booed. Many players
howled.
"Don't do a Super Bowl on us!" cornerback Kelly Herndon
yelled.
Shaun Alexander said coach Mike Holmgren has promised him not to
mention the Super Bowl to the league MVP "too much." But
reminders of that bitter loss are surrounding Seahawks training
camp.
A mini-mart down the road from this rural retreat at Eastern
Washington University is selling its own versions of Pittsburgh's
"Terrible Towel" -- gold, rectangular cloths with black lettering
that read "The Fraudulent Flag."
Then came Thursday, when NFL game officials arrived for their
annual, three-day visit. The league sends its officials to each
camp to review that year's rules changes and answer players' and
coaches' questions.
It's the first time the Seahawks have seen referees since key
calls went against them in their 21-10 Super Bowl loss to the
Steelers.
Receiver Darrell Jackson was called for offensive pass
interference after pushing away Chris Hope as he broke to catch
Hasselbeck's pass in the end zone. Seattle settled for a field goal
instead of a 7-0 lead.
The Seahawks still believe D.D. Lewis drove Pittsburgh's Ben
Roethlisberger and the ball away from the goal-line plane on his
1-yard score late in the first half that put the Steelers ahead for
good, 7-3. Referee Bill Leavy upheld the call after a replay
review. Holmgren then upbraided Leavy on his way off the field at
halftime.
Early in the fourth quarter, tackle Sean Locklear was called for
holding on a pass completion that would have put the Seahawks at
the Pittsburgh 1, poised for the tying touchdown. After the
penalty, Hasselbeck threw an interception. The Steelers eventually
scored to take a 14-point lead.
One of the league's points of emphasis this season will be on
offensive holding. The annual league video that players watched
Thursday afternoon said officials will flag for it when a blocker
"materially restricts, alters the path, grabs or hooks" a
defender.
Locklear said he intended to ask referee Ed Hochuli on Thursday
about the Super Bowl holding call.
But Hochuli, an attorney entering his 17th year of NFL
officiating, said Locklear's hold in the Super Bowl did not spur
the redefining of the penalty.
"The Super Bowl was one of those games where it seemed the big
calls went against Seattle," Hochuli said. "And that was just
fortuitous -- bad fortuitous for Seattle.
"The league felt, actually, that the Super Bowl was well
officiated. Now, that doesn't mean there were no mistakes. There
are always mistakes, but it was a well officiated game."
Hochuli, whom Holmgren called the "our top referee in
football," anticipated Thursday's ribbing such as Herndon's.
"I would expect to get some teasing from fans and some players,
but there really hasn't been that much," said Hochuli, an attorney
who is in his 17th year of NFL officiating.
Holmgren spent the first parts of the morning practice talking
with the officials. At times, the former member of the NFL's
competition committee gestured pulling and grabbing with his hands,
as if he was discussing holding.
Later, he said he is moving beyond the calls from the Super
Bowl.
"We lost the game," Holmgren said. "We're going to try like
crazy to get back there this year and make up for that."
Though there was teasing and questioning, it was nothing like
the treatment officials got at a 2002 Oakland Raiders training
camp.
Seven months after the infamous "tuck rule" was enforced to
reverse an apparent lost fumble by New England quarterback Tom
Brady -- a call that led the Patriots to tie a playoff game they
eventually won in overtime -- the majority of Raiders walked out in
protest as officials were beginning their rules presentation.
Alexander said the Seahawks needed nothing of the sort. He
mentioned how last season's postseason officials were "All-Star"
crews who did not work together during the regular season. That
meant some may not have been familiar with their crew mates and
that "that can hurt your performance."
In March, the league announced playoff officials will now come
from cohesive crews who spent the season together instead of those
who were rated the highest at their positions.
"No, those guys are cool," Alexander said of the referees.
"The weird thing about that Super Bowl, I think the refs tried
their best. And I would never say they didn't."