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The Steelers were trailing 28-17. Cedric Wilson had just caught a pass that gave his team a first down at the Jags 14-yard line. There was only one thing the Jags could do. It was time for some trash talk.

Brian Williams, the man who made the tackle, started jawing with Wilson. Hines Ward then stepped into the fray and he and Williams went at it—Ward undoubtedly telling Williams the lead was slipping away, and Williams surely responding with some variation of “look at the scoreboard.”

It was at that moment I realized that trash-talking is the NFL’s version of a hockey fight. It has no rhyme or reason, and no direct effect on the game. But when things aren’t going well you just do it in the hope of swinging momentum in your favor.

That moment in Pittsburgh was like when a hockey team has their 3-0 lead cut to 3-2. But instead of sending out an enforcer to start a fight (I don’t know what it is about watching two guys pummel each other that makes a hockey team to take it up a notch) Brian Williams decided to talk some trash. Unfortunately, Hines Ward is one of the best in the business. The guy is the Chris Pronger of the NFL—not only is he’s a great player, but you better not try and swing momentum by messing with him.

Considering that the Steelers went on to score 12 straight points, I think it’s safe to say that Ward won the battle. Now if only the refs had called holding on any of the four Jacksonville linemen who were holding on David Garrard’s 4th down scramble.

(That’s right, I’m going there. Get ready for a rant.)

Watch the video. The Steelers had the play defended perfectly. Troy Polamalu came on a blitz to the outside forcing Garrard to step up. James Harrison started up field, but then cut back to fill the running lane. The only problem was that Khalif Barnes had a firm hold on the jersey and so he couldn’t fill the running lane. You can also see Brett Kiesel and Casey Hampton getting tackled on the play. And guess what? Larry Foote thinks he was held too.

Yeah, I’m a bitter Steelers fan, but I just can’t get over how the league can allow referees to determine the outcome of a game. It all started with the bogus holding call on Sean Mahan that negated Hines Ward’s two point conversion catch. The refs hadn’t called holding all game. What were they thinking? Were they bored? Did they think people would forget about them? Then because the officials called it once, they had to give the Steelers a make-up call on the Jags next drive. The only problem then was that after the 2nd holding call the refs basically put a moratorium on holding calls for the rest of the game. So after completely screwing over the Steelers they decided to stay out of it. Thanks guys. Again. I mean it. From the bottom of my heart.

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