Super Bowl XLIII Thoughts

Cardinals

Where is Fitz?

You know something is wrong when one of the best wide receivers in the NFL doesn’t get a pass thrown his way until 1:53 left in the 2^nd quarter. Larry Fitzgerald was doubled covered for the majority of the 1^st half by Ike Taylor with safety Troy Polamalu or Ryan Clark for over the top help. The Steelers did what they could to prevent the deep pass that has been so successful for the Cardinals. But what happened to the bubble screen that the Cards run so well? This play has worked for the Cards even in the toughest of times. With receivers with great YAC ability, I’m surprised this play wasn’t called more often. Thing is the Steelers were giving the Cards the flats! Well there is no film study and no next week. Fitzgerald did end up with 7 catches for 127 and 2 touchdowns, but I believe the whole of America would have liked to see the ball in Fitz hand more often.

Zone or Man for DRC

The great rookie corner for the Cards, Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie, has had a great post-season until the big game. I’m not going to say he broke down in this game or it was too big for him. I am however going to challenge the change in the coverage scheme. DRC has played man coverage for the bulk of his rookie season, making opposing teams aware of his speed and ball skills. During the playoffs DRC covered Steve Smith, DeSean Jackson and Roddy White. So why the change to zone? I expected to see a Holmes/DRC matchup but instead had to watch Holmes find the open spot in the zone and DRC look uncomfortable as ever while accepting the zone scheme of the game. I believe this played a big part in Holmes’ 4 catches for 73 yards and ultimately scoring the game winning touchdown and being named Super Bowl MVP.

Steelers

James Harrison Brawls

I was rather upset with the actions of NFL Defensive Player of the Year James Harrison on the Arizona punt play when he was flagged for a Personal Foul. This foul wasn’t an act of playing hard or going all out on a play, this was blatant disregard for the rules of the game and your opponent. Harrison, as a winner of an esteemed award, should show better judgment while on the field. Several blows to the back of the head/neck area of a downed Cardinal was just unnecessary no matter how you try to spin it. It should have been cause for ejection. The NFL is supposed to be cracking down on “bad behavior” and throughout the course of this game there were several punches thrown.

Roethlisberger Escapes

Ben Roethlisberger had several pocket escapes during Super Bowl XLIII. All of which led to positive plays when the ball left his hands. Now whether it was poor tackling on the part of the Cards or a great ability to break tackles can not be confirmed. Bottom line is that Ben, all 6-5 241lbs of him, finished the game 21 of 30, with several completions after the pocket collapsed. If you want a quarterback who is used to coming back in desperate situations, you want Ben Roethlisberger.

Referees

Now for a second I thought I was watching a rerun of Super Bowl XL with the way penalties were being called during the big game. I still feel for Holmgren and the Seahawks but that’s another story. Penalties seemed to come at pivotal points and most seemed to go the way of the Steelers. Take for instance the Roughing the Passer call on Dansby with 7:41 left in the 3^rd. Roethlisberger threw the ball away, still inside the pocket mind you, and was hit after his release. It was a bang-bang play and Dansby did not take Roethlisberger to the ground. The bigger question I would like answered is as to why Intentional Grounding was not called. If you want to accept that Dansby hit the QB late alright, I still say no. If Intentional Grounding is called then we redo the play as if it never happened.

Defensive holding has become defensive touching with the way it was called in the Super Bowl. Roderick Hood grazes Hines Ward’s back with his hand on a crossing route during Pittsburgh’s first possession of the 4^th quarter. We all know this penalty was created after the Patriots beat up the Colts receivers during the AFC Divisional game during the 2004-2005 season. Remember when receivers and defensive backs could actually battle for position down the field and battle for the ball? Now it’s become even harder for defensive backs to get position and actually do what they are paid to do. Rarely do we see offensive pass interference, but they are just as if not more physical than the defensive backs. We need some consistency.

Just a side note and a point of emphasis, I believe that defensive players across the NFL need to voice their concerns about how facemask penalties are called during the game. We saw this when Holmes caught a pass and was tackled by DRC by the facemask. What also happened on that play is that Holmes grabbed the facemask of DRC also. Offensive players with the ball should be subject to the same rules a defensive player is when is comes to the facemask penalty. It doesn’t seem fair that an offensive player can grab the facemask of a defender who is trying to bring the ball carrier to ground and nothing is called. I believe the NFL needs to institute Offensive Facemask. And if it is already in the rule book, let's call it.

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