Cardinals nearly beat Steelers/refs, but can only blame themselves
 

Great games by Fitz, Whisenhunt and #90 on the Cardinals defense.

Yes the Cardinals were hosed on some calls (Harrison not ejected after assaulting a guy, Holmes not flagged for using football as a prop, no review on game ending incompletion/fumble, questionable holding/pass interference/roughing passer calls).

BUT, despite a tough Steelers team and some biased refs, they still lead the game with 2 minutes to go. In the end, they let Santonio Holmes catch 3 killer balls including an amazing circus catch to win the game.

The Steelers were handed most of the game but in the end they still won it and earned it with that final drive. Big Ben became a HOF, and Warner maybe shut himself out of the hall.

Re: Cardinals Nearly Beat Steelers/Refs, But Can Only Blame Themselves
 

Very strict called gamed by the officials tonight. A few misses but not too bad imo. Arizona played a real good game but it all came down to Warners interception.

Re: Cardinals Nearly Beat Steelers/Refs, But Can Only Blame Themselves
 

testing new live icon thing....

Re: Cardinals Nearly Beat Steelers/Refs, But Can Only Blame Themselves
 

That was an excellent playcall by LeBeau-I mean did ANYONE see that coming? Harrison faking the rush but dropping back in coverage? That's what championship teams do-they study all the fine details...which is why Belichick is an HOF coach. Which is also why LeBeau is one of the best DCs in the game.

That Santonio Holmes is a game breaker-he played lights out in the final sprint of the season.

Re: Cardinals Nearly Beat Steelers/Refs, But Can Only Blame Themselves
 

Very exciting game. Too bad the Steelers won. :)

Still can't believe Harrison took that INT all the way for a touchdown. Unreal.

Re: Cardinals Nearly Beat Steelers/Refs, But Can Only Blame Themselves
 

Couple of thoughts,,

Arizona had the whole field to tackle Harrison,shudda, wudda, cudda,, quite a run by #92

Will Goodell fine Harrison??
That guy can not be the brightest bulb on the string of lights, with the whole world watching.

Watching Holmes good play made me wish we could draft a good WR

Came away thinking Arizona would win more than 50% of the games if they played multiple times.

Re: Cardinals Nearly Beat Steelers/Refs, But Can Only Blame Themselves
 

The calls were going the Steelers way most of the night, but the Cards were catching some breaks late in the game. The biggest call going their way was the holding call in the end zone awarding the safety when it looked like the Steelers had sealed the game with a killer first down. Good call, but given the way the officiating was going, it looked like one that the refs would overlook.

The personal foul penalty that was called against the Steelers was kind of a tacky penalty. Sure, there was some jawing and pushing but nothing that I think would warrant a personal foul in a SUPER BOWL.

It was a good game, the Cards had a chance, but as the original poster says, they only have themselves to blame (see key PICK SIX in last play of the first half).

Re: Cardinals Nearly Beat Steelers/Refs, But Can Only Blame Themselves
 

regarding a strict called game, do you have an opinion on the missed block in the back on Harrison's int return for a td?

Re: Cardinals Nearly Beat Steelers/Refs, But Can Only Blame Themselves
 

I'm sorry, but I feel the Cards had no one to blame but themselves. I give the Steelers a lot of credit, but why were the Cards defense going away from what was working on the final Steelers' drive. They risked too many blitz schemes when they know Roethlisberger will kill you if you don't keep him in the pocket. They would have been better off only rushing four and dropping more into coverage.

There were some bad calls, but there were bad calls and non-calls going both ways.

Re: Cardinals Nearly Beat Steelers/Refs, But Can Only Blame Themselves
 

I wonder how the Steelers will do next year-I mean this COULD have been their last golden opportunity in awhile, why? Their O-line is poopy, and it's not like those low seeded draft picks will help them fill this glaring hole, at least not right away.

I could see them taking a step back in '09 like they did in '06.