Super Bowl Mayhem

Kurt Warner almost got his second title and probably his second Super Bowl MVP yesterday but it was stolen right out of his hands, literally. The second to last play of the game he was stripped trying to deliver a downfield pass after scrambling to evade the onrushing Lamarr Woodley. Unfortunately for the Cardinals and Warner, Woodley got his hands on the ball and knocked it out of Warner's hand temporarily. It looked to some that Warner regained enough control to continue to move the ball forward for an incomplete pass. But not to the eyes of the refs or the men in the booth upstairs who quickly and quietly reviewed the play and saw nothing to overturn the call on the field.

When looking at a play such as this one, people need to understand the pressure that refs are under and the speed at which these events take place in real time. It is hard for viewers to see calls like this when slowed down to super speed so take a second and imagine what it would be like to call the play on the field. I am not saying that the refs and booth do not deserve some fault, there should have been a more in depth look at the play. However, it is unfair for fans to blame the Cardinals' loss on the refs.

The refs didn't force Kurt Warner to throw an interception in the end zone to James Harrison. The refs didn't shut down the Arizona running game. The Steelers did those things and deserve credit for the win. The Cardinals played strong, except for those first two drives of the game, and fought hard to the end. I wanted to see Kurt Warner on the 30-second drill go down the field for MVP #2 but it wasn't in the Cards.

On the other side, great credit must be given to one of the best developing young wide receivers in the league, Super Bowl MVP Santonio Holmes. The man was phenomenal, catching balls all over the field and running past many Cardinals defenders. Plus, that game winning catch was an okay grab, I guess. For a young receiver, Holmes showed last night that he has what it takes to take the place of Hines Ward in the near future as the premier receiver for Big Ben.

The Steel Curtain of the season showed up last night, but not nearly as they had done throughout the rest of the season. On the one hand, Harrison had the 100-yard pick-six and Woodley forced the fumble that sealed the game for the Steelers. On the other hand, although they held the Cardinals running game to 33 yards (not a big accomplishment this season) they gave up big yardage to Warner's arm. The Curtain contained Fitzgerald for most of the game but was unable to stop him on the second Cardinals' possession of the fourth quarter when Warner went 7-7 for 87 yards and a touchdown with 3 of those passes to LFitz, including the incredible TD reception. Then two drives later, Warner hooked up with LFitz again, this time for a 64-yard touchdown.

All in all, it was a rewarding experience to watch this year's Super Bowl. Normally a quiet defensive struggle, this game broke the norm and was interesting to watch and an all-around solid game of football, what you would expect from two teams with elite players on both sides of the ball.