About Last Night...

First of all, if you don't know what the title of my post is in reference to, I would suggest watching this Southpark episode... classic Randy Marsh... honestly, is there even an argument as to who the greatest character on that show is anymore?

But on to the game!

Great game... simply perfect finish. The mark of a great Superbowl is always big players stepping up in big moments... America loves heroes. Why do you think all those crappy superhero movies always draw such enormous box office revenue? America loves heroes and this Superbowl had them:

- Ben Roethlisberger, who made great plays with his legs and orchestrated a great final drive.
- Larry Fitzgerald, who was blanketed all game, but was uncontainable when everyone knew he needed to make a play.
- Darnell Dockett, who was a pain in the butt all day for Big Ben
- Lamarr Woodley, who was really menacing all game and finally sealed the game for Pittsburgh
- Santonio Holmes, who made the brilliant game-winning catch
- James Harrison, who made the biggest play of the game, and the longest in Super Bowl history.

But let's step back and take an honest look at this game... to do so I think I'll answer some questions that I've been asking my self all day today after the initial reaction wore off.

- How good was this game compared to past Superbowls?
Ok, here I am going to spout off about a little. Colin Cowherd made this point on the Herd on ESPN radio and I completely agree. This was not a great game through three quarters, but had a phenomenal ending, and we all remember big events by how they left us feeling afterwards. A big reason why a lot of people who saw ''No Country for Old Men'' for the first time didn't really like it that much was because the ending was not that special. This game was really dominated by Pittsburgh, while Arizona repeatedly shot themselves in the foot with penalties. It was not a balanced game, and it seemed like every fan reaction had to be delayed because of the flag thrown on seemingly every big play through three quarters. This game had a great finish, so because of that, it ranks higher than Indianapolis-Chicago and Pittsburgh-Seattle. I won't compare it with Philadelphia-New England, because I'm not able to be fair and unbiased about that. But I truly believe this game was not as great as Carolina-New England, and not nearly as good as last year's game between New York and New England. Both of those games weren't always riviting through three quarters, but I feel were played at a higher level with less mistakes.

- Was Santonio in?
Yes. I was the first to question it, but the one angle showed me that his left toe did touch down. Was it close? Hell yeah. Especially if you make the argument that Santonio didn't have possession when he was dragging his feet. And honestly, if the officials rule that play incomplete, I don't think they overturn it. But it was ruled a completion and it looked like he got both toes down.

- Did Warner really fumble?
I can't help but think that ESPN pays some of their analysts to say the opposite of what they truly believe. I was watching Tim Hasselbeck look right into the camera and tell the entire country that he thought it wasn't a fumble, when everyone in their right mind (besides Arizona fans) could see that Woodley clearly had his palm on the ball and Warner only was able to lug that ball forward because his pinkie finger was still on the ball. And even if it wasn't a fumble, we are talking about a hail mary pass with a poor O-Line, facing an NFL prevent defense... sorry 'zona, no blaming the refs here.

- What happened to Pittsburgh's defense that let Fitz break off a play like that against Cover 2?
Pittsburgh played a Cover two with underneath man coverage, only rushing 4. Because of the time constraints, both Polamalu and Clark were both playing deep sideline coverage. So really, both safeties were playing cover 3, but with no third guy in the middle. Fitzgerald ran a post route and got not one, but two steps on Ike Taylor who dove and missed on the tackle. Now you may think that even though Ike was beat and the safeties were playing deep that they should have still been able to recover, but look at the routes that Boldin and Breaston run... both 10-yard outs... thus forcing the safeties to take steps to the outside. You beat that coverage over the middle, and that is what Arizona did. The real question is, why did Dick LeBeau draw up a defense that Larry Fitzgerald, playing in the slot, could exploit so easily? Thanks to Big Ben and Santonio Holmes, nobody seems to want to know!

- Wasn't Fitz's weakness coming out of college supposed to be his lack of breakaway speed?
Yeah, I was thinking the same thing after that play.

- Who was the real MVP?
You could make an argument for James Harrison because of the fact that he basically scored 14 points for the Steelers, but he was also on the field when the defense blew the lead. A lot of people say Roethlisberger, because of the drive he orchestrated at the end, but I ask you, would you have really blamed Holmes if he hadn't been able to hang on to that pass? Of course not, but he DID hang on. He made the special play on that down, not Ben. Sure, it was great throw, but not really a great decision. There were three defenders around the ball and there was a tiny area for the receiver to come down with it. Also, Santonio had 4 catches for 73 yards on that final drive, including the big 40-yard play to set up the winning TD. Most QBs could have made that throw, but few WRs have the burst to break that catch for 40 yards. You can't go wrong either way, but I think they made the right choice.

- Who was the goat?
Aaron Francisco. He was the Cardinals player who slipped really badly instead of tackling Santonio Holmes, leading to the big 40-yard play. Remember, even if Pittsburgh doesn't score a TD, Arizona still blows the lead on that play because Jeff Reed hits the chip shot FG regardless. Ironically, Francisco (Arizona's third safety) was on the field to prevent the big play.

- Are the Cardinals contenders next year?
No. And I'll tell you why. They went 9-7 this year in the weak NFC West. That was the real Arizona Cardinals. During the playoffs they caught fire and gained incredible momentum. Anybody who watches Basketball can tell you how long momentum lasts. It runs out. It ran out Sunday. Next year they will not have that momentum anymore. They will be back to being the 9-7 team, IF all off-season issues are settled. Is Kurt Warner coming back? Are they going to be able to keep Karlos Dansby? Will Matt Leinart impress and create a QB controversy? Will the WR situation start to get ugly again like it had been? Believe me, Arizona is no better than 9-7 next year... I guarantee it.

- Where does Big Ben rank among active QBs?
I had to listen to Skip Bayless and Jamele Hill talk about Roethlisberger being the #2 QB in the NFL behind Tom Brady. At least it got me going in the morning. How can you honestly have watched Pittsburgh this year and truthfully make the statement that Roethlisberger is a better QB than Peyton Manning? Does the second-best QB in the NFL have games where he posts a 15.1 QB rating? Or 5 games of sub-60 QB ratings like Big Ben did this year? The argument is that he has more rings than Peyton. I could buy that argument if Peyton didn't have a ring, but he does. And Big Ben's first ring was won INSPITE of him, not because of him. Are you freakin' serious? This is the type of sensationalist, over-hyping, knee-jerking crap that plagues today's sports media. Why does the media accredit every Super Bowl win to the QB? If Harrison doesn't make the huge play before halftime, Pittsburgh loses. Does that make Roethlisberger any worse of a QB? NO! Are analysts really so lazy that they can't learn any of the names of defensive players? Why is it that every bad QB on a winning team with a great defense is suddenly a ''winner'', or a ''game-manager''? Wasn't Vince Young supposed to be a ''winner''? Look, Roethlisberger is a great QB. Without a doubt top-5 in the NFL, but to really overreact so badly to put him on that kind of pedestal is just absurd, and frankly, unprofessional. Give me a freakin' break!

wow, I got really angry there... better crack open another Lions Head.