Fourth Quarter Fireworks Deliver 6th Super Bowl Ring

I’m glad that the refs called (correctly) the holding penalty in the endzone that helped extend the game for Arizona. Had that call not been made, then the hoots and hollers on radio this week would be unbearable: “The NFL is no better than the NBA!” “How come they love the Steelers so much?”



True, the drive in the 3^rd quarter which was almost exclusively powered by personal fouls, was a joke.



Santonio Holmes nearly pops the lid off Rodgers-Cromartie with a direct facemask, while Cromartie barely touches Holmes’ grill. I still have no idea why the NFL doesn’t re-write that rule which allows offensive players to intentionally facemask a defender under the guise of it being merely an “old school” stiff arm. The roughing calls on Big Ben and the stupid holder were a joke too.



Yet, in the end that series only led to 3 points. It didn’t change the game.

Much of the other calls against Arizona were simply correct. Mike Gandy was having trouble all night. A pull on the jersey of Hines ward that is clearly visible, is a penalty. Period.

I will not entertain any notions that the Cardinals were screwed in this game. They were simply unlucky.

Especially on the 14 point swing that occurred on a fluke-of-nature play for the ages by James Harrison to end the first half.

I mean, what can you do about that? Nothing. Sh** happens.

I only got a little bit right about this game. As usual, I was dead wrong all over the place. First, the good.

Arizona was indeed, one dimensional. I got that part right.

But it didn’t matter. Warner was awesome. Even better when they went to the no-huddle late in the game. Maybe Todd Haley should have opened the game in the no huddle.

The crowd wasn’t nearly as pro-Pittsburgh as I thought it would be. When the Cardinals surged late, the crowd seemed to rise up in a way that said: “We’re only here on a corporate junket, and not real Cards fans, but screw this terrible towel shit!”

Darnell Dockett and the Cardinals defense owned the line of scrimmage as the game wore on, and I really thought they were the team that deserved to win.

But as Clint Eastwood said in the movie Unforgiven: “Deservin’ ain’t got nothin’ to do with it.”

Big Ben and the Steelers made the drive that mattered. Santonio Holmes made the catch that will live forever in Super Bowl lore with about a half dozen others.

As such, they deserve it, because they won. And won clean. That’s a great team, born of an even greater organization. With a 27 year old quarterback who has two rings, a nasty defense, a young and respected coach.

Forecast: continued excellence. Deal with it, people.

The Steelers have already started cracking on that second hand full of rings. Nobody else in the league can claim that. The Cowboys and Niners are stuck on five each. And I seriously doubt either one of them, will get their 6^th, before the Steelers get their 7^th.

Thanks for a great show, fellas. The years of blowout Super Bowls seems like such ancient history. I think we’re getting spoiled.

I think the next professional tackle football game is September 5^th. Or thereabouts. Grab a Snickers, and try not to cry.

MORE…

We’ll Never Really Know

If Holmes toes were really, truly, undoubtedly DOWN DOWN before he was pushed out. It was so close, and for all of the King’s magical camera angles, only one really seemed to confirm the call. The others left some margin of doubt.

Were They In A Rush?

How on earth can the replay booth not take a good, long, hard, serious look at the last fumble (incomplete?) by Kurt Warner? To just rush ahead, and pull the plug on the football game, didn’t look for feel right. To me, that play was as much an awkward incomplete as the previous Warner play which was overturned. Maybe the NFL wanted to spare McCauley and his crew the indignity of being the first Super Bowl crew over-ruled by replay THREE times in a single game.

Al Michaels Is Not A Play By Play God

Go back and watch the call on the Fitzgerald touchdown. Listen to Al. LISTEN closely. He makes all big calls with announcer “constipation” in his voice. Like he’s pushing the words out of a tight hole. Al was also very confused, late, and sometimes dead wrong on the calls as they were made on the field. I think this is because Al is always trying to hard to show the viewer how smart he is on stuff. Rules, stats, and what not. Re-focus on the basics. Tell us what just happened. Sort out the rest later.

And Madden Was Even Worse

I still don’t know why supposedly “smart” NFL fans/writers treat this tired stooge as some sort of sage. Two points that were idiotic. First one came on the Harrison touchdown, where he said (essentially) “If a guy makes a play that good, you have to give him a touchdown as long as it was close.” Huh? Actually, I think you should make the call based on what the replay shows, and what the rule is. Period. Then Madden said he thought Harrison should be THROWN OUT for a marginal personal foul call on that punt in the 4^th. Are you kidding? This is football, not chess. It’s rough.

Scared Money, Don't Make Money

The defensive call that allowed the Fitzgerald touchdown was typical NFL-think. “Just don’t lose the game.” “Just keep them out of the endzone, and we win. Thank god we are up by 4 points, not just 3!” I thought Dick LeBeau was better than that. I thought he didn’t play coward-ball on defense with all the chips on the table. I was wrong.

Commercial Review

In a nutshell: mediocre. But perhaps that’s just the national mood right now, having spent ourselves into a near financial apocalypse. I still greatly enjoyed the Hulu.com spot with Alec Baldwin. And for whatever reason, seeing a fake koala bear getting his glasses punched off his face made me chortle like jolly ol’ St. Nick. Oh yeah, and the flowers in the box saying “nobody wants to see you naked” was classic. How many trucks bit the dust before they figured out how to have one pull a huge load up that spiral metal corkscrew rig thingy with the flame shooters at the top. Awesome! Oh yeah, it’s also official: Danica Patrick is a whore. Just show us your tits already in Playboy, and get it over with.

Chris Berman Sure Does Love Me-So-Me!

I heard this stat on Chris Russo's Saturday show on XM 144 driving home from the Baltimore airport. It sounds too incredible to be true, but knowing who it involves, I am actually not surprised.

On Thursday in Tampa, Chris Berman of ESPN received the "Pat Summerall Award" for having "demonstrated character, integrity and leadership."

His acceptance speech: 43 minutes.

Earlier in the week, one Chesley B. Sullenberger accepted an award in his hometown for having saved 155 souls with quick thinking, nerves of steele, and true bravery.

His acceptance speech: 28 seconds.

Again, I am not shocked.

Now, do you think Berman got the Summerall Award for his "integrity" when he had to grudgingly give up a Super Bowl ring given to him by the San Francisco 49ers?

Or when he would gladly elbow out of the way colleagues at ESPN who had worked an entire season on their sport just to airdrop into the finals?

Or do you think it was for his "leadership" on the set of ABC's Monday Night Football pre-game show?

Nah. I'm saying he got the award for his "character" in knowing when to pull the leather-clad hotties from the bar at closing time.

ESPN. They do what they want.

What?

What are you going to do about it?

Throw The Replay Machines Away

Ohhhhkayyyy…. then.
My picks sure sucked. Errrr… “Jimmy’s” picks, that is.
Ahem.
But here’s the thing: even though we went 1-3, if we just bet four-times what we normally can “afford” and we go 2-0, then we’ll be up double plus a little extra!
That’s why there’s always more games! Wheeeeeee!!! Gambling!
>>>>>>>>>>>>
Now, to the main point of today’s posting. Instant replay. All of the King’s VCR’s and all of the King’s striped men, have let us down, again.
Oh, what’s that? I can’t hear you.
Oh, you say that the horribly botched playclock NON-call on Baltimore on a crucial 3rd and 2 late against the Titans can’t be blamed on replay, because the play is not reviewable, and that’s not replay’s fault?
Fine. Say that all day. One more time, here’s my point.
Why have replay, if you can’t review everything? Don’t say that “because it would make games 5 hours long.” Because I’m not saying you increase challenge allowances. No, you get two. Good luck. Be judicious.
But there’s no earthly reason why a simple thing like playclock can’t be reviewable. No reason. None. Yet, somehow, it’s not.
And I don’t feel that sorry for Jeff Fisher, since he’s always touted as being on the “Competition Committee” that decides all these arcane, and often stupid rules.
Here’s the analogy. A restaurant is very concerned about it’s food being as PURE and clean as possible. Thus, it installs an EXPENSIVE ultra-violet light system that washes all utensils and eliminates germs.
Great.
But the restaurant says they can’t do EVERYTHING to make sure the food is pure, so they do allow the cooks to smoke. While cooking.
And every now and then a big fat ash falls in the soup (like a play clock play that even Stevie Wonder would have flagged) and there’s nothing they can do about it. Heck, you can’t even taste that cigarette ash in there. Stop being such a baby!
It’s hilarious – yet stupid – how ticky tack so many red flag challenges are these days. Coaches like Tom Coughlin, practically BEGGING for another 6 inches via videotape. And everybody wants the NFL to be so precise about stuff.
But then, on the playclock, I’ve been hearing announcers excuse violations by saying the referee has to “look up and notice” the clock is at zero, so it gives offenses an extra second or so.
Or, in Baltimore’s case, the game. Maybe. Or maybe not.
But are we going to have a rule, with a clock, or are we not? That’s all I’m asking.
Funny too, because the NBA has a shot clock, far less important than the NFL, since you get about a billion possessions in an NBA game, versus maybe 12 in a NFL game.
Yet the NBA, thought it’s shot clock was important enough to start mounting it right above the backboard, so it would be easy to see. They even have a buzzer that goes off when it hits zero.
I realize that the NFL wouldn’t want a buzzer for a zero play clock violation, since it would sometimes tangle up plays that actually beat the buzzer by a beat.
But how about a big fat, red light right on the goal-post? Can’t miss that, can ya! Hell, put the play clock ON the crossbar itself, and have it swivel DOWN when you are kicking a FG.
Okay, you get my point. I have about a dozen easily workable fixes for this fiasco, and I’ve only given it a weekend of thought. Yet will the NFL act on it?
I’m guessing no. But hey, we’ve GOT TO HAVE replay, because – gasp! – what if an NFL playoff game is decided on a BAD CALL!
Right.
Push the damn video machines into the river, and let’s just play the damn game.