Blog Archive

Six!  Six Lombardi Trophies!  What a great feeling.  That last drive was sweet but that kind of suspenese nearly killed me.

My quick thoughts post from earlier today was a mix of wrong and mostly right.  The Steelers didn’t run the ball as well as I thought as the Cardinals got good penetration in the second half in particular (but the Cardinals didn’t even try to run really).  I also think that Willie Parker is simply not a power back who can run between the tackles.  When they needed power running they didn’t have it.

As I feared Larry Fitzgerald made a number of big plays and the screen plays and dump offs to the running backs hurt the Steelers. At times the defense pressured Warner but he also had time in the fourth quarter to move the ball down the field.

For most of the game Ben had time to throw but in the red zone they couldn’t punch it in, but then it looked to me like the offensive line just wore out in the fourth quarter.  The Cardinals D were running through the Steelers at that point.  Let’s face it, that has to be one of the least talented O lines to win a Super Bowl.

Luckily the punt game didn’t come back to haunt them.

But when the game was on the line Ben Roethlisberger did make the clutch plays.  Santonio Holmes came up huge and like so many times this season the Steelers won a game that wasn’t all that pretty at times.

The game seemed to swing on big plays.  Harrison’s epic interception return of course.  But Boldin had a 45 yard catch that set up the Cards first TD (a great catch by the TD after Warner stumbled).  And Fitzgerlad had the big 64-yarder to take the lead.  Add in the Steelers having to settle for field goals, and the crtical saftey, and the Steelers couldn’t put the game away.

I obviously would have prefered the Steelers control the game and hold off the furious comeback, rather than being forced to stage their own, but in the end my prediction (30-23) wasn’t all that far off from the final 27-23.

Plus, I am happy that Ben could engineer that drive and play a crucial part in winning the game.  After the SB a couple years back I know he must feel good knowing that when the game was on the line he didn’t let his team down.

And with that offensive line and with the toughest schedule in football I think winning a Super Bowl is an incredible achievement.  Go Steelers!

P.s. Please draft an offensive lineman or two.  Thanks.