The Furious Rant – The NFC West Gift Wraps Another Superbowl For Pittsburgh Steelers<\/p>\n
I\u2019m still trying to do two things \u2013 shake off a Superbowl hangover, and determine exactly how the Arizona Cardinals lost this game. If there was a prop bet on \u201chow many times they\u2019ll show a sullen Larry Fitzgerald Sr. in the press box\u201d over \u201chow many penalties there will be in the Superbowl\u201d, you would\u2019ve cashed in huge if you had bet the latter.Turns out, that the public got murdered by the books across the board. Truth is \u2013 the fans got murdered in this game too.<\/p>\n
Superbowl XLIII was littered with fist-pumpers. The 64-yard barn burner by Fitzgerald, the100 yard TAINT by Harrison, Santonio\u2019s brilliant catch to clinch the game, Roethlisberger scrambling like he was making eggs, Kurt Warner marching the Cards down the field for two scores on an 87-yard drive and an 83-yard drive, and Kurt Warner scoring with a tight-end that nobody\u2019s ever heard of; all these plays made you jump off the couch, spill beer on your girlfriend and blurt out obscenities with a mouth full of Tostistos.<\/p>\n
But this game will be marred by the penalties that killed it, the botched call at the end of the game and Pittsburgh\u2019s inability to close the deal countless times.<\/p>\n
Let\u2019s start with the freaking holding penalties. It wasn\u2019t just one penalty that killed the game. It was a truck load. An ass load even. The Cardinals cost themselves 106 yards on 11 penalties. Translation? The Steelers didn\u2019t even have to snap the ball to march the entire length of the field. Rookie corner, Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie, was called a facemask, Dansby had a penalty on a hit against Ben Roethlisberger and Adrian Wilson ran through a defenseless place-kick-holder to add on to the absurd number of penalties.<\/p>\n
And don\u2019t even get me started on the Steelers, who shoved as many horseshoes up their rear ends to win this game. A safety on a holding call in the endzone blew the OVER, while the betting public crammed on the UNDER, which seemed absurdly high at 46.5.<\/p>\n
While the Steelers didn\u2019t exactly botch the game on the penalty side, they certainly can\u2019t escape the thought that, \u201cWow\u2026we won that game?!\u201d First of all of all, that Willie Parker earned 53 yards on 19 carries. This, from a team that has boasted one of the most feared rushing attacks since its inception. On top of that, they ere inside the 10-yard line a zillion times and only punched it in once. And guess who did it? Yep \u2013 Gary F\u2019n Russell. Everyone lumped in a prop bet that the unknown Russell wouldn\u2019t score a touchdown at 65-1 odds, and there he was bursting in to the endzone for a score and destroying a seemingly perfect prop bet. He finished the day with minus-3 yards.<\/p>\n
And while Santonio Holmes\u2019 9 catches for 131 yards and the game-winner are huge numbers, let\u2019s not forget the fact that he let the previous pass slip right through his black and gold fingers! Right through his God damn hands! Somehow, Tomlin believed he didn\u2019t have a single other option so he threw it to him again and Holmes, essentially, made a perfect catch.<\/p>\n
Holmes eventually took home the MVP for his contributions to the final drive, which clinched the victory for the Steelers. But it robbed my man James Harrison of his rightful title. Harrison set the record with a 100-yard return to the heezy which nearly gave him a heart attack. It certainly gave one to everyone who took Arizona +130 on the moneyline.\u00a0<\/p>\n