sammy HAGAR

     In one of the greatest Super Bowls ever played, the Arizona Cardinals come up short losing to the Pittsburgh Steelers 27-23.  In front of a predominately Steeler crowd, the Cards mounted a spirited fourth quarter comeback that actually had them take a 23-20 lead.

     The game was "business as usual for the Cardinals.  It was a game full of penalties,missed tackles,hopeless drives,remarkable comebacks, and on this occasion....a heartbreaking loss.  Right from the opening drive the Steelers looked as if this would be an all Pittsburgh game.  They drove down the field and had a first and goal from the Arizona 1.  But the Cards defense came up big making stops on Russell and Willie Parker.  Roethlisberger then scrambled to the goal line, originally being credited with a touchdown.  When the Cardinals asked for a review, the play was over turned and Pittsburgh settled for a field goal.

     Pittsburghs  second drive of the game yielded a better result.  It was a 69 yard drive that culminated in a one yard touchdown run by Russell.  Giving the Steelers a 10-0 lead early in the second quarter.  This was dangerous territory for the  Cardinals, they were in danger of falling behind by 3 scores.  They came out strong on their next drive.  The big play, a 45 yard completion to Anquan Boldin, gave the Cardinals a first and goal at the Pittsburgh 1.  Warner then hit Ben Patrick with the ARIZONA CARDINALS first ever Super Bowl score, a nicely thrown fade pass.  The Cards had cut the lead to 10-7. 

     After a Karlos Dansby interception with 2:09 to go in the half, Arizona looked to be in business.  They drove to the Pittsburgh one yard line with 18 seconds in the half.  Then the turning point of the game occurred.  From the shotgun, Warners short pass to Boldin was picked off by Harrison and returned 100 yards for a touchdown.  The return set a new super bowl record,gave Pitssburgh a 17-7 half time lead, and could have broken the Cardinals spirit.  If the Cards were able to convert that play, they could have gone into the half with a 14-10 lead, not a 17-7 defecit.

     The third quarter was highlited with a Jeff Reed 21 yard field goal.  It could have been much worse.  On Reeds 27 yard field goal, Adrian Wilson was called for unnecessary roughness, giving the Steeers a first and goal from the nine yard line.  The Arizona defense held, and Reed would kick his field goal giving Pittsburgh a 20-7 lead.

     The fourth quarter was vintage Cardinal football.  After Arizona stopped PIttsburgh on their first drive of the fourth quarter, Kurt Warner and Co. went to work.  Running a predominately no huddle-shotgun offense, Warner began to pick apart the Steeler defense.  Completing passes to 5 different receivers, including 4 to Larry Fitzgerald.  Third and one from the Pittsburgh one.....It was a play that we've seen so many times this year, a perfectly placed lob to Fitzgerald.  The Cards cut the lead to 21-14.  

     The next Cardinal drive resulted in a punt.  A perfectly placed punt, downed at the Steeler two yard line by Adams.  Arizona did what they needed to do, pin Roethlisberger deep in his own territory.  First down from their own 2 yard line.  After an incomplete pass to Hines Ward, Willie Parker barely cleared the goal line,avoiding a safety.  On third and ten, Roethlisberger completes a 19 yard pass to Santonio Holmes.  The flag on the play was holding in the end zone resulting in a saftey.  Arizona was now down 21-16. 

     Following the Pittsburgh punt, Arizona started on their own 36 with 2:53 left in the game.  Warners first pass is incomplete to Boldin.  Warner,from the shotgun again, hit Fitzgerald over the middle.  Fitzgerald splits the defense and goes 64 yards for the touchdown!  Arizona takes their first lead of the game,23-21 with 2:47 to play in the game.  One stop and the ARIZONA CARDINALS would be SUPERBOWL champions.  On a third and 6, Holmes makes a 13 yard catch for a 1st down.  Roethlisberger would then hit Holmes again with a short pass that would turn into a 40 yard gain.  Pittsburgh ball, first and goal from the 6.  Roethlisbergers pass goes through the hands of Holmes as he leaps in the left corner of the end zone.  Second and goal, 42 seconds left.  This time the Steelers try the right corner of the endzone, with three defenders around him Holmes makes the catch.  Pittsburgh has the lead once again,23-21.

     The Cardinals take over on their own 23 with only 29 seconds to go.  Warner hits Fitzgerald for a 20 yard gain, they use time out number 2.  The next play left me wondering.  With only a single time out remaining, the Cards go short over the middle to JJ Arrington.  While the play netted 13 yards, the Cardinals had to exhaust their final time out.  There were 15 seconds left and 44 yards to go.  From the shotgun, Warner takes the snap, tries to scramble to buy the receivers time, and is sacked.  He loses the ball, the Steelers recover and just like that the dream is over.

     The Steelers win 27-23.  While noone is ever happy with a loss, the ARIZONA CARDINALS have alot to be proud about.  This was a team that wasn't ever given a chance in any of it's playoff games.  A team that was "the worst playoff team of the year", the "worst conference champion ever" etc etc.  Well, it was the ARIZONA CARDINALS that came this close to winning the SUPER BOWL!  They took the best defense in the NFL and pushed them to the limit.  CONGRATS CARDINALS.....THANK YOU FOR THE GREAT RIDE!!!!

     Thank you CBSSPORTS for this opportunity.  It was alot of fun writing the Cardinal blog!

  The ARIZONA Cardinals advance to the first Super Bowl in franchise history with a 32-25 win over the Philadelphia Eagles. The sell out crowd watched history being made as the Cardinals held off a 3rd quarter Eagle onslaught that resulted in Philly take a 1 point lead in the fourth quarter.

  The Cardinals came out flying, scoring on a nine play 80 yard drive, culminating with a Larry Fitzgerald 9 yard touchdown pass. The Eagles countered with a David Akers 45 yard field goal.

  The second quarter belonged to Arizona. It began with a flea flicker to Fitzgerald for a 62 yard touchdown. Following another Akers field goal(33yds). The Cards had their second 9 play drive, this time for 73 yards, ending with Fitzgerald in single coverage making an easy catch from a yard out. The Cardinals 3rd 9 play drive(53 yards) ended with a Neil Rackers 49 yard field goal at time expired. Giving Arizona a 24-6 halftime lead. The ROUTE was on...or was it?

  The third quarter was all Eagles. Highlighted by 2 Brent Celek touchdowns, 6 and 31 yards. 24-19 heading to the final 15 minutes. The momentum was clearly in the Eagles hands. The Cards looked slow and tired on defense and the offense could do nothing when on the field.

  The Fourth began to play out much like the 3rd quarter. Philadelphia drove 86 yards on just 4 plays as Donovan McNabb hit DeSean Jackson with a 62 pass that Rodgers-Cromartie almost deflected away. What was lost on that play was the extra attention the Cards had to give to Brent Celek. It prevented them from rushing the extra man, giving McNabb the time to hit Jackson downfield for the score. The 2 point attempt was missed and the Cardinals trailed for the first time all day,25-24.

  What happened next was what heros,legends, and champions are made of. Arizona drove 71 yards on 14 plays converting 4 first downs, including a fourth and 1. The 7:52 drive was capped when Kurt Warner threw his fourth touchdown pass of the game on third and goal from the 8 yard line to Tim Hightower. The 2 point conversion ,Warner to tight end Ben Patrick gave the ARIZONA CARDINALS the lead 32-25.

  The Eagles turned the ball over on downs. The Cards could do no better as they had to punt with 15 seconds to go. Philly tried a short pass with a few laterals....that ended, along with the game, when Darnell Dockett recovered the fumbled ball and finally went down to end the game.

  It was basically vintage Cardinal playoff football...feels funny to say that! They made the Eagles turn the ball over 3 times. One was an Aaron Francisco interception that he fumbled away....They were able to run the ball,102 yards on the ground,led by Edgerrin James with 73 yards. Arizona held Westbrook to 45 yards rushing and the Eagles to a total of 97 yards.

  Warner was his hall of fame self, throwing for 279 yards and 4 touch downs....he completed passes to 10 recievers including himself! Larry Fitzgerald showed why he is the best receiver in football... catching 9 passes for 152 yards and 3 touchdowns.

  What may have been the nicest part of this win....ADRIAN WILSON, he played like a beast again. Sacking McNabb twice, one resulting in a turnover!

  It's on the Tampa!!!! Respect is finally in ARIZONA!

  Edgerrin James, as I wrote last week, would play a key role. Edge rushed for 73 yards today on only 16 carries, as the new look Cardinal offense did a great job of running the ball. But it was the defense that came up the biggest today. None bigger than the second play of the second half. Darnell Dockett came through a gap in the Atlanta blocking scheme causing a fumble between Ryan and Turner. Antrel Rolle caught the fumble in mid air and ran it 27 yards for the score and a 21-17 lead that the Cardinals would not surrender.

  The defense highlighted its second half domination with a safety of Ryan. The ensuing drive, a 76 yard 7:43 second drive gave the Cards a 30-17 lead.

  It was the running game that made Warner successful early in the game. After 3 James runs for a total of 21 yards, the Cards ran the ball again, but this time, James spun and tossed the ball back to Warner. The flea flicker worked as Warner hit Fitzgerald for 42 yard and the first score of the game.

  Arizonas second score was both impressive and potentially devastating. Anquan Boldin caught a short pass, broke tackles and ran 71 yards down the sideline for the score. As he crossed the goal line he reached for his thigh. Initial reports was a cramp. later, we found out it is a hamstring. This will be watched closely....Boldin will be needed for the Giant or Panther match-up.

  Warner was his usual self. He completed passes to 9 different receivers, ran for a big 1st down, avoided numerous sacks, and found the open receivers to keep drives alive. None as big as his 23 yard completion to Stephen Spach on 3rd and 16 with 2:10 to go in the fourth quarter to seal the victory! It's important to note that the offensive line, which has taken many hits for its poor play, came up big today. Mike Gandy and Levi Brown played excellent games. Brown was finishing tackles the way the Cards envisioned him to when they drafted him.

  Arizona will be traveling east again. If Minnesota wins, the Cards come to Jersey to play the Giants. If the Eagles win, they go to Carolina for a rematch there. I look for Carolina. The weather will be warmer and the Cards came within a few missed tackles in big situations of winning that game.

  For now......We take the week to smile and enjoy what has been the best season in Arizona Cardinals history!

  The Cards went back to Edgerrin James today, and he rewarded them nicely rushing for 100 yards on 14 carries. James looked like the player he was his entire career, and he player they so badly need going into the playoffs. He was quick to the holes and showed his flair for the big play.

  Kurt Warner finished what looked like a MVP caliber year 3 weeks ago with 263 yards passing and a season high 4 touchdowns before yielding to Matt Leinart in the 4th quarter. Arizona completed passes to 9 different receivers. Larry Fitzgerald led the way with 5 catches for 130 yards and 2 touchdowns. Steve Breaston was 5-91 with a touchdown, and Jeremy Urban added 43 yards and a touchdown. On the down side, Fitzgerald missed a chance for his 2nd consecutive 100 reception season,finishing with 96.

  While the box score would show a semi easy win today, it must be noted that the tackling was horrible! On more than 1 occasion the Cards missed numerous tackles on he same play. This allowed Seattle to keep drives alive and stay in the game. The defense did hold Seattle to only 3 of 13 on 3rd down conversions, although they did allow them to be 3 for 3 on 4th down conversions.

  The cardinals finish the season 9-7 to have only their 2nd winning season since 1984,and 1st in 10 years. They will host the 1st ever playoff game in Arizona next week when the Atlanta Falcons come to town. Thank you Cards!! It's a season to remember! Let's hope it goes a few nore weeks!!

  Thank you CBSSPORTSLINE for this chance....it was alot of fun to do this blog!

  Any talk of Kurt Warner being an M.V.P. canidate were put to rest today as the snow and the Patriot defense led to his 6 of 18 for only 30 yards. Matt Leinart saw is 1st significant action of the regular season, throwing for 138 yards and a T.D.

  The running game was once again absent. Edggerin James "led" the way with 19 yards on 4 carried. Tim Hightower once again was underwhelming, rushing for 17 yards on 10 carries. The line was outplayed again but the Patriot defense.

  While this game was basically meaningless for the Cardinals, it is important to note that the Cards are finding it harder and harder to run at all.

Teams are almost daring them to run! This will become very problematic come january.

  Two key contributors sat out today. Anquan Boldin with a shoulder injury and J.J. Arrington with a knee injury. Both should be fine for the post season.

  My grandmother always used to tell me if you can't say something nice about someone, don't say anything at all. Well then, this would be a very short blog today. this was a big game verse a team that the Cards are fighting for the #3 seed in the NFC. They came out and looked more like a team playing out the year. Flat on special teams(as usual). Unable to run....stop be when you are tired of hearing about that!! Even the passing game poor. Let me be one of the 1st to say this. Let Edgerrin James be the feature back again. This running game has been unable to do anything all season,sans a few games against horrible teams. Arrington is a good compliment and can play in a good mix.

  The running mess is as much the line as anything. Teams will, as Minnesota did today, pressure Warner all day. Unless they are able to establish some kind of a running game they will never go anywhere in the post season. More on this in my mid-week rant!

  What went right: NO NO that's a question! what went right? They blocked a FG for a TD and URBAN made 2 nice catches,the 2nd resulting in a touchdown. Other than that they,once again, made fools of themselves in front of a national audience. The game was on in the NEW YORK market. So we were lucky to hear JOE BUCK (ughh) question everything from LEINART to the weather.

  Missed tackles ran wild again! This is another rant for another day. BUT!!! How far will they get in the post season unable to tackle and unable to run the ball? The defense played so poorly that they made TAVARIS JACKSON look like ann ALL-PRO quarterback. Jackson threw 4 touchdowns, which was double the season output in his 2 other starts.

  So as I cringe at this 35-14 loss to the Vikings...I ask 1 more question! WHY IS WARNER IN THE GAME?? down 3 touchdowns....with 4 minutes to go....do the CARDS want to hurt him? It makes no sense to me at all! They need to be smart,take the loss, and protect the team MVP!

  The Cards look refreshed and any effects of it's THANKSGIVING meltdown in Philly was gone. The Cards came out scored on it;s 1st 2 possessions... The 1st ended with a HIGHTOWER T.D. followed buy a Larry Fitzgerald T.D. catch. Arizona also scored twice on defense. Dockett recovered a Steven Jackson fumble for a T.D. and Rodgers-Cromartie returned an interception 100 yards for another touchdown to Ice the title. The Cards controlled the game....The Rams only touchdown came following a Warner interception. Other than that, it was all Arizona.

  On the downside(if there was any), it was the inability to run the ball. But, on a day that will go down in ARIZONA CARDINAL history....we'll let that go! Enjoy it Cardinal fans! This is 1 for the record book!

To start a game down 21-0 on a team that has been playing so poorly is a major disapointment!! The debates on here have been, How good are the Cards? how good are they when they even allow Mcnabb the ability to elude tacklers!! how they allowed thE eagles to march down the field...anyone that thinks this team can make a run at anything and not be able to tackle, or run the ball is missing some important info! i'll skip all the garbage stats and leave it at what it was....another ARIZONA letdown against a decent opponent! another game where they couldnt run the ball! oh yea and collingsworth sucks as an analyst!

Boldin had a bad game...it happens! but WOW but 16 yards rushing..under 2 yards a carry!?