TAMPA, Fla. -- The Arizona Cardinals will get plenty of credit for fighting back in Super Bowl XLIII on Sunday night, turning a potential blowout into a classic, overcoming all types of troubles to take a late lead.
But when they sit down and look at why they didn't win, it will be easy to conclude that they didn't stay true to who they were in the 27-23 loss.
They came in as a brash, aggressive offense that often put defenses on their heels, but for the first half against the Pittsburgh Steelers they suddenly morphed into a power team trying to make a slow running back their featured player.
So I want to know this: When did their cojones fall out of the cargo hull on the flight to Tampa? Over Texas? Into the Tampa Bay?
In the end, the Cardinals used their scramble mode, their no-huddle offense, to rally from 13 down and force the Steelers to win it with a touchdown on their final drive with 35 seconds left. But the Cardinals let the game get away in the first half.
I said before the game that we would know early if the Cardinals would win. That's because I wanted to see if they were the same Cardinals, or if they would get caught up in the largeness of the game.
I think it took them a half to realize that the Super Bowl was just another game.
The first-half Cardinals weren't the same team we've watched this season. Pittsburgh won in a game that was far better than many expected, but Arizona played to the Pittsburgh strengths for 30 minutes.
We saw a lot of tight formations. We saw runs on four of the first six downs. We saw few four-wide sets. We didn't see much of Larry Fitzgerald in the first half, as he fought constant doubles. He had one catch in the first half. That can't happen.
|
|
| Quarterback Kurt Warner throws for 242 yards and two touchdowns in the second half. (US Presswire) |
"I thought I had Anquan (Boldin) for a second, but he jumped out there and made a play," Warner said.
Thanks to a wise decision in the second half to open things up and play a no-huddle spread offense, the Cardinals were able to rally back and take the lead.
"We just felt there were some things we could do, as far as going no-huddle offense," Boldin said. "I think you guys saw in the second half we were able to move the ball up and down the field."
Warner finished with 377 passing yards and three touchdowns, including a 64-yard slant to Fitzgerald to give the Cardinals their first lead with 2:37 left. But in the first half Warner had just 135 yards and threw that horrible pick.
The Steelers seemed to be dictating tempo to the Arizona offense. They doubled the outside receivers and most of Warner's completions came on dump-offs to running back Edgerrin James.
Down 20-7 heading to the fourth quarter, the Cardinals had no choice but to spread the Steelers out and go no-huddle. That led to an eight-play, 87-yard touchdown drive in 3:57, the score coming on a 1-yard toss to Fitzgerald.
After a safety made it 20-16, Warner hit Fitzgerald on a slant route that the wideout turned into one of the biggest play of the day. He beat Ike Taylor inside in man coverage and raced through the secondary for the score.
The reason he was in man? The Cardinals had the Steelers spread out and Troy Polamalu went wide with Boldin instead of staying in the middle of the field.
"They were basically covering (Fitzgerald) with two guys the whole first half," Cardinals offensive coordinator Todd Haley said. "They were taking him out of the game. We got him in position where he could make plays."
For making the adjustments, the Cardinals deserve credit. For waiting so long, they deserve the heat.
The perception during the playoffs was that the Cardinals could run it better. They did, but that's not who they are. That might have led to the decision to try it early, without using the spread.
I think they did what the Steelers wanted. After the game, I asked Haley why they didn't run more no-huddle in the first half.
"I think in the last month, what we've done, is have a balanced attack," Haley said. "We went away from what we did in the middle of the year, or the third-quarter of the year, but I don't think we went away from what we've been doing the past month.
"Once you go to that mode, you're going to that mode. You're putting a little too much pressure on your tackles against a team like this. With 92 (Harrison) and (LaMarr) Woodley, you may look good in spurts, but you can put a lot of pressure on your tackles."
You can also put a lot of pressure on a secondary. I really like Haley as an offensive coordinator and think he's on the verge of being a coaching star. And Arizona head coach Ken Whisenhunt is already there as a star coach in my mind.
But I get a sneaky feeling that when they look back on this game they will regret that they didn't turn Warner loose earlier in the no-huddle.
"I think when we got in that mode, there was no doubt we would make plays and get back in the game," Warner said.
That's because it's been a large part of the Cardinals' identity. And when they did find it, it just wasn't enough -- even if they did take the lead.
hofcommissioner 
