Super Bowl Thoughts

For the first time since I was legally able to drive (30+ years), due to a stomach virus, The People's Champ watched the Super Bowl alone in the friendly confines of The People's Palace. Ironically, The People's Son attended his first Super Bowl party this year at the age of 6. And he didn't even bring me home a beer!

We've read and heard all the cliches and all the accolades. A game for the ages. The Greatest Super Bowl of all Time, etc. etc. We've had four days to digest the results, so without further ado, here are TPC's post Super Bowl Thoughts.

Big Ben finally lived up to his potential, not withstanding a pretty pedestrian game besides the opening drive and the final game winning drive. He was brilliant on the final drive of the game with the title and his legacy on the line. Remember, his first Super Bowl was the worst performance EVER by a Super Bowl Winning QB (he ended with a 22 QB rating which would make guys like Dave Brown even laugh). His final stat line was 21-30 256 yards, a TD and INT. Nothing extraordinary, except he lit it up when he needed to. I still think he is a bit overrated but he showed me something there and now will probably be replacing Brett Favre as the "most gushed over QB who isn't nearly as good as people think he is".

You think Phillip Rivers is feeling the heat about now?

Kurt Warner played a great game, and possibly the greatest stretch of 15 minutes a QB has ever played in the NFL. His 4th Quarter numbers were 15-21 257 yards and 2 TD's against what people were calling one of the great defensive teams of all time. Warner proved once again what a great QB he is, how tough he is and what a big game player he is. Again, he is the best QB not named Tom Brady we have seen in the last 10 years and a first ballot Hall of Famer.

Larry Fitzgerald is at a level now that hasn't been seen since Jerry Rice. With the game in doubt all he did was score two 4th Quarter TD's, one on one of the most exciting plays in history.

The play they called a fumble on Warner at the end of the game, when they didn't even take time to review (and if they would have it would have been ruled an incomplete pass, setting up a dramatic Hail Mary situation with Larry Fitz going up for the ball!) is one of the most curious things we have seen ending a game in a long time. HOW DO THEY NOT REVIEW THAT PLAY??????????? HOW MUCH DID THE REPLAY OFFICIAL HAVE ON THE STEELERS MONEY LINE TO NOT REVIEW IT?????????????? Just a friggin joke.

For all the heart and courage the Cardinals showed, their coaches did an awful job all game. Four things off the top of my head.

1. The Steelers Secondary was playing way back. The Cardinals played into their hands all game until the 4th Quarter when they went hurry up and forced the Steelers to adjust. Why did they wait?
2. On the same note, why did it take them until the 4th Quarter to get the Best WR in Football involved in the offense. This is a classic mistake by over matched coaches. Instead of making them adjust to you and having them stop your best guy, you use your best guy as a "decoy". It NEVER works. NEVER. The numbers by Fitz were great, imagine if they would have used him the first 3 Quarters? There's a reason Phil Jackson won so much. It's because his best players were always better than the other guys and he made the other guy stop his. That simple. Jordan and Shaq were never decoys. You wanted to beat them you had to stop their Big Guys. Only Duncan was able to do it.
   
3. On the same token, the Pittsburgh offense did ZERO from the second drive of the game to the final drive. How did the Cards accomplish this? By pressuring Ben into making bad throws. This also eliminated a horrible running game (I told you all before the Super Bowl the Steelers Offensive Line is awful and the Cards will be able to get to Ben and stop their run). So what did the Cardinals do on the final drive? They took their foot off the pedal and let Ben drive down the field unharmed. Just utter stupidity and another reason why you never play the prevent D. I don't get how experienced and seasoned NFL coaches always do this.
   
4. How do the Cardinals allow the only good and healthy receiver on the Steelers constantly beat them (Holmes, who played a brilliant game)? How do you not adjust and double this guy? How do you let an inexperienced corner get burned by Holmes all day long, without making a slight adjustment? Just horrible coaching there.

With that being said, it was an incredibly exciting 4th Quarter and a relatively boring game up to that point. Yes, Harrison gave us some fun on his play (I would have sworn the Cardinals were done after that play. Amazing how they were able to comeback from that) but other than that and some decent play by Warner and the Cards D, not much happened after the first few drives.

The Boss brought it. "Born to Run" was the single non nipple revealing moment in Super Bowl Halftime History. There's a reason he's called The Boss.

I can't wait until I get the Fantasy Football 2009 Draft emails...... Only a few months away.

Feeling Super

All season long, The People's Champ has been riding the theme of what a great and underrated QB, Kurt Warner really is. TPC has also said on numerous occasions that the Steelers really aren't as good as everyone thinks. What force will win in the end? The 2nd great Cinderella story of Warner's career or the Mighty Steelers Defense getting ring #6 for their storied franchise and famous Steel Curtain D?
The Cardinals are easily the most overlooked team to ever make it to the Super Bowl. Forgetting the fact that they have won more playoff games this year (3) than their last 61 years combined. Forget that they finished 9-7 and won what was arguably the worst division in NFL history. Besides beating the 2-14 Rams and 4-12 Seahawks (with 2 of their 4 wins coming at the expense of the Rams), the Cards finished the season losing 37-29 to the Giants, 48-20 against the Eagles, 35-14 against the Vikings and 47-7 against the Pats. amazingly just two weeks later they beat a heavily favored Falcons team, then they knocked off the #2 seed in the NFC (the Panthers) and then beat the same Eagles where the got crushed just a few weeks prior. All this while finding a rejuvenated Edgerrin James (amazingly Peyton Manning in his prime couldn't get him to a Super Bowl but Warner did it in Arizona!) a physical and opportunistic defense (12 Turnovers in their 3 playoff games) and a Wide Receiver playing at a level only reached before by the great Jerry Rice (Larry Fitzgerald).
Still, they face a daunting defense in the 2009 version of the Steel Curtain, the #1 overall ranked Defense in the National Football League. They face a QB who is gunning for his 2nd Lombardi trophy in his short but very successful career in Big Ben. They face a coach (Mike Tomlin) who amazingly made the city of Pittsburgh forget about their former Coach-legend, Bill Cower.
Historically speaking, when great defenses face great offenses, the great D usually win out. Look no further than last season when the Giants beat the Patriots, arguably the greatest offense in history. Same situation in 2002 when the Pats knocked of Kurt Warner and the Greatest Show on Turf in what was one of the great upsets in Super Bowl History. The one glaring detractor from this theory in the last 10 years was when the Colts beat the Bears in Super Bowl XLI. There are a lot of similarities between that game and this one, the QB trying to make his claim amongst the greatest of all time, the All-Offense- no defense team all of a sudden discovering a very effective and opportunistic defense during a great playoff run. Granted Ben Roethelsberger is no Rex Grossman, but lets not forget that Big Ben posted the worst QB rating and performance for any Super Bowl winner, ever.
The matchups are intriguing. Warner and the great passing game against the great and physical Steelers D. Fitzgerald over the middle with Polomalu all over him. The rejuvenated Cards D vs. an average at best Steeler Offense.
In the end, I think Warner will have a little too much magic left in his wand. I think Warner is the best QB in the last 10 years not named Brady and this game will just put a stamp on that. I think Edge wants that ring. I think Fitzgerald is playing at a level so high, he can dominate the game no matter how many guys try to cover him. Oh, and if he cant, another top 5 NFL wideout (Boldin) is on the other side and will make the Steelers pay. I don't like Ben in the big game and I have had doubts about their offensive line all season. I don't think they will hold up against this Cardinal Defense, which will capitalize on those Steeler mistakes.

Final Score. Arizona 28 Pittsburgh 20.

Kurt Warner- Better than Peyton Manning

Yes, TPC has been singing the praises of Mr. Warner for all eternity, but it seems Sports Illustrated and The Cold Hard Football Facts have finally caught on.
Click here for the full article

Kurt Warner- Revisiting the Argument

In September of this year, TPC wrote an argument giving (here)FACTUAL evidence of why Kurt Warner is not only an excellent Quarterback, but why he should also be in the conversation for Hall of Fame, All Time Great Status.

This season only added further to TPC's argument and we will detail the evidence.

Interestingly enough, the Arizona Cardinals is the oldest continuously run football franchise in the United States. They have won two NFL Championships in their 111 year old existence, the last being 1947 (a very similar run that haunted New York Ranger fans and their 1940 chants). From 1947-2007 they won a total of TWO playoff games. They have only qualified for the playoffs 5 times total prior to this year. They are one of six NFL teams to never play in a Super Bowl (in other words, these guys make the Jets look like Giants). What does this have to do with Warner? Everything I say. You see, Warner came into this situation with a rookie franchise QB in the wings (in Leinart), won the job through terrific on the field performance and may have totally transformed the face of the franchise.
In two seasons as the Cardinals starting QB, he has thrown for 8000 yards, a 57-31 TD-INT ratio, roughly 65% completion % and an 95 QB rating.
Again, Warner has won as many playoff games for Arizona this season as they have won in the last 61 years. You want to kill the Manning Boys, Rivers and Delhomme for being eliminated early (and rightfully so in each instance), then you must give Warner the same (if not more) credit for doing the opposite. All he did was win two road games against heavily favored teams, going 40 for 64 for 491 yards, 4 TD's and 2 INT, for a 94 QB rating, including an opening 13-16 for 180 and 2 TD's on the road, against a Carolina Panther team that was 8-0 at home for the season. Compared that to McNabb's 70 QB rating and 2 TD-3INT ratio, and you wonder why everyone is singing the accolades of McNabb but ignoring the ever growing greatness of Warner. Again, he has taken a team to the NFC Championship, a game away from the Super Bowl, who has won a total of TWO playoff games in it's past 61 years.
He's as good a big game QB as there is in the last 25 years that isn't named Brady or Montana. Let's look at the numbers:

• Brady- In 17 playoff games (including 3 Super Bowl Wins and Two MVP trophies) he has a 26-12 TD-INT ratio, 6.6 Yard per Attempt, a 62.5 Completion % and an 88 QB rating. He has a 14-3 record in those games (wow!).
• Montana- In 23 playoff games (including 4 Super Bowl Wins and 3 Super Bowl MVP trophies) he had a 45-21 TD-INT ratio (including an astonishing 11-0 ratio in the Super Bowl), 7.9 YPA, 63.3 Completion % and a 96 QB rating, with a 16-7 record in those games. He also threw the most famous pass of All Time (The Catch) until last seasons miracle Manning to Tyree play.
• Elway- In 22 career playoff games (including 2 Super Bowl wins and one MVP) he had a 27-21 TD-INT ratio, 7.6 YPA, 54.6 Completion % and a 79.8 QB rating. He also ran for another 460 yards and 6 TD's a very important stat when discussing Elways value. He is 14-8 in those 22 games.
• Bradshaw- 19 games played (4 Super Bowl Wins and 2 MVP's), a 30-26 TD-INT ratio, 8.4 YPA (an astounding number), 57% Completion % and an 83 QB rating. Bradshaw was 14-5 in his playoff games.
• Favre- 22 games played (including 1 Super Bowl win and 1 MVP), he has a 39-28 TD-INT ratio. 7.4 YPA, 60.7% Completion% and an 85 QB rating. Interestingly, until Warner destroyed him in a 2002 divisional playoff game 45-17, you can make a case Favre was as good as anyone in the playoffs to that point with a 25-12 TD-INT ratio. He has a 12-10 record in his 22 playoff games.
• Warner- 9 games played (including one Super Bowl win and 1 MVP), Warner has a 19-12 TD-INT ratio, 8.2 YPA, 63% Completion % and an 92.6 QB rating. He's 7-2 in those 9 games.
• Aikman- In 16 games played (3 Super Bowl wins and 1 MVP), he has a 24-17 TD-INT ratio, 7.7 YPA, 63.7% Completion% and an 89 QB rating. He is 11-5 in those games.

McNabb, Young and Marino's numbers all fall short of the above list. Every guy above listed is a clear, first ballot hall of famer. Warner's regular season success as well as playoff success is on par with this group- statistically and proven in big games (only Montana has taken a second team into the playoffs of the above group, and one which was much better with a greater history that the Cardinals and didn't get as far as Warner did this season. In defense to the other great ones, only he and Favre have even had the shot with other squads).