Saints Knockout Warner and then the Cardinals from the Playoffs
When New Orleans Saints defensive end, Bobby McCray, hit Arizona Cardinals quarterback, Kurt Warner, in the 2nd quarter after an interception by the Saints that was a shot heard around the world. Kurt Warner would be out of the game until the second half. Credit to Kurt Warner for coming back later in the game, but it was just one of those games for the Cardinals. The Arizona Cardinals could get nothing going in the second half. Drew Breeze looked sharp and the Saints blow out the Cardinals, 45-14.
And, if that was not bad enough, New Orleans Saints running back, Reggie Bush, played an awesome game for the Saints. Reggie Bush did what he does best, making moves, avoiding tackles and scoring touchdowns. Including a 83-yard punt return for a touchdown in the 4th quarter to seal the victory for the Saints.
Now, for the Arizona Cardinals, they have to look forward to next year. But, Kurt Warner needs to figure out whether or not he will return for another season. After, the Cardinals will then need to focus on their defense. The Cardinals gave up too many points in the playoffs. As for the New Orleans Saints, they will host the NFC Championship game next week. Lets see if Drew Breeze can lead the Saints where the never been before, the Super Bowl.
(Sources: Fox Sports, ESPN)
Bad Week for the Bears and Cutler
For Chicago Bears quarterback, Jay Cutler, this has not been a good week. Last Sunday, the Chicago Bears lost to the Arizona Cardinals, 41-21. And then, on Thursday night, the Chicago Bears lost to the San Francisco 49ers, 10-6. In that game against the 49ers, despite his first four interceptions, the Bears still had a chance to win the game at the end. However, Jay Cutler last interception was a costly one.
The Bears were at the 12-yard line of the 49ers, but Jay Cutler threw his fifth interception in the end zone to 49ers safety, Michael Lewis, at the end the game, which ended any chances of a Bears victory. If that was not bad enough for Jay Cutler, on Friday, the NFL fined him $20,000 for his unsportsmanlike conduct penalty during the game against the Arizona Cardinals. From being traded from the first place Denver Broncos, at the beginning of season, to the struggling Chicago Bears, what else could go wrong for Jay Cutler?
Well, there is nothing like a win to turn things around. The Chicago Bears will play the Philadelphia Eagles next week. Hopefully for the Chicago Bears and Jay Cutler, they can get a win to get into the playoff race. Though, it will be tough going against the Eagles defense. We shall see if Jay Cutler and the Bears can recover, so stay tuned.
(Sources: ESPN)
Chargers Win, But Protecting Rivers is More Important
On Saturday, the San Diego Chargers beat the defending NFC Champions, Arizona Cardinals, 17-6 in a preseason game in Arizona. LaDainian Tomlinson and Shawne Merriman look and played better compared to their last preseason game. But, for the San Diego Chargers, Legedu Naanee played a great game in replace of the injured Vincent Jackson. Naanee had two catches for 54-yards and one touchdown. For Legedu Naanee, the most impressive play was a 49-yard catch on the Chargers first offensive’s play. The Chargers defensive also made some great plays by preventing the Arizona Cardinals from scoring a couple of touchdowns inside the red-zone.
However, for the San Diego Chargers, the problem was protecting Philip Rivers. A couple of times when the Chargers were driving down the field, the Arizona Cardinals were able to stop the Chargers by sacking Rivers. The Chargers need to do a better job of pass protection. Good thing that this was just a preseason game and the Chargers will be able to work on their pass protection. This is an important thing to do because protecting Philip Rivers is the key to the Chargers success.
What’s Wrong with being Rewarded?
One of the rewards of winning the Super Bowl is getting a chance to meet the President of the United States. And this year, the Pittsburgh Steelers have the honor of meeting President Barack Obama. However, for one Steelers player, James Harrison decided that he was not going to the White House to meet the President.
James Harrison, the 2008 NFL Defensive Player of the Year, told a Pittsburgh news station that if the Arizona Cardinals would have won the Super Bowl then the President would have met with the Arizona Cardinals and not the Steelers. Well, of course, if the Arizona Cardinals would have won, they would have earned the honor of meeting the President. Since the Cardinals didn’t win, they did not get rewarded.
James Harrison has that choice of not meeting the President. But, the President has a busy schedule and for him to take the time away from that to meet with the Super Bowl Champions, Pittsburgh Steelers even if you do not agree with his policies, one should be proud and honor because not everyone gets that chance to meet President.
Sources: (ESPN)
Playing to Win, Pittsburgh Steelers are the Super Bowl Champions
When it comes to Super Bowls, you got to play to win. And in this game, the Arizona Cardinals had their chances, but it was not meant to be as the Pittsburgh Steelers made the plays they had to do to win the Super Bowl. Towards the end the game, the Pittsburgh Steelers were able to move down the field to score the game winning touchdown. Ben Roethlisberger found Super Bowl MVP wide-receiver, Santonio Holmes, who made a perfect catch at the back of the end zone, to win the game for the Steelers 27-23. For the Arizona Cardinals, penalties and miss opportunities would cost them in the end.
After the Steelers took a 3-0 lead in the 1st quarter, the Steelers would drive the ball down the field and Gary Russell rushed for a 1-yard touchdown run to take a 10-0 lead. However, the Cardinals would come back. Cardinals quarterback Kurt Warner threw a touchdown pass to Ben Patrick to cut the lead to 10-7. The Cardinals got the ball back on an interception by Karlos Dansby. The Cardinals were in scoring range, but Kurt Warner threw a costly interception at the end zone. Pittsburgh Steelers and NFL Defensive Player of the Year, James Harrison, would return the interception for a touchdown and the Steelers took the lead into halftime, 17-7.
In the 3rd quarter, after the Steelers took a 20-7 lead on a field-goal by Steelers kicker, Jeff Reed , it was in the 4th quarter were the game got crazy. Early in the 4th quarter, the Kurt Warner found wide-receiver, Larry Fitzgerald for a touchdown to cut into the lead 20-14. After the Steelers got the ball back, the Cardinals got a safety on a holding a call and the Cardinals would take advantage. Cardinals QB, Kurt Warner threw another touchdown pass to Larry Fitzgerald for a 64-yards touchdown catch and the Cardinals were finally able to take the lead 23-20. It look liked the Cardinals were going to be the next Super Bowl champions, but it was not meant to be. Ben Roethlisberger and the Steelers were able to drive the ball down the field. The Steelers WR, Santonio Holmes made a great play and kept his feet inside the end zone to catch the game winning touchdown with 35 seconds left in the game. The Steelers were able to get a turnover at the end of the game and finally won 27-23.
Coming into the game, the Arizona Cardinals made great plays during their Super Bowl run, but the Cardinals made costly penalties and had miscues during this game that would doomed them. The Pittsburgh Steelers would capitalize and made the plays they need to do to win the game. Steelers QB Ben Roethlisberger made some huge plays, whether it was getting away from sacks or avoiding curial miscues to keep the Steelers drives alive. In the end, playing to win was the name of this game. The Pittsburgh Steelers are the NFL’s 2009 Super Bowl XLIII Champions.
Super Bowl XLIII Week Begins, Steelers vs. Cardinals, Who will Win?
With the Pittsburgh Steelers and the Arizona Cardinals arriving in Tampa, Super Bowl week has finally begun. As each team gets ready for Super Sunday, it time for NFL fans to pick a winner. There can be only one Super Bowl Champion. Please vote who you think will win the Super Bowl.
Who will win the Steelers vs. Cardinals?
- Cardinals (60%, 3 Votes)
- Steelers (40%, 2 Votes)
Total Voters: 5
Loading ...Super Bowl is Set, Steelers vs. Cardinals
Coming into this year, other than the hardcore Cardinals fans, nobody thought that the Arizona Cardinals were going to be in the Super Bowl. However, once the Cardinals were in the playoffs, nobody was going to stop the Cardinals. In the first round, the Cardinals were able to control the running game of the Atlanta Falcons, which lead to the Cardinals victory. In Carolina, the Panthers turnovers gave the Cardinals all they needed to take control of that game. And, in the NFC Championship game, the Philadelphia Eagles had their chances, but the Eagles tough defense could not deny Kurt Warner and the Cardinals of their destiny. Now, the Arizona are on their way to the Super Bowl to face the AFC Champions, Pittsburgh Steelers.
After the Tennessee Titans lost to the Baltimore Ravens, the Pittsburgh Steelers gain home field advantage in the AFC. For the Steelers, they were able to take advantage of this opportunity. In the second round of the playoffs, the Steelers were able to control the clock and run the ball on the San Diego Chargers. The Steelers defense were able to stop the high-powered Chargers offense and moved on to the next round. In the AFC Championship game, the Steelers defense and Baltimore Ravens defense battle back and forth. But, in the end, Ravens quarterback, Joe Flacco, made the big mistake and the Steelers were finally able to capitalize. Steelers cornerback, Troy Polamalu, interception the ball and returned it for a touchdown, which helped end the Ravens season. The Steelers were able to get on a roll and are rolling on to the Super Bowl to face the Arizona Cardinals. Game time starts in two week, let the countdown to Super Bowl XLIII begin.
Turnovers End Giants, Titans, and Panthers Season
Whether it was fumbles, interceptions or not converting on 4th down situations, this past weekend was bad timing for turnovers. For the New York Giants, Tennessee Titans and Carolina Panthers, turning the ball over during the playoffs ended their dreams of being Super Bowl Champions. All these teams worked hard to gain a bye in the playoffs, but it did not matter as a result of the turnovers.
For the defending Super Bowl Champions New York Giants, even though Eli Manning did throw two interceptions in their lost to the Philadelphia Eagles that was not the major factor that doomed them. The Giants inability to get the 1st down when they tried to go for it on 4th down was very costly. The Eagles stop them a couple of times in the 4th quarter and would then capitalize by scoring a touchdown and then eventually winning the game.
As for the Tennessee Titans, they lost only 3 games all season, but the curial turnovers by the Titans would lead to Baltimore Raves 13-10 victory. Titians quarterback, Kerry Collins, had a costly fumble when the Titans were driving in the 2nd quarter. Later in the quarter, Kerry Collins threw an interception that could had lead to points for the Titans. Towards the end of the 2nd quarter, Titans running back, LenDale White, would also fumble the football, which gave the Titans no chance of getting any points in that quarter. The final turnover that was very costly for Titans was when Alge Crumple fumble the ball at the 5-yard line when the Titans looked like they were going to score. Without these turnovers, the Titans could have scored several times, but it was not meant to be.
Finally for the Carolina Panthers, coming into their game against the Arizona Cardinals, the main issue was if the Cardinals were going to able to handle the Panthers offense, but it was the Panthers that had the issues. The Panthers main issues was their turnovers, especially during crucial times in the game by Panthers quarterback Jake Delhomme. Jake Delhomme threw five interceptions, which helped lead to the Cardinals victory. After falling behind, the Panthers tried to get back into this game, but interceptions stopped any chance of that happening and they would lose 33-13 to the Cardinals.
Now, as these teams looked back, they had a great season, but their mistakes in the playoffs will haunted them until next season. Tough break for Giants, Titans and Panthers to gain home field advantage and a first round bye and have it all end in one game. These teams should be back next year, hopefully for them, next time, it will be their opponents that make the mistakes.