The NFL changed 11 total rules at their annual meeting this past week. One of them being a critical play in the NFC Championship game back in January. Most Cardinal fans will tell you, they haven't forgot. It was the 2nd quarter and the Cardinals were up by an improbable lead of 21-6. Arizona was kicking off to Philadelphia after increasing their lead when the ball took an unfortunate bounce. As you can see, it landed at the 26-yard line and was recovered by a Cardinal before the play was whistled dead. The refs had blown the call, ruling that the ball had bounced out of bounds/touched the player while out of bounds. Philadelphia was given the ball, instead of the Cardinals having great field position. The Cardinals would have had the ideal situation to play for the kill with less then 2 minutes left in the half. Although Eagle fans will say that it touched this players elbow, there's no clear evidence of this and as the ball was bouncing backwards, it never so much as flinched when it passed the player. The rule now states that video replay can be used to determine if a loose ball stayed in bounds or hit the sideline. This will take into affect next year, along with these other 10 new rules:

1. Loose balls that could have been the result of a fumble or an incomplete pass are now subject to video review. (We can just call this the Ed Hochuli Rule)
2. A defensive player on the ground may no longer lunge or dive at the quarterback's lower legs.
3. The draft order has been reworked to reflect playoff results, not regular-season results. (This one makes a lot of sense.)
4. No more rekicks after an illegal onsides kick (ball goes out of bounds before ten yards, etc.). It immediately becomes the other team's ball.
5. On onside kicks, the kicking team can't have more than five players bunched together.
6. There's a new waiver period during the first two weeks of training camp, and the postseason waiver period will begin after the NFL's final game, whether it's the Pro Bowl or the Super Bowl.
7. If a fumble or lateral goes out of bounds, the clock will stop only until the referee signals ready for play.
8. Forming a "wedge" on a kickoff return is no longer legal. If three or more players line up shoulder-to-shoulder within two yards of each other, it will be a penalty
9. A blindside block cannot be delivered with a helmet, shoulder or forearm to an opponent's head or neck. That'll be a 15-yard penalty.
10. Contact to the head of a defenseless receiver will also draw a 15-yard penalty.

Heading into Super Sunday the Arizona Cardinals had to have felt like they had an answer for Santonio Holmes. He had burned the Cardinals during the 2007 regular season (6 receptions for 128 yards and 2 TDs) because he was simply to athletic for any of the Cardinals corners to match up with him, but this time they had Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie. DRC was having a fantastic playoff run and he was a big reason why the defense had rebounded from a roller coaster regular season. He would certainly be able to match up with Holmes speed and quickness, or at least that's what we all thought.

Early in the game DRC looked like the kid that we've seen for the second half of the regular season and through the first three games of the playoffs. On the Steelers second series, he got deep just in time to break up a bomb to Nate Washington and he was half a step away from recording his third intercpetion of the playoffs. On their next drive, Ben Roethlisberger tried to get the ball deep down the sidelines to Holmes and DRC was there to break that one up as well. He didn't have the body control to be in position to intercept that pass but he showed the explosive closing speed to catch up to the ball and Holmes. Unfortunately, that was pretty much the last positive play that DRC made for the remainder of the game. It looked like he had decent coverage on Holmes for most of the game but he was just a half step behind him most of the time.

Maybe he finally hit the rookie wall, maybe the game was just too big for him, but either way he'll bounce back in 2009. What did you think of DRC's Super Bowl performance? Should he have been taken off of Holmes or was he not as bad as I remembered?

The Arizona Cardinals defense had a tough task heading into Super Bowl XLIII and even though they'd been playing much better in the playoffs, some still wondered if they'd be up to the task. The Pittsburgh Steelers didn't boast an explosive offense but the mix of Ben Roethlisber, Hines Ward, Santonio Holmes and Willie Parker are a formidable unit, when working together. Overall the Cardinals defense, which had been allowing an average of 316 yards per game in the playoffs and 331.5 yards per game in the regular, held the Steelers offense to just 292 yards. Overall the Steelers offense averaged 5.0 yards per play, converted 40% of the third downs and 20 points (remember that the defense scored a touchdown).

When we spelled out our keys to game last week, one of them was to shut down the Steelers running game and put the game on Ben Roethlisberger's shoulders. For the most part the Cardinals did exactly that. Willie Parker had little to no running room all night long and the Steelers offense sputtered for most of the game. Steelers' running backs were dropped for a one yard gain or less on 12 attempts and seldom used, reserve linebacker Monty Beisel played a big role their success. The Cardinals played with an extra linebacker on rushing downs and Beisel stepped up with five tackles (he had 20 throughout the entire regular season), three of which were for a one yard gain or less. Darnell Dockett and Antonio Smith had good games combining for eight tackles, five of which were of the one yard or less variety. Chike Okeafer and Karlos Dansby also logged multiple tackles at or behind the line of scrimmage. The biggest negative play of the night might have come from Gabe Watson though. With the Steelers facing a 3rd-and-2 from the two yard line, Roethlisberger ran a QB draw and Watson fought through a block and dropped Big Ben for a one yard loss. The result was the Steelers kicking a field goal and taking a 20-7 lead, but a touchdown in that situation would have made the mountain much tougher to climb. The Cardinals front seven was very good all night long of being able to shoot gaps and disrupt Steelers' running plays before they had time to develop.

With the front seven stymied the Steelers' running game the pressure was on the secondary and for the most part, their performance was disappointing. Ben Roethlisberger doesn't make it easy on a secondary with his ability to scramble around and by time with his legs, but they always seemed to be a step behind. Ben completed 70% of his passes and averaged 8.5 yards per attempt on route to a QB rating of just over 93. The Steelers managed 12 first downs through the air and the passing game was a big reason why the Steelers converted 40% of their third downs. On several instances the Cardinals were able to pressure Ben throughout the game but his ability to break the pocket and buy time with his escapability was something that the Cardinals couldn't counter. In order to understand the pressure that his abilities put on a defense let's look at a play on the Steelers second offensive series. It's a third-and-10 and the Cardinals defense is trying to get off the field and keep the Steelers lead at three points. Ben takes the snap in a shotgun formation trips to his right (top side of formation) and tight end Heath Miller lined up to his left. The Cardinals get decent pressure but about three seconds after the snap, mayhem breaks loose:

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I've gotten several e-mails regarding this subject and I see it's being discussed in several different places, so I'll offer it up to fans of the Arizona Cardinals: Should James Harrison have been ejected for his personal foul penalty against Aaron Francisco? If you don't remember the play or didn't get a good look at the foul, you can check it out:

From what I can see, he threw an short punch around the five second mark that didn't amount to much and probably wouldn't have been a penalty if it had stopped there. The real point of contention came around the eight second mark. I'll leave it at that and post my personal thoughts about it in the comments with every one else.

It's also worth mentioning that Harrison didn't have much on a impact on the game after the punt so his ejection wouldn't have had an changed the outcome of the game, in my opinion. The Cardinals had the ball twice after this punt and the first was the two play drive that ended with Fitzgerald's 64 yard touchdown reception. On the second series he made a tackle on JJ Arrington 13 yards down field. With all that being said I ask you, should James Harrison have been ejected for his personal foul on Aaron Francisco?

In a game when the National Football League puts it's two best teams on the biggest stage in front of the Nation and the world, a third team stepped into the spotlight. Officiating is a thankless job that rarely receives anything but criticism but it can't be denied that the officials were the focal point for a large part of Super Bowl XLIII. By the end of the game there were 18 accepted penalties for 162 yards and another two penalties for 20 yards were declined. The most called penalty was holding as it accounted for 7 penalties for 70 yards, but what sticks out the most in my minds are two calls/moves that weren't made late in the fourth quarter.

Santonio Holmes Uses the Ball as a Prop: The NFL has a simple and clearly defined rule that players can not use the ball as a prop when celebrating. Doing so after a touchdown results in an automatic 15 yard penalty on the subsequent kickoff. If we can assume the same type of return, the Cardinals would have started their final drive from their 38 yard line instead of their own 23. With :30 seconds on the clock 15 yards is a significant amount of yardage, especially considering that the Cardinals got across midfield with :15 seconds left. Again if we tack on 15 yards, they'd have been inside the Steelers 30 and they'd be in range for a couple of legit shots into the end zone.

Final Play Not Reviewed At All: On a play that ends one teams season and crowns a champion, why did the officials not take a second look at a very close play? With :15 seconds on the clock and the Cardinals out of timeouts, Warner drops to pass and immediately feels pressure. He shuffles in the pocket and loads up for a deep pass, but LaMarr Woodley gets his hand on the Warner's arm and knocks the ball loose. The play was ruled a fumble and the Steelers took possession with just a few second left on the clock. I don't know if the play would have been overturned, but there's no doubt in my mind that if that play was outside of two minutes, Ken Whisenhunt would have challenged the call. If a play is that close in a game of this magnitude, why not take a second look?

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Before I get blasted by Steelers fans, I'm not blaming the officiating for the outcome of the game or saying that they're the reason the Cardinals lost. I'm simply saying that in a game that was obviously called very tight, they missed some huge calls as well. What did you think of the officials last night? Would you rather them call the plays by the book or let guys play in game of this magnitude?

There are countless reasons why the Pittsburgh Steelers are planning a parade right now and the Cardinals are headed back to Arizona with their heads down and the Cardinals will have plenty of time to second guess themselves. While there isn't a single guy who had a terrible game, there were certainly some guys who didn't play well. With that in mind, here's some guys who will be in the coulda, woulda, shoulda mindset for the next couple of months:

Clancy Pendergast and Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie: DRC started the game strong by breaking up a deep pass to Nate Washington that was a sure touchdown, on the Steelers second series. He followed that up with getting his hands on a deep pass intended for Santonio Holmes on the Steelers next drive. If he'd have been a step quicker on either of those plays, he'd have picked them off and we'd probably be singing a different song today. For most of the game though he was playing 10 yards off the line of scrimmage and letting Holmes catch short passes in front of him. How much of that alignment was his fault and how much blame should fall on Pendergast, we may never know but it was a game plan that didn't fare well at all.

J.J. Arrington: Whether it was nerves or simply butta-fingers, Arrington couldn't managed to field a kickoff to save his life. He completely muffed a catch early in the second quarter and let another kick roll between his legs for a touchback early in the third quarter. For a guy who averaged 25.6 yards per return during the regular season, Arrington didn't raise his game in the playoffs averaging just 20.9 yards per return and 20.2 in the Super Bowl. He did catch a couple of passes for decent gains but he gave the Cardinals almost zero on kick returns. Arrington was bad enough that Breaston was back returning kicks late in the fourth quarter.

Mike Gandy and Levi Brown: Mike Gandy racked up three holding calls and two of them came in the fourth quarter as the Cardinals are trying to mount a furious comeback. Each of his penalties effectively killed his offenses momentum and they'd punt on each drive, without acheiving another first down. We knew that Levi Brown would have his hands full with LaMarr Woodley and it's probably safe to say that Woodley got the best of him. Neither of the his sacks were particulary dominating but Brown certainly didn't do his job, especially on the final play. 

A couple of other plays really irked me like Adrian Wlson running into the holder and Dansby's roughing the passer, but they don't stick out as bad as the guys listed above. Who else had a bad game or underacheived?

It's often said that football is a game of inches and that was never more true than last night when the Steelers beat the Arizona Cardinals in Super Bowl XLIII. One of the best Super Bowls ever played had it's share of great plays, close calls and questionable officiating, but in the end the Cardinals miracle season came to a disappointing end. One thing that wasn't disappointing though is how the Cardinals fought back from a 20-7 deficit in the final 11 minutes of the game. Facing one of the best defenses the NFL has ever seen, Kurt Warner strapped the offense on his shoulders and brought the Arizona Cardinals all the way back with 16 unanswered points. In the end it wasn't meant to be, but the Cardinals shouldn't hang their heads. No one expected them to be here and not many gave them a legitimate chance. Here's a look at the guys who had a terrific game:

Kurt Warner: Warner started slowing but in the fourth quarter, he was brillant. Brillant to the tune of 13 of 18 for 211 yards and he led two long scoring drives. Ultimately his lasting memory from this game will be the James Harrison interception, but as a whole, he was great. He was the best quarterback the Cardinals could have asked for this season and especailly in the month of January.

Larry Fitzgerald: The vaunted Steelers defense did everything that they could to take Fitzgerald out of the game from the very first first snap and for three quarters it was very effective. Entering the fourth, Fitzgerald had only one catch for 12 yards and Warner had only thrown his way twice. In the fourth quarter though he exploded for 6 receptions and 115 yards, including two touchdowns. Fitz played like a champion when the Cardinals needed him most and he completed the best post season performance ever by a wide receiver.

Darnell Dockett: One of my few predictions that actually played out was that Dockett would have a big game and he didn't disappoint. He, like Warner and Fitz, waited until the fourth quarter to break out but his two sacks on consecutive Steelers drives helped get the Cardinals offense back on the field. Of his six tackles, five of them (including the sacks) were for one yard or less.

Other guys who had very good games:

Karlos Dansby - led the team with eight tackles and an interception

Steve Breaston - 6 receptions for 71 yards and a 34 yard punt return

Monty Beisel - the reserve linebacker totaled five tackles

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It'll take a while to get over a game like this, but I think we can all agree that the Arizona Cardinals played a heck of a game. We'll break down many other elements of the game later today and in the days to come. Who else had good games? What will be your lasting memories from yesterday?

What a seaon, what a month of January. I'm not liking the month of February so much though.

The Arizona Cardinals couldn't pull off the biggest victory in franchise history on the league biggest stage. Maybe tomorrow or later in the week we can talk about how great this season was, but for now all I can do is stare at the floor, slump-shouldered and disapointed.

What a finish though.  What a finish.  Congratulations Steelers.  This was certainly the most exciting Super Bowl I've ever witnessed.  Sorry Taylor/Montana.