43 Observations From Super Bowl XLIII

TAMPA, Fla. -- NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell said it best, just before awarding the Vince Lombardi Trophy.

"Some said we couldn't top last year's Super Bowl," Goodell said. "But the Steelers and Cardinals did it tonight."

That sentiment pretty well sums up what we just witnessed Sunday in Florida, but here are my other observations (43 of them, to be exact) after taking in Super Bowl XLIII at Raymond James Stadium.


1. I thought Big Ben was throwing it away ... From my seat in the end zone, I was watching the Cardinals' secondary on what turned out to be the game-winning touchdown, and it looked like Santonio Holmes was so well covered that Ben Roethlisberger was just throwing the ball away out of bounds when he let his pass go with 35 seconds left. Instead, he threw it where only Holmes could get it, and he made one of the biggest catches in Super Bowl history. (It was only when I finally saw the TV replay that it really became clear what a great pass Roethlisberger had thrown -- which shows how you usually have a better view at home than you do in the stadium.)

2. Holmes should have caught the previous pass ... Not to nitpick after he had a great game, but Holmes really should have had the pass Roethlisberger threw to him in the end zone before the game winner. It went right through his hands.

3. Jennifer Hudson brought down the house ... "The Star-Spangled Banner" has never sounded better.

4. So did Chesley Sullenberger ... People are in awe of the hero pilot of US Airways Flight 1549.

5. I love Heath Miller's downfield blocking ... Miller, the Steelers' tight end, had a textbook open-field block on a short pass to Holmes in the first quarter, and then kept it up all game.

6. The Cardinals should thank the Raymond James Stadium scoreboard operator ... Cardinals coach Ken Whisenhunt threw his red flag at the end of the Steelers' opening drive after looking at the Jumbotron and seeing a replay that showed that Roethlisberger's knee was down before the ball crossed the plane of the goal line. Another scoreboard operator, and maybe the Steelers' touchdown doesn't get taken off the board and replaced by a field goal.

7. Tomlin should have gone for it ... The scoreboard operator was only able to cost the Steelers four points because Mike Tomlin didn't go for it on fourth-and-goal from inside the 1-yard line. What was he afraid of?

8. Down in front! ... At the Super Bowl, there are far more journalists than there are seats in the press box, so most of the reporters with press passes were relegated to either the auxiliary tables (sort of makeshift desks in the stands) or the auxiliary press room (a spot in the bowels of the stadium where they were watching on TV, in less comfort than you would have at home). I was one of the lucky ones seated in the auxiliary tables. Right in front of us were a group of Steelers fans who, as Steelers fans are wont to do, stood and waved their Terrible Towels every time the Steelers made a big play. I didn't have a big problem with that because I don't mind standing myself when I need to, but some journalists complained and asked security to force the fans to stay seated. Good luck with that, fella.

9. Andy Rooney didn't have a good time ... I was seated about 10 feet from everyone's favorite 60 Minutes curmudgeon, Andy Rooney. As you might guess, the 90-year-old Rooney can't really get up and down out of his seat. That meant those fans in front of the press blocked his view. Rooney left the auxiliary table at halftime and didn't come back; I hope someone got him a seat where he could see.

10. Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie was a smart draft pick ... Sometimes "workout warriors" like Rodgers-Cromartie, the Cardinals' 2008 first-round pick, are derided by draft analysts who say you need more than just a good 40 time and a good vertical leap to be an NFL player. But Rodgers-Cromartie showed how important a great 40 and vertical can be when he used them to knock down what would have been a long touchdown pass in the first quarter.

11. Too much bandwidth usage ... Despite expanded coverage from cell-phone providers, service was spotty at Raymond James Stadium. (My own phone gave me a bright red "SERVICE OFF" message, which I've never seen in the two years I've owned it.) Connecting to the Internet was often impossible.

12. The Cardinals were ready for the Wildcat ... When the Steelers snapped the ball directly to running back Willie Parker in the first quarter, the Cardinals snuffed it out. It was clear that the Wildcat was something the Arizona defense spent plenty of time preparing for this week.

13. Thanks, Captain Obvious ... The PA announcer told the fans during second-quarter timeouts, "Ladies and gentlemen, please remain in your seats for the halftime show from Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band." Was there really a risk that anyone in the crowd was unaware of the Springsteen performance? Are there really people who pay $1,000 for a Super Bowl ticket and think they're going to see the Tampa Bay Central High School marching band?

14. "Larry Fitzgerald, Decoy" ... Those were the words colleague Kevin Blackistone said to me in the second quarter when the Cardinals finally started moving the ball, and doing so without throwing to their star receiver.

15. Larry Fitzgerald Jr. finally made two huge plays in the fourth quarter ... There's no one better in the league at getting higher than the opposing defensive back and grabbing the ball out of the air.

16. Larry Fitzgerald Sr. is stoic ... The sportswriting father of the Cardinals' receiver was sitting about five feet from me. He showed absolutely no emotion at any point in the game, not a smile or a fist pump or anything when his son scored two fourth-quarter touchdowns.

17. Steelers fans will travel ... It's amazing that even in this economy, tens of thousands of people will spend the money on airfare, a hotel and a Super Bowl ticket to support their team.

18. Cardinals fans have spirit ... They were outnumbered, but the Arizona fans in the house were vocal. Those small pockets of red in the sea of black and gold made noise. It was a great atmosphere for a football game, and not the stuffy corporate feel that so many Super Bowls have.

19. Adrian Wilson misses more plays than he makes ... I usually see the Cardinals on TV, and I've always been impressed with Wilson, their starting strong safety. But watching him in person, where you can see more of what happens in the secondary, it's clear that he's often too aggressive for his own good. It's great to have the speed to roam the field and the toughness to step up against the run, but Wilson takes himself out of position way too often to be an elite NFL defensive back.

20. Breaston is a burner ... The player whose speed really impressed me was Cardinals wide receiver/punt returner Steve Breaston. He looked like he had a gear the other players didn't.

21. Unsung Cardinals special-teamer: Michael Adams ... A second-year defensive back, Adams is the gunner on the Cardinals' punt team, and he flew down the field and made a great tackle late in the second quarter. That's my kind of special teams player.

22. Unsung Steelers special-teamer: William Gay ... A second-year defensive back, Gay is the gunner on the Steelers' punt team, and he flew down the field and made a great tackle in the fourth quarter. That's my kind of special teams player.

23. For a 300-pounder, Bryan Robinson can jump ... It was Robinson, a Cardinals defensive lineman, who jumped up and batted down Roethlisberger's pass late in the second quarter, leading to an Arizona interception.

24. Deshea Townsend had a big bump ... Townsend, the Steelers' cornerback, was covering Anquan Boldin on the last play of the first half, and he bumped Boldin just enough to knock him slightly off his route, helping Steelers linebacker James Harrison step in front of Kurt Warner's pass. Townsend also threw a big block as Harrison took it 100 yards for a touchdown.

25. Most impressive performance of the Super Bowl? The halftime stagehands ... Within a minute of the first half ending, hundreds of people rushed onto the field to set up Springsteen's stage in what must have been the most efficient construction project in history. By the time the TV audience returned from a commercial, the stage was set up and several hundred lucky fans were on the field in Springsteen's audience. Then they somehow managed to tear down the stage before the third quarter, without any visible damage to the grass.

26. Bruce Springsteen was outstanding ... Any surprise?

27. NFL cracks down on fan misconduct ... An enormous banner in the stadium urged everyone in attendance to report unruly fans via text message, and they made announcements over the public address system to that effect as well. I really didn't see any fans who qualified as "unruly," though. The Super Bowl isn't exactly Gate D at the Jets games.

28. Players had trouble with their footing ... I saw nothing wrong with the playing surface, but several players looked like they were slipping on the field.

29. Bad call against Karlos Dansby ... A roughing the passer penalty against Dansby cost Arizona 15 yards in the third quarter. I was watching Dansby closely on the play, and it was a bad call. Fifteen-yard penalties are supposed to be for cheap shots. Dansby was just playing football.

30. Good call against Adrian Wilson ... Later on the same drive, when the Steelers kicked a field goal, Wilson got a 15-yard penalty for drilling the Steelers' holder. That was a good call and a stupid play by Wilson. Fortunately for Wilson, it didn't cost the Cardinals: The Steelers eventually settled for a field goal anyway.

31. Idiotic penalty by Ike Taylor ... What on earth was he thinking, hitting Anquan Boldin and costing his team 15 yards when ahead by six with five minutes left?

32. Why wasn't James Harrison ejected? ... He's a great player, but his cheap shot on Aaron Francisco in the fourth quarter was totally inexcusable.

33. Oh, and Harrison could have been the MVP ... Which makes it even worse that he committed an ejection-worthy penalty.

34. Fans of both teams were in shock at the fourth quarter safety ... When the referee announced that a holding call against the Steelers in the end zone had given the Cardinals two points late in the fourth quarter, all the fans around me -- fans of both teams -- were looking at each other asking what happened.

35. Don't blame the officiating ... Yes, Cardinals fans, the officials called a lot more penalties on your team than they did on the Steelers. But that doesn't mean they were wrong. There are a few missed calls in every game, but I didn't see anything to make me think the officials gave the Steelers a significant advantage.

36. The NFL needs to give its bus drivers better directions ... With about 50 other reporters, after the game I boarded a bus, chartered by the NFL, from the stadium to the media center. The only problem? The bus driver had absolutely no idea where the media center was. He tried using a GPS, he tried making a phone call, and he tried winging it, but he had no clue how to get us back to the media center. Eventually one of the reporters told him how to get there. Shouldn't the NFL have made sure he knew the route before giving him this job?

37. Which commercials were the best? ... The only bad thing about going to the game is missing the ads. Someone has to fill me in.

38. Great game plan from Dick LeBeau ... The Steelers' defensive coordinator had the right approach, taking away the Cardinals' deep passes and forcing Kurt Warner to throw underneath. It didn't always work -- the Cardinals unleashed a couple of bombs -- but it worked enough. LeBeau also benefited from the knowledge that the Cardinals' running game is virtually nonexistent.

39. Mike Tomlin will get a bust in Canton some day ... He's the youngest coach to win a Super Bowl , and I think he's going to be a great one for years to come.

40. Kurt Warner is a Hall of Famer ... If the Cardinals' defense had stopped the Steelers' final drive, Warner would have become the first quarterback in history to win Super Bowls with two different teams. His team fell short, but his legacy in this game is secure.

41. Brett Keisel had a big game ... In addition to clinching the win by recovering Warner's fumble with seven seconds left, Keisel, a Pittsburgh defensive end, was roaming all over the field and generally making life difficult for the Cardinals.

42. Darnell Dockett was great for the Cardinals ... Five tackles, two sacks. A difference maker.

43. Best Super Bowl ever ... An instant classic.