WTF happened in fourth quarter?
by Steelin on Feb 2, 2009 5:29 PM EST
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PrintAt the end of three quarters, it looked like the Steelers game plan was working almost perfectly. To wit:
- Stop the Cardinals running game without trying (check)
- Use double-coverage to eliminate Fitzgerald from offense (check)
- Pressure Warner into at least one turnover (check)
- Execute long drives to reduce chances for Cardinals offense (check)
- Minimize turnovers so Cardinals must work a long field (mostly)
- Establish Steelers running game to open passing lanes (kinda sorta)
- Take advantage of Cardinals' inability to cover tight end (check)
And as a special, unplanned bonus, a 100-yard interception return from Harrison. As a result, we are ahead 20-7. With 13:34 to go, we even get the ball back at midfield after a Timmons near-block forces a crappy punt.
Then, the wheels fall off the wagon. On offense, three consecutive three-and-outs, the third one resulting in a safety. On defense, we give up an 87-yard scoring drive, a 39-yard near-scoring drive (saved by a holding penalty), and a 64-yard pass to Fitzgerald that gives the Cardinals the lead for the first time all game. Only the heroics of Ben and Santonio saved this from going down as the biggest fourth-quarter choke in Super Bowl history.
Maybe someone who knows more about football than I do can explain what happened. The best the announcers could come up with was that Arizona went to a four-WR personnel group with Arrington at RB and went no-huddle. Did this somehow catch the Steelers off-guard? It looked like the Steelers went to a dime package with Timmons at LB, which should have countered this strategy.
On offense, we continued to mix pass and run, but after moving the ball consistently earlier in the game, suddenly nothing was working. Two of the possessions were killed by sacks, and the third one by the holding penalty in the end zone. Then, on the final drive, the Steelers again cut through the defense like a knife through butter. That made it exciting, but a few first downs on any of the previous three drives would have eliminated the need for such excitement. Any ideas why our offense and defense suddenly floundered after playing so well for three quarters?
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nothing, he was just in coverage all game.
To the tune of the classic children's song "This Old Man" (the part with nick nack patty whack)
Big Snack, Silverback, take the Dawg Pound's Bone, the Black and Gold sent the Brownies crying home.
by Tim Mullhaupt (HSS) on Feb 2, 2009 5:48 PM EST up reply actions
Maybe-
But i’ve never seen him miss tackles. He was way out of position on that pass deflection, too. A propper TP should’ve intercepted that ball. Maybe it was his eye/eyes…
he did lose a contact in the beginning of the game lol
To the tune of the classic children's song "This Old Man" (the part with nick nack patty whack)
Big Snack, Silverback, take the Dawg Pound's Bone, the Black and Gold sent the Brownies crying home.
by Tim Mullhaupt (HSS) on Feb 3, 2009 11:31 PM EST up reply actions
In the 2nd half of the game...
…we went to a five man rush. I believed that 5th man was covering the middle of the field before which was suddenly wide open. I’m not really sure what happened on offense other than the defense was covering better and the Oline got a lil winded (Dockett coming through on some big sacks).
And Polamalu was all over Fitz and since Fitz didn’t see any real play until the 4th quarter, you didn’t hear about Polamalu. I also think he got something in his eye during the 1st quarter which really threw off his depth perception (remember that huge missed tackle?).
"From here on out, the Steelers are bird exterminators. It doesn't matter if it's the Ravens, Eagles, or Cardinals." ~random Steeler Fan!
Nah
his contact lens came out. They said in the broadcast.
by Hochuli loves Broccoli on Feb 2, 2009 7:32 PM EST up reply actions
i missed that..
…darn…i was pretty well gone at that point b/c of our drinking game (2 drinks for any time Madden said anything obvious and 1 drink for every time he said the word Nickel).
"From here on out, the Steelers are bird exterminators. It doesn't matter if it's the Ravens, Eagles, or Cardinals." ~random Steeler Fan!
I think
by the 4th Q, Warner had learned the idiosyncrasies of LeBeau’s D, not to mention the defense was tired. That’s why a smart and experienced QB like Kurt was able to pick them apart.
"Of course, it’s downright frightening to imagine how two Adam Dunns would turn the double play." - Joe Posnanski
the 4th wasn't the only problem
Seems to me that the cards were playing cautious in the first 3 quarters. they never even tried to go deep. Very strange. We knew they couldn’t run though….no surprise.
Perhaps our Men of Steel got tired….but were they on the field that long? No, I don’t so. I think the cards made very late adjustments, and the steelers were slow to react to it. They went from nickel to dime…..that certainly only worked on the very last possession.
I think the steelers certainly deserved this SB victory….but they didn’t play the best game possible and it almost cost the game. Not so much because of the D late in the game….but early on they still couldn’t score 6 points and had to settle for 3’s. They could’ve had a huge lead….but nope.
I think this team can repeat (pst, dont tell Tomlin I said that), but we all know the O line needs help, and Mendenhall coming back should be huge.
L!
Seems to me that the cards were playing cautious in the first 3 quarters. they never even tried to go deep. Very strange. We knew they couldn’t run though….no surprise.
they couldn’t go deep. remember in most plays you couldn’t see the secondary. the secondary was playing so deep to prevent any deep balls. that’s why the short passes up the middle were working best, or the shovel passes to james. the whole defensive scheme seemed to be to make the Cards go for short yardage and stopping them on 3rd down or forcing them to make mistakes. worked most of the game.
"From here on out, the Steelers are bird exterminators. It doesn't matter if it's the Ravens, Eagles, or Cardinals." ~random Steeler Fan!
D could have been tired by the end
Steelers time of possession in the fourth quarter was only about 4:35 before the final drive, versus almost 8:00 for the Cardinals. Three three-and-outs put the defense on the field a lot. But the D should have been well rested from the first three quarters (except maybe Harrison :-)
Prevent
I think that we got conservative on both sides of the ball and the cards capitalized.
On offense, we were hoping to run the clock out, which was not a stupid idea, but we failed to execute.
On defense we dropped our safeties WAY back, which may have been a mistake. I don’t believe they were playing anywhere near that deep before. Arizona capitalized by taking easy passes underneath.
I also think that Ryan Clark went down with an injury during the fourth. Tryone Carter was in during much of the fourth.
Apart from that the following happened:
Our O-line wore down and gave up big plays against Ben – not a shock.
The refs called a dubious holding penalty on an amazing play by Ben in the back of the endzone – essentially awarding the Cards two points AND the free kick.
The best offense in the league woke up and their big players made big plays.
Of course if we had lost this one, we would all be analyzing the hell out of this quarter. And we came close to losing. But our 60 minute men played to the end and our much maligned offense came through big.
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