Monday Morning QB with HD MM: Conference Championship Edition
1. Congratulations to Arizona and Pittsburgh as they advance to Super Bowl XLIII.
2. With the Cards now in their first Super Bowl in franchise history, this now leaves only 5 teams that have never been to the big game: Browns, Lions, Saints, Texans and Jaguars.
3. Grimm vs. Tomlin. Great offense vs. great defense. The Terrible Towel vs. the former terrible team. The ultimate underdog vs. a team vying for their 6th Super Bowl. This Super Bowl has many intriguing story lines.
4. In the 3rd quarter of the NFC Championship, the Eagles came out at halftime and put extreme pressure on Kurt Warner and locked down Larry Fitzgerald. It seemed to work as they got right back into the game. Why did their game plan not consist of this from the beginning?
5. The torturous game which was the AFC Championship was enough to put someone to sleep. Hard hitting and defense was what we expected and we ended up getting. I hope the Steelers don't ruin Super Bowl XLIII. This team is the Debbie Downer of the NFL.
6. The Cards are the first team with 9 wins or fewer to advance to the Super Bowl since the 1979 LA Rams.
7. Kurt Warner is now 3-0 in Conference Championship Games. McNabb is 1-4.
8. The Cardinals decision to go for it on 4th and 1 with 7 minutes to go in the 4th quarter at midfield was an excellent call. At the time, the Cards were only down by 1 point. The safe call would be to punt it and put the Eagles far back, play defense and get the ball back. If the Cards don't convert the 4th down, the Eagles didn't have to go much further for a field goal and a 4pt lead. In the playoffs you need to make risky calls, be aggressive and leave it all out on the field. The Cards did just that and won the game because of it.
9. Speaking of the Cardinals and their first Super Bowl appearance, seeing the players emotions and the jubilant crowd's reaction was awesome! Everything from Larry Fitgerald leaping up and down on the sidelines like a kid on Christmas, to Adrian Wilson speechless and crying during a post game interview. Now that's what football's all about! That's why you play the game.
10. And now for the popular discussion of whether or not Kurt Warner belongs in the Hall of Fame. To me, the TD drive in the 4th quarter sealed his fate. This will be his 3rd Super Bowl. He's already won the big game once and was the MVP of Super Bowl XXXIV. He was league MVP twice (1999, 2001). Warner's career passer rating (93.8) is 3rd all time behind Steve Young and Peyton Manning. The ultimate ending to a great story of course would be for the 37-year-old to go out with another Championship, but as far as personal accomplishments, I think Warner is a no brainer for the Hall of Fame.
