NFL: Ten things the Cowboys can learn from Super Bowl XLIII
By Jim Reeves
McClatchy Newspapers
FORT WORTH, Texas — Word out of Tampa was that Jerry Jones and Wade Phillips were "under glass" in a private box at the Super Bowl on Sunday.
Sort of like two pheasants, roasting to perfection.
Let's hope they were taking notes.
Pittsburgh's breathless 27-23 victory over Arizona was full of lessons for Jerry and Wade, if they were just paying attention.
Here are 10 things we can hope Jerry, Wade and the Cowboys learned from the game:
1) It really is all about the quarterback.
You'd like to think they never forget this, but the performances by Ben Roethlisberger and Kurt Warner, especially in the fourth quarter, just drive the point home that more forcefully.
Warner passed for 224 yards and two touchdowns in the fourth quarter in bringing the Cardinals back from a 20-7 deficit. Roethlisberger was 5-of-8 for 88 yards and the game-winning touchdown on the Steelers' final drive.
Roethlisberger is now 8-2 in the postseason and his passer rating in playoff games is off the charts.
2) Don't be afraid to go young when searching for a new head coach.
Case in point is the Steelers' Mike Tomlin. He was 34 when he was tabbed to replace Bill "The Jaw" Cowher and, at 36, is the youngest coach ever to win a Super Bowl.
Jones has always gone for the veteran coach, but sometimes a team needs the energy and fresh thinking that a young head coach can bring.
If fact, if Jerry wants a look-alike for Tomlin, he should hire our Clarence Hill. Now there's a separated-at-birth duo if I've ever seen one, especially since Tomlin became the first-ever winning Super Bowl coach with a beard.
(Hey, it's a joke, but the fact that Clarence would probably instill more discipline in the locker room than the current head coach isn't a laughing matter).
3) Sometimes it takes more than a great defense.
The Steelers brought a great defense, arguably the best in the NFL, to the game, but even that great defense began to wear down and become vulnerable in the fourth quarter.
In the end, the Steelers had to rely on their offense to win the game, and Roethlisberger and company came through with perhaps the greatest clutch drive in Super Bowl history.
4) Great wide receivers with hands and speed can be the difference between winning and losing.
How long has it been since the Cowboys drafted a great wide receiver? Arguably, not since Michael Irvin in 1988. They're too important in helping a good quarterback become great to keep ignoring them like that.
Larry Fitzgerald and Santonio Holmes are great examples.
Terrell Owens has hands as hard as asphalt and has lost a step. Roy Williams has been a total disappointment. I'm not ready to give up on him yet, but it's time for the Cowboys to find a premier receiver in the draft and develop him into a long-term go-to guy.
5) Never, ever quit.
This is something that should never have to be said, that's a given, but with the Cowboys, you never know. The Cardinals could have cashed it in at halftime after James Harrison's 100-yard interception return provided a 14-point turn in the game. Warner wouldn't let them quit.
The Steelers could have folded after Warner's 64-yard strike to Larry Fitzgerald gave the Cards the lead with 2› minutes to play. But Roethlisberger was having none of that. That's the grit the Cowboys have to find.
6) Never leave a good team time enough to win.
Yeah, I know, "Time Enough to Win" was the title of the book Roger Staubach once did with old friend Frank Luksa years ago, but it still applies.
If you give a championship-caliber team and quarterback time to get up off the mat, they probably will. The Steelers' offense was supposed to be boring and dull. Didn't much look like it, though, when the game was on the line.
"I knew it wasn't over," Warner said.
He was right.
7) Never get too cute at the goal line.
The Cardinals had first-and-goal at Pittsburgh's 1-yard line with 18 seconds left until halftime. Don't be afraid to run the ball into the end zone.
Instead, Warner's slant, intended for Anquan Boldin, was intercepted at the goal line by Harrison and returned 100 gasping yards for a game-changing touchdown.
It was Warner's only real "Tony Romo moment" in the entire game, but that 14-point swing changed everything. Roethlisberger made no mistakes.
Hopefully, Tony was watching, too.
8) The punt can be a deadly weapon.
The Cardinals showed that when they pooch-punted to the Steelers' 1. An apparent first down pass from Roethlisberger to Holmes was wiped out, and the Cardinals picked up a safety when Justin Hartwig was flagged for holding in the end zone on third down.
Tomlin had already decided to take the safety rather than risk having a punt blocked if had gotten to fourth down.
"I really wasn't all that devastated by (BEGIN BRACKET)Hartwig's(END BRACKET) safety," Tomlin told reporters Monday. "It was a little disappointing because we had converted the first down. But my mentality was had that pass gone incomplete, that we were going to take the safety on fourth down anyway."
9) Blue collar beats glitz and flash every time.
It's not about the stretch limos, the parties or how the star looks on that silver helmet. It's not even about being America's Team. It's about how hard you work.
Pittsburgh is all about blue collar. The Steelers wear teams down with their relentless aggression and drive.
10) Even the greats like Bruce Springsteen can seem less than glorious in condensed, 12-minute formats.
We can't live forever on memories of "Glory Days."
Right, Jerry?
McClatchy Newspapers
FORT WORTH, Texas — Word out of Tampa was that Jerry Jones and Wade Phillips were "under glass" in a private box at the Super Bowl on Sunday.
Sort of like two pheasants, roasting to perfection.
Let's hope they were taking notes.
Pittsburgh's breathless 27-23 victory over Arizona was full of lessons for Jerry and Wade, if they were just paying attention.
Here are 10 things we can hope Jerry, Wade and the Cowboys learned from the game:
1) It really is all about the quarterback.
You'd like to think they never forget this, but the performances by Ben Roethlisberger and Kurt Warner, especially in the fourth quarter, just drive the point home that more forcefully.
Warner passed for 224 yards and two touchdowns in the fourth quarter in bringing the Cardinals back from a 20-7 deficit. Roethlisberger was 5-of-8 for 88 yards and the game-winning touchdown on the Steelers' final drive.
Roethlisberger is now 8-2 in the postseason and his passer rating in playoff games is off the charts.
2) Don't be afraid to go young when searching for a new head coach.
Case in point is the Steelers' Mike Tomlin. He was 34 when he was tabbed to replace Bill "The Jaw" Cowher and, at 36, is the youngest coach ever to win a Super Bowl.
Jones has always gone for the veteran coach, but sometimes a team needs the energy and fresh thinking that a young head coach can bring.
If fact, if Jerry wants a look-alike for Tomlin, he should hire our Clarence Hill. Now there's a separated-at-birth duo if I've ever seen one, especially since Tomlin became the first-ever winning Super Bowl coach with a beard.
(Hey, it's a joke, but the fact that Clarence would probably instill more discipline in the locker room than the current head coach isn't a laughing matter).
3) Sometimes it takes more than a great defense.
The Steelers brought a great defense, arguably the best in the NFL, to the game, but even that great defense began to wear down and become vulnerable in the fourth quarter.
In the end, the Steelers had to rely on their offense to win the game, and Roethlisberger and company came through with perhaps the greatest clutch drive in Super Bowl history.
4) Great wide receivers with hands and speed can be the difference between winning and losing.
How long has it been since the Cowboys drafted a great wide receiver? Arguably, not since Michael Irvin in 1988. They're too important in helping a good quarterback become great to keep ignoring them like that.
Larry Fitzgerald and Santonio Holmes are great examples.
Terrell Owens has hands as hard as asphalt and has lost a step. Roy Williams has been a total disappointment. I'm not ready to give up on him yet, but it's time for the Cowboys to find a premier receiver in the draft and develop him into a long-term go-to guy.
5) Never, ever quit.
This is something that should never have to be said, that's a given, but with the Cowboys, you never know. The Cardinals could have cashed it in at halftime after James Harrison's 100-yard interception return provided a 14-point turn in the game. Warner wouldn't let them quit.
The Steelers could have folded after Warner's 64-yard strike to Larry Fitzgerald gave the Cards the lead with 2› minutes to play. But Roethlisberger was having none of that. That's the grit the Cowboys have to find.
6) Never leave a good team time enough to win.
Yeah, I know, "Time Enough to Win" was the title of the book Roger Staubach once did with old friend Frank Luksa years ago, but it still applies.
If you give a championship-caliber team and quarterback time to get up off the mat, they probably will. The Steelers' offense was supposed to be boring and dull. Didn't much look like it, though, when the game was on the line.
"I knew it wasn't over," Warner said.
He was right.
7) Never get too cute at the goal line.
The Cardinals had first-and-goal at Pittsburgh's 1-yard line with 18 seconds left until halftime. Don't be afraid to run the ball into the end zone.
Instead, Warner's slant, intended for Anquan Boldin, was intercepted at the goal line by Harrison and returned 100 gasping yards for a game-changing touchdown.
It was Warner's only real "Tony Romo moment" in the entire game, but that 14-point swing changed everything. Roethlisberger made no mistakes.
Hopefully, Tony was watching, too.
8) The punt can be a deadly weapon.
The Cardinals showed that when they pooch-punted to the Steelers' 1. An apparent first down pass from Roethlisberger to Holmes was wiped out, and the Cardinals picked up a safety when Justin Hartwig was flagged for holding in the end zone on third down.
Tomlin had already decided to take the safety rather than risk having a punt blocked if had gotten to fourth down.
"I really wasn't all that devastated by (BEGIN BRACKET)Hartwig's(END BRACKET) safety," Tomlin told reporters Monday. "It was a little disappointing because we had converted the first down. But my mentality was had that pass gone incomplete, that we were going to take the safety on fourth down anyway."
9) Blue collar beats glitz and flash every time.
It's not about the stretch limos, the parties or how the star looks on that silver helmet. It's not even about being America's Team. It's about how hard you work.
Pittsburgh is all about blue collar. The Steelers wear teams down with their relentless aggression and drive.
10) Even the greats like Bruce Springsteen can seem less than glorious in condensed, 12-minute formats.
We can't live forever on memories of "Glory Days."
Right, Jerry?
posted by The Gryphon at 5:53 PM
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