Larry Fitzgerald’s Moves Freeze Eagles

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↵Add “Super” to Larry Fitzgerald’s name, because (barring a Philly comeback) tomorrow’s headline writers will be doing the same. On a 2nd-and-goal inside the five, Asante Samuel was forced to shove Fitz on a quick slant in man coverage; the other option was an easy touchdown as Philadelphia sent seven. The pass interference set up 1st and goal from the one; Fitzgerald lined up solo on the left side with all other Cardinals setting up for a one. On the snap, Fitzgerald pulled off an unprecedented sextuple deke -- it was like Bret’s Angry Dance, but more angry, like a mosh pit. Sheldon Brown froze like Sub-Zero hit him, and Fitz went on the quick out for the flawless TD reception.
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↵It should have been worse for the Eagles -- the refs blew a call with three minutes left in the half. Following the aforedescribed TD, Neil Rackers placed a kick at the 26-yard line. The ball may or may not have touched Philly’s Victor Abiamiri; regardless, the ball bounced a few inches inside of the sideline before a Cardinal fell on it. It should have been Arizona ball at the 25. But the official called it out-of-bounds off of Abiamiri; ball placed at the spot of the touch. On replay, the ball was shown to land well inside the field of play, and it’s questionable whether Abiamiri touched it ... let alone while standing out-of-bounds.
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↵The replay was more than conclusive in my eyes, but because the official initially ruled it out-of-bounds, the play was not able to be challenged. Of course, the official didn’t blow a whistle until Arizona fell on the ball; the out-of-bounds call didn’t come into play while the players were moving and shaking. Bad call on a critical play that would have likely given the Cardinals an even bigger lead. (As it stands, Philly’s drive petered out quickly and Arizona was able to set up Rackers for a 49-yard FG that went true. 24-6 at the half.)
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↵(Of Course, Part II: Joe Buck and Troy Aikman completely missed the point about the botched call. It was obviously in-bounds, and Aikman insinuated it as much before the official’s first announcement. But the announcers didn’t mention it again, even as Ken Whisenhunt threw his red flag.)
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↵By the way, Kurt Warner has made one truly bad throw; Donovan McNabb has looked awful save two or three good passes. Warner-to-Fitzgerald has owned this NFC Championship.↵