Cardinals CB Dominque Rodgers-Cromartie

Sunday, February 1

Cardinals CB Dominque Rodgers-Cromartie

(on the Steelers throwing in his direction early in the game) “You have to give it to them. Their game plan worked. They know I play off the line. They got me early on with a lot of short routes.”


(on the feeling in the locker room) “Everybody is down. You can’t even describe the feeling of hurt and the pain that you see in the players’ eyes.”


(on what happened on the game-winning touchdown pass) “It was a Cover Eight. We were in zone (coverage). When Ben Roethlisberger got to scrambling, my eyes were bad and I got taken out of my zone.”


(on playing in the Super Bowl) “I understand that it was one of the greatest experiences of my life. I’ve had a long journey to get here and then the hype surrounding it and the fans were into it and the crowd. It’s a great experience.”


(on how tough the loss was) “It was very tough. I had all of my family and friends. We were bringing everybody out here and them wanting you to do well and you come up short. It’s just going to be hard to go back home and smile.”


(on if he thought Pittsburgh WR Santonio Holmes caught the pass in the end zone) “I was right there. I knew he caught the ball. I wanted to drop my head but you know that that is not in me.”


(on the game winning catch from his perspective) “That was an awesome catch, pitch and throw. The ball was delivered right there and he compensated and got his feet in.”


(on the Steelers attacking him with short routes) “I would say that I played into my advantage. That’s how I play ball. I’m an off-corner. I don’t press a lot. So that was just their game plan. They realized that and attacked that early.”


(on the technique for Cover Eight coverage on that play) “You let the man run to you. I was just out of position just a little bit.”


(on his thoughts immediately after the game) “In my mind I’m thinking that you can’t believe that’s happening. All of your dreams, a lot of things happened good to be here. That one play shatters all of that.”


(on if the Steelers ran the same play to the other side the play before the game-winning touchdown play) “They ran that same play, the same thing. My eyes were bad. That’s one of the things I feel that I need to work on this summer, just being disciplined in the zone.”


(on if he thought the Cardinals would win when they took the lead 23-20) “I didn’t think that. The whole game they were having success. I knew it was going to be a fight to the end.”


(on what he will take from the game) “It was a play that was played down to the wire, hard fought by both teams. It is a great game. It’s a great learning game for me.”


(on what he thinks people will think about the game) “I think after this game, a lot of people are going to say that they told you so, that we really shouldn’t have lost. I believe you truly can’t. The cause is the whole team. We came out there and we gave it all we got and we had a chance to win. It came down to the last minute.”


(on what Head Coach Ken Whisenhunt said to the team after the game) “Coach said that he was very proud of us for the success that we had as a team.”