The most hyped, most awaited, sporting event of t! hem all is upon us. The Super Bowl featuring the Pittsburgh Steelers and Arizona Cardinals is set for Sunday evening with Bruce Springsteen performing at halftime. The Super Bowl has the commercials as well leaving the viewer with very little time to take their eyes off the screen. This year's matchup is not ideal, but it has plenty of good storylines. Kurt Warner's return to glory, the Bill Cowher connection for both head coaches, the Cardinals shocking underdog run, and of course what songs will Bruce perform at halftime. I am really excited for Bruce because he has made it clear he wants to make a statement and spread hope to all. His song choice will be key for this and I'm sure he has thought long and hard about it.Lets get back to the actual football game now and begin with the Steelers' road to the big game.
The Pittsburgh Steelers' Story
Coming into the season there were four teams everyone was raving about, the Giants, Patriots, Cowboys, and Colts. None of these four teams made either the AFC or NFC Championship game. In fact, Dallas and New England missed the postseason altogether. The Steelers got no respect early on. They were the favorite in their division, but many analysts had Cleveland as the AFC North winner (how did that work out). Pittsburgh went about their business as they do year after year and just simply won games. Pittsburgh never wins pretty, but they win and that's all that matters. On offense they run the ball and defensively they beat the snot out of you.! James Harrison won defensive player of the year, but he knows more than anyone that the entire defensive unit won that award. Casey Hampton continues to be one of the NFL's best nose tackles clogging every whole. He is the centerpiece to the best defense against the run. Lamar Woodley and James Harrison provide the pass rush making QBs very uneasy in the pocket. The Steelers' secondary has Deshea Townsend and Ike Taylor at the corners. Both of these guys are very capable in 1-on-1 coverage. Ryan Clark showed you his strength last game when he drilled Willis McGahee. Clark is a hard-hitter who strikes fear into wide receivers going across the middle. Oh yeah and there is a guy with ridiculously long hair named Troy Polomalu. He is only one of the best defensive players in the NFL. Polomalu makes all the big plays from tackles, to sacks, to game winning INTs, and forced fumbles. Polomalu is the leader of this unit. On the offensive side of the ball, Ben Roethlisb
erger won a Super Bowl before and he knows what it takes. He didn't play very well in his first Super Bowl and his team still won. Big Ben promises to be better this time. Hines Ward is banged up, but he is a gamer and I know he will play. If he has trouble running routes, Santonio Holmes and Heath Miller will be forced to play larger roles. Pittsburgh is a running offense though and Willie Parker is the key. He needs to set the tone early on and dictate the tempo of the game. Mike Tomlin has done a great job as head coach and has made Pittsburgh forget about the departure of Bill Cowher.The Arizona Cardinals' Story
A 48-20 loss to Philly, a 35-14 loss to Minnesota, and a 47-7 butt-whooping from New England seem so long ago for this Arizona team as they now find themselves in their first ever Super Bowl. Arizona has never been good in the Super Bowl era, until now. Ken Whisenhunt (a Bill Cowher disciple) has done a great job turning this franchise around. He was the Steelers' offensive coordinator when they won their last Super Bowl. He knows what it takes to win the big! one. Arizona has played the underdog card all postseason long! and it helped them defeat Atlanta, crush Carolina, and sneak away from Philly. The Arizona Cardinals are playing with confidence and are determined to walk away with the Lombardi Trophy. Kurt Warner is the only player on this team with a ring and he has become the leader of this team. Warner is a decade from his Super Bowl victory, then he was a member of the Rams, now he is wearing crimson red. Arizona has the best passing game in the NFL. Warner has Larry Fitzgerald, Anquan Boldin, and Steve Breaston to throw to. Fitzgerald has asserted himself as one of the games elite this postseason already shattering the receiving record. He is the best jump and catch wideout in the game. Anquan Boldin is very good in space and is the yard after catch WR. Boldin uses the middle of the field and is one of the toughest players to put on a uniform. His spatting incident with offensive coordinator Todd Haley will only make this team better. The Cardinals were ranked #32 (last) in the NFL in rushi! ng in the regular season. Their running game has been the reason they ha
ve been able to advance this far. Edgerrin James seems happy and is helping balance the offense. Tim Hightower still makes an impact on the ground as well. Arizona's o-line is much improved from season's past as well. The defense was average at best in the regular season. In the playoffs they have been phenomenal. DE Bertrand Berry is the biggest reason why. He is great against the run and is able to contain scrambling quarterbacks. Darnell Dockett has! done great in the middle of the line too. Karlos Dansby and t! he LB cr ew have contributed as well. SS Adrian Wilson is one of the best in the game and he will be a key in this game. The Cardinals D is very good as forcing turnovers and they will need to in this game. The biggest underdog coming into the playoffs has found their promised land (no Bruce pun intended).Prediction
It does not matter how they got here and what has been said all throughout the week. The game is to be determined Sunday at 6:30 on the gridiron. Arizona needs to contain Willi! e Parker and the Pittsburgh running attack or this game could get ugly. Arizona needs to force Pittsburgh into passing situations and force turnovers to win this game. This makes Willie Parker the biggest key to the game for me. We all know Arizona has a prolific offense and Pittsburgh has a stifling defense. The game will not be won on that side of the ball. It will be won on the back of Willie Parker. Big Ben needs to limit turnovers and this could be difficult without a healthy Hines Ward. Larry Fitzgerald is going to make at least one big play, the key is to limit it to one. Polomalu and Calrk are going to be very active for Pittsburgh and I expect them to dish out punishment the Arizona receivers who travel over the middle of the field. In the end, I expect Pittsburgh to prevail by a slim margin. A score of 24-23 seems reasonable. Willie Parker will be the MVP. Enjoy the game, the commercials, Bruce Springsteen, and of course the people you watch it with. This day only! comes once a year.
