Official Superbowl XLIII Discussion Thread

[kdogg]

Too many Lions fans?? Now there`s something you dont hear everyday. lol

Well if you actually think about it, it is a lot of Lions fans here. We just don't say much until the draft comes around lol.

 

[X-Factor]

Madden 2010 demo

Cards and Steelers.. boo

 

[WHO-DEY-BENGALS_18]

That's if I can find any Bengals fans. Some of them are hiding.

 

[Lake Louise]

Well if you actually think about it, it is a lot of Lions fans here. We just don't say much until the draft comes around lol.

Than there are some that really shouldn`t say anything until the draft. lol. But come draft time, you see the rest come out of the woodworks.

 

[X-Factor]

 

[A.E]

This Super Bowl match-up couldn't be anymore disappointing. There's a good story with Wisenhunt/Grimm vs the Steelers and the game is loaded with explosive players...but I just cannot fathom the Cardinals playing in the Super Bowl.

It's hard to root against Mike Tomlin but I am afraid that I may have to. These Steelers' fans I know are just way too cocky right now. The Steelers lose b/c Greg decided to post this thread before the AFC Championship game was over.

 

[.GR]

The Steelers lose b/c Greg decided to post this thread before the AFC Championship game was over.

Lol Damn.
I bet you wish you had Mike Tomlin now though...

 

[.snowy]

Ben Graham aka Cardinals FTW

 

[RipCity32]

Anyone else think this will be a lame Superbowl?

 

[.GR]

Anyone else think this will be a lame Superbowl?

No.

 

[RipCity32]

Well I think the Steelers are a good team to have in it.

But the Cardinals don't appeal to me at all. Such a low market team. I would of loved to see Steelers-Eagles.

 

[JoshHoward5]

idk how you guys are not psyched to see the Cardinals in the Super Bowl. This team has been the laughing stock of the NFL for nearly 15 years, and they are now in the freakin super bowl. If you would of asked any NFL fan 3 years ago, if they think the Cardinals would be in a Super Bowl in the next 5 years, they would of laughed. I don't think I have ever rooted for a team that wasn't my team as hard (unless they are playing the Cowboys) then I did for the Cardinals today. I'm stoked to see the Cardinals make it.

Also it might be that Fitzgerald, and Wilson are two of my favorite non Lions, non former longhorns in the NFL

 

[RipCity32]

IDK, I'm happy they made it. But I just don't see a good game coming out of this.

 

[.GR]

idk how you guys are not psyched to see the Cardinals in the Super Bowl. This team has been the laughing stock of the NFL for nearly 15 years, and they are now in the freakin super bowl. If you would of asked any NFL fan 3 years ago, if they think the Cardinals would be in a Super Bowl in the next 5 years, they would of laughed. I don't think I have ever rooted for a team that wasn't my team as hard (unless they are playing the Cowboys) then I did for the Cardinals today. I'm stoked to see the Cardinals make it.

Also it might be that Fitzgerald, and Wilson are two of my favorite non Lions, non former longhorns in the NFL

That's what I've been telling people. It's there first ever appearance AND they were underdogs in nearly every game they played this postseason. Kurt Warner wasn't even supposed to be the starting QB heading into the season and now he has lead them to the big game. Also, the Steelers have a shot at being the first team to 6 SB wins. AND Ken Wisenhunt is facing his old team which chose Tomlin over him and now they are facing each other. There are alot of story lines to go with this game. Should be fun.

 

[WHO-DEY-BENGALS_18]

I've just came to the point to not put anything against the Cardinals. Thought the Falcons were going to beat them as did most and that didn't happen - They were probably at least a 10 point underdog to the Panthers and just absolutely demolished them which wasn't expected. I thought for sure the Eagles would win today and that didn't happen. I'm done making any sort of assumptions with this Arizona team. They have both got this far for a reason. Your just not use to seeing the Cardinals this far which is probably why it doesn't seem very appealing to you.

 

[JoshHoward5]

Yeah doubting the Cardinals at this point is pretty stupid.

 

[Lake Louise]

I've just came to the point to not put anything against the Cardinals. Thought the Falcons were going to beat them as did most and that didn't happen - They were probably at least a 10 point underdog to the Panthers and just absolutely demolished them which wasn't expected. I thought for sure the Eagles would win today and that didn't happen. I'm done making any sort of assumptions with this Arizona team. They have both got this far for a reason. Your just not use to seeing the Cardinals this far which is probably why it doesn't seem very appealing to you.

Not to correct you or anything, but are you referring to "you" as to a certain person, or just a generalazation of the people who aren`t excited for this game??

But yeah, i`m excited for it. Nothing against the Steelers, but I would like to see the Cardinals win it, just for the fact that they haven`t before, at least not with their current franchise, and not when they won it in `61 as the Chicago Cardinals. Really though, how could you not be excited for this?? The Cardinals are the underdog, and have been all postseason, being lead by a 37-yr old QB, who wasn`t even supposed to be the starter over Leinart when the season started, but he was, and looked where he has taken them. A RB in Edge, who doesn`t want to be on the team anymore, was benched for the rookie Hightower earlier in the year, and entered the postseason on fresh legs and it shows. Larry Fitzgerald, who has the record of receiving yards in the post season with 419(previous record was held by the Great Jerry Rice of 409 in 1988). Cardinals currently are tied for the second longest championship drought(behind the Cubs-100 years, and tied with Indians with 61 years).

Hopefully the underdog prevails once again.

 

[WHO-DEY-BENGALS_18]

Not to correct you or anything, but are you referring to "you" as to a certain person, or just a generalazation of the people who aren`t excited for this game??

I was referring to Rip. So a certain person. As much as I want to see teams do something that really haven't before, I really wanted the Eagles to win this game and they didn't.

 

[.GR]

John Clayton

1. In the year of great running offenses, what happened to the running teams?

Two of the three worst running offenses in the playoffs are in the Super Bowl. The Cardinals were the worst running team in football during the regular season. They averaged only 73.6 rushing yards a game. During the playoffs, they have run better, but it's not their strength. Edgerrin James, who figures to be released after the Super Bowl, had 73 yards on 16 carries in Sunday's 32-25 victory over the Eagles. In three playoff games, he's had 52 carries for 203 yards. Those numbers are decent, but not great.

The Steelers were the 10th-worst rushing team during the regular season, averaging 105.6 yards. Offensive coordinator Bruce Arians made a commitment to run more in the playoffs, and the results have been mixed so far. After rushing for 146 yards against the Chargers in the divisional playoffs, Willie Parker was held to 47 yards in Sunday's 23-14 victory over Baltimore.

2. How well do these teams know each other?

There is virtually no history between these two teams. The Steelers and Cardinals have played only eight times in 36 years, with the Steelers holding a 5-3 edge in the series. Three of those meetings came when the Cardinals were in St. Louis -- the Steelers won games in 1972, 1979 and 1988. The Cardinals beat the Steelers 21-14 on Sept. 30, 2007. The Steelers beat the Cardinals in 2003 and 1997.

3. What are the injuries heading into the Super Bowl?

Both teams are in pretty good shape. The biggest questions for the Cardinals revolve around their defensive front seven. Linebacker Travis LaBoy, who has battled an ankle injury over the past month, suffered a biceps injury early in Sunday's game. His status will be evaluated over the next two weeks. Defensive end Antonio Smith, who has quietly become a force during the playoffs, suffered a right knee injury, but it didn't look too serious. The warm weather in Glendale, Ariz., aided WR Anquan Boldin on Sunday. Had the NFC Championship Game been held in cold weather, he might not have been able to stay warm enough to play through his bad hamstring. Boldin was able to play the entire game and caught four passes for 34 yards. He should be fine by Super Bowl Sunday. Punter Ben Graham played despite a groin injury.

As expected, the Steelers came out of a physical game against the Ravens with some banged-up players. Wide receiver Hines Ward sprained his right knee in the first half and didn't return. Ward said he'll have an MRI on Monday, but he thinks he'll be OK. Mewelde Moore, the team's third-down back, suffered an ankle sprain in the second half, but he was walking without a limp in the locker room. Safety Ryan Clark was helped off the field after crashing into Ravens halfback Willis McGahee with 3:29 left in the fourth quarter. McGahee was carted off the field. Clark may have suffered a concussion, and he'll undergo some tests Monday morning.

4. Payback for Whisenhunt, Grimm?

The most interesting subplot is the coaching situation. Cardinals head coach Ken Whisenhunt and assistant head coach Russ Grimm were bypassed for the Steelers' job after Bill Cowher departed in 2006. The job went to Mike Tomlin. Obviously, the Rooney family hasn't second-guessed hiring Tomlin. He took last year's team to the playoffs and is now in the Super Bowl, despite playing one of the toughest schedules in the league. As it turns out, Tomlin was the perfect coach to follow Cowher because he brought Cowher's enthusiasm along with an aggressive, take-no-prisoners style of football.

Whisenhunt and Grimm struck gold in the Arizona desert, producing Bidwill's first trip to the Super Bowl. Publicly, Whisenhunt and Grimm will say only good things about their former employers, but privately they want to prove Pittsburgh's ownership wrong, and the best way they can do that is by beating the Steelers.

5. Will blitzing be a big factor?

Steelers defensive coordinator Dick LeBeau may be tempted to blitz Kurt Warner, but he should be careful. During the regular season, Warner was the best quarterback in the league against the blitz. He completed 134 of 208 passes for 1,645 yards and 14 touchdowns in blitz situations, for a quarterback rating of 103.1. Warner is known for his ability to get rid of the ball quickly and he's fearless in the pocket while waiting for receivers to get open.

On the other side, it's a 50-50 proposition when teams blitz the Steelers. Ben Roethlisberger was 95-of-180 for 1,158 yards with five touchdowns and five interceptions against the blitz in the regular season. Here's the key stat: Roethlisberger was sacked 29 times in 209 dropbacks against the blitz in the regular season.

6. Will Whisenhunt empty his bag of tricks?

With an extra week to prepare, don't be surprised if Whisenhunt loads up four or five trick plays to confuse the Steelers. On Sunday, the Cardinals called a play in which J.J. Arrington took a handoff and flipped the ball across the field back to Warner, who fired a long touchdown pass to Larry Fitzgerald. The bye week buys Whisenhunt more time to experiment. During his tenure with the Steelers, Whisenhunt was a master of the trick play. He'd run three or four a game out of various formations, and he used them to liven up practices and make life more interesting for his offensive players. The Steelers know many of Whisenhunt's tricks, but not all of them. Whisenhunt likes to devise plays that catch a defense in overpursuit. Parker said Whisenhunt always has five prepared trick plays and he'll use two. "You know he's going to do something,'' Parker said. "He always does.''

7. Can Warner's play-action success continue?

Warner's ability to work the play-action pass has been one of the highlights of the Cardinals' playoff run. Warner was 4-of-4 for 92 yards on play-action passes Sunday. How Warner works the play-action pass will clearly affect how LeBeau uses safety Troy Polamalu. No safety in football has the range of Polamalu, who can line up as a deep safety or charge the line of scrimmage to blitz. The Cardinals' ability to excel in play-action is amazing considering how inconsistent they are running the ball. In three playoff games, Warner has completed 93.4 percent of his play-action passes. The average play-action completion is 13.4 yards.

8. Will Tomlin continue to take chances?

Unlike his predecessor, Tomlin likes to roll the dice in big games. He doesn't play close to the vest, and that could be dangerous in the Super Bowl. The Steelers beat the Chargers in the divisional round, despite a failed fake punt and a failed fourth-down conversion near the goal line. Before the end of the first half Sunday, Tomlin endorsed one play too many and it cost Pittsburgh three points. The Steelers were at the Ravens' 21-yard line with 16 seconds left. Roethlisberger threw a short pass over the middle to Moore, who was tackled at the 12. Roethlisberger tried to line up to spike the ball, but the clock expired. The Steelers could have entered the half with a 16-7 lead instead of 13-7.

9. What's the best individual matchup?

Steelers cornerback Ike Taylor against Fitzgerald. Although the Cardinals move him to different spots on the field, Fitzgerald normally lines up on the left side. Taylor handles the right side of the Steelers' defense. Taylor had his best season in 2008, allowing 59 completions against him in 108 attempts, and getting beaten for only two touchdowns. Taylor gained so much respect leaguewide that he was named the AFC's third alternate at cornerback for the Pro Bowl. Naturally, the Steelers will give Taylor help, most likely with Clark.

Another interesting matchup will be Anquan Boldin against Bryant McFadden on the other side of the field. The Steelers match up against the Cardinals' receiving corps reasonably well. Deshea Townsend is the team's third corner. He has 78 career regular-season starts.

10. Who has the QB edge?

Although Warner naturally will be the media darling of the Super Bowl, Roethlisberger has a chance to put his name among the top quarterbacks in history. Warner is 8-2 in the playoffs and has 22 postseason touchdowns compared to 13 interceptions. Roethlisberger won't come close to Warner on stats, but he's accomplished a lot in a short time. Big Ben is 7-2 as a playoff quarterback, and he's only 26. He's won a Super Bowl and is trying to win his second. The Steelers should be a factor for many years. They'll have one of the easiest schedules in the league next season and will be a Super Bowl contender.

By winning his second Super Bowl, Roethlisberger would enter the argument as the best big-game quarterback next to Tom Brady and Peyton Manning. In fact, he would have one more Super Bowl ring than Manning. In the playoffs, he has completed 151 of 248 passes for 1,983 yards, with 14 touchdown and 11 interceptions.

 

[Dice-J]

I think Cards can beat the Steelers if Warner and Edge play well