Super Bowl XLIII

It seems like an eternity since the Steelers punished the Ravens for even considering beating the Steelers in their own house. 2 full work weeks with very little desire to get anything done. All anybody at my office wants to do is analyze the game. In Western Pennsylvania, we've had nothing but snow, ice, wind and cold. So much so, that I'm considering a bobsled and a team of dogs.

These past two weeks, I've struggled through the work day, while wondering what was going on in Tampa. I've kept my nose to the grindstone, while in my mind I'm trying to decide, do we blitz Warner, or smother Fitzgerald? Or do we do both? I've worried about the fact that one of the very few active running backs to run for over 100 yards against the Steelers, is Edgerrin James. And I was at that game in Indy back in 2005 when James ran for 124 yards in that 26-7 ass whippin. I remember it all too well.

I've thought about the match up in week 4 of last season when the Cardinals beat us 21-14 in Arizona. A match up the Steelers should have won. But I've thought about giving up turnovers in the red zone when the Steelers should have scored. I've thought about the 73 yard punt return for a touch down by Steve Breaston. I've thought about being 5 for 15 on third down. I've thought about Ben being sacked four times. I've thought about the 11 penalties we gave up. As you can see, it's not been a pleasant two weeks...

This isn't your daddy's Cardinals boys and girls. This is Ken Wisenhunt's Cardinals. This is a team with THREE 1000 yard receivers. This is a team that has actually ran more often in the playoffs than it has passed it by a margin of 100 runs to 92 passes. And yes for the most part, it's been Edgerrin James doing the running...

But yesterday, it hit me. This is a team that went 9-7 during the regular season. And that is in a division that went 22-42 collectively. That means 6 of their 9 wins were against teams that were 13-35 between them. Their other 3 wins were against Miami in week 2, Buffalo in week 5, and Dallas in week 6. That means, 8 of their 9 wins came against teams that did not make the playoffs. That's really not very impressive. You add in the fact that they are 0-5 playing on the East Coast during the regular season and all of the impressive stats I mentioned earlier seem a little less impressive...

So what does all of this mean? Not one damn thing. The long and the short of it is, none of this analysis means one damn thing until they play the game. We can study, and talk, and watch and read and it all means nothing. This is all stuff we do to be a part of it. And we all want to be a part of it.

There are 37 different ways this game can go, and we're all trying to guess the right one. So here's my guess:

If Arizona gets the ball first, I think they will jump out to a quick 10-0 or 14-0 lead. And then the Steelers Defense will adjust. They will weather the storm of Warner and Fitzgerald, and slowly work their way back into it by the end of the half. At halftime, I see a 10-7, maybe 14-10 lead by Arizona.

The third quarter will be owned by Pittsburgh. The Steelers have outscored their opponents 100-26 in the third quarter all season long. I don't see that changing tonight. They will take the lead in the third. I'd say probably a 20-14 score at the end of the 3rd.

My hunch is then the Steelers will lose their lead again in the 4th, as Warner will get hot for a series or two. But again, the Steelers defense will adjust and give the ball back to Ben with 5 or so minutes to go in the game. Down by 1, Ben will march the team down the field, and either throw a TD pass or setup Jeff Reed for a Field Goal. They will have the lead, and we're all going to be thinking we left too much time on the clock. But don't worry, the Steelers Defense will again close the show and shut down Warner and the Cardinals to bring home number Six!

Or, the Steelers will blow them out...

Either way, I do think it promises to be a good game. Any time you have the number two offense going up against the number one defense, it should be an interesting game. And perhaps we will know if offense wins games, but DEFENSE wins championships.

Go Steelers!