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| SUPER BOWL XLIII Live this Sunday at 6:28 ET |
So far picking the playoffs has been ugly for me. I've got a losing mark but
hopefully can go out with a win. It's not It'll be sad to see another football
season end this Sunday night but should go out with a bang!
Hines Ward, a former Super Bowl MVP, has been the story of Super Bowl week.
How will he play following a knee injury two weeks ago against Baltimore? He
will play with a brace and probably get an injection prior to the game to dull
any pain he might have. Can he be the same receiver though? Will he be able
to run patterns effectively? If he can't play, it's a huge loss for Pittsburgh.
Larry Fitzgerald comes into this game on fire. He's been the most dominant
player in the postseason and has a lot of people mentioning him as the top
pass catcher in the league now. He has made defenses look bad each week.
He's just gone up and over the defenders many times and taken it for a score.
The Steelers bring in a defense that crushed opposing offenses all season.
They led the league in every category and have kept it up this postseason.
They're led by All-Pro Safety Troy Polamalu and Defensive Player of the Year
James Harrison. They're a defense that pressures the quarterback and takes
the ball away. They instill fear in opposing offenses as well with their injury
inducing hits.
The Cardinals defense struggled at times this season but has come together
lately to play well. They've benefitted from their offense being able to get
the lead early and take the pressure off of them. That's allowed them to be
more aggressive on defense.
Both have young coaches with not much experience. Mike Tomlin inherited
several players from the last Steelers' Super Bowl winning team and has kept
them rolling. Ken Whisenhunt was the offensive coordinator on that last
Steelers' Championship team. He and Russ Grimm also now with the Cardinals
were passed over as successors to Bill Cowher in Pittsburgh. They're familiar
with several of the players on the Steelers and that can be an advantage going
into this one.
I think the game comes down to Hines Ward's ability to play effectively. If he
doesn't, the Cardinals can double Santonio Holmes and start bringing heat at
Ben Roethlisberger. If Ward is effective, Pittsburgh can make the Cardinals
guess at what they'll do and keep them off balance. The key to this game is
the coin toss. If Pittsburgh wins and can jump out to a lead, they can control
the game. If Arizona wins and jumps out to a lead, this could go back and
forth. While Larry Fitzgerald has another huge game, The Steelers just have a
little too much and add another Lombardi trophy to the Rooney's collection.
THE PICK: PITTSBURGH 35, ARIZONA 31
Don't forget to enter our "Pick the Super Bowl" contest. If you correctly pick
the total number of points in the Super Bowl, you win a FREE 2009 Girls of
Loaded Entertainment bikini calendar!
hopefully can go out with a win. It's not It'll be sad to see another football
season end this Sunday night but should go out with a bang!
Hines Ward, a former Super Bowl MVP, has been the story of Super Bowl week.
How will he play following a knee injury two weeks ago against Baltimore? He
will play with a brace and probably get an injection prior to the game to dull
any pain he might have. Can he be the same receiver though? Will he be able
to run patterns effectively? If he can't play, it's a huge loss for Pittsburgh.
Larry Fitzgerald comes into this game on fire. He's been the most dominant
player in the postseason and has a lot of people mentioning him as the top
pass catcher in the league now. He has made defenses look bad each week.
He's just gone up and over the defenders many times and taken it for a score.
The Steelers bring in a defense that crushed opposing offenses all season.
They led the league in every category and have kept it up this postseason.
They're led by All-Pro Safety Troy Polamalu and Defensive Player of the Year
James Harrison. They're a defense that pressures the quarterback and takes
the ball away. They instill fear in opposing offenses as well with their injury
inducing hits.
The Cardinals defense struggled at times this season but has come together
lately to play well. They've benefitted from their offense being able to get
the lead early and take the pressure off of them. That's allowed them to be
more aggressive on defense.
Both have young coaches with not much experience. Mike Tomlin inherited
several players from the last Steelers' Super Bowl winning team and has kept
them rolling. Ken Whisenhunt was the offensive coordinator on that last
Steelers' Championship team. He and Russ Grimm also now with the Cardinals
were passed over as successors to Bill Cowher in Pittsburgh. They're familiar
with several of the players on the Steelers and that can be an advantage going
into this one.
I think the game comes down to Hines Ward's ability to play effectively. If he
doesn't, the Cardinals can double Santonio Holmes and start bringing heat at
Ben Roethlisberger. If Ward is effective, Pittsburgh can make the Cardinals
guess at what they'll do and keep them off balance. The key to this game is
the coin toss. If Pittsburgh wins and can jump out to a lead, they can control
the game. If Arizona wins and jumps out to a lead, this could go back and
forth. While Larry Fitzgerald has another huge game, The Steelers just have a
little too much and add another Lombardi trophy to the Rooney's collection.
THE PICK: PITTSBURGH 35, ARIZONA 31
Don't forget to enter our "Pick the Super Bowl" contest. If you correctly pick
the total number of points in the Super Bowl, you win a FREE 2009 Girls of
Loaded Entertainment bikini calendar!