Prediction: ARIZONA 28 PITTSBURGH 23

Total yards of offense:  Arizona 322 Pittsburgh 235
Passing Yards:  Arizona 240  Pittsburgh 170
Rushing Yards: Arizona 82  Pittsburgh 65
Turnovers: Arizona 1  Pittsburgh 3

QB
Kurt Warner: 25-36, 240 yards, 3 TD, 1 INT
Ben Roethlisberger: 15-32, 170 yards, 1 TD, 2 INT

RB
James/Hightower: 32 rushes, 82 yards, 1 TD (James)
Willie Parker: 22 rushes, 65 yards, 1 TD

WR
Larry Fitzgerald: 6 catches 82 yards, 1 TD
Anquan Boldin: 9 catches, 112 yards, 2 TD
Hines Ward: 7 catches, 71 yards, TD
Santonio Holmes: 4 catches: 53 yards
K
Neil Rackers: 0-0
Jeff Reed: 3-4, long of 46

Prognosis per quarter:
First quarter: Arizona 14 Pittsburgh 7
Second quarter: Arizona 21 Pittsburgh 13
Third quarter: Arizona 21 Pittsburgh 16
Fourth quarter: Arizona 28 Pittsburgh 23

Last play of game: Kurt Warner kneeldown

Super Bowl MVP: Anquan Boldin

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SCOTT JACOBS

We know what you’re thinking out there– can they just play the damn game already?  We’ve had almost two weeks to break down every bit and piece of Super Bowl XLIII and I have to admit that I am sick of it already.  Just get on the field, play the national anthem, and let’s get this party started.  Maybe I’m just bitter because I tried to get tickets for two weeks and failed horribly, because of all the scams that I ran into.  Or, maybe I’m like most fans, who are tired of all the pre-game hoopla surrounding what should be an exciting game.

The storylines are great, but how many times can you hear them?  It gets old after a while.  Great offense versus fabulous defense.  80% Steelers fans to 3% Cardinals fans (approximation given the people I’ve seen on TV wearing Cardinals red).  Cinderella versus Golliath.  Kurt Warner and his quick release versus that great Bitzburgh defense.  Larry Fitzgerald against, well everybody.  Even Arizona’s defense against Ben Roethlisberger has become a pretty intriguing matchup, because of how well the Cardinals defense has performed this post-season.

But quite frankly, I’m tired of the cries that this is why college football is lucky not to have a post-season (I don’t agree).  I’m sick of all the people that claim Arizona hasn’t played anyone close to Pittsburgh this post-season (Hello, Carolina was one of the Super Bowl favorites entering the playoffs).  I’m tired of the ‘us against the world thing.’  Arizona you can’t pull that one quite off anymore.  I’m especially tired of that stupid Anquan Boldin clip of him yelling at Todd Haley.  Could we dissect that moment any more?

Let’s just play already! 

The Cardinals offense is great- if their offensive line protects Warner.  Fitzgerald and Boldin are the best wide receiver duo in the NFL, and they are unstoppable when Warner has time to pick apart the defense.  Pittburgh is a great defensive team, with their strength in their blitz packages. But the game may come down to the fact that the Cardinals might have a better defense right now than Pittsburgh’s offense.

And stop with the whole superior conference thing!  Arizona beat some very good teams to get to where they are now.  If it was Carolia or the beloved New York Giants in this game, even the sixth seeded Eagles no one would bring this thig up.  This isn’t college folks.  There is no SEC, Big 12, or ACC in the NFL.

So here’s the pick: ARIZONA 28 PITTSBURGH 23

The Cardinals are destiny’s darlings, I’m convinced of that.  But more importantly, they’re playing phenomenol football.  Everyone gives Arizona crap for beating a rookie quarterback in Matt Ryan, but the Steelers got to the Super Bowl by beating a rookie quarterback, Joe Flacco. The Steelers beat one team that was 4-8 at one point (Arizona was never under .500 in 2008) and the Ravens suspect offense to get here.  The Cardinals have an explosive offense unlike anything the Steelers have seen this year.

Add in the fact that the game is in sunny Tampa, not snowy Pittsburgh and you create a situation that is incredibly appealing for the Cardinals.  No one has mentioned this, but the Steelers won both their playoff games in the snow, where weather totally played to their advantage.  I have a hunch that Tampa’s weather will be a big difference in this game.

Kurt Warner is no Flacco.  He is an experienced QB who has been here before.  So has Big Ben, but he was atrocious when the Steelers beat the Seahawks at Ford Field.  I think Clancy Pendergrast will have some interesting blitz packages set up for the Steelers.  If you’ve been watching the playoffs closely, you’ll know that Arizona boasts a ball hawking defense that likes to take chances.  Big Ben loves to take chances, and make some risky throws.  I see him getting picked off, not once, but twice.  Arizona has been very effective in shutting down the powerful running games of Atlanta, Carolina, and Philly and I think they will hold Willie Parker in check.

Arizona wins at home.  They were 6-2 in the regular season, and 2-0 in the playoffs.  They’re the home team in this one.  I’m just saying, I’m just saying.  And look out for Steve Breaston.  Sure all the attention has been on Fitz and Q this week, but don’t forget that Breaston, the former Michigan standout, had a 1000 yard season in 2008.  Expect Edgerrin James and Tim Hightower to be productive, not spectacular.  But here’s a bold prediction: Hightower will break a run for 30 yards or more.

But I think the biggest key will be that Arizona has nothing to lose.  They didn’t expect to be here, but the Steelers did.  They aren’t a mighty juggernaut from the regular season, they just sort of floated under the radar.  Sure, people are picking them now (about time), but I think Arizona still feels disrespected. There are still some people who think they’re a fluke, and that they don’t belong.  But come Sunday night, when Arizona comes flying out of the gate, no one will be saying that anymore.

The Rays got close, but couldn’t finish the job.  Arizona only needs to win one.  They will.  And after, they will be considered the worst Super Bowl champions ever.  Remember, you heard that here first.  I’m not saying I agree with it, but just wait for it.  Just wait.

Of course, worrying about their place in history will be for someone else to worry about, because the Cardinals will be too busy celebrating an improbable journey from frauds to Super Bowl champs.

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SCOTT JACOBS

Planet Earth, the Arizona Cardinals.  Arizona Cardinals, Planet Earth.  There you guys have been formally introduced.  Now we bypass the meet and greet process, and just get down to the nitty gritty: just who are you guys?  What are you doing here?  Are you too stupid to know that the Cardinals aren’t supposed to be here?

C’mon Arizona, just who are you trying to fool here?  The Super Bowl?  The Big Stage? You guys are lucky–Lucky!– to get a national game a year during the regular season.  And now you’re all over everyone’s TV’s for one whole week?  No one knows what to do with this story.  No one knows where to begin.  What happened to the team that always failed when the lights started to shine at all?  What happened to the group of guys that couldn’t live up to their potential?

What happened to the joke?  The walking punchline?  The team that has had a new logo since 2005, yet even sites like CBS Sportsline, still use their old one. No one apparently complains, because well, when you have an invisible team, with a silent fan base, people kick you around.  They don’t respect you.  You have to win to earn respect.  You have to strive for bigger things than mediocrity.

You guys aren’t supposed to be here.  Everyone’s like “yeah I know them,” but no one did a few weeks ago.  On Fox’s telecast a few weeks ago of Arizona’s throttling of Carolina the announcers were still mistaking the Cardinals for Phoenix.  Newsflash folks: the Cardinals became the Arizona Cardinals almost 15 years ago!  They changed from Phoenix to Arizona back in 1994!

The Cardinals don’t make sense.  They don’t!  They have a running back who has openly demanded to be released so he can play for a new team, a wide receiver who’s been miserable the whole year because they haven’t given him a new contract, a prima donna backup quarterback who moves closer to becoming a bust every year, and an owner who is so invisible from the media, that one writer the other day stated he had never heard Bill Bidwill bring up anything in the owner’s meetings.

But here they are.  In full color.  They’re putting their whole name in the endzone for the Super Bowl just to make sure you know who the heck they are!  They’re not the St. Louis Cardinals.  They’re the Arizona Cardinals! The team that won nine games this year in the regular season.  They beat the Cowboys on a blocked punt in overtime that was recovered for a touchdown, marking the first time in NFL history a game ended that way.

The Cardinals are the NFL’s guinea pigs.  Send ‘em to Mexico and let’s see if this whole International Series idea has legs.  Their fans won’t mind losing a home game. So the Cardinals went to Mexico in 2005, as the home team against the 49ers, and were booed mercifully.  But hey, it let the world know that, yes, Arizona still does have a pro football team.

I went to the mall the other day in Tallahassee (two malls actually) and they didn’t even have the official NFC Champs shirt. But they did have a red NFC Champs shirt that basically stated “second class.” The name of the store: Sports Fan-Attic.  But they had every Steeler AFC Champs gear and apparrel you could ever want.  Because quite frankly, their isn’t a demand for annonymous Cardinals gear.  They’re in the Super Bowl, yet they’re merely a curiosity.

They are seven point underdogs in this Super Bowl, despite the fact that they beat an 11, 12, and 9 win trifecta of NFC playoff teams to get to this point.  The Steelers knocked off 8 win San Diego, and 11 win Baltimore to get here.  But they’re the Steelers.  They have history.  They have rings.  They have the terrible towels, they are beloved.  While questions rampaged this past week about whether the Cardinals were the worst Super Bowl team ever, the Steelers were showered with the question if they were the greatest franchise in sports!  No one respects the Cards.  They’re not warm and fuzzy like the Cubs. They don’t push the red button and get ejected.  They follow the person who pushes the red button, and people laugh.

They’ve made it to the Super Bowl now, and still they’re overshadowed.  Steelers West they’re being called, because quite frankly, their coaching staff brought with them what makes the Steelers the Steelers.

So for the next week, you’ll hear their names, you’ll listen to their stories.  And you’ll sit there and ask yourself this question:

Who do these guys think they are, coming out of the shadows like that out of nowhere?

And then they’ll beat the Steelers, go to DisneyWorld, and tourists will stop and ask their friends, “are those the guys that won the Super Bowl?”

“Nah,” they’ll reply, “for surely I would know who they are.”

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Cardinals are officially Super Bowl bound, Steelers win another AFC title crown; Thoughts, observations, and an early look at Super Bowl XLIII

SCOTT JACOBS I just want to say this: In the last two weeks of the playoffs, I’m 5-1, with the only loss coming courtesy of the Eagles when they beat the Giants.  No hard feelings though, their win gave Arizona a home playoff game, so I’ll let it slide this time.

Shaun King challenged me to a bet before this weekend.  The bet was as follows:

“aight time to raise the stakes if the cardinals win i do the article for juicedsports, but if philly wins for a week u have to go to 20 facebook sites a day and say Shaun King is the MAN”

Well, the Cardinals prevailed, and if King is a man of his word (which I know he is) we should have him on Juiced Sports for you in the next few weeks leading to Super Bowl XLIII.

*How night and day are the Cardinals and Steelers?  Well, the Steelers are such an AFC mainstay on a year in and year out basis that people actually worried if them getting the AFC title game this year at home was a good thing.  Why?  Because, in their last five title games at home, that’s right I said five, they were 1-4.  The Cardinals on the other hand, dipped their toe in the NFC title game for the first time ever today.  They must have liked the feel, because they came flying out of the gate.

*Kurt Warner: washed up?  Safe to say you won’t hear that again this year.  What a game Warner had in fully cementing his legacy as a now surefire NFL Hall of Famer in my humbled opinion.  What he did with this team is nothing short of mesmerizing.  Warner was a a sterling 21/28 with 279 yards passing and four touchdowns. Not in that line, zero interceptions.  Yup, Philly was able to get to Warner at times, but they didn’t force the ageless one to cough up the ball a single time.  A far cry from their Thanksgiving meeting.

*Did you hear how loud that University of Phoenix crowd was?  They were deafening.  It was an incredible atmosphere, that the Cards could only have dreamed of when they officially started construction of the palace.  But today it was real, and the Cardinals, who for years played in front of sparse crowds, usually made up of the road team’s fans, had a home field advantage that few could have foreseen just a decade ago, when they made their last post-season appearance.

*That wasn’t over-bloated running statistics with the game out of reach.  Arizona actually ran the ball effectively today, and consistently too.  Edgerrin James had 73 yards, Tim Hightower contributed 33, and the rallying cry of stop their passing game because they have NO running game is officially dead.  Dead I tell ya.  The new Cardinals can run.  No one will confuse them for the Steelers, their opponent in the Super Bowl, but their running game is officially respectable and good enough to keep opposing defenses on their toes.

*Donovan McNabb played a bizarre game.  At times he was brilliant, other times not even close to his targets.  He threw for 375 yards and three touchdowns, but let it be known that it took 47 throws to get that.  And after the Eagles fell behind early McNabb was forced to throw the ball.  So I’ll say this: McNabb had a terrible first half (not quite Jake Delhomme-esque), but not good.  He missed wide open receivers, threw the ball behind a lot of his guys, and was pestered like crazy.  But in the second half he came out, and really played pretty well.  Yeah, people will say that once again he failed when the lights were brightest, but I look at it this way: he helped lead the Eagles back from the brink of embarrassment to an improbable come from behind lead late.  The defense for Philly couldn’t hold it.  The blame will go on McNabb, and people will say that he needs to go, but how much can you ask from him?  He helped the Eagles come back from an 18 point deficit, and then they just sort of ran out of gas at midfield.

*I’m going to say it: how about that Arizona run defense.  Wow.  First they held Atlanta’s high octane running game in check.  Then they went to Carolina and took DeAngelo Williams and Jonathan Stewart out of it.  And here, in the NFC title game they shut down Brian Westbrook, who mustered just 45 yards on 12 carries.  Arizona forced the Eagles to beat them through the air, because they didn’t even allow 100 yards today on the ground.  And the Eagles fell short.

*Larry Fitzgerald: the best wide receiver in the NFL.  The numbers speak for themselves folks, but records aside, how can you even argue otherwise.  What Fitz has done this post-season is turn the playoffs into his own personal playground.  Put the ball in his vicinity and he’s going to get it.  He has incredible hands clearly, but what Fitzgerald also has, is incredible body control.  He managed to make a great downfield catch, and then kept his footing to score.  The guy is clutch with a capital C.  He made every play, got a boatload of yards after the catch, and even after it became clear that you had to blanket this guy, he still made defenses look silly.  And Carolina, and Philadelphia have pretty good defenses.

*Great comeback from the Eagles.  Down 24-6 Philly could have easily folded and gave up.  But even after a McNabb fumble gave Arizona great field position from midfield, the Eagles D tightened and held.  Then McNabb and Co. started building their 19 point rampage in less than 10 minutes, in what appeared to be an epic comeback.  But their defense couldn’t hold up their end of the bargain.  Unlike the game against the Giants, the Eagles were unable to get a crucial stop on 4th and 1, and they were unable to stop Timmy Hightower from finding his way into the end-zone on 3rd and goal late in the game.

*What happened to David Akers?  He missed a field goal, and an extra point today.  Usually one of the most sure-fire kickers in the game, Akers didn’t have the greatest game today.  And it cost his team some crucial points.

*On January 15th, 2007 the Arizona Cardinals hired Ken Whisenhunt to lead the Cardinals to respectability.  I’d say he’s done a lot more than that.  In two seasons with the perennial losers Arizona is 8-8, and 9-7 in Coach Whiz’s first two seasons.  And o yeah, he helped lead them to triple their number of playoff wins, from 1 to 3.  Add an NFC West title, and an NFC Championship to that list, and what more can you say: he’s a miracle worker.  And it just snowed in hell.

*So, who had the Steelers-Cardinals Super Bowl match-up pegged before Labor Day?  Anybody?  If you did, you just became a very rich man.

*Arizona goes to their first Super Bowl, while the Steelers win their 7th AFC title.  Could there be anymore night and day of a franchise stack-up?  No.  And lest us forget: the Steelers have won five out of their first six trips to the Big Game (O sorry, was I supposed to trademark that?)  Whoops.

*The Steelers were the better team today against Baltimore.  Nough said. Yeah the game was close towards the end, but when push came to shove, Joe Flacco finally reminded us that he is indeed still a rookie.  I called it too.  I said he’d have a few turnovers, including the one that gave the Steelers the win in overtime.  Well, the game never got that far, but Flacco’s forced pick six to Troy Polamalu with just 4:24 left in the game sealed the Ravens fate.  Yup, no encore trip to Tampa for the Ravens, who hoisted their only Lombardi Trophy (since moving to Baltimore) in Tampa eight years ago. Instead, the Steelers, who got to stay close to home in their last Super Bowl trip (Detroit) get a sunny stage for Super Bowl XLIII.

*Flacco’s forgettable day: 13/30, 141 yards, 0 TD’s, 3 INT’s.  I guess Baltimore’s offensive woes aren’t exactly cured yet.  And I guess it’s safe to say the Ravens are still a year or two away from becoming an offensive force.  Still, what Flacco did in this post-season was impressive.  He won two games as a rookie.  He’s all by himself there.  No shame in that.

*Our thoughts and prayers go out to Willis McGahee who was obliterated by Steelers safety Ryan Clark with just 3:29 left in the game, and down 23-14.  McGahee was down for several minutes before being carted off the field with apparent neck pains.  But word is that he’s talking and moving, so that’s good.  I couldn’t help but think that Willis has horrible championship luck.  In his last huge game, as a Miami Hurricane, McGahee suffered a brutal injury against Ohio State in the Fiesta Bowl, and it almost ended his football career.  He was done for that game, just like he was for this one, and his team lost both times.  Just an unfortunate injury for a good player.  We wish him a full recovery.

*Nothing Big Ben does is pretty.  But I think it’s safe to say he’s one of the better quarterbacks in the NFL.  Some days it’s hard to say that, but Big Ben does just enough to help his team win.  Sure the Steelers have a great defense, but Roethlisberger is a perfect fit for what Pittsburgh does, and the man wins.  Two Super Bowls since 2005.  I’d say he’s pretty darn good.

*Third times a charm?  Not this time.  The Steelers beat the Ravens for the third time this year, becoming the first team since the 1999 Titans to victimize a team three times en route to the Super Bowl.  If you remember, the Jags had three losses that year, and 14 wins.  You do the math.

*Early line for the Super Bowl: Steelers by 6 1/2.  What do the Cardinals have to do to earn respect?

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MITCHELL BLATT

The Browns have started out free agency by resigning the fourth ranked QB for interceptions, and Dante Stallworth, Corey Williams, and Shaun Rogers. Stallworth will add another deep threat to an already-strong receiving core of Kellen Winslow, Braylon Edwards, and Joe Jurevicius. Williams and Rogers are much needed improvements on defensive line.

But, the Browns overpreformed greatly last year, beating only one winning team, and now, with a much tougher schedule, will be hard-pressed to do as well, even with the new acquisitions.

Last year, the Browns won 10 games, bringing ecstatic expectations to a city that some were reffering to as “Believe-land.” They played only three winning teams and beat one. That’s why I don’t believe.

Their scoring margin of +20 points, was the second smallest for a team with 10 or more wins. Only two other double-digit win teams, the Titans and the Giants, had scoring margins of less than 100 points.

Even against the worst teams, the Browns could hardly win. They lost to the Raiders week three. They beat the Rams by 7. They beat the Ravens by 3, after a missed field goal was overturned. They beat the Jets by 6. Their only win over a winning team was a 3 point home win over the Seahawks, a team that went 3-5 on the road.

Now, how do you think they are going to do against a schedule that features 9 winning teams? In 2008, they face the Colts, Cowboys, Giants, Jaguars, Titans, Eagles, and Redskins, not to mention the Steelers twice.

If the Browns win one-third of their games against winning teams, like they did last year–and that would constitute a good preformance against those teams–they would need to win all 7 of their games against losing teams to match last year’s 10 wins.

Considering that they had a 9-3 record against losing teams last year, I don’t think that’s going to happen. Only two of their opponents with losing records are non-division matchups. They did have a 3-1 record against the Bengals and Ravens last year.

The number that sticks out is 1. To be perfect (even against the far-from-perfect) is hard for anyone, especially the Browns. The Browns are about as consistent as a John Kerry-Barack Obama “change” ticket.

Nowhere is that inconsistency more evident than with running back Jamal Lewis. Jamal Lewis acheived five 100 yard games. Half of the Browns wins were 100 yard games for him. There were only two games that he broke 60 yards and the Browns didn’t win. During one particularly brutal stretch early in the season, Lewis ran for 56 yards, 64 yards, 11 yards (then injured), missed the next game, 61 yards, 37 yards, then 35 yards.

The NFL happened to be pretty weak last year and the Browns had an easy schedule. Now they have a tough schedule, and they won’t do as well. They open next season with the Ravens and the Bengals at home, what will probably both be big wins, so the hype might continue for a little bit. But, week three is the Steelers and week five is the Colts.

The rest of the division features the same tough schedule as the Browns, all facing the entire NFC East and other tough AFC opponents, so the Browns may be able to contend for a division title with 8 or 9 wins. But, having lost to the Steelers twice–the Browns haven’t ever beat them since 2004–the Steelers will win.

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