By Dalton Del Don
I went 1-1 during the Conference Championship round, bringing my playoff record to 4-6. My best bet, the Eagles, blew it, making me 1-2 there. As for Super Bowl XLIII, here are my thoughts:
Cardinals +7 vs. Steelers
The Cardinals are clearly playing at a much higher level than during the regular season, and their ability to force turnovers makes an upset here possible. Don’t be surprised if the offense relies heavily on the no-huddle, and their spread attack is actually a good fit to attack Pittsburgh’s strong defense. Moreover, the Ken Whisenhunt/Russ Grimm factor is interesting. It certainly was huge when Jon Gruden’s underdog Bucs were able to call out the plays his previously coached Raiders ran during Super Bowl XXXVII, but one year had elapsed there, whereas there’s a two-year gap this time. Also, it’s safe to assume Mike Tomlin is a far superior coach in this case…The Steelers can’t run, Hines Ward will be severely limited, and Ben Roethlisberger, who led the NFL in fumbles this season, will be facing a defense that recorded the most fumble recoveries in the league. Still, Arizona’s secondary remains highly beatable despite DRC’s emergence, and more importantly, the Steelers’ defense has been historically good this year. Neither team will run the ball effectively, but Kurt Warner has a tough task against a Pittsburgh secondary that allowed just 5.4 YPA with a 12:20 TD:INT ratio during the regular season. If the Cards get behind early, turnovers should follow, leading to a relatively easy Pittsburgh win. Steelers 27-17.
I hedged my AZ-to-win bet, and placed a parlay on pitt to cover the spread and the game to be over the o/u. Man, if pitt wins but doesnt cover, or if pitt wins and the game is under, im gonna be wiped out, so I wont have to worry about my site not sending my my cash after all.
I think it will be a good game. Pitt is obviously the superior team, but AZ has been crushing superior opponents for a few weeks now.
At first I was thinking blowout, but now, I’m thinking it probably will be a good game.
Just a gut feeling, but I do belive AZ wins. On paper, sure, PIT looks like the team to beat, but this looks like an any given sunday game to me and I think AZ wins it 28-20
Can’t believe you talked me into picking the Steelers Big D. I was all AZ until Saturday. At least I didn’t put any money down on this one.