Steelers 24, Cardinals 14
I thought I would lose the suspense and go ahead with my pick early. I’m not a Steelers fan or apologist by any means. The Cardinals are the “hot” team and that team has been deadly in recent Super Bowls. However, it is fairly clear to me that Pittsburgh should win this Super Bowl. Here’s my reasoning:
Defense in the Super Bowl=Winner
Look at the last ten (10) Super Bowls and the team playing better defense in the playoffs wins the game.
SB XXXIII – John Elway’s last hoorah also featured a Bronco defense that held the Falcons out of the end zone until the game was already on ice.
SB XXXIV – While both teams played very well on defense in this game, it was the Rams ability to take away Tennessee’s biggest weapon (at the time) Eddie George and a great tackle at the end that preserved a hard fought victory. While the Ram offense and the Warner story line stole the headlines, the Ram defense was ranked at or near the top 10 in a number of defensive categories.
SB XXXV– In a game Kerry Collins, Jim Fassel, and the NY Giants nation would love to forget, the Ray Lewis-led Ravens pummeled five turnovers out of the G-Men on their way to 34-7 blowout. The only thing more pitiful than the Giants' performance was the halftime show featuring Aerosmith, 'N Sync, Britney Spears, Nelly, Mary J. Blige, and Tremors & The Earthquake Horns.
SB XXXVI – The greatest show on turf was largely stymied from the end zone during this game as the Patriots won the first of three Super Bowls in the Bill Belichick/Tom Brady era.
SB XXXVII – The Tampa 2 was way too much for the Raiders to overcome as the Bucs forced five (5) turnovers en route to a route (Senior Editor Josh Hathaway refuses to acknowledge this game ever happened).
SB XXXVII – Defense was only played in the odd quarters. Winning the second quarter proved to be the difference for the Pats- that and Adam Vinatieri’s clutch foot.
SB XXXIX – The Patriots stopped the Eagles express and forced three timely Donavan McNabb INTs.
SB XL – The Steelers let the Seahawks roll up and down the field but didn’t surrender points.
SB XLI – I can’t believe I’m going to write this, but the Colts found defense in the playoffs that year and it was more than enough to kill the mediocre Bears offense.
SB XLII – The Giants were a better defensive team than the Pats down the stretch and their pressure won the game as much as anything the younger Manning did.
Article comments
1 - Tony
You should have left the colts v bears Superbowl out of your analysis. The Bears D was far better than the Colts that year, whether the Colts "found" a defense in the playoffs or not.
If you compare these teams head to head Arizona does better than you give them credit for. Yeah Fitz is awesome but you can't begin to talk about Arizona without bringing up Breaston and Boldin. They make up easily the best receiving core in football.
I think this is a case of perception over the realities of what has been played out on the field. Arizona has always been perceived as a weak defense team, so no matter what Cromartie, Berry, or Role do they keep this perception. People have raved about the steel curtain for years therefore their defensive dominance is contantly over blown.
Plus, if having a dominate D was a sure thing to get a win we would be talking about Baltimore v Arizona.
I agree Pittsburgh will probably win but to analyze the Superbowl and not even mention at least Boldin is incomplete. Also, lets not forget about Big Ben's spinal concussion. There are far more factors that go into this interesting match up than most people want to believe.
2 - Jay Skipworth
Tony,
I will say I debated on whether or not to talk about Boldin, but I ultimately decided Fitzgerald having a good game was more important than him having one. Plus, Boldin gets the looks he gets because of what 11 does. It's hard to deny that.
The Colts v. Bears SB isn't one of my favorites but if you are a Cardinals fan, you hope your team "finds defense" the way that crew did in Miami.
Thanks for reading and commenting.
3 - Ed
Well written and thought out. I enjoyed reading your analysis.
4 - bert
Tony,
Are you out of your mind? The ravens defense isn't better than the steelers in a single major category, and the steelers acquired those statistics against the hardest schedule in modern nfl history.
If you want to talk about perception over reality, let the 2000 ravens die. The steelers are better this year, and EVERYTHING points that way, not even including the THREE wins in one season. How much more evidence do you need?
5 - REMF(MCH)
"Plus, if having a dominate D was a sure thing to get a win we would be talking about Baltimore v Arizona."
Steelers 23, Ravens 20 (OT) ... Sep 30, '08
Steelers 13, Ravens 9 ... Dec 14, '08
Steelers 23, Ravens 14 ... Jan 18, '09
6 - REMF(MCH)
"Yeah Fitz is awesome but you can't begin to talk about Arizona without bringing up Breaston and Boldin. They make up easily the best receiving core in football."
- Tony
"Santonio Holmes, I present you the Super Bowl XLIII MVP Trophy."
- Roger Goodell