The Power Zone Super Bowl XLIII Preview

Congratulations to the Arizona Cardinals and the Pittsburgh Steelers, who both earned the right to go to Tampa, Florida to play in Super Bowl XLIII. The Arizona Cardinals earned the right to represent the NFC in the Super Bowl with a thrilling 32-25 victory over the Philladelphia Eagles. The Pittsburgh Steelers earned the right to represent the AFC in the Super Bowl with a 23-14 victory over the Baltimore Ravens.

Key Players on both sides of the ball:
ARIZONA O: Kurt Warner, Cardinals QB: Kurt Warner already has one Super Bowl Ring that he earned when he Quarterbacked the St. Louis Rams with a victory in Super Bowl XXXIV. With a win on Sunday, he will have his second Super Bowl Ring. Kurt Warner, at the age of 34, is the third oldest Quarterback to start a Super Bowl.

Kurt has been well so far in the postseason, playing smart, being patient, not turning the ball over often, and putting the ball in the hands of his playmakers, Edgerrin James, Anquan Boldin and Larry Fitzgerald. Warner also has been helped out when he turns the ball over by this surprisingly good defense.

Kurt Warner needs to play smart, be patient, not turn the ball over, and go deep for his playmakers. Kurt will have to keep this formula working if the Cardinals are to pull the upset

PITTSBURGH D: James Harrison, Steelers LB: Harrison is, no doubt the heart of the Steelers D. Harrison and Troy Polamalu are the Steelers Defensive Playmakers. The Steelers Defense will have to get pressure on Kurt Warner, forcing him to throw the ball before he wants to. Easier said than done.


PITTSBURGH O: Ben Rothelisberger, Steelers QB: Big Ben won Super Bowl XL three years ago. Now the Pressure is on him to do it again for Pittsburgh to win a record Sixth Super Bowl. Big Ben has been making smart decisions and taking advantage of what the defense gives him. Big Ben is going to throw to Hines Ward, Nate Washington, and the rookie Limas Sweed, who will be looking to redeem himself after dropping a sure touchdown catch in the first half of the AFC Championship Game. The Steelers will also be running the ball early and often with Willie Parker.

ARIZONA D: Dominque Rodgers-Cromartie & Antrell Rolle : Arizona CB: The Cardinals Corners will have to knock the Pittsburgh receivers off their routes. Easier said than done.


Coaches: Arizona Cardinals Coach Ken Whisenhunt was the Steelers Offensive Coordinator when the Steelers won Super Bowl XL. After head coach Bill Cowher retired, Whisenhunt was expected to become the new Steelers coach, but he was instead passed on for current Steelers Head Coach Mike Tomlin. Whisenhunt then took the job as head coach of the Arizona Cardinals. Whether there is any hard feelings over that or not, the fact that the Arizona Cardinals have a shot to win the Super Bowl Is Absolutely Incredible.



Special Teams: If the offense and defense are neutralized, Special Teams is going to be how the Super Bowl will be won. Will the Cardinals Special Teams squad be able to contain the Steelers speedster, Santonio Holmes? Will the Cardinals be able to score points when they get down into the goal line? Or will they have to settle for field goals from the very good Neil Rackers?

I can't wait for the Super Bowl. I Watch The World Series and the NBA Finals, but the only Sporting Event I Record every season is The Super Bowl. This will be my eighth year recording the Super Bowl. The first Super Bowl I Recorded was Super Bowl XXXVI, when the New England Patriots pulled off the biggest upset since Super Bowl III.

Ben Rothelisberger has had the clock ticking for his chance at a second ring for the last two seasons. Kurt Warner’s chance to win a second Super Bowl will close after this game, because I think he has his mind set on retiring after this game.

Can The Cardinals win the Super Bowl? No doubt about it. There are a lot of people out there underestimating the Cardinals.




Knowing the Super Bowl, anything is possible, and that is why everybody loves to watch it, even if they watch just for the commercials.



Prediction: Both Kurt Warner and Ben Rothelisberger to rely on the running game early. They both could rely on the short passing game to help build up their confidence. The Steelers Front Four will have to stop Edgerrin James and Larry Fitzgerald. Ditto with The Cardinals defense having to contain Willie Parker and Hines Ward while also getting Pressure on Ben Rothelisberger. Once Again, easier said than done.

The Pittsburgh Steelers are trying to win a record sixth Super Bowl to “win one for the other thumb.” The Arizona Cardinals are trying to end the longest title drought in NFL History,

My Pick Is:
PITTSBURGH OVER ARIZONA

Big Ben To Steelers: "Get Me Some Tall Recivers!"

Ben Roethlisberger recently expressed a desire for the Steelers to acquire a tall receiver, which, at least to me, sounds rediculous. It made Hines Ward irate.

In Ben's defense, he didn't make the request in any kind of a way that was disparaging to the Steelers current receivers. In fact, he went out of his way to make the point that he liked them:

"I'm always going to ask for a tall receiver," Roethlisberger said in an interview with the Post-Gazette. "That's just me. Our receivers are unbelievable, but our tallest guy might be Hines. Or Santonio [Holmes]. Hines is going to say he's 6 foot, but he's 5-11."

That doesn't sound so inflammatory. But here are some of the things that Hines told the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette in response:

"I don't hear Tom Brady or Peyton Manning asking for that."

"I don't know, whatever he says. I have no idea. To me, it's a rare combination of receivers out there who are good and tall. We won a Super Bowl, we didn't have a tall receiver then. I don't see Tom Brady caring about who's tall or not. He got Randy this year, but he did it before without him.''

"To me, I have enough problems to worry about than what Ben wants -- I can't give him the contract. He wants a tall receiver? Why did we draft Santonio [Holmes]?"

What do you expect from a playmaker like Hines? Big Ben doing the "Our wide outs are too small" defense isn't exactly going to score brownie points with his receiving corps.

I'll say this for Ben: When he played alongside Plaxico Burress with the Steelers, Plax made a ton of plays for him. Any time Ben got in trouble, he'd scramble, and it seemed like he always ended up looking for Plax or Hines Ward downfield. They made a lot of plays that way.

This Quarterback-Wide Receiver dissention shows what's wrong with the Steelers. Big Ben is looking for a reason to show why they lost to the Jaguars. Ben would say "If I had a Wide Reciever the size of Yao Ming, I would never throw passes that were too high."

The request by Big Ben to grab a tall wide out is crazy. Hines Ward has every right to be upset with Big Ben. The decision by Big Ben to tell the Steelers to get him some tall receivers is right up there with the decision to ride a motorcycle without a helmet.

NFL Preview: AFC North

Ray Lewis is the heart of the Ravens defense, and he will help the Ravens win the AFC North again.



The Baltimore Ravens may have lost Adalius Thomas to Free Agency, but the Ravens still have Ray Lewis, the best linebacker in the AFC. Add to that defense Samari Rolle, Steve McNair's old buddy from Tennesee, and that the Ravens now have upgraded their running game with Willis McGahee, and Baltimore is going to win the AFC North.

Prediction: 10-6, 1st Place.

What have the teams like Cincinnatti, Pittsburgh and Cleveland done to try to keep up? Here's a quick recap.

CINCINNATTI BENGALS: If The Cincinnati Bengals can spend more time on the field than behind bars, they have a chance to keep up with Baltimore through the early part of the season. The loss of David Pollack for the entire season hurts, but the Bengals still have one of the best offenses in the AFC. Carson Palmer needs to take the next step this year, and Chad Johnson, "Ocho Cinco" will continue to be the focal point of the Bengals passing game, although the loss of Chris Henry for the first eight games will hurt. The Bengals will continue running the ball with Rudi Johnson, who will carry the ball enough times to reach 1,000 yards rushing. I just think Cincinnati needs to show they can step it up in the abscence of David Pollack on the defense and Chris Henry for the first half of the season on offense.

Prediction: 8-8, 2nd Place.

PITTSBURGH STEELERS: The Pittsburgh Steelers finally "Won one for the thumb" with their Super Bowl XL victory over the Seahawks, but Pittsburgh is a totally different team since they hoisted the Lombardi Trophy two seasons ago. Jerome Bettis, "The Bus" is gone, Antwaan Randle-El is now with the Redskins, Joey Porter is now with the Dolphins, Ben Rothlisberger is still trying to recover from the adverse effects of his Motorcycle Accident, and former Head Coach Bill Cowher has, at least for now, retired. The Steelers now have former Minnesota Vikings Defensive Coordinator Mike Tomlin as their Head Coach. Joey Porter has been replaced by Linebacker Lamar Woodley out of Michigan. Hines Ward is still there, and he will be the focal pointr for Ben Rothelisberger this year, as always. Willie Parker, who broke the longest Touchdown Run in the History of the Super Bowl in Super Bowl XL, could run for up to 1,000 yards, as longtime Steeler Alan Faneca in fact will get ready for the season despite his unhappiness with his current contract. There is just too much missing from the Steelers to have a playoff year this year, but I think they will be in better position next season.

Prediction: 7-9, 3rd Place.

CLEVELAND BROWNS: The "Dawg Pound" is clamoring for Brady Quinn to be the Starting QB for the Browns by the start of the season opener, but it doesn't appear as if it's going to happen. Right Now, the Strting QB job is Charlie Frye's to lose and Brady Quinn's to gain. The Browns have Jamal Lewis, but he is really on the downside of his career. I don't see him rushing for 1,000 yards. Willie McGinest, the former Patriot, is winding down his carrer in Cleveland, and if the team does not show improvement right away, Romeo Crennel might get the axe as Head Coach before the season is over.

Prediction: 6-10, 4th Place.

The Next NFL Preview will be the AFC South. Is Vince Young ready to take the next step, or will hw suffer the "Sophomore Slump", or worse, the "Madden Curse?" Did Jacksonville make a mistake by letting go of Byron Leftwich? Find out all of this and more in the next NFL Preview.