Gridiron - American Football - NFL - Super Bowl 43

29th January 2009, by Unknown author

Who Will Be the 43rd Super Bowl Champion? Sixteen games, eight finalists, three rounds of playoff and only two teams stand... Pittsburgh Steelers - vs - Arizona Cardinals

Who Will Be the 43rd Super Bowl Champion?

Sixteen games, eight finalists, three rounds of playoff and only two teams stand...

Pittsburgh Steelers - vs - Arizona Cardinals

Big Ben and The Steel Curtain ($1.40)

After retirements and a coaching change, exactly fifty games later the 2006 Champions are once again in the Super Bowl. The core of the team is still entact, with Quarterback Ben Roethlisberger leading the Offence and Strong Safety Troy Polamalu delivering the big hits on Defence. Yet there are a lot of queries that this team will need to face.

Roethlisberger has been hurried much of 2008, with his O-Line sometimes struggling to buy him the time he needs. His receiving corps have produced some amazing highlights throughout the year, yet their consistency is an issue. Super Bowl XL MVP Hines Ward has a niggling injury that clouds his certainty for the big game. He's insisting he'll take the field, but his duration could be a question. Meanwhile, his tandem, Santonio Holmes, has showed glimmers of stardom and would like to cap it with a huge performance on Super Bowl Sunday.

Running Back Willie Parker set the record for the longest run in a Super Bowl 3 years ago. And now he gets a chance to better it. However, performing at full potential has been an issue this season, as Parker has been plagued by injuries. His back-up, Mewelde Moore was quality in his few starts and the Steelers seem to have the running game back to their Bill Cowher days.

And in the end, the aim of the Steelers orginisation - who have already won a record-equalling 5 Super Bowls - has always set out to achieve two aims: run hard, defend harder. With an amazing front seven, lead by Polamalu, Line Backer James Farrior, reigning NFL Defensive Player of the Year, James Harrison, and Defensive End Aaron Smith, Pittsburgh once again has a dominating Steel Curtain. They were the top-ranked unit this season, allowing a league low 13.9 points per game. And as every gridiron pundit will tell you - Offence may win games, but Defence wins Championships.

In the biggest game of all, the Steelers will need both.

Comeback Kurt and his New Termites have The Edge ($3.00)

For the Arizona Cardinals, it's all about the offence. Quarterback Kurt Warner is dominating Super Bowl headlines as he makes his triumphant return to the world's most famous Gridirom game. As a player that needed to earn every stripe, Warner shocked the world when he took the 1999 St Louis Rams from league-laughingstock to Super Bowl Champions. Only 5 years prior, Warner has been stocking shelves in a local supermarket, having given up on the football dreams. However, spurred on by his wife, he journeyed through the American Arena League and NFL Europe before getting a back up job in St Louis prior to the '99 season. Then, when startin QB Trent Green went down at the start of the season, Warner stepped in and created history. He threw 41 touchdown passes, primarily to the Termites: Wide Receivers Torry Holt and Isaac Bruce. His huge stats lead him to being named NFL and Super Bowl MVP, a feat only achieved by five other players.

Two years later, Warner was again named NFL MVP as head lead the Rams again to the Super Bowl. Yet things would be different this time. Instead the magical story was for his opposing QB, New England's Tom Brady. Things spiralled from there as repeat injuries lead to Warner being shipped out of St Louis. He did a stint with the New York Giants before Arizona brought him in as a last minute thought in 2006. He was never meant to play, only back-up future franchise QB Matt Leinart. Instead Warner has been 'The Guy' for the Cardinals for a season-and-a-half, with his will seeming to carry this team to the pinnacle.

The truth is, though, his supporting cast is amazing. His two new targets, WRs Larry Fitzgerald and Anquan Boldin, are Pro Bowl players, with Fitzgerald already setting a record for most TD grabs in a post-season. Boldin's role in the team has been questioned. After the NFC Championship, Boldin left the venue quickly, seemingly upset over a lack of contribution. Yet, as the media hounds him prior to the match, he's saying all the right things, putting his sole blemish as a result of his competitive nature. The Cards are hoping he's one the level. With Pittsburgh's strong front seven, the Card will need to utilise their amazing passing offence to it's fullest capabilities.

The key to the game may come from the man standing next to Warner - Edgerrin 'The Edge' James. The Cardinals threw a lot of money at James in 2005 with the desired purpose of changing the team's image. Coming from the highly successful Indianapolis Colts, James was meant to bring in a winning attitude. And whilst most bashers will point to his stats and claim that he's failed, the win-loss record in Arizona tells a different story. James has been absolutely crucial in the playoffs this season. With many believing the Cards could only throw the ball, he's put together some nice runs and proven they have a balanced attack. Yet facing a Defence that only allowed 80 yards a game in 2008, Edge will need every inch on Super Bowl Sunday if the Cardinals want to outplay the Steel Curtain.

Super Bowl MVP

There are alot of men who'll have a say in the games's outcome. The stats say that the MVP will more than likely be a QB, as the winning QB usually has the most opportunity to shine. However this wasn't the case three years ago, when Steeler's QB Ben Roethlisbeger managed a lousy 22.6 QB rating for the big game and still won! Occasionally it's little known defenders that make big plays and sweep the awards.

Some key guys to watch in this game...

Previous Winners...

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last update : 29th January 2009 05:30