My Super Bowl Thoughts

Just a quick break down of the teams:

QBs: Big Ben is going to his 2nd SB with (1) win under him. He is in his 5th year in the league and still pretty young.

Kurt Warner is going to his 3rd SB with (1) win. He is in his 10th year in the league and has probably punched his ticket into the Hall of Fame for taking the Cardinals to their first SB.

Both QBs have their strengths and weaknesses. Warner is more of a drop-back passer and needs time to let his receivers get open. Big Ben likes to scramble, and seems to pass better when he scrambles.

Tough call.

Edge: It's a push I think. It'll depend on what the defenses do against both QBs.

RBs: The Steelers have Willie Parker who seems to be healthy. Still young in his career and is a solid runner. Cardinals have Edgerin James who, in his prime, was possibly one of the Top 5 RBs in the league. Unfortunately, James is on the decline and will struggle against the Steelers D.

Edge: Steelers by a mile.

WRs: The Cardinals: Larry Fitzgerald is finally emerging as a Top 5 WR in the League. He was a man on a mission in the Play-Offs and with the help of Warner, basically put the team on his back and carried them into the SB.

Boldin - Was a Top 10 -15 WR coming into this season. But, after a huge hit by the Jet's Eric Smith, that knocked Boldin out, Boldin has not been the same since. He seems hesitant going over the middle and possibly "hears foot steps". If Boldin can be effective, he'll take a lot of heat off Fitzgerald.

Breaston - A great year for him. He stepped up when Boldin went down and had a 1,000 yard season. However, I tend to think he is more of a vertical threat, so if Warner doesn't have time to throw, he won't be a factor.

Hines Ward - 11th season in the league. Has been the Steelers "go to" guy for quite awhile now. Considered the best blocking WR in the league with great hands, Ward is a versatile player for the Steelers. But, he has a sprained knee. If Ward can't perform, it will hurt the Steelers.

Santonio Holmes - Still a developing WR, Holmes can be a serious threat. But, he can be streaky. If Ward can't play, watch Holmes get double-teamed.

Nate Washington - A non-factor. Possesion receiver at best.

Edge: Cardinals

TEs: The Steelers have Heath Miller. A very solid TE and developing to where he could be a Top 3-5 TE in the League.

The Cardinals have TE by commitee. They don't really have a solid TE on the team. Their top TE on the team had 104 yards receiving for the season and 0 TDs.

Edge: The Steelers, easily.

Offensive Lines: This is one aspect of both teams I'm not as familiar with. But, I feel that the Steelers have a more solid line then Arizona.

Edge: Steelers

Defenses; Steelers - best Defense in the league. Hard hitting and relentless. Guided by Dick Lebeau, possibly one of the best Defensive Coordinaters in the League. James Harrison, Aaron Smith, Casey Hampton, Troy Polamalu, and James Farrior... some of the best D players in the league. Especially Polamalu.

Cardinals - A solid D that firmed up for the play-offs, they have some good players like Darnell Dockett, Bertrand Berry, Antrel Rolle, and Rogers-Cromartie. They'll need to stop the run to be effective in the SB.

Edge: Steelers easily.

Special Teams: Hard to say. I don't know much about either team's special teams.

Edge: Push

Coaching: Steelers Coaches vs. Steelers Coaches.

Wisenhunt for the Cardinals was passed over the the head coaching job of the Steelers in favor of Tomlin. So, he took the head coaching job in Arizona and took Assistant Coach Russ Grimm with him.

Mike Tomlin was the Defensive Coordinator for the Steelers before being given the Head Coaching position.

Both coaching staffs are excellent, and it will be an interesting match between the Offensive minded Wisenhunt vs. the Defensive genius of Dick Lebeau. Both coaches make excellent adjustments in-game so it will probably come down to who makes the better adjustments.

Edge: It's a push. I like both coaches.

Overall Choice: Even though I give the edge to the Steelers in the majority of the categories, I fell that the game will be very close, especially if Hines Ward is not a factor in the game.

Winner: Steelers 35-28