Super Bowl XLIII Running Thread

Only thing I'm not sure about the Cardinals is, what happens should they have to play from behind against the Steelers?

They led much of the way against the Falcons, got six Delhomme turnovers and rolled the Panthers, then led saw an 18-point lead vanish against the Eagles but won with its scoring drive after halftime, at the finish. But what happens if they trail 14-3 early -- do they ditch the running game and become a one-dimensional team against the blitz-heavy Steelers? Does Warner press and gamble down the field?

I know the Cardinals have committed to the run since the New England debacle, but I still wonder what they would do if they don't jump out to a quick lead for a change.

 

I feel a Kurt Warner Giants-era game coming on, with the Steelers with at least six sacks and four turnovers.

 

Maybe Warner has that Giants-era game. I just don't see it in warm weather, in a big game.

Also, I like AZ because of the Whisenhunt and the "he used to make the sausage at that plant" angle, in that a smart coach like Whisenhunt -- and the rest of the ex-Pittsburgh staff -- probably knows 60% of the Steelers' personnel really, REALLY well.

 

Unless Ward's condition has been verified, I would keep the money in your pocket.

 

Wouldn't that be the other way around?
Tomlin is the new head coach with a new off. coodinator.
Whisenhunt and Grimm are the guys who have been around. Whisnehunt has been calling plays for a few years so I imagine Dick LeBeau and Co. have a pretty good idea what to expect ... i.e. no less than two "trick plays" from the Cardinals.
Trick plays are a standard in the Whiz's playbook. Not to mention about a dozen screen passes.

 

Never would I be more happy to be wrong with my SB prediction.

 

I'm not sure if either team is going to have that much of an edge. LeBeau and Whisenhunt should each know what the other does fairly well.

The screen game concerns me. Screens and trick plays can work fairly well against such an aggressive defense. I keep waiting to see them set up something where Breaston throws the ball. He was a quarterback in high school.

 

Or 98 percent of the bullshit that litters these threads.

At least it is somewhat topical.

 

Warner put up Marino-esque numbers, won two MVP awards, led his team to two Super Bowls -- the first a season after the Rams were 2-14 -- and won one.

Haven't seen Bulger or Kitna approach that.

Warner put up huge numbers this season in a different offense and led another team to the Super Bowl.

He's 8-2 in playoff games. What are Bulger's and Kitna's postseason records?

 

Rams also picked up Marshall Faulk the season after they went 2-14.

 

Steelers Off. Coord. Bruce Arians was the receivers coach under Whisenhunt so he might know Whiz's tendencies........

And we could go on and on with this but I'd say this....

With the amount of jumping coaches do from staff to staff to staff, with the amount of turnover on rosters every year, with the fact that the league is scouted very well by every team and frankly their ain't much new going on under the sun -- this whole "former coach knows team better than most coach" stuff is going to be one of the most overblown story-lines of the next two weeks and this is particularly true since the Cardinals offense does not at all resemble the Steelers offense under Whisenhunt and mostly due to the strengths and weaknesses of his current personnel.......

 

You do know last year he threw for 3,400 yards with 27 TDs and 17 ints and a .623 percentage, right?

He also passed for 2,700-plus yards and 11 TDs with a .645 pct. in 2005 in 10 starts, most of them while playing injured.

I wouldn't say he sucked for six years out of 10.