The Night before Super Bowl XLIII

There is less than 24 hours before the kick-off of Super Bowl XLIII and I can guarantee you that there will be some restless hearts as anticipation arises. We have broken down both offenses and now it is time to break down the defenses. Now it doesn't take a professional sports analyst to tell you who's defense is more talented on paper but paper hasn't obviously been accurate in the three playoff rounds of the NFC. If you ask any of the Arizona defenders, they will tell you that they are going to be ready to come out and play smash-mouth defense for the entire 60 minutes. I can guarantee you this because honestly, most of the Cardinals know that they won't be making another appearance to the Super Bowl anytime soon. But then again, tell me before this season started that the Cardinals would make the super bowl and I would have made a mockery of you for the entire regular season. Here's what's going down in my books on how the two defenses are going to perform.

Pittsburgh has a great case for being the top defense in the league with impacts players such as Troy Polamalu, James Farrior, James Harrison, Casey Hampton, and more. The biggest strength in defense is their speed. The group of defenders that Pittsburgh contains makes it hard for receivers to get open and for runners to find gaps and even when opponents find some room, the entire defense quickly collapses on the ball, stopping most players from making potential big-time plays. With a 3-4 base formation, Coach Tomlin shows plenty of faith in his 3 linemen defensive hold on the run and relies on the speed of the 4 linebacker set up. Pittsburgh isn't hurt by having one less linemen out there because their linebackers are just as big and the entire secondary knows how to drop a hard hit. Kurt Warner tends to struggle dearly when being pressured vigorously so expect Pittsburgh to display many combinations of blitz packages by bringing in linebackers from the middle or cornerbacks from the side. The big time man will be in the deep secondary, when Polamalu flys in from the strong safety position on blitzes. If Pittsburgh can contain, the running game and are able to consistently apply pressure on Kurt Warner and frustrate him, the high scoring Cardinals won't be having another usual Sunday but they could be in for a replay of a nightmare they had against New England earlier this season.

Arizona doesn't have as much talent in their defense but they have plenty of big time play makers that will show up tomorrow evening. Using a 4-3 defense, the Cardinals lack an impact guy on the front line, so they will be needing all four men on that line to be able to hold up the Pittsburgh offensive line. Luckily for the Cards, they have playmakers in the secondary with their linebackers as well as the corners and safeties. Like the Steelers, the Cardinals will have to apply quick pressure onto Ben Roethlisberger and not allow him to have time to give the Steelers' quick receivers time to get open. The Cardinals' strong safety, Adrian Wilson, will be all over the field and he will be hungry for tackles and will be very interested in meeting Roethlisberger face to face in the freshly cut grass. The cornerbacks for Arizona are talented enough to hold their own against the Steelers receiving crew while getting help from the safeties when linebacker blitzes are being applied but expect safety blitzes and corner blitzes to come from all over the field. Don't expect Roethlisberger to have a consistent pace in the pocket because the Cardinals defense will be all over him, but the key point would be actually. getting him down once the defense gets to him.

Both defenses will be going deep into their roster as they will be all over the field, using every amount of energy they have, and both quarterbacks will have to step up under pressure. Kurt Warner has been infamous for losing composure under pressure and unless he proves the Roethlisberger will possibly struggle at times but will find a pace regardless of how his offensive line performs. Steelers with the advantage on D.


Now we didn't forget about the special teams did we?
Pittsburgh has a guy who's kicked plenty of field goals and extra points in his early career as Jeff Reed as shown good composure and consistency no matter what the distance or what the situation. He has been to one superbowl before so he definitely won't be experiencing any Super Bowl jitters. Punter, Mitch Berger, has been with multiple teams and has been in the NFL long enough to tell you he doesn't even know what being nervous feels like. He isn't the best punter in the league but he will help the Steelers with controlling field position. Speedy Santonio Holmes will make a gamechanging play if he finds room on a punt and don't be surprised if he steps up and goes big by choosing not to call the fair-catch and instead returning it for a convincing amount of yards.

Arizona has one of the best kickers in the game but Rackers has never played in a Super Bowl and he will definitely have some early gametime nerves. If you're a Cards' fan, you better not hope it comes down to a field goal to decide the game. J.J Arrington and Steve Breaston will be huge for Arizona as sleepers on the offense and also as returners. Steve Breaston will be the silent killer at receiver, but he will look to step up big on another part of the field as he will try to break for big time play on special teams. Arrington, who is the third option of the running back trio, will most likely not get too many opportunities on offense so expect the young athlete to be hungry for a big run on special teams. On the other hand, Arrington may try too hard and make one extra move too many and make a game changing mistake.

Pittsburgh will be controlling the field and will have a big advantage on Arizona on the special teams.


The Pittsburgh Steelers are the favored team in this year's Super Bowl and there is a reason why they are; because they have more experience on both ends and will come out of the gates fast. Arizona will realize they're in the Super Bowl, late in the first half, but it won't be enough as Pittsburgh holds up yet another Lombardi trophy for the second time in four years. Pittsburgh over Arizona, 33-27. Willie Parker is awarded as MVP.

-Jason Chong