I think Carolina was overrated but that's just my opinion. Man, I thought that the Cardinals success would make Anquan Boldin a happy camper. His incident on the sideline and reaction after yesterday's game shows otherwise though.
Boldin has had his bags packed ever since Fitzgerald signed that big contract. He's been playing for himself and not the team since then and he's basically said as much.
I love Kurt Warner and Arizona is a great story. But for me, the problem in this matchup isn't so much them going against the Pittsburgh defense as it is the Arizona defense against the Pittsburgh offense. Words can't describe how porous the Arizona defense was yesterday, against an Eagles team (sorry Lil Pun) with very, very limited weapons. Hank Baskett, Kevin Curtis, Jason Avant, and Greg Lewis are among the NFL's weakest receiving corps. Brian Westbrook is very good when healthy, but a shell of his normal self due to injuries. Even though they won the games, their offense didn't look good at all for very long stretches against both Minnesota and New York. Flash forward to Sunday... and they were able to move the ball at will, even with a somewhat weak performance from McNabb. If McNabb does a better job of leading his receivers and throwing accurately, he could've gotten to 450 and they win that game. The Arizona defense turned it up against Carolina, but what you saw yesterday was what held them back during the regular season. On the surface, the Steelers have better weapons than the Eagles, and the game isn't in Arizona. Moreover, the Steelers really broke out offensively against a good San Diego defense, and then moved the ball very easily in the early going against a great Baltimore defense. But then Hines Ward left... and things got ugly again. Receivers weren't breaking open. Ben held the ball too long. The Ravens didn't respect the pass so the running lanes closed. If Pittsburgh goes back to a sluggish offense like they were for much of the season, Arizona has a good chance. I think we know what will happen when Arizona has the ball. I think they'll score in the 20-24 point range — they're simply too talented and too hot not to break 20, but the Pittsburgh defense is too stout to allow an onslaught of 30 or so. What's intriguing to me is the matchup on the other side. I know Ward will play — no one's going to sit out the Super Bowl unless they're almost dead. But will he actually be himself? If he's anywhere close to 100 percent, I'll take the Steelers by 7 with a good bit of confidence, and I'll make that my pick at this point. If he's not, though... I think it's a complete tossup and maybe even slight advantage Arizona. I'm going to be watching the practice/medical reports very closely on this one before making my official prediction.
Before the season started, I had the Steelers winning it all, so I am going to stick with that. I also love the Cardinals though, love everything about that team. I have serious manlove for Larry Fitzgerald Going to say Steelers 31 Cardinals 23
I had the Jaguars. I had them playing the Saints in the Super Bowl. I'm very smart and read many books.
Yeah but success changes a lot of people and I thought it would have an effect on Boldin. I was dead wrong.
Its basically the same situation as Jeremy Shockey last year. The success means nothing to him, because the team is succeeding and he isn't.
I missed that...what did he do? I'm not sure how anyone can logically pick the Cardinals to win this game. I only hope it's a competitive game. If the Cards can play defense like they did against the Panthers and the Falcons, they have a chance to stay in the game. However, if they pass block like they did yesterday, the Steelers defense is going to destroy Kurt Warner. My prediction... Steelers 35 Cardinals 17
it would be cool for the cards to win, but i have a hard time cheering for their owner/family. Cards luck will run out though. Steelers win in a blowout.
Umm, I think Pittsburgh is most likely going to win, but I'm very curious where this blowout talk is coming from. The Steelers have played nine games against teams with winning records this season... they've scored more than 20 points in only three of them (above 23 in only one), and in the two where they scored 23, one included overtime and the other (yesterday) came on a defensive score. Unless the Steelers score one or two times defensively, I just don't see what in Pittsburgh's track record indicates that they have the offensive firepower to score 35 or make it a blowout.
I agree x 10 million. I despise the Steelers....and I, too, am in awe of the way it's all coming together for Larry Fitz. He's starting to dominate again like he did at the end off his soph. season at Pitt. Most people forget he was second or third in the Heisman voting that year. Go Cards!
Boldin got into a heated exchange with the Cardinals offensive coordinator when the Cardinals were conducting their game winning drive in the 4th quarter. The after the game, while all of his teammates and coaches were on the field celebrating, he left and went to the locker room then left the stadium. It's obvious he no longer wants to be an Arizona Cardinal but I cannot help but think that he is only costing himself. Teams these days are real big on character issues and he should be happy because his team is going to the freaking Super Bowl but it looks like he is only concerned with what he does and not the success of the team. I might be wrong as I don't know the entire story but that's the way it appears to me. What team is going to shell out big time money for a player like that? Dallas and Oakland are the only 2 I would guess.
I went 1-1 yesterday and I'm at 5-5 for the playoffs. I'm thinking the Cardinals just might pull it off. Cardinals 27 Steelers 23
Everybody knows that Kurt Warner is a guy who believes in God and is tremendously faithful. I''m not sure if everybody has heard however that Warner has promised his family a puppy if the Cardinals win the Super Bowl. Bill Simmons: If there are two things you cannot bet against, it is God and puppies.
I will be cheering for the Cardinals, Warner is an amazing story and another Super Bowl win would seal his legacy. The Steelers will be very tough to beat and are the logical choice. Do you believe in miracles? I don't think it will be close; either the Cardinals will go wild (Warner has an MVP performance and the Card's defense plays the game of the year) and the Steelers make critical mistakes OR the Steelers win big. Cardinals by three touchdowns in a shocker.
