Super Bowl Preview and Prediction

Alright, since the rest of the world is predicting this game I'm going to do so as well.

One of the arguments I keep hearing in favor of the Steelers is that their defense is too good.  True, they had the best defense in the NFL during the regular season.  What these people seem to forget is that the Arizona Cardinals have the 3rd highest scoring offense, so you've actually got a pretty even match-up between a good defense and good offense, and when the Steelers have the ball a mediocre offense against a mediocre defense.

I remember when I predicted the NFC championship game and I said that the Eagles would win because both teams had good offenses, but the Cardinals' bad defense was the odd man out.  I also remember thinking that the Carolina Panthers would win because they, too had a better defense.  We all know what happened in both of those games.

Here's the thing, the Eagles and Panthers did have good defenses during the regular season, but the Cardinals' defense has been playing above and  beyond their regular season achievements.  In my mind, the Arizona defense is not going to be the deciding factor in this game.

Pittsburgh's D won't be it either.  Whatever their alleged "zone blitzing" can achieve, Kurt Warner has shown repeatedly, and I mean on almost every play of the playoffs, that he is fantastic against the blitz.  He may be completely immobile in the pocket, but watching the games against the Panthers and then the Eagles, I felt like TMQ watching the self-destructing blitzes.  Especially given the accomplishments of Larry Fitzgerald and Anquan Boldin, and Steve Breaston's 1,000 yards that a lot of people seem to forget, this is not really a great team to blitz against.

Not only that, but the Cardinals have been showing a commitment to the run throughout the playoffs, and won the game against Philly by running the ball in the 4th quarter.  With the success of Edgerrin James, Tim Hightower and J.J. Arrington, the Cardinals have about 18 skill-players who can do damage to the Steelers.

On the other side of the ball, Roethlisberger seems much more likely to make a mistake against defensive pressure than Warner, and the Cardinal defense will be bringing the heat.  The Steelers have good receivers, but really compared to the Arizona trio they are about as dangerous as a newborn kitten.  If the Steelers are going to win this game, it is going to be because of one man and one man alone.

Willie Parker.  If Parker goes for anything close to 150 yards or more, the Steelers have the game locked up. One reason the Steelers' offense wasn't that great during the regular season was Willie Parker's injuries.  Hines Ward's knee could magically heal overnight and he wouldn't have as much impact on this game as Willie Parker.  With Willie Parker, the Steelers are a legitimate NFL offense, without him, they're a sack away from Byron Leftwich.

Full disclosure before I make this pick:  I hate the Steelers with the majority of my soul, and I desperately want them to lose because I don't want to hear anything about how they're the "best franchise ever," and other general hyperbole (ex. "Roethlisberger is a good quarterback").

Pick: Arizona Cardinals win the Super Bowl in what will become known as The Lamest Game Ever Played by a score of 31 to 20 over the Pittsburgh Steelers, and Roethlisberger will spare us a lifetime of torture by retiring in embarrassment, please!?