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AZ 24 - PITT 17

Pittburgh will drop 7 or 8 and dare Arizona to run --they will, with zero success. Edgerrin James will not rush for more than 60 yards. If he rushes for 100, Pittsburgh will lose. Neither of those will happen. Matt Leinart will be forced into action in this game due to injuries to Warner. Santonio Holmes will be MVP.
Larry Fitzgerald will get to meet Ryan Clark face mask to face mask.

I will be wearing an 86 throwback jersey.

Pittsburgh's punting game will keep the Cards in it for longer than I would like.
Pittsburgh 31 Arizona 10

QUOTE(#2):

Originally posted 04:04 PM ET  01.21 by holmeschool

Pittburgh will drop 7 or 8 and dare Arizona to run --they will, with zero success. Edgerrin James will not rush for more than 60 yards. If he rushes for 100, Pittsburgh will lose. Neither of those will happen. Matt Leinart will be forced into action in this game due to injuries to Warner. Santonio Holmes will be MVP. Larry Fitzgerald will get to meet Ryan Clark face mask to face mask.I will be wearing an 86 throwback jersey. Pittsburgh's punting game will keep the Cards in it for longer than I would like.Pittsburgh 31 Arizona 10

You wish buddy. The Steelers will probably win, but you are beyond homer if you think Pitt is winning by 3 TD's

QUOTE:

Originally posted by

Did you even watch Arizona play Carolina or Philadelphia?

I guess you are not referring to the two reg season games against those teams when AZ got thrashed. Look--you predict how you see it and I'll do the same. AZ gives up 4 TD's per game and they are playing a team that gives up less than two. Carolina over-achieved all season against a weak schedule and self-destructed against AZ in the playoffs. Philly was playing on the road for the 3rd straight week and 13th overall, fell behind big early, and still nearly won. Could Pittsburgh lose this game?, SURE they could, but they are much more likely to blow out the Cardinals then lose in my opinion. Vegas has Pittsburgh a 7 pt favorite--take the points, I won't.

Slapnuts, Carolina did not show up to the playoffs whatsoever. So to use that game is just a bad idea. Tomlin will keep them humble, as they have been all year. The Eagles, sure they did crush Ben but did not score more than 15 points on that D. Ben was holding onto the ball far too long and the line was just terrible. Don't forget about Ben's shoulder, which was out of socket from only 2 games before. Ben and the line are gelling more than they have all year. This game will be won because the Steelers will run the ball. I predict a score of 27-21 (Steelers win). Go Steelers!!!

QUOTE(#8):

Originally posted 10:55 PM ET  01.21 by Steelerfan83

Slapnuts, Carolina did not show up to the playoffs whatsoever. So to use that game is just a bad idea. Tomlin will keep them humble, as they have been all year. The Eagles, sure they did crush Ben but did not score more than 15 points on that D. Ben was holding onto the ball far too long and the line was just terrible. Don't forget about Ben's shoulder, which was out of socket from only 2 games before. Ben and the line are gelling more than they have all year. This game will be won because the Steelers will run the ball. I predict a score of 27-21 (Steelers win). Go Steelers!!!

Carolina showed up. The Birthday Boy did not.

QUOTE(#4):

Originally posted 04:18 PM ET  01.21 by NYGiants: Get Your Shinebox

You wish buddy. The Steelers will probably win, but you are beyond homer if you think Pitt is winning by 3 TD's

I predict that the Steelers win by 2 scores mainly becuase I feel this will be an offensive Super Bowl. So the team that has the pigskin most of the night will probably win and I would think that Pittsburgh can force more turnovers even with the fact that this Arizona team has a near deadly air attack.

14 Points is not exactly a blowout prediction though. I think the Steelers will be playing better than the Cardinals the entire game though.

For all the hype Warner & Co. are getting regarding the Cards offensive output, there is a deafening silence from the media regarding the Steelers #1 defense. Admittedly, Boldin and Fitzgerald will pose coverage problems if Pittsburgh tries man to man coverage.....but they don't ( at least not this far in the playoffs ) Look for Tomlin to deploy a cover-2 scheme backing up aggressive blitz packages courtesy of Dick LeBeau. The first time Warner tries to dump a quick slant to a receiver and they get popped, Ryan Clark-style, the tone will be set.

Look for the Steelers offense to have a much better time of it against the Cards D than the opposite. Minus a big special teams play by the Cards, this game is won by the Steelers by at least 2 scores ( +10 points ). If Fitz'/Boldin are bottled up by the Steelers #1 ranked Pass Defense, this could turn ugly for warner and Co. early on.

600 views. That's the most I've ever had.

QUOTE:

Originally posted by

I'm certainly not saying that Pitt will lose the game, but you are more realistic in your prediction than some of the other posts. This game will be decided late in the 4th quarter. This won't be a blowout.

It absolutely won't be a blowout. As a Steelers Fan, I can hope it will be, but the other team did make it to the Superbowl and we owe them that respect. I believe you are right about it being decided in the 4th quarter, and Pittsburgh has been very efficient in late wins. What worries me is the Cards familiarity with the Steelers. If Pittsburgh mixes it up a bit, they should win.

Despite all the high scoring predictions, I think this is going to be an outright defensive struggle. Though Big Ben has a rocket of an arm, the Steelers offense has always been based on the run. That being said, Willie Parker was not the best running back in the league this year, mostly because he's been battling injuries. I do not believe him when he says he's 100%, he didn't look 100% against the Ravens and I think he's saying that so the Cardinals focus on him and let Ben pass all day. This will not happen because the Cardinals are smarter than that. Their DE's and OLB will keep Parker bottled up all game, just like they did to Turner, Carolina's two headed monster, and Westbrook, and they will drop their safeties and MLB into coverage thus taking away what offense Pittsburgh had.

Pittsburgh on the other hand will be forced into more nickel and dime situations to keep Fitzgerald covered and take away the Cardinals passing attack. This will allow Warner to set up some screens and draws for Hightower and James who won't get a ton of yards, but enough to make it interesting. I still think Warner will hit Fitz 5-6 times for 70ish yards. I also think that he will be forced to go to his TE and RB dumps more than he wants to. I see this as a defensive game throughout but I'm liking Warner's veteran leadership and ability to get the ball out quickly more than I like Ben's decisions to hold the ball and try to create plays with his legs.

Cards over steelers 13-9. 1 TD all game and thats Warner to Fitz on a fade from the 3.

Then Warner will retire, riding into the sunset a champion once again.

QUOTE(#16):

Originally posted 01:23 PM ET  01.24 by Kody is headed to Lackland!

Despite all the high scoring predictions, I think this is going to be an outright defensive struggle. Though Big Ben has a rocket of an arm, the Steelers offense has always been based on the run. That being said, Willie Parker was not the best running back in the league this year, mostly because he's been battling injuries. I do not believe him when he says he's 100%, he didn't look 100% against the Ravens and I think he's saying that so the Cardinals focus on him and let Ben pass all day. This will not happen because the Cardinals are smarter than that. Their DE's and OLB will keep Parker bottled up all game, just like they did to Turner, Carolina's two headed monster, and Westbrook, and they will drop their safeties and MLB into coverage thus taking away what offense Pittsburgh had.Pittsburgh on the other hand will be forced into more nickel and dime situations to keep Fitzgerald covered and take away the Cardinals passing attack. This will allow Warner to set up some screens and draws for Hightower and James who won't get a ton of yards, but enough to make it interesting. I still think Warner will hit Fitz 5-6 times for 70ish yards. I also think that he will be forced to go to his TE and RB dumps more than he wants to. I see this as a defensive game throughout but I'm liking Warner's veteran leadership and ability to get the ball out quickly more than I like Ben's decisions to hold the ball and try to create plays with his legs.Cards over steelers 13-9. 1 TD all game and thats Warner to Fitz on a fade from the 3.Then Warner will retire, riding into the sunset a champion once again.

That Super Bowl would suck though... 1 TD. I'm trying to give the people something to look forward to.

... and having another underdog NFC team wining the Super Bowl ain't it.