Herald staff Super Bowl XLIII picks

Mike Feld
Sports Editor

Pittsburgh 24, Arizona 20

Everyone loves upsets and fairytale endings.
Don’t expect one in Tampa Bay.
The Cardinals have batted adversity all season long, coming from a left-for-dead end to the regular season to one of the biggest surprises of the year. Hype has surrounded Arizona wide receiver Larry Fitzgerald, who broke Jerry Rice’s postseason receiving yards record, but did it with poise and class. He caught the passes off the fingertips of 37-year-old Kurt Warner, a former two-time MVP who has resurrected his career twice.
The Steelers are back for its second Super Bowl in three years. A large number of players on that team still call Pittsburgh home. The team is talented and experienced from top to bottom. The key will be the Steelers’ defense against the almost-unstoppable Cardinal offense. Larry Fitzgerald will likely get his 100 yards through the air, but look for the deep and talented Steeler defensive unit to shut down disgruntled Cardinals Anquan Boldin and Edgerrin James, along with the rest of the Arizona offense.

Kris Hitchcock
Web Manager

Steelers 28, Cardinals 17

The sports yak world has been raving about Kurt Warner, Larry Fitzgerald, Todd Haley and the rest of the Arizona offensive arsenal.  Debate is already swirling about whether Warner should be a Hall of Famer if he wins another Super Bowl.  But what seems to have been forgotten is that high-powered offenses have not lived up to their billing in recent Super Bowls.  Remember Tom Brady, Randy Moss, Wes Welker and their collective inability to score last year?
Pittsburgh is the second rated defense in the NFL this season, and features playmakers all over the field ready to shut down the Arizona offense. Pundits have pointed to the Cardinals commitment to running the ball with Edgerrin James in the playoffs, but the Steelers thrive on shutting down the run game and making a quarterback one-dimensional.  I expect to see a horrible day on the ground from Arizona, followed by a multi-interception game from Warner, ultimately spelling a victory for Pittsburgh.

Zachary Reichard
Managing Editor

Pittsburgh 31, Arizona 20

There is an old saying that, “Familiarity breeds contempt,” and for the Arizona Cardinals and Pittsburgh Steelers, familiarity comes in the form of the coaching staff.
Arizona’s head coach, Ken Whisenhunt, coached the Pittsburgh offense for three years before being passed over for the head coaching job when Bill Cowher retired. He left for the desert, and has turned around a Cardinals team that has seen little success in the past.
Pittsburgh’s defensive coordinator, Dick LeBeau, saw Whisenhunt’s offense everyday in practice during those three years, so don’t expect the Steelers to be fooled by any gadget plays. They will stay at home and neutralize the big play threat of Larry Fitzgerald, even if it means triple-teaming him.
On the offensive side, the Steelers have too many options against an Arizona defense that gave up 426 points during the regular season.
The Cardinals slashed through the NFC like a buzzsaw, but the inspired playoff run ends here.

Adam Bouton
Western Herald

Arizona 27, Pittsburgh 23

Larry Fitzgerald and the Cardinals will defy all the odds once again and capture its first Super Bowl ever.  The Steeler defense has been impressive throughout the playoffs, led by NFL Defensive Player of the Year James Harrison and talented, playmaking safety Troy Polumalu.  The Pittsburgh squad is talented, but they’ll have no match for the wide receiving duo of Fitzgerald and Anquan Boldin.  Boldin was unhappy about his role in the NFC Championship game, but he’s a very dangerous receiver and should receive a lot of looks as Pittsburgh tries to contain Fitzgerald.  What he does during the game is vital for the Cardinals.
Both quarterbacks have rings on their fingers already, but Warner is on top of his game, while Ben Roethlisberger has been up and down all season.  Warner’s experience and improved movement in the pocket should provide him with enough time to get rid of the ball against the blitzing Pittsburgh linebackers.  That being said, I think the wildcard is Arizona’s defense which has looked lights out this postseason.  If they continue to create turnovers and hold the Steelers on third down, it wouldn’t shock me one bit and it should help lead them to a championship and a huge party in the desert.

Mark Rudi
Western Herald

Arizona 21, Pittsburgh 17

It all comes down to this. One game to determine the 2008 Champion for the NFL: Super Bowl XLIII.
The Pittsburgh Steelers can win its sixth Super Bowl in franchise history and have more Vince Lombardi Trophies than anyone else in the NFL. Pittsburgh has pretty much the same team that beat the Seattle Seahawks in Super Bowl XL at Ford Field in 2006 and their defense has been unstoppable in the playoffs.
Then you have the explosive offense of the Arizona Cardinals. Quarterback Kurt Warner, who many thought was done in the NFL, has a 112.1 quarterback rating in the playoffs and the Cardinals offense has been unstoppable. Arizona has, in my opinion, the best receiving core in the NFL in Larry Fitzgerald and Anquan Boldin. I think that will be the difference that will give the Cardinals the upset win. Don’t forget about former University of Michigan wideout Steve Breaston. He’s been solid for the Cards and could prove to be the X-Factor in this game.

Roger Sievers
Western Herald

Arizona 31, Pittsburgh 28

The Super Bowl pits one of the best franchises in NFL history in the Pittsburgh Steelers against the Arizona Cardinals, who until this year hadn’t been to the playoffs since 1998. Arizona has all the momentum for it, proving the doubters wrong that they didn’t deserve to be in the playoffs because of its 9-7 record. The Steelers on the other hand boast the NFL’s best defense and were picked by many to be in the position they are in now. I see this as last year’s Super Bowl matchup between the Patriots and the Giants. The Patriots were favored and supposed to be there, while the Giants were supposed to be happy that they were there.
If Arizona quarterback Kurt Warner can get good protection from his offensive line and can hook up with superstar wide receiver Larry Fitzgerald, who grew up in Minnesota and was a Vikings ball boy, I see an upset happening again this year in the Super Bowl.
In the end, Raymond James Stadium will have Cardinal red and white confetti falling from the sky, as the Cardinals will win Super Bowl XLIII. Kurt Warner will cement his legacy as a Hall of Famer, winning his second Super Bowl and first since 2000.

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Posted by HeraldAdmin on Jan 29 2009. Filed under Sports. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry

Cody Kimball
Web Manager: I'm a Communication Student at WMU, a SCUBA Diver, Boater, Ordained Minister, Notary Public, Web Designer, Film Maker, DJ, and of course a Journalist. Born and raised in Port Huron, MI and a graduate of SC4. http://www.codykimball.com