Guyana Observer News

We’re finally here to celebrate SuperBowl 43 which is the most watched sporting event each and every year. With that said, who will win this year? The Pittsburgh Steelers or the Arizona Cardinals? Well, I know who I’m going to place my bets on.

Since SuperBowl 43 is going to be held in Tamba this year, weather won’t be as much of a factor as if they were playing in Pittsburgh or anywhere on the east coast this time of year. And honestly, I’m sure a lot of people are going for the Steelers to blow the Cardinals the question is, can they?

The Super Bowl is metaphorically comparable to a prize fight; a clash of styles where the "best" team doesn't always win, and the style of execution is more influential in victory than simply pure skill. Like a southpaw landing a haymaker on an unsuspecting champion, when the match-ups are broken down, Arizona's prolific spread offense is tailor-made for Pittsburgh's zone-blitz style of defense. Warner, with his lightning quick reads, reactions, and releases, is deadly efficient against the blitz — shown partly in his league-leading 4.17 sack percentage (as Arizona's offensive line is hardly the '93 Cowboys) — and has the ability to carve up overly aggressive teams with surgeon like precision.

Factor in the elite receivers Warner will be targeting when the Steelers unleash the aforementioned blitz packages, and it starts to become evident that there are some major coverage match-up issues for the Pittsburgh defensive unit.

While the Eagles defense is hardly comparable to that of this latest version of the Steel Curtain, the similarities stylistically give insight into how Arizona will approach and fair against Pittsburgh on Sunday. In the NFC championship game Jim Johnson's Eagles D blitzed Warner over 43% of the time. As a result, the Cards' QB was, basically forced, into a ridiculously efficient game, completing 21 of 28 passes for 279 yards, four touchdowns and zero interceptions. He distributed the ball well — hitting nine different receivers — and took advantage of Philly's inability to defend Larry Fitzgerald, enabling the receiver to go off for a ridiculous 152-yard, three-touchdown performance.

On Sunday there will be obvious differences as the Steelers' secondary admittedly matches up far better with the Arizona receiving corp than the Eagles' unit did. Though Fitzgerald is arguably the best receiver currently in football, it is unlikely that he will duplicate his three-touchdown performance against the Steelers. But if Fitzgerald is to be contained, its reasonable to assume that — even given the talented Pittsburgh secondary — double coverage will be a necessity on most plays. Few corners in football can match up to the 6'3, 220-pound force, man to man, and/or in single coverage, and contain him for an entire game.

While the Cards are not, perhaps, the more talented team suiting up for Sunday's game, the combination of their explosive yet efficient offense, their match-up advantages in relation to Pittsburgh with Kurt Warner's ability to exploit those advantages, and the Steelers' offensive inability to come back from deficits, will coalesce to create one of the most surprising Super Bowl upsets in the history of the NFL.