Super Bowl XLIII

My hat is off to the Arizona Cardinals on a valiant effort and making it one of the most exciting games in Super Bowl history. But this game will be remembered for the Steelers sixth Super Bowl title, Ben's incredible game-winning drive and James Harrison's longest play in Super Bowl history. The game ended up not being how I expected it to turn out. It started out that way with the Steelers seemingly in hand leading 20-7, but then a ridiculous fourth quarter showed up to make for one exciting finish.

Could there have been any more ups and downs in this game? Starting with the Steelers looking like they were going to blow the Cards out early, only to have the Cards battle back. Then to have Harrison make an amazing effort to stop the Cardinals from taking the lead and giving the Steelers at 10-point lead at the same time. When the Steelers led 20-7, I didn't think I would be sitting there seeing the Cards have the lead at some point...and just as fast as Larry Fitzgerald streaking down the middle of the field, the lead was gone. The Steelers blew it. I thought their inability to finish teams off by settling for field goals had finally caught up to them on the biggest stage. You hold the lead the entire game and then with just under three minutes left, you're trailing. That's a sick feeling...and I'm just a fan. I can't imagine what the players were going through, and then just when you thought it was over...there was Big Ben and Santonio Holmes. Oh my, what a finish (more on that drive in another post).

Following the game, everyone always wants to compare games to the all-time greats and things like that. People love to get the lists going. The best one ever? How can anyone answer that? How about one of the most exciting ones ever. Look, it's hard to compare this game to last year's game or Super Bowl XXV or Super Bowl XXXIV. I didn't think it could get any better than last year's game with the Giants upset over the Pats, but this year I found myself on the edge of my seat once again. You can't compare all the games and say this one was better than this or that. Different time, different teams and different circumstances are factored in with each great game and what it means to everyone out there watching the game. What someone says is great might not mean a whole lot to the next person. I can't say that last night's game was the best Super Bowl of all-time, but you'd have to agree that it's in the top five of all-time exciting Super Bowls.

Super Bowl Sunday

Super Bowl Sunday is finally here. What a long two weeks. We were so busy worrying about the two-week layoff that we did zero posts in two weeks. Well this is the day where champions are remembered and losers are forgotten. It's been a nice run for two teams, but today only one will come away victorious. So who's going to win this game. You guessed it...I'm going with the Steelers, and it's not just because I'm from Pittsburgh. Anything can happen on any given Sunday, but looking at this game there's a huge advantage for the Steelers. It's not by accident that the Steelers are seven point favorites by Vegas today in Tampa. They have more overall talent than the Cardinals. They also have a better defense and what wins championships? Defense.

Another thing I always like to look at when it comes to the Super Bowl is the teams overall competition throughout the season and who they played during the regular season and playoffs. The Cardinals played in arguably the worst division in the NFL this year and went 6-0 against that competition. Outside of their division, the Cards went 3-7. Ouch. That's bad enough, but then you have to look at how they played some of their games. When they played the Jets, Patriots, Vikings and Eagles in the regular season...the Cardinals didn't just lose, they got beat down. And I don't hear about them mailing it in after they clinched the division toward the end of the year...they had their starters in and if they didn't come to play, well then that says something about what kind of team they are. The Steelers, on the other hand, played one of the toughest schedules in the NFL...having to play the Ravens twice, Chargers, Giants, Eagles, Redskins, Colts, Cowboys, Patriots, Jaguars and Titans. Come on, that's a brutal regular season schedule. Would the Cardinals have won nine games with that schedule? I don't think so.

I'm going to close with something I said (in another blog) before Super Bowl XL and it holds true this year. Pittsburgh is the toughest team that the Cardinals will face this season, but the Cardinals are not the toughest team the Steelers will face all year. That was true with the Steelers and Seahawks in 2005-06 and look what happened then. I expect much of the same today as the Steelers are more battled tested than the Cards and their defense is superior than Arizona's. I think Kurt Warner will be smothered by the Steelers D and Ben and the offense does enough to hoist the trophy.
Prediction: Steelers 31, Cardinals 17

Conference Championship Picks

Today's the big day in the National Football League. If you're a fan of the Steelers, Ravens, Eagles or Cardinals, you're going nuts and your stomach has been in knots all week. If you're a general NFL and your team was knocked out already, you're still ready to watch history unfold today. I haven't made any picks all season on The Wheelhouse, but I decided these games were too big to pass up.

Eagles at Cardinals
For some reason I happen to like the Cardinals in this game today. They've been playing just as good as any team in the playoffs to this point. They are at home today in the desert. Their defense has been playing great in the playoffs while stopping two of the best running backs in the game in Michael Turner and DeAngelo Williams. Larry Fitzgerald is a beast and continues to make ridiculous catches. Anquan Boldin should return and be a factor for the Cards. And Kurt Warner has been to the Super Bowl before and got the job done. The Eagles, on the other hand, have been way too inconsistent this year for me to expect them to win for a fourth week in a row. I think the Cardinals contain Brian Westbrook today and Warner gets it going through the air and makes Philadelphia play the Cardinals way in a shootout.
Cardinals 31, Eagles 21

Ravens at Steelers
Here we go again. Baltimore and Pittsburgh meet for the third time in what is quickly becoming one of the best rivalries in football. Just like the first two games in the regular season, expect this game to be a knockdown, street fight between two teams that genuinely don't like each other. Pittsburgh won both games in the regular season on a final game-winning field goal in overtime, and they won the second game on a touchdown with under a minute to play. So it's tough to beat a team three times in one season right? Wrong. Read my post from a couple days ago if you disagree with me. I like the Steelers in this one today. First, the Steelers defense is better than the Ravens all season and they proved it in the first two games against the Ravens. Second, I'd rather have the Steelers offense than the Ravens offense led by a rookie. Joe Flacco has done a great job this year, but he really hasn't been asked to do much with that defense behind him. I just don't see a scenario where Flacco goes into Heinz Field and wins a game to the Super Bowl. Call me bias, but I think that's too much to call on a rookie to do. I think the Steelers move the ball well against the Ravens defense today and PROTECT the football, which is key anytime in the playoffs especially in a game like this. I like the Steelers today, and I actually like them by about two touchdowns. I pray I'm right on this one.
Steelers 24, Ravens 9