Steelers -7 Cardinals
Two weeks ago, I picked both NFL conference championship games correctly and I am now 8-2 on picks in the playoffs. This Super Bowl pick is very easy for me to make. I am taking the Steelers to win and cover the 7 point spread.
This pick is easy because I am a Steelers fan. Going into this season in my predictions column, I had the Steelers playing the Cowboys in the Super Bowl. Mostly that pick was based on my feeling that Ben Roethlisberger was going to have a monster season (I even took Big Ben as my starting quarterback in Fantasy Football and that did not go so well). In 2007, he was the 2nd best quarterback to Tom Brady in the NFL
The Patriots were the team that most worried me as a fan. During this decade, the Patriots have been the Steelers’ nemesis during a few playoff runs. In fact, the Patriots were able to beat the Steelers even when Brady was injured and Drew Bledsoe had to play in the 2nd half of the AFC championship game a few years back. When Brady was injured in Week 1, I felt good about the Steelers and their Super Bowl chances, if they could survive their brutal schedule and make the playoffs.
However, Big Ben had an okay if not mediocre season statistics wise. He played well in the 4th quarters of the big regular season contests, but he was not the decisive factor I thought he would be. Instead, the Steelers defense took their level of play to a whole different stratosphere this year. I argue that the defense is not getting enough respect and attention during the Super Bowl hype. This unit only gave up 300 yards in a game once during the season. That is unprecedented in NFL history.
James Harrison, the NFL defensive player of the year, barely has been mentioned by any analysts as a factor for this game. He has had a quiet playoff run, but look for him to have a prominent role in Sunday’s game. Harrison will team up with Lamar Woodley and Lawrence Timmons to harass and sack Kurt Warner all afternoon. If it was not for the expert blitz pick ups by Willis McGahee of the Ravens, Timmons would have killed Joe Flacco on a couple of plays in the AFC championship game. Timmons is one player that the Cardinals have to account for on obvious blitzing and passing downs.
Big Ben will play well and the defense will dominate. My prediction is the game is close in the first half, but the Steelers win the game 34-14.
2008 Playoff Picks: 8-2
2008 Regular Season Picks: 134-114-8
2008 Fantasy Player Picks: 90-62-5
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