Super Bowl XLIII Analysis, Predictions; Arizona Cardinals vs. Pittsburgh Steelers

Super Bowl XLIII is shaping up to be classic match-up between the Pittsburgh Steelers' bone-jarring defense against the Kurt Warner led Arizona Cardinals high-octane offense. The Super Bowl is scheduled to kickoff on February 1st, 2009 at 620 PM Eastern Time at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Florida. The AFC Champion Pittsburgh Steelers (14-4) will take on the NFC champion Arizona Cardinals (12-7). If Pittsburgh can win the game, it will be a NFL record sixth Super Bowl win, whereas this will be the first chance at a league title for Arizona since 1947 and their first Super Bowl appearance in club history.

Arizona Cardinals History Leading to Super Bowl XLIII

Coach Whisehunt's first season as the Arizona Cardinal's head coach was in 2007 where he led the team to an 8-8 record. In his second season as head coach, Wisehunt improved the team's record to 9-7 and has lead the Cardinals to the Super Bowl as only the second team in NFL history to make it this far in the NFL playoffs with seven losses. Most of the reason behind the Cardinal's success this post-season has been the exemplary play of quarterback Kurt Warner. Warner has had a long and dusty trail in his professional career. He started out his career playing in the AFL for four years before signing with the St. Louis Rams and ultimately becoming the starting quarterback. Warner would then lead the Rams to two Super Bowls, one win, and would obtain two NFL MVP awards. From 2002 to 2007 Warner left the lime-lite primarily due to injury and sub-par play until in 2007 he regained a starting roll for the Cardinals in 2007. The 2007 season was a career best for Kurt Warner where he has thrown for 4,583 yards, 30 TDs, 17 Interceptions, and a NFC best 96.9 rating resulting in the Arizona Cardinals Super Bowl XLIII appearance.

Pittsburgh Steelers History Leading to Super Bowl XLIII

During Coach Tomlin's first year as head coach of the Pittsburgh Steelers, he led the team to a 10-6 record in 2007. In 2007, Tomlin improved on his great start and led the Steelers to an AFC-best 12-4 record leading the team to the playoffs for the 6th time in the last 8 seasons and 7th Super Bowl appearance in the team's history. Pittsburgh's defense led the NFL in the fewest points allowed (13.9), yards per game permitted (237.2), and second in total sacks (51). Offensively, the Steelers were led by quarterback Ben Roethlisberger who finished the year with 3,301 yards passing, 17 TDs, and 15 INTs.

Arizona Cardinals Road to Super Bowl XLIII

The Cardinals got the Super Bowl through surviving their Wild Card game against the Arizona Cardinals, 30-24, upsetting the Carolina Panthers 33-13, and then taking down the Philadelphia Eagles, 32-25. Kurt Warner played above the level he has demonstrated during the regular season passing for a total of 661 yards, 8 TDs, and 2 INTs for a quarterback rating of 112.1. For this year's Super Bowl, Arizona will be the designated 'home team', which occurs whenever it is an odd year for the NFC champion team.

Pittsburgh Steelers Road to Super Bowl XLIII

The Steelers began their post-season run to Super Bowl XLIII with a 35-24 over the San Diego Chargers. Pittsburgh went on to defeat the Baltimore Ravens 23-14 in the AFC Championship game. The Steelers were able to win both games based on strong defense while protecting the ball on offense committing zero turnovers against the Chargers and forcing five turnovers against the Ravens.

Arizona Cardinals Keys to Victory in Super Bowl XLIII

ArizonaCardinals Quarterback

Kurt Warner's renaissance year continued with his four-TD performance in the NFC title game. He's thrown eight TDs and just two interceptions this postseason season, with a passer rating of 112.1. He brings Super Bowl experience to the 'Big Game' and should perform against the Steelers defense a bit better than Donovan McNabb did.

Arizona Cardinals Defensive Line

Ends Antonio Smith and Travis Laboy and tackles Bryan Robinson and Darnell Dockett are a quick group that helped the Cardinals force 30 turnovers and grab a league-leading 17 fumble recoveries. They've helped force several turnovers that produced key scores in playoff wins against Atlanta and Carolina and will be looking to do more of the same against Pittsburgh in this year's Super Bowl!

Arizona Cardinals Running Backs

Arizona's running game has been a pleasant surprise in the playoffs. After finishing ranked last in the regular season with 73.6 yards per game, the Cardinals have relied on Edgerrin James, who leads all playoff rushers with 203 yards. Tim Hightower also provides valuable second option.

Arizona Cardinals Linebackers

OLB Karlos Dansby He plays well in all phases and leads the team in playoff tackles with 23. OLB Chike Okeafor is one of the team's best pass rushers (4.5 sacks). Consistency was been a weakness in the regular season, but the results against the run and scoring defense have improved in the postseason and have helped land Arizona in the Super Bowl!

Arizona Cardinals Wide Receivers

Larry Fitzgerald has been dominant in the playoffs with 23 catches, five touchdowns and a playoff-record 419 yards in three wins. Steve Breaston is dangerous if Fitzgerald and Boldin get too much attention. Look for Warner to rely on a fair number of screen passes of the Steelers pass rush becomes too much for the line to handle!

Arizona Cardinals Coaching

In his second season as coach, Ken Whisenhunt has led the Cardinals to its first Super Bowl. Whisenhunt, helped mold the Steelers offense during its 2005 Super Bowl season. Whisenhunt brought former Steelers coaches Russ Grimm and Kevin Spencer with him to Arizona in 2007.

Pittsburgh Steelers Keys to Victory in Super Bowl XLIII

Pittsburgh Steelers Quarterback

Ben Roethlisberger previously led the Steelers to a win in Super Bowl XL. He has not thrown an interception this post-season so it will be interesting to see how he handles the stingy Cardinals secondary.

Pittsburgh Steelers Defensive Line

LE Aaron Smith, NT Casey Hampton and RE Brett Keisel anchor the Steelers' top-ranked unit. They do an outstanding job of tying up blockers at the point of attack, allowing linebackers such as LaMarr Woodley and Defensive Player of the Year James Harrison to make plays. Look for the Steelers to push the Cardinals line early to make Warner perform in the Super Bowl.

Pittsburgh Steelers Running Backs

The running game hasn't been a strong point for the Steelers this year. It's been off in the playoffs, as well, with Willie Parker posting season-high 146 yards and two TDs in the divisional playoff win and just 47 yards against the Ravens. A good measure will be if Parker reaches 100 yards because the team has won all five times it has happened this year.

Pittsburgh Steelers Linebackers

OLBs James Harrison and LaMarr Woodley and ILBs Larry Foote and James Farrior form the core of the Steeler defense. These guys combined for 38.5 of the Steelers' 51 sacks his season, the second highest total by one team's linebackers in NFL history. Harrison was the league's Defensive Player of the Year in the regular season. Woodley has four sacks in two playoff games. If they play up to their performance to-date this season, the Steelers will definitely limit the Cardinals offensive output in the Super Bowl!

Pittsburgh Steelers Wide Receivers

The Steelers have a number of options in the air. Hines Ward is a question-mark entering the game. Is he really healthy? If he is not, WR Santonio Holmes needs to step up to make more plays. TE Heath Miller and WR Nate Washington also must increase their production.

Pittsburgh Steelers Coaching

Head coach Mike Tomlin is returning to the Super Bowl after claiming the AFC North title in his first two seasons in Pittsburgh. In 2002, he won the Super Bowl as a defensive backs coach with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Now, he is the youngest head coach to lead his team to the Super Bowl.

Super Bowl XLIII Prediction

The Steelers Defense is going to make this a grueling affair. A classic battle of defense versus offense. I predict Pittsburgh will win the game, but it will be closer than the current line of 7 indicates.

Final Score: Pittsburgh Steelers 21, Arizona Cardinals17.