NFL: The Steelers defense vs. the Cardinals Offense

Posted on | January 27, 2009 | No Comments

The most interesting match-up of this year’s Super Bowl is the Pittsburgh Steelers defense going up against the Arizona Cardinals offense. This should be a great match-up. And, if the Cardinals hope to win the game, it’s a match-up the Cardinals offense will have to win at least a few times.

The key to this match-up will be how successful the Cardinals are with dealing with the Steelers blitz.

The Steelers will make it a priority to get to Kurt Warner early and often. Even if they don’t sack him they will want to hit him hard and knock him to the ground. The worst thing about the Championship Game for the Cards was that the Eagles seemed to rattle Kurt Warner in the 3rd quarter of that game. This is like a shark smelling blood in the water to the Steelers defense. They will try to knock Warner off his game from the start.

What Warner will have to be careful of is throwing a pass without knowing where Troy Polamalu is at. If Warner doesn’t account for him then he just might throw some costly picks. But if Warner hesitates too much then he will take some vicious hits. So, ultimately it’s going to fall on the the Cardinals offensive and the protection they give Warner.

The wild card in all of this will be the Cardinals running game and their screens. If the Cards can bust a couple runs and hit some screens for big gainers then that will slow down the Steelers blitz. Look for Cardinals offensive coordinator to try to combat the blitz with some well-times runs and some screens.

This will be a great match-up in the Super Bowl. The Steelers defense is the best in the league and the Cardinals have a ton of weapons on offense. The side that wins the match-up will probably win the Super Bowl.

Related posts:

1. NFL: Pittsburgh Steelers Offense vs. Arizona Cardinals Defense
2. NFL: Previewing Green Bay Packers at Arizona Cardinals
3. Recap: Philadelphia Eagles at Arizona Cardinals
4. NFL: Another Early Look at the Super Bowl
5. NFL: Rooting for Kurt Warner

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