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Pittsburgh Vs. Arizona: Comparing The Teams

By ROY CUMMINGS | The Tampa Tribune

Published: January 19, 2009

Pittsburgh Steelers (14-4)

ROAD TO TAMPA

Wild Card: Bye

Divisional Round: beat San Diego Chargers, 35-24

AFC Championship: beat Baltimore Ravens, 23-14

he Steelers' return to the Super Bowl can be traced back to a day shortly after Mike Tomlin replaced Bill Cowher as their head coach three years ago. Though he was groomed in the 4-3 Tampa 2 scheme made famous by former Bucs coordinator Monte Kiffin, Tomlin stuck with incumbent coordinator Dick LeBeau and the 3-4 alignment he employs. Three years later, LeBeau's defense is the biggest reason the Steelers are AFC champions. It finished the regular season ranked first overall and in beating the Ravens on Sunday, it helped Pittsburgh finish off a difficult and rare three-game season sweep of Baltimore. Despite the Steelers' defensive prowess, quarterback Ben Roethlisberger is the face of the Pittsburgh franchise. He runs an offense that has produced mostly modest numbers this season but has the ability to turn up the heat when it has to.

BACKSTORY

This is the Steelers' seventh trip to the Super Bowl, first since 2006. They are 5-1 in the title game, their only loss coming in Super Bowl XXX, when they were defeated 27-17 by the Cowboys. This is Tomlin's first trip to the Super Bowl as Steelers coach. Predecessors Chuck Noll (4-0) and Bill Cowher (1-1) combined to win the five titles. If the Steelers win the Super Bowl this year they will become the first franchise to win six. Dallas and San Francisco are the other franchises with five wins.

MATTER OF STYLE

With running back Willie Parker healthy again, the Steelers have gone back to basics on offense. They're leaning primarily on a power rushing attack in much the same way they did in winning Super Bowl XL three seasons ago, when Parker and Jerome Bettis ran 24 times for 136 yards and a touchdown against Seattle. QB Ben Roethlisberger gets his share of work, too, and well he should. He has weapons all around him, and makes good and generous use of them. WR Hines Ward is his best, and favorite, target, but Roethlisberger is a very good deep passer and has two talented deep targets in WRs Santonio Holmes and Nate Washington. The offensive line surrendered 46 sacks this year, despite the fact Roethlisberger is difficult to take down.

Defensively, the Steelers have a penchant for running zone blitzes, which call for defensive linemen and linebackers to drop into coverage while defensive backs and linebackers take on the responsibility of rushing the passer. The player to watch here is strong safety Troy Polamalu. He's a big-time playmaker who does an excellent job of disguising his intentions and is hard to stop when he comes racing in on a blitz. The Steelers are equally good at stopping the run. Only five teams managed to gain 100 or more yards rushing against them this season, as linebackers James Farrior and James Harrison and defensive end Aaron Smith stopped 147 ball-carriers for gains of 2 yards or less this year.

HEAD COACH

Mike Tomlin, 36, is 24-11 in two seasons as the Steelers' coach, including 2-1 in the playoffs. Though some were surprised when Tomlin landed the prestigious Steelers job after one only season as an NFL defensive coordinator in Minnesota, he has proven a worthy choice. Tomlin's 22 regular-season victories are the most for a Steelers coach in his first two seasons, and he is the first Pittsburgh coach to win division titles in his first two seasons. Tomlin could become the youngest head coach to win the Super Bowl, replacing Tampa Bay's Jon Gruden, who was 39 when the Bucs won Super Bowl XXXVII in January 2003.

TAMPA TIES

Coach Mike Tomlin first came to the NFL as a defensive backs coach with the Bucs in 2001. He stayed in that position until 2006. Running backs coach Kirby Wilson was a running backs coach with the Bucs in 2002 and 2003.Conditioning coordinator Garrett Giemont was the Bucs strength and conditioning coach from 2003 to 2005.

MEDIA DARLING

He's no Tom Brady, but QB Ben Roethlisberger does make it into the gossip columns now and then. From his motorcycle accident a few years back to his relationships with golfer Natalie Gulbis and now Canadian-born actress Missy Peregrym ("Heroes"), Roethlisberger tends to stay in the news even for his off-the-field activities.

BIG HITTER

S Troy Polamalu is a lot like Bucs' Jermaine Phillips. He's a vicious hitter who flies at ball carriers and sometimes does as much damage to himself as to his opponents. He's a safety but he plays like a linebacker, and has the ability to knock the ball or the brains loose from anyone who ventures into his path.

FAMOUS FANS

Actor Brad Pitt, country and western singer Tim McGraw and comedian Adam Sandler are all believed to be big Steelers fans. A lot of Steelers fans also think former Dolphins quarterback Dan Marino is a big fan because he grew up in the Pittsburgh area.

DID YOU KNOW?

The Steelers alumni include a former Supreme Court justice. Bryon "Whizzer" White played for the Steelers in 1938, leading the league in rushing. He was the game's highest-paid player at the time, making $15,000. After joining the navy and attending law school, White was named to the Supreme Court by President John F. Kennedy in 1962.

OFFENSIVE LEADERS

PASSING

QB Ben Roethlisberger: 33-59, 436 yards 2 TDs, 0 INT

RUSHING

RB Willie Parker: 51 att., 193 yards, 2 TDs

RECEIVING

WR Hines Ward: 7 catches, 125 yards, 0 TDs

DEFENSIVE LEADERS

TACKLES

LB James Farrior 18

SACKS

LB LaMarr Woodley 4

INTERCEPTIONS

Larry Foote, Troy Polamalu, Deshea Townsend, Tyrone Carter 1

(Note: Stats are postseason only.)

Arizona Cardinals (12-7)

ROAD TO TAMPA

Wild Card: beat Atlanta Falcons, 30-24

Divisional Round: beat Carolina Panthers, 33-13

NFC Championship: beat Philadelphia Eagles, 32-25

he Cardinals are truly a Cinderella story. They were picked by most experts to finish the season somewhere near the bottom of the standings, but an explosive passing game featuring WRs Larry Fitzgerald and Anquan Boldin has propelled them to division and conference titles for the first time since the franchise moved to Arizona 21 years ago. Despite their prowess for highlight-reel passing plays, the Cardinals are considered by many to be the ugly duckling of this year's tournament field. They finished the year ranked 19th overall in total defense and had the league's worst rushing attack. They played just well enough when necessary on defense, however, and got enough out of the arm of aging-but-rejuvenated quarterback Kurt Warner to beat Atlanta at home, Carolina on the road and Philadelphia at home in the NFC title game.

BACKSTORY

This will be the first Super Bowl appearance for the Arizona Cardinals, but it's not the first championship appearance for the franchise. The Cardinals won an NFL championship in 1947 when they were based in Chicago. The Chicago Cardinals returned to the NFL title game a year later, but lost to the team they beat the year before, the Philadelphia Eagles. Since then the Cardinals have made six trips to the playoffs, including three while based in St. Louis.

MATTER OF STYLE

The Cardinals were a one-dimensional team during the regular season but they've discovered diversity in the playoffs. No longer are they the team that attempted to run the ball just 21 times per game during the regular season. The Cardinals still aren't running the ball very well, averaging less than 4 yards per carry, but by trying to run more they are helping to create more opportunities for the passing attack that drives their offense. That passing attack is often launched out of spread formations that call for a lot of shifts by the backs and receivers. The idea is to get the ball into the hands of the receivers and let them make big yards after the catch, but the Cardinals are always eager to take advantage of the deep-ball threats they have in Anquan Boldin and Larry Fitzgerald. The Cardinals' scheme invites a lot of pressure and blitzes from opposing defenses and Kurt Warner, who threw 14 regular-season interceptions, has shown a tendency to buckle under that pressure. When he's on, though, Warner gets the ball out quickly and the Cardinals become hard to stop.

The Cardinals move around a lot on defense as well, and when they're focused they're dangerous. They have a ball-hawking secondary and a front seven that excels at forcing and recovering fumbles. The Cardinals were fifth in the league in takeaways this year. They have a fly-to-the-ball-and-strip-it mentality that has been working perfectly for them the past few weeks.

HEAD COACH

Ken Whisenhunt, 46, is in his second season as the Cardinals' coach and he's no stranger to the kind of success his team has had this year. Before joining the Cardinals, Whisenhunt was the offensive coordinator of the Pittsburgh Steelers, who won Super Bowl XL following the 2005 season. One of Whisenhunt's gutsiest and best decisions prior to this season was to keep Matt Leinart on the bench and go with Kurt Warner as his starting quarterback.

TAMPA TIES

Rookie CB Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie grew up in Bradenton and attended Lakewood Ranch High School, where he earned Class 5A All-State honors as a cornerback and receiver. He was the 16th overall pick by the Cardinals in the 2008 draft out of Tennessee State.

MEDIA DARLING

He doesn't necessarily light up a notebook or tape recorder, but QB Kurt Warner is always accessible and congenial. He's always in the public eye, too. Along with his wife, Brenda, Warner regularly promotes charitable causes and is one of the finalists for this year's Walter Payton Man of the Year Award, which annually honors players for their charitable work and their excellence on the field.

BIG HITTER

The guys at the league office who hand out the fines for dirty play know Cardinals safety Adrian Wilson well. Tapes of his hits come across their desks all the time. Wilson is a guy who would much rather knock you down than wrap you up and tackle you. He's been known to smoke a ball carrier or two, which is one reason he's better at sneaking into the box and defending the run than he is staying back in coverage and chasing down pass catchers.

FAMOUS FAN

Rays manager Joe Maddon, left, is a good friend of Cardinals coach Ken Whisenhunt and a big Cardinals follower. With a connection like that, he should get some pretty good seats for the game.

DID YOU KNOW?

The Cardinals are the oldest professional football team operating in the United States. They have been in existence since 1898, when they were formed as the Morgan Athletic Club in Chicago. Until now, they were one of just six teams to have never reached the Super Bowl. The others who still haven't made it to the Super Bowl are the Cleveland Browns, Detroit Lions, Houston Texans, Jacksonville Jaguars and New Orleans Saints.

OFFENSIVE LEADERS

PASSING

QB Kurt Warner: 61-92, 770 yards, 8 TDs, 2 INTs

RUSHING

RB Edgerrin James: 52 attempts, 203 yards, 1 TD

RECEIVING

WR Larry Fitzgerald: 23 catches, 419 yards, 5 TDs

DEFENSIVE LEADERS

TACKLES

OLB Karlos Dansby 23

SACKS

DE Bertrand Berry, DE Antonio Smith, SS Adrian Wilson, 2