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Big Ben, Warner Seek History

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The Tampa Tribune

Published: January 26, 2009

Even though the core of their team remains intact, the Steelers have only 11 starters on offense and defense that started in Super Bowl XL just three years ago. That does not include K Jeff Reed.

That surprised several of the Steelers players, including LB James Harrison and CB Bryant McFadden, a pair of starters who were reserves in 2005.

"I thought it would be more," said McFadden, who was a rookie in 2005. "The key guys are still pretty much here. We lost some valuable guys, but, for the most part, we do have a lot of core guys here."

Harrison agreed.

"We may not have a lot of starters," he said, "but we still have a lot of guys who were on that team, who played in that game."

The Steelers' Ben Roethlisberger and Cardinals' Kurt Warner have a chance to become the 10th quarterback to win more than one Super Bowl.

No quarterback has won more than Terry Bradshaw and Joe Montana of the San Francisco 49ers, each of whom has four Super Bowl victories. Someone will be No. 10 on that list after this game.

"If it is me, it's an awesome category and group to be with," Roethlisberger said.

Gerry Dulac,

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette;

Jack Magruder

FIND A WAY TO HAVE FUN

As the uninitiated Cardinals descend on Tampa, Kurt Warner has some simple advice: Have fun.

"The thing I learned from my first Super Bowl to my second was that you have to enjoy the process," said Warner, one of only five Cardinals with Super Bowl experience.

"It's crazy. You are going to be pulled in a million different directions. There is media everywhere. There are going to be people asking for autographs. The more uptight you get with it, the less you enjoy it, and the harder it is for you to prepare and play because you are thinking about everything else.

"Don't let it become a burden. Understand how big of a blessing it is to be in the Super Bowl, enjoy every minute of it, stay loose and accept what comes with it. If you don't want to sign autographs, stay in your room."

The Cardinals could pay heed. Warner has the two best passing games in Super Bowl history in his two appearances with St. Louis after the 1999 and 2001 seasons. He threw for a Super Bowl-record 414 yards with two touchdowns in a 23-16 victory against Tennessee on Jan. 30, 2000, and passed for 365 yards in a 20-17 loss to New England on Feb. 3, 2002.

"You can't prepare for it because you have never been, so you just take it as it goes," inside LB Gerald Hayes said. "Act like you have been there. You have to be calm and cool. Do what you do and do it well."

STEEL CITY WEST

The Cardinals definitely have a Pittsburgh feel. Starting with Coach Ken Whisenhunt, no fewer than 15 players, coaches and staff members have ties to Pittsburgh or the Steelers.

Assistant coach Todd Haley was a towel boy, then a ball boy, for the franchise when his father, Dick, was the Steelers' player personnel director from 1971-1990.

"My dad would bring the 8-millimeters films home and we would watch them on the wall in the spare room," Haley said.

"I can vividly remember him pointing out Lynn Swann on college tape, and talking about if we could ever get this player, what a great thing it would be."

After the Cardinals beat Carolina on Jan. 10, Haley received text messages from friends who were tail-gating in the Heinz Field parking lot prior to the Steelers' playoff game against San Diego.

Whisenhunt's first hire in Arizona was strength and conditioning coach John Lott, a former Steelers player.

"The first thing we did when we got here was completely redo the weight room and hire John Lott," Whisenhunt said.

"I think our injuries have been down, and our players are stronger at the end of the year, which is critical."

TIMING BIG BEN

Arizona sacked Pittsburgh's Ben Roethlisberger four times and had two interceptions in a 21-14 win against the Steelers on Sept. 23, 2007, and Ken Whisenhunt considers containing his former pupil a must.

"He has an outstanding arm, and he's seeing the field as well as anybody right now," said Whisenhunt, who was Roethlisberger's offensive coordinator in 2004-05.

"The added element of being physically big and strong like he is and having to try to get him down makes him a very tough guy to stop at that position."

OF NOTE

The Cardinals distributed their Super Bowl tickets after their final practice in Tempe, Ariz., on Saturday, the better to limit distractions, Coach Ken Whisenhunt said. He also advised his players to have someone else handle the tickets - each player receives two and can purchase up to 13, "so you don't have to say no. You don't have to deal with family members who are asking for things, because that does lead to distractions."

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