Steelers RB Parker to put perfect record on line

Jan 28, 2009 - 9:58 PM By Tom Torrisi PA SportsTicker Pro Football Editor

Willie Parker has amassed some pretty gaudy statistics in his career.

But the one number the Pittsburgh Steelers' running back would like to put up in Super Bowl XLIII is another zero.

Yes, a zero, as in the Steelers are 6-0 in the postseason with Parker as their starting running back.

"It's not all about me," Parker insisted. "I'm definitely undefeated in the postseason, though, and I can definitely brag about it with my teammates, but the thing about it is that when they lost last year, I lost."

Parker suffered a fractured fibula in Week 16 in 2007, an injury that contributed to a one-and-done postseason for Pittsburgh, which managed just 25 yards rushing without him.

The fifth-year back, who was undrafted following a nondescript career at North Carolina, also had health woes this season, missing five games due to a knee injury.

But Parker showed his importance to the Steelers' offense by rushing for 116 yards in the regular-season finale and following that with a 146-yard, two-touchdown performance in Pittsburgh's divisional round win over San Diego.

Not surprisingly, the Steelers put up 66 points in those two victories - their highest back-to-back outputs of the season.

"Injuries can frustrate anyone. I definitely battled it for my first time this season and it made me stronger," Parker said. "It made me better, actually. I worked harder to get back and get to where I'm at right now. I'm definitely ready and we've been on the run lately running the ball. Now it's time for one last game to lay it all on the line."

In his previous Super Bowl appearance, Parker was cast in a supporting role in what turned out to be backfield mate Jerome Bettis' farewell tour.

Parker, however, snatched the spotlight with a 75-yard touchdown run - the longest in Super Bowl history - in the Steelers' 21-10 victory over Seattle in 2006.

"After you break a record, coming from where I came from, it changes a lot of stuff. People started to notice me a little more," Parker said. "You can look at that either way, but I had a great deal of confidence before that. I definitely love the stage. This is the highest stage you could possibly be, playing this sport."

Parker conceded it's hard to explain where that confidence originates from, being that he was a third-string running back at North Carolina.

"If you don't play in college, you're not going to get drafted," Parker said. "I don't care how good you are."

Considered too small to be a lead running back in the NFL, the 5-10, 209-pound Parker proved the so-called experts wrong, rushing for over 1,200 yards in three consecutive seasons from 2005-07.

"A lot of people say it is his speed that separates him but I think it is his ability to find holes between the tackles," Pittsburgh fullback Carey Davis said. "He has great vision and the ability to see an opening before it is there. The last couple of years he has done a great job of making moves and forcing people to miss."

The next task for Parker is to make the surprising Cardinals' defense miss him. Arizona's run defense has been brilliant in the postseason, shutting down the NFL's second-leading rusher in Atlanta's Michael Turner as well as putting the clamps on Carolina's DeAngelo Williams and Philadelphia's Brian Westbrook.

Parker was slowed considerably in the AFC title game by the Baltimore Ravens, but that hardly is making the Cardinals feel complacent.

"He's running the ball really well right now," Arizona defensive coordinator Clancy Pendergast said of Parker. "He's running in between the tackles. He's running on the perimeter. He's playing at a very high level right now. We have to contain the things that they do offensively."

That will mean dealing with a heavy dose of Parker, who has had at least 23 carries in his last three games after not toting the ball at least 20 times for the previous five contests.

"We like running the ball. We understand and have the ability to wear guys out," Steelers offensive tackle Willie Colon said. "I will tell everybody, you put us in front of anybody in the league and we will fight for four quarters. Once we get that going, that's when he opens up and gets going."

That's just what Parker is envisioning come Sunday, taking center stage on the NFL's grandest stage.

"It's definitely sweeter," he said. "Last time, I kind of shared time with Jerome (Bettis). I'm all by myself now so it's definitely sweeter for me."