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Cardinals bidding to deny Steelers historical win

Feb 1, 2009 - 11:57 AM PITTSBURGH (14-4) AT ARIZONA (12-7), 6:25 p.m. EST

TAMPA, Florida (Ticker) -- The Pittsburgh Steelers are chasing history and a most unlikely challenger is left standing in their path.

A victory over the Arizona Cardinals in Super Bowl XLIII on Sunday would give Pittsburgh its sixth world championship - surpassing the San Francisco 49ers and Dallas Cowboys for the most all-time.

The surprising Cardinals are trying to carve out their own niche and, in the process, deny the Steelers a spot in the NFL record books.

While an upset by Arizona would not go down as the biggest in the history of the game, it surely will make the Cardinals the most improbable Super Bowl champion to be crowned.

Yes, there have been biggest upsets on the NFL's grandest stage. See Joe Namath and the New York Jets in Super Bowl III, Tom Brady and the New England Patriots in Super Bowl XXXVI and, just a year ago, the New York Giants KO'ing those same Patriots.

But at least those teams were considered worthy champions of their own conference, earning a level of respect that certainly has eluded the Cardinals.

"I actually heard somebody say that we are the worst Super Bowl team there was," Arizona defensive tackle Darnell Dockett said. "One thing about it, though, is that we deserve to be here. We beat Atlanta. We beat Carolina. We beat the Eagles. Every last one of those teams, people picked us to lose. How can people think we are the worst Super Bowl team ever when we have proved (otherwise)?"

How can anyone think otherwise, say the skeptics, pointing to a bevy of factors. Start with the Cardinals' weak opposition in the NFC West, where at one point in the season their three division rivals sported a combined 7-26 record.

Check the four losses in the final six regular-season games in which Arizona surrendered at least 35 points, including brutal beatings at Philadelphia (48-20) and New England (47-7) that were part of the team's 0-5 record on the East Coast. Need one mention giving up six touchdown passes to Brett Favre in a 56-35 loss to the Jets earlier in the season?

And, finally, take note of the franchise's own checkered history. The Cardinals come into Sunday's game as just the second nine-win team to reach the Super Bowl since the league expanded to 16 games in 1978.

Arizona's NFC championship marked its first title since 1947 - ending the second-longest drought in professional sports - while the Cardinals' NFC West crown was just their second division title since 1975, when Pittsburgh's "Steel Curtain" was in the midst of delivering four Super Bowl titles in six seasons.

Pittsburgh, meanwhile, has an impeccable pedigree, and will be making its seventh Super Bowl appearance - second all-time to Dallas' eight - and second in four years following its victory in 2006.

The Steelers feature 20 players on their roster with Super Bowl experience, compared to just five for the Cardinals. And as far as second-year Pittsburgh coach Mike Tomlin is concerned, that factor means little.

"This team is definitely very different than the team that won the Super Bowl a few years ago. I think that in this business you have to respect that and you don't take the process for granted," Tomlin said. "Individual experiences can be helpful to people, but collectively this team's body of work stands alone and speaks for itself, as does Arizona's.

"What has happened in the past will really be kind of irrelevant to determine the outcome of the game. It is going to be about how the players execute in Raymond James Stadium on February one."

One player who executed on football's biggest stage was Steelers wide receiver Hines Ward, the MVP of Super Bowl XL.

Ward suffered a sprained MCL in his right knee in the AFC championship game, missing most of the final three quarters. However, Tomlin is not worried about his star receiver, who practiced for the second straight day Friday and was listed as probable for Sunday's game.

Tomlin said Ward's status "never was a question."

Given that they have accomplished in their stunning postseason run, the Cardinals rate a puncher's chance against the favored Steelers, who have ridden their top-ranked defense to eight wins in their last nine games, allowing 14 of fewer points in seven of them.

Despite playing one of the most rugged schedules in recent memory, Pittsburgh has allowed just one opponent to amass 300 total yards, providing a juicy contrast between an impenetrable defense and Arizona's high-scoring offense.

Sparked by the tandem of pass-rushing linebackers James Harrison and LaMarr Woodley, the Steelers rang up a league-high 51 sacks during the regular season and have tacked on seven more in postseason victories over San Diego and Baltimore.

"I don't know if you're ever ready for that defense," Cardinals offensive coordinator Todd Haley acknowledged. "Three weeks in a row now we have our work cut out for us."

Arizona does have reasons for optimism. Not only have the Cardinals scored at least 30 points in each of their three postseason victories, but they have a familiarity factor with the Steelers.

Head coach Ken Whisenhunt and assistant head coach Russ Grimm were a part of Pittsburgh's coaching staff in Super Bowl XL, and both were candidates to succeed coach Bill Cowher - a job that eventually went to Tomlin.

The Cardinals also beat the Steelers (21-14) a year ago - albeit in the desert - so the "awe" factor should not be overwhelming for the team.

"Well I hope it can't hurt us that we know a little bit about them," Whisenhunt said. "Hopefully it will only help us."

And, finally, Arizona has the best player on the field in wide receiver Larry Fitzgerald, who has been unstoppable in the postseason with 23 receptions for five touchdowns and a playoff-record 419 yards.

"I think that this guy is special. That is indicative by a number of his catches," Steelers defensive coordinator Dick LeBeau said. "I always try to approach it like a great scorer in basketball; you are not going to stop them, you just have to keep them from dominating the game. Instead of scoring 50 points, they score 18-24. That is what we try to do with a top receiver."

Pittsburgh also needs to apply pressure to quarterback Kurt Warner, who has resurrected his career and is flashing the form that earned him league and Super Bowl MVP honors while leading the Rams over the Tennessee Titans in 1999.

Warner carved up blitz-happy Philadelphia in the NFC title game, completing 21-of-28 passes for 279 yards and four touchdowns.

"When you look at them I think it starts with the quarterback position, Kurt Warner, spectacular," Tomlin said. "He is a veteran football player. He is the same Kurt Warner that he has always been. He makes quick decisions, he doesn't make mistakes. He absolutely tortures you when he recognizes pressure and he gets the ball out of his hands."

Warner's counterpart, Ben Roethlisberger, has struggled through an uneven season due to injuries that caused running back Willie Parker to sit out five games. But he also owns a Super Bowl ring and has a knack for making the big play out of nothing, as evidenced by a 65-yard scoring strike to Santonio Holmes in the AFC title tilt.

"Most guys think he is easy to bring down, but he is not like that," Dockett said of the 6-6 Roethlisberger. "He makes a lot of plays by just bouncing off sacks and throwing the ball down field."

Still, the game will be decided by the ability of Pittsburgh's defense to neutralize Arizona's offense, which features a starting Pro Bowl trio in Warner, Fitzgerald and fellow wideout Anquan Boldin - along with a rejuvenated Edgerrin James in the backfield.

History has shown that a great defense typically will conquer a superb offense - witness the Giants' upset of New England a year ago - which is just one more reason why the Cardinals are a seven-point underdog.

"We are definitely the underdog. It doesn't matter to us," Arizona safety Antrel Rolle said. "The media, the critics, the commentary, they can set whatever scoreboard that they have in their minds. At the end of the day, they don't produce the outcome. The two teams on the field produce the outcome."