http://fifthdown.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/01/19/a-first-look-at-the-super-bowl-mat chup

Steelers by 7

A great defense (Steelers) vs. a great offense (AZ). Though I truly believe defense wins games, if the Cardinals are in striking distance by the 4th quarter I think they may pull this one off. But I'm not a bettin' man.

I haven't watched an NFL game in decades. I've no clue about the talent on either team. But I pick the Cardinals to win by 14.

LOL Skep ... I like that. Like throwing a dart, or the lady who always wins a March Madness pool because she "likes the mascot" or "that team's uniforms are prettier".

If Arizona can have a balanced offense against the best defense in the league (Philly had the #3 defense and the Cards did a great job mixing it up), they have a strong chance. They have two solid RBs in Hightower and Edgerrin James, and that receiving corps is just filthy. Kurt Warner can get rattled some though when pressured, and while he has a super quick release, Pittsburgh blitzes. A LOT. From all over, throwing different looks. Maybe more short, quick passes, West Coast style and less of a vertical game, controlling the clock, eating yards is the key for Arizona.

Pittsburgh isn't going to hide what they do, it's been Steeler football for 35 years; run the ball, and hit you on defense. Offensively they are no match for Arizona, they have some playmakers like Hines Ward, and now that he's healthy, Willie Parker will get a heavy workload ... but if the Steelers win, it'll be with that defense. Smacking Warner in the face, bottling up the run, and getting VERY physical with the trio of Fitzgerald, Bouldin and Breaston out wide. Making it harder for them to get off the line, being a thorn in their side.

Gonna be a great game!

Anyone else having a Super Bowl party?

Skep...these days I don't have time to watch an entire NFL game if at all. So I just go to www.nfl.com and find the highlights and call it good.

I'm not sure I'll even watch the Superbowl this year.

Well Mrs. Merkin won your testosterone-fueled fantasy football league last year based, and I quote, "On how cute they looked in their uniforms and which hairstyle they had." So yeah.

When it comes to pro-sports, my philosophy is "wake me when the playoffs end and there is/are a championship game(s)." NFL is so homogenized. All the same offenses. All the same defenses. It's like tapioca. Sweet but bland at the same time. College football has the potential to be the greatest sport in America, if it weren't for the archaic bowl system, alas that will never happen. So easy to fix too. 6 BCS champions and 2 at-large teams (Utah for example). You keep the bowls as the playoffs and rotate where the championship is played. But I digress.

Pittsburgh is going to win this ball game. Teams that are appearing in their first ever Super Bowls tend to not do well. (The Tennessee Titans and Carolina Panthers being two of the rare exceptions to this rule.) My pick: Steelers 30 Cards 17

I'll go with Cousin Kurt on this one!

GO STEELERS!

Cards 24 Steelers 21

After much thought and careful consideration, I predict...............







One team will win and one team will lose!

Bill, that is the most riveting analysis I have EVER seen! So spot-on! LOL

Does anyone else get sick of the breakdowns and everything? In a lot of ways I wish they would go back to one week between the conference championship games and the Super Bowl, the game itself is so often anticlimactic after two weeks of breaking down the quarterback efficiency rating, on third-and-six, with three wideouts, and a one-back set, between the 45 and 48 yard line, while running a two-minute offense.

It's overkill!

Agreed