Week 7 Breakdown

Super Bowl XLIII 2011


The Steelers (4-2) pack up and head out west to face a slew of former Steelers now with the Arizona Cardinals (1-4) Both rosters look a bit different from their Super Bowl XLIII showdown, but one thing still remains the same, both teams are full of Steelers.

The Cardinals grab up former Steelers like they have gold in their pockets with former players like Nick Eason, Clark Haggans, Joey Porter and Crezdon Butler; and coaches such as Ken Wisenhunt, Russ Grimm, Ray Horton, Kevin Spencer and Deshea Townsend to name a few.

The Steelers connection with the Cardinals goes much deeper than the players and staff connection. In 1944, during the midst of World War II the Steelers and then Chicago Cardinals merged to form the Chicago Card-Pitt. The team finished 0-10 and were nicknamed the Car-Pitts (carpets) because of the teams poor play. The teams went' back to their respected cities a year later in 1945.

These two teams began play against each other during the Steelers inaugural season in 1933. The Steelers have played the Cardinals across a multitude of cities including Chicago, St. Louis and finally the Cardinals current home Phoenix, starting in 1987. In 59 games against each other the Steelers have maintained an advantage winning 33, losing 23 with 3 ties. When they play away from the confines of Pittsburgh their record falls much shorter winning 11, losing 15 with 2 ties; the last match-up in Arizona was a 21-14 loss in 2007.

The Steelers run defense is still not back to normal, but fortunately for the fans and players the secondary is playing above their grade. The Steelers run defense has improved to 15th in the league, allowing 112.8 yards per game. The secondary is still ranked first allowing 157.7 yards per game, nearly 20 yards per game ahead of second place. As a team the Steelers defense ranks first is total yards allowed with 270.5, and tenth in sacks with 15.

CARDINALS SEASON STATS:
Kevin Kolb- 101 of 172 1,281 yards 5 touchdowns 6 interceptions
*Kevin is ranked 28th among NFL quarterbacks.

Chris "Beanie" Wells- 79 carries for 381 yards and 6 touchdowns
*Beanie has only one hundred yard game and one multi-touchdown game this season.

Larry Fitzgerald- 27 catches for 427 yards and 2 touchdowns
*Fitzy has not had a single multi-touchdown game this season.

Defense- The Cardinals are giving up 377 yards per game and 24.2 points per game while sacking quarterbacks 11 times and picking off 4 passes.

INJURY REPORT
James Harrison- out; Casey Hampton- out; Doug Legursky- out; Chris Hoke- doubtful; Maurkice Pouncey- probable;

FINAL TAKE
Most people are probably worried about the defenisve front. They haven't played extremely well agaisnt the run, but this could be the change they needed. The Steelers will need to get younger and with Hampton and Hoke both over thirty Steve McClendon will get a shot to prove he can handle the load in the future. The defense is roughed up but I think they can get it done. Big Ben doesn't need to throw the ball around, he needs to use the ball control offense through running to help the defense out. The longer the offense is on the field, the more rest the banged up defense can get.

STEELERS WIN: 27-13