It's not a secret that the Cardinals offense failed to produce much in the first three quarters, but what's the reason why? One of the top offenses in the league only registered 7 points in the first 45 minutes of play. Granted they were playing the best defense in the league but was it really the defense that affected their game plan? Gandy may have been doing the right thing in holding Harrison. The risk in letting Harrison go free around the egde could have been catastrophic. With Warner's history, it would be easy to predict the result. One might say that the penalties were results of an aggressive defense, but there could have been ways around them. Rather then putting the offensive tackles on islands, why not use a chip block? Edge is known as a dependable run blocker and could have been used to help the tackles more. The Cardinals also failed to use running back screens to counter the blitzes as well. J.J. excels at the screen and may have broken off a huge chunk of yardage. Nevertheless, some key plays and penalties truly slowed the Cardinals, and drastically took them out of their game plan. Here's a break down of all the Cardinals drives in the first three quarters and their final results:

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The Super Bowl has come and gone and the Arizona Cardinals are not the champs. They may have not walked away with the trophy but this will benefit them more then anyone would expect. The appearance in the Super Bowl only sets up this team even more for a bigger run next year. The jitters and pressure of the big game can affect any player, and the fact that all 53 players now have that out of the way, may prepare them more then they could ever be. How you say? Lets take a look.

• Experience. What else can you say. Playing in the biggest game in the NFL is only going to give each player a lot more experience. It will help in other big situations such as division games, road games or featured games. (Being as the Cardinals were in the Super Bowl, there's no doubt they will get a few featured games). It also gives this team another year to bond together and get the system really going. It's obvious they bought into Ken Whisenhunt's system, now they can fully showcase it next year and build on what they started.
• Motivation. There can be nothing more motivating then wanting to get back and win the Super Bowl. Seeing the other team kiss the Lombardi trophy can also tend to motivate a player.
• Determination. This is similar to motivation, with the exception that this team will be determined next year to not only win the division again, but make a run in the playoffs and show everybody that this year was not a mistake.
• Willingness to stay. The fact that the Arizona Cardinals made the Super Bowl can give some players the willingness to stay on the team, rather then bolt to a new team. Players like A-Dubb, Q, and Dockett should be more then willing to stay, for the right price that is.
• Win one for the fans. This may also fall along the lines of motivation, but more so to win it for somebody else. The fans know it, the players know it, and even the media knows it. The fans of the Arizona Cardinals deserve the trophy and just that alone will give the team something to play for next year.
• Sponsorships. I'm not very knowledgeable when it comes to this subject, but I do know that this may give the Cardinals organization more salary to deal with. The added revenue from the extra games, products and Super Bowl attention could possibly land the Cardinals more players in free agency.

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Dale Lolley, a guy who covers the Steelers year round for a couple of different publications, including the Observer Reporter, had a very interesting note about something the Pittsburgh Steelers have been working on for a while. According to him, they've been working on a 'Wild Cat' formation with Mewelde Moore lined up at quarterback. He explains here:

A few weeks ago, I alluded to an interesting game plan the Steelers were working on for the Ravens......During the season, we're not allowed to talk specifically about what we see in practice under agreement with the Steelers. We don't talk about what we see other than basic stuff and they keep their practices completely open - something few teams now do.....But since we're shut out of practice now, I can tell you they've been working a wildcat package with Mewelde Moore in the backfield. No more secrets.

The Steelers haven't used the wild cat at any point this season but it makes sense that if they've been working on it that they'll use it at some point on Sunday. This is the game when you empty your bag of tricks and pull out all the stops. Just another threat that the Cardinals will have to prepare for, but at least Moore shouldn't be a big threat to throw the ball. He has attempted three passes in his career, the last of which was in 2007, and he's completed one for 15 yards in 2006 (but it was for a TD). He attempted four passes during his collegiate career at Tulane, completing one for 14 yards.

The Cardinals defense didn't see the 'wild cat' very many times in the regular season, in fact only the first meeting against the Panthers comes to mind. Does anyone else remember them seeing it in another game?

Defense is a big story line in this year's Super Bowl and for good reason. The Steelers sport one of the best defenses in recent memory and they're capable of completely shutting down even the best offenses. The Arizona Cardinals defense went through a roller coaster regular season but they've turned into ball-hawks in the post season and are a big reason why the Cardinals are the NFC representative.

Both defenses have their fair share of play makers but every good defense is led by a outstanding middle linebacker. For the Cardinals, Karlos Dansby mans the middle and he led the Cardinals in tackles in the regular season and post season. He finished the regular season tied for second on the team in sacks and interceptions and he forced two fumbles. For the Steelers, James Farrior led the Steelers in tackles in both the regular season and the post season and he ended the season with the same amount of sacks as Dansby. Granted both teams don't run the same defense but their production can still be compared to each other. So who will have the biggest impact for their respective teams in the Super Bowl? Let's take a look...

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If you haven't gotten enough Arizona Cardinals coverage in the past week and a half, you're in luck because there's still plenty of it out there:

• The official site looks at Adrian Wilson's career and what this post season has meant to the longest tenured Cardinal.
  
• Darren Urban looks at Darnell Dockett's touching life-story.
• Azcentral says Larry Fitzgerald doesn't have the the whole world in his hands, it just seems like it.
  
• Mike Sando of ESPN breaks down Edgerrin James' rushes in the post season by quarter, formation and down.
• Terrelle Smith has traveled a long road to get to the Super Bowl and it's a dream that he's not ready to let die. 
• The relationship between Todd Haley and Kurt Warner is so tight that their wives get jealous at times, but the Cardinals aren't complaining. 
• A story that we all knew would get covered at some point this week, Matt Leinart has grown and matured this season and is confident that he's starting QB material. 
• Edgerrin James vs. Willie Parker and Hines Ward vs. Larry Fitzgerald
• ESPN writes that Pat Tillman would have like these Cardinals. 
• Larry Fitzgerald = Mr. January
• Fitz, Q and Breaston are the 'three amigos' or 'triple threat' but they need some kind of nickname. 
• An interesting look at the play makers heading into the big game. 
• Santonio Holmes vs. DRC
• The Cardinals defense is a big reason why they're still playing.

There's been a lot of talk and speculation on how much, if any, Hines Ward will be able to contribute when his Steelers meet up with the Arizona Cardinals on Sunday. Ward is an amazingly tough player so I fully expect him to attempt to play, but a sprained MCL isn't normally the type of injury that a wide receiver can play through. Cutting and changing direction puts too much pressure and strain on your knees for him to be able to simply play through the pain. So if he's unable to play, what does it mean for the Cardinals defense?

Before we can get into how it would change their defensive game plan, it's worth looking at what Ward means to the Pittsburgh offense. Ward's not the fastest or quickest receiver but he is Ben Roethlisberger's favorite target and for good reason. Ward's caught 65% of the passes thrown his way (no other Steelers' wide out is higher than 51%) and only three players in the league turned more third down receptions into first downs. Not only is Ward the most targeted receiver for the Steelers, he's a force when he doesn't have the ball as well. He's widely considered the best blocking wide receiver in the game and if defenders don't keep their head on a swivel, he'll deliver a knockout blow. On top of his tangible contributions to the game, he's the offensive leader of the Steelers. His ruthless blocking and trademark smile are simply contagious and Big Ben, Santonio Holmes, Willie Parker and the rest of the offense feed off of his enthusiasm. Oh and I've said all of that without even mentioning that he's a 'big game player.' In his 11 year career he's averaged just under 60 yards per game and scored a TD every 2.4 games but in the playoffs he averages almost 80 yards per game and has scored a TD every 1.6 games. So what would the Steelers have left if Ward can't play?

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Both the Arizona Cardinals and Pittsburgh Steelers have wrapped up their Wednesday practices and there weren't any real surprises, injury wise. The Cardinals didn't have a single player sit out of practice and JJ Arrington, Antonio Smith, Travis LaBoy and Ben Graham were limited. Considering that Arrington didn't practice at all last week, it's good to see that he's back on the practice field. 

For the Steelers, the only real news is that Hines Ward still didn't practice, but that was expected. Depending on what you read, he's going to try and practice either tomorrow or Friday, but I fully expect him to wait until Sunday to really test the knee.

Andrew previewed some key match-ups earlier in the week and asked ROTB what the most important match-up was in the Super Bowl. The leading vote-getter right now is a match-up that we've already broken down in detail (you can read that breakdown, right here) so we'll move on to the runner up. If you haven't voted, follow this link and let your voice be heard.

The Arizona Cardinals know a little something about outstanding, versatile safeties considering that they've had Adrian Wilson on the roster for the past eight seasons, but Troy Polamalu still offers a difficult challenge. Polamalu is a nearly a household name (rare for a safety), but he's more than just hype. He's a five time Pro Bowler, three time All-Pro and he's the rare strong safety who is just as good in coverage as he is around the line of scrimmage. He can line up anywhere just about anywhere in the secondary and he's constantly in motion prior to the snap. His ability to free flow prior to the snap of the ball makes it very difficult for opposing quarterbacks to identify not only what his responsibility is on a given play, but also what kind of coverage the secondary is in. So what can Kurt Warner and the offense do to counter Troy's playmaking abilities and limit his impact on the game? Let's take a look....

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