Feeling Super

While I don't particularly like being wrong very much, if I do make a mistake, I'll make sure to say that I've done so. It's something I started a few years back, being more honest about who I am and being able to acknowledge when I'm wrong.



That said, these playoffs obviously haven't been too good for me. Not only did the Giants get beaten in their first game, but the Cardinals have continuously tried to turn my picks into a weekly crapshoot.



Atlanta? Gone.

Carolina? Obliterated.

Philly? Done.



So now comes my dilemma. How do I pick against Arizona, the truest of underdog, the one which has proven me wrong for the last month? How do I pick against Kurt Warner, Larry Fitzgerald, Anquan Bouldin? It seems like everything is going their way right now, just as it did last year for the Giants, who faced a far tougher test in the Super Bowl in the undefeated, record-breaking (scum of the Earth) Patriots. These are just the Steelers.



Ho hum.



But the problem with this Steelers team, the reason I think far too many people think the Cards are going to win, is because they have consistently done whatever it took to win games. Shannon Sharpe said it best during the post-game show following Pittsburgh's controversial win over the Ravens toward the end of the season:



Pittsburgh and Ben Roethlisberger always look horrible; they never look like they're going to win the game...until they HAVE to. Roethlisberger doesn't make the good pass until he HAS to, the critical third-down conversion. Any time they have a play he HAS to make, he always makes it. It shows you just who he is.



I agree.



I think there will be at least three different times when the Steelers will be facing a third-and-long situation where they need to continue a drive, either because they're trailing by less than a touchdown or because they need to keep the clock moving to keep the ball out of Warner's hands. In those situations, Roethlisberger will probably have to evade a strong rush and keep the play alive, which is his specialty. I think he'll find Hines Ward or Santonio Holmes or Heath Miller and keep Pittsburgh alive. The Steelers defense is one of the best ever. They'll have more than enough schemes for Mr. Warner, believe you me.



Steelers 24, Cardinals 10



Of course, now that I've said this, the Cardinals will probably prove me wrong.