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The end of another year of the greatest American Sports is almost to conclusion. A sad day unless you are a fan of one of the franchises playing in todays matchup.
I still do not believe the NFC West Champion Arizona Cardnials are a Super Bowl Contender. They have played great in the playoffs, on both sides of the ball, with an offense that has been clicking on all cylanders. I tend to think that the extra week of preperation will help the defense of the Steelers, more than the offense of the Cards. If each team was given the option of playing last week, or this week, I have to believe the Cards would have prefered to keep rolling without a break, while the Steelers would have opted for the extra time to prepare. Over the last 2 years in the playoffs, the team with the better Defensive Hog Index is 19-2 SU. Pittsburgh ranks 1st, Arizona 17th.
Can Arizona maintain balance offensively against the top rated defense of Pittsburgh?
they averaged 35 passes and 27 rushes in their nine victories this year
they averaged 46 passes and 14 rushes in their seven losses this year.
In the playoffs, they average more runs (33) than passes (31) and are 3-0.
This Steeler Defense is as good as their Steel Curtain Defenses of the 70's.
Against the Run
1976 Steelers – 3.22 YPA
2008 Steelers – 3.29 YPA
Against the Pass
2008 Steelers – 4.71 YPA
1976 Steelers – 5.0 YPA
Yards per Game
2008 Steelers – 237.2 YPG
1976 Steelers – 237.4 YPG
They have been jsut as good in the playoffs, they’ve surrendered just 88 rushing yards on 26 attempts (2.4 YPA), and have forced 11 negative pass plays in just 72 dropbacks,15.3 percent of dropbacks against Pittsburgh’s mighty defense have ended in a sack or INT this postseason.
Historicaly,
1.) Teams that rush for more yards in the Super Bowl are 35-7 SU & 31-8-3 ATS (78.9%).
2.) Teams that average more passing yards per attempt in the NFL title game are 37-5 SU & 32-7-3 ATS (81.6%).
3.) In the 42 previous Super Bowls, the team that has more turnovers has won just three times SU and six times ATS (84.2%). FWIW last 2 SU wins were Steeler wins
4.) Teams that win the time of possession battle are 31-11 SU & 29-10-3 ATS.
Teams that hold an edge in at least three of these four key statistical categories are 36-1 SU & 31-5-1 ATS. And
teams that win all four categories are 23-0 SU & 21-1-1 ATS.
I see Pittsburgh winning 1, 3, and 4.
I am taking
Pittsburgh -6.5
I still do not believe the NFC West Champion Arizona Cardnials are a Super Bowl Contender. They have played great in the playoffs, on both sides of the ball, with an offense that has been clicking on all cylanders. I tend to think that the extra week of preperation will help the defense of the Steelers, more than the offense of the Cards. If each team was given the option of playing last week, or this week, I have to believe the Cards would have prefered to keep rolling without a break, while the Steelers would have opted for the extra time to prepare. Over the last 2 years in the playoffs, the team with the better Defensive Hog Index is 19-2 SU. Pittsburgh ranks 1st, Arizona 17th.
Can Arizona maintain balance offensively against the top rated defense of Pittsburgh?
they averaged 35 passes and 27 rushes in their nine victories this year
they averaged 46 passes and 14 rushes in their seven losses this year.
In the playoffs, they average more runs (33) than passes (31) and are 3-0.
This Steeler Defense is as good as their Steel Curtain Defenses of the 70's.
Against the Run
1976 Steelers – 3.22 YPA
2008 Steelers – 3.29 YPA
Against the Pass
2008 Steelers – 4.71 YPA
1976 Steelers – 5.0 YPA
Yards per Game
2008 Steelers – 237.2 YPG
1976 Steelers – 237.4 YPG
They have been jsut as good in the playoffs, they’ve surrendered just 88 rushing yards on 26 attempts (2.4 YPA), and have forced 11 negative pass plays in just 72 dropbacks,15.3 percent of dropbacks against Pittsburgh’s mighty defense have ended in a sack or INT this postseason.
Historicaly,
1.) Teams that rush for more yards in the Super Bowl are 35-7 SU & 31-8-3 ATS (78.9%).
2.) Teams that average more passing yards per attempt in the NFL title game are 37-5 SU & 32-7-3 ATS (81.6%).
3.) In the 42 previous Super Bowls, the team that has more turnovers has won just three times SU and six times ATS (84.2%). FWIW last 2 SU wins were Steeler wins
4.) Teams that win the time of possession battle are 31-11 SU & 29-10-3 ATS.
Teams that hold an edge in at least three of these four key statistical categories are 36-1 SU & 31-5-1 ATS. And
teams that win all four categories are 23-0 SU & 21-1-1 ATS.
I see Pittsburgh winning 1, 3, and 4.
I am taking
Pittsburgh -6.5
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