XLIII

I went 2-0 in the conference championship games. Woot! Good times. I'm now 6-4 against the spread, 6-4 picking winners. Not great, but not bad.
Ok, so Pittsburgh Steelers and Arizona Cardinals, in Tampa Bay, Steelers favored by 4. You have to give the Cards a lot of credit for how they've played over the last month. And they do have an advantage in Whisenhunt having been the Steelers OC two years ago. However, I think that advantage is overstated, and the Cards play has only mildly surprised me. Yes, they blew out the Panthers, but really the Panthers blew themselves. Meanwhile, the Steelers are really really good. Maybe not an all-time great team, but that defense is tremendous, better than any the Cards have faced. The impact of Hines Ward being hobbled seems overstated to me, he's good but not crucial to their success. So, I think Pittsburgh's D will hold the Cards offense largely in check, probably getting a pick 6, or at least a long recovery of a fumble. Steelers 23, Cardinals 17.