Pro Football 101

Pray. That’s the proper place to start.

No, the 2008 Steelers are not in the same class as the 2007 New England Patriots—they can be beat, but the Cardinals have one formula for success and if that doesn’t work, the house of cards comes down. No pun intended.

For Arizona to win on Sunday, they will need to come out firing the football; the ground game will not work.

But the Steelers have only been beaten through the air one time this year: a 24-20 loss to the Colts. And even then, there was some luck involved. Peyton Manning’s first TD pass to Reggie Wayne, for 65 yards, was deflected off the CBs hand right into Wayne’s before he took it the rest of the way for the score.

So while it won’t be easy, it’s the only way.

Warner will have to execute the short passing game to perfection because the Steelers will not allow him to sit back there and pick apart its secondary. They’ve seen plenty of film from the Eagles game to know that you’ve got to break the timing between Warner and his receivers (Fitzgerald and Boldin).

And by utilizing this passing attack successfully, it will allow Arizona to implement the running game once they get the lead.

Defensively, the Cardinals won’t have to worry about getting run over by Pittsburgh because they don’t employ the overwhelming running game that we all became accustomed to throughout the Cowher years.

And if Arizona has a lead, they’ll be at their best; playing aggressive defense—exotic blitz packages and the safety in the box (to stop the run and bring the extra man)—and allowing their secondary to remain disciplined in their coverage.

Now again, this scenario isn’t likely. It worked beautifully against the Panthers and during the 1st half of the Eagles game.

It will have to work once again to provide them their best shot to take home the Lombardi Trophy.

Check back tomorrow for Pro Football 101’s keys to a Steelers victory.

A rumor came out the other day that the Dallas Cowboys secretly covet LB Ray Lewis and would be willing to lock him up to a three year, $28M-$30M deal, with $25M of it being guaranteed. According to team owner Jerry Jones, Lewis would be a strong presence in the locker room which would help re-build team chemistry.

First off, let’s hope Lewis thinks with his head (and not his wallet).

Lewis, a sure-fire first ballot Hall of Famer, should remain a Raven until the day he retires.

I don’t think Baltimore Ravens GM Ozzie Newsome would commit that kind of money to a 35-year old player.  But I do suggest Newsome would offer some key incentives to lure Lewis to stay.

Secondly, the only way you’ll have team chemistry once again in Dallas is through addition by subtraction—releasing the cancer known as Terrell Owens.

The pairing of Lewis and Owens nearly happened before. In 2004, the Niners traded the troubled receiver to the Baltimore Ravens, but the deal was vetoed after T.O. cried to the NFL league office.

And why was there anything to cry over?

Because Owens’ agent somehow missed the deadline to fill out the free agency papers, so he was technically still under contract with San Francisco. So the Baltimore deal was ripped up and he got his wish to go to Philadelphia.

Well that love affair lasted one season until he completely imploded, created a personal rift with McNabb, and brought the entire ‘05 Eagles’ team down with his selfish antics.

So he went to Dallas in ‘06.

He fit right in with Jerry Jones’ belief that the Cowboys can rehabilitate anyone.

And aside from a few personality conflicts between Owens and Parcells – and I’m sure the Tuna was none too happy about the acquisition, once Romo took over after week 7 of the 2006 season, he was a happy camper.

And that transferred over until this year when he took his me-first attitude to a new level. In the past, whenever the Cowboys lost, he always used the “when the ball is thrown to me, good things happen” argument.

And against the likes of San Francisco, the team they played directly after he made those comments again, he put up over 200 yards and people thought he was right.

But shortly after the week 14 Steelers loss, a new kind of complaining began; he called out Romo and said that he looks to Witten too often. Perhaps, he hasn’t taken note of how difficult it is for defenses to match-up against the All-Pro TE.

And after the Cowboys were annihilated by the Eagles, 44-6, in week 17, T.O. even took some shots at offensive coordinator Jason Garrett.

So if Jones thinks that bringing in Lewis without removing Owens would solve team chemistry, he might need to have his head checked out. No one has ever been able to control Owens.

That’s why T.O., easily one of the top five receivers to ever play in the NFL, has been shipped out of two cities already and is close to getting the pink slip in the third.

Lewis would certainly be an asset to an already stout Dallas’ D, but even the most talented team in the league can’t overcome a personality like Owens. I believe that was proven this year by none other than Dallas.

Sure there were other issues affecting the team (Romo’s injury), but they still had a shot for the playoffs when he (Romo) returned. And both the Eagles and Cardinals proved that all you need to do is get in.

So stick in Baltimore, Ray.

Jones is desperate to sell tickets and luxury boxes for the new stadium this year and wants his fans to believe that this is a Super Bowl team, but until T.O. is shipped to the Canadian Football League, there will be no Super Bowl in Big D.

There will only be internal bickering and fighting that’s bad for football, but great for ratings on HBO’s award winning “Hard Knocks” series.

The Ravens and Steelers had played two stirring matchups this season—both coming down to the wire—but the third one failed to live up to the hype.

Although, at one point the scoreboard read 16-14 Pittsburgh, and the Ravens had the football back with five minutes to play, the contest wasn’t as the close as the point total indicated.

From the get go, Pittsburgh was in charge. Its defense made Joe Flacco look like the rookie that he was, and Baltimore was unable to muster anything on offense.

Conversely, the Steelers were able to move the football well through the air (Baltimore was playing with back-up CBs), and after Roethlisberger scrambled away from pressure, threw across the field to WR Santonio Homes, who then weaved his way through this Ravens’ defense for the 65 yard TD reception, the score was 13-0. It should’ve been worse.

The refs blew an earlier call on an apparent 30 yard TD for Holmes when they ruled he never fully had control of the ball before crossing the goal line. To us, it appeared that he caught the football, was reaching for the goal line, and when he hit the ground, the ball came loose. So instead they had to settle for the FG.

After that, the Ravens were able to get back into it after a 45-yard punt return put Baltimore at the 17. Three plays later and the score was 13-7.

It would stay that way into the half, but on the stat sheet, the Steelers had thoroughly dominated the game up until this point.

Late in the third quarter, the Steelers had a perfect opportunity to put the nail in the coffin and the Ravens out of their misery. Rookie wideout Limas Sweed got a free release down the left sidelines and saw a pin point deep pass go right through his hands. So Pittsburgh had to settle for three to put them up 16-7.

Just like the week before, the Ravens were being completely outplayed on the field but were still in the game. And this one would be no different.

Midway through the fourth, Flacco orchestrated a six-play drive, which was aided by a pass interference call in the end zone, and after RB Willis McGahee’s one-yard TD, the game was 16-14.

And after a three and out, Baltimore took a short punt and moved it to their 40. Great field position for a potential GW drive. But a boneheaded play by their special teams (unnecessary roughness call on a late hit out of bounds) pushed the ball back to the 13.

And on third down, Flacco, under a great deal of pressure, looked right and fired to his favorite target WR Derrick Mason, but S Troy Polamalu was there to pick it off and he returned it all the way to the house.

Game over.

So with the 23-14 win, the Steelers now move on to go for their sixth Super Bowl title while the Ravens, just 5-11 a year ago, overachieved on many levels and have to feel good about all that they accomplished in coach Harbaugh’s first year.

Remember that 48-20 beating that the Eagles gave the Cardinals on Thanksgiving? After today, that seems like it happened eons ago.

The Arizona Cardinals came out scorching in the desert on this day, while the Eagles came out as they had in four of their previous five NFC Championship games, ice cold.

The first drive of the game kind of gave you the sense that it would be the WR Larry Fitzgerald show on this day. Warner targeted his favorite receiver for three catches and then hit him on a crossing pattern in the red zone which Fitzgerald was able to take across the goal line.

Philadelphia thought it could come out and rush only their front four and still get the necessary pressure on Warner, but after the first drive, they knew that plan wasn’t going to get it done. The Cardinals were able to keep the Eagles defense off-balance, something not easy to do against the third-ranked defense in the NFL, with a mixture of runs and high percentage pass plays.

And when they got it back after the Eagles had hit a FG, they included a little trickery to their offensive arsenal. On first down, Warner pitched the ball to his RB Edgerrin James, who in turn pitched it back to him. He looked down the field and saw Fitzgerald in single coverage against the Eagles’ third CB. After that, it was a matter of launching it down the field and letting his superstar receiver take over. 14-6.

For the rest of the half, the Eagles didn’t do much else on offense or defense, and found themselves in an 18-point hole.

But in the second half, the story would be very different. Sensing the desperation of their situation, the Eagles’ coaching staff made the necessary adjustments and the defense returned to dominant form. They limited Warner and Co. to just 12 plays on three three and outs.

McNabb also found his stride.

In a stretch which began with about six minutes left in the third quarter, Donovan torched the Cards for three TDs, hitting TE Brent Celek for two TDs and rookie WR DeSean Jackson for one on a 60+ yard bomb.

And with that score, the Eagles had taken a 25-24 lead with ten minutes to play and had all of the momentum.

But they couldn’t keep it up. Warner, who had been ice cold in the second half, orchestrated a 14 play, 72 yard drive that consumed over seven minutes of the clock. And on a crucial 3rd-and-goal from the 10, Arizona called a screen pass – the perfect play call – and RB Tim Hightower executed it to perfection and took it in for the go ahead TD. After the two point conversion, it was 32-25 with just under three minutes left to play.

Now is when legends are made. The one blemish on Donovan McNabb’s career to date has been his inability to perform in big games and clutch situations. Coming into this football game, he was batting .250 in NFC Championship Games and lost his only Super Bowl. Here was an opportunity to change that legacy.

Unfortunately for McNabb, it was not to be. He was erratic on the entire final drive – constantly throwing high or behind his targets, and after an incomplete out pattern to WR Kevin Curtis on 4th down, which could’ve been called for pass interference, he saw another golden opportunity to solidify his legacy and get his team to a Super Bowl slip right through his fingers.

Game over.

So the Cardinals, a team that most will call this year’s New York Giants, (although that comparison would be inaccurate because they played two home games in the playoffs,so the 2006 Colts would be a better comparison), advance to play in the Super Bowl while the Eagles, who had a great year in their own right, will kick themselves over this one because everything was set up for them to advance to the Super Bowl.