Some have argued the Buccaneers’ Super Bowl XXXVII win over the Raiders was aided by head coach Jon Gruden’s tenure in Oakland at the same position.
Warren Sapp, who played defensive tackle on that Tampa Bay team, is not one of those people. Sapp said he believes Arizona’s head coach Ken Whisenhunt’s experience as offensive coordinator in Pittsburgh will do little to help the Cardinals chances in Super Bowl XLIII.
“Whisenhunt and (associate head coach Russ) Grimm were in Pittsburgh, so now the Cardinals have to win?” Sapp questioned. “That’s not the way it works – not then, not now.”
It will be the Steelers that bring the top-ranked defense into Sunday’s showdown and their ability to get pressure on Cardinals QB Kurt Warner could be the deciding factor.
“The game will come down to: Does Pittsburgh have to blitz to get pressure? If they do, then they are in trouble because no one can cover Larry Fitzgerald one-on-one,” said Sapp, who is an analyst on Showtime’s “Inside the NFL.”
Getting pressure on Warner could be possible because the Steelers have something the Cardinals’ other postseason opponents don’t have – the ability to create pressure from both sides. Pittsburgh’s OLB’s James Harrison (17 sacks) and LaMarr Woodley (16 sacks) will be attacking the Cardinals offensive line from all angles. Until now, Warner has had time to sit back in the pocket and find an open receiver.
“Atlanta with John Abraham and Carolina with Julius Peppers had one guy that the Cardinals had to be worried about,” Sapp said. “One guy on defense isn’t enough. You have to have a knife and a gun. Are you going to get stabbed or get shot? And that’s what the Steelers possess with Woodley and Harrison. Either side you have to contend with someone that is special. Now they cannot cheat to one side.”
Whisenhunt worked closely with QB Ben Roethlisberger and practiced against coordinator Dick LeBeau’s defense. Whisenhunt and Grimm were both candidates to replace Bill Cowher when he retired two seasons ago, but when the Steelers hesitated, Whisenhunt and Grimm headed to Arizona. The Steelers job went to than Vikings’ defensive coordinator Mike Tomlin.
Some disagree with Sapp’s take.
“It is the biggest advantage to come out of this,” NBC’s Cris Collinsworth said. “The Steelers know Ken Whisenhunt and Russ Grimm, but Whisenhunt and Grimm know Roethlisberger and especially Dick LeBeau and his defense. LeBeau creates confusion as well as anybody. He creates the illusion of pressure, even when there’s not pressure. He makes guys hurry up. Kurt Warner has his whole history of fumbling, but if he can hang in there and read this defense, then he has a chance.”