Do you wanna hear something crazy? Larry Fitzgerald would probably have a superbowl ring right now if it wasn’t for his head coach.
For those not in the know, Bruce Arians was the offensive coordinator for the Pittsburgh Steelers when they beat Arizona in the 2008 superbowl. Bruce Arians remained the OC there until after the 2011 season, when the Pittsburgh Steelers allowed his contract to expire, or, in other words they gave him the boot. Arians then took his talents to Indianapolis where he won the Head Coach of the Year honors in 2012, an accomplishment he achieved as the interim head coach, which is something that’s never been done before.
In 2013 Bruce Arians signed as the Head Coach for the Arizona Cardinals in a 4 year deal, a deal that has already been extended by Arizona. The funny part is… now he calls the plays for Larry Fitzgerald, and Larry Fitzgerald is now leading the NFL in TDs by receivers (6).
Crazy world right? And on the flip side, the current Pittsburgh Offensive Coordinator is none other than Todd Haley, the same Todd Haley that was the OC for Arizona when they faced Bruce Arians and the Steelers in the superbowl.
So yes, I’d say this game is personal. To the fans, to the players that were here in 2008 like Fitz and Calais Campbell, and especially to Bruce Arians who was let go in Pittsburgh, even with the disapproval of Ben Roethlisberger.
But that’s all water under the bridge, since Arians’ arrival in Arizona the Cardinals have gone 25-12 while the Steelers have gone 22-15 in the same time span. Both teams have been successful and have deep playoff hopes for 2015.
As far as this week’s match up goes, the latest news has Roethlisberger attempting to come back early from injury to play in this game. Big Ben changes the dynamics of this game big time. The Pittsburgh offense is as potent as the Arizona offense when he starts, in both passing and rushing when you factor in the rising star called Le’Veon Bell.
The advantage for Arizona will be the Cardinal defense, but I still expect this to be a tough, close, and very physical game. The biggest advantage for Pittsburgh will be playing at home. Both teams will try and stop the run on Sunday, and whoever does it best will most likely win the game. The turnover battle will also be crucial, protecting the ball will be another key.
This game may be personal, but the focus and intensity have to remain if Arizona wants to continue to be successful. Carson Palmer and the Arizona offense will have to capitalize in the red-zone, and manage a balanced attack between the air and the ground. I will not predict a score this week, I will instead predict that the Cardinals will play very hard for their coach this week, and hopefully that will be enough. I see a shoot out coming, this might one of those whoever has the ball last type of deals.
I like Arizona in a shootout.
