http://people.bakersfield.com/home/Blog/LastRites/39946 Local resident Roy Contreras has heard me say it, a good friend has heard me say and my wife has heard me say. Now, I'm officially telling the public -- The Arizona Cardinals will win the Super Bowl. Actually, I sheepishly predicted the Cards to advance to the Super Bowl before they played Carolina. Roy can attest to that. He called the office because he's one of the unfortunate folks that have DISH Network and couldn't watch the football games. I told him my prediction but I prefaced that by saying,  "I wanted the Colts to win but since they're done ..." Well, these Arizona Cardinals remind me of the 2006 Indianapolis Colts. And here's how: In 2006, the Colts had the league's worst run defense and their run offense was grounded near the end of the regular season. Indy won its first nine games of the season, only to lose three out four, including a 44-17 blowout loss to Jacksonville. The Colts allowed 375 rushing yards in that game. Once the playoffs started it was another story.  The rush defense held Kansas City to just 44 yards in the first half and didn't allow a first down until the end of the third quarter in their 23-8 win. The next week, Adam Vinatieri had 5 field goals in their 15-6 win over Baltimore. In the AFC Championships game, Indianapolis rallied from an 18-point deficit in the second half as Joseph Addai scored the game winner with under a minute left.  Marlin Jackson sealed the 38-34 win with an interception. Sound familiar. It should because it's a similar recipe the Cardinals have used. Arizona lost 3 of its last 5 games, including blowout losses to Minnesota (35-14), New England (41-7) and Philadelphia (48-20), and the national media had they losing in the wild-card round. But once the playoffs started, Arizona was "in the zona."  The Cardinals passing attack struck for two long TDs in a 30-24 win vs. Atlanta before its rushing attack and defense dominated Carolina. Arizona forced five interceptions in the win. While they didn't have to stage quite the rally Indianapolis did two years early, Arizona needed a fourth-quarter touchdown to take the lead and its defense forced Donovan McNabb to turn the ball over on downs to seal the 32-25 win over Philadelphia. So now, the Cardinals play the vaunted Pittsburgh Steelers in the Super Bowl. A defense-driven, ball controlled team, sort of like the Chicago Bears. I think Ken Whisenhunt and Russ Grimm, two former Steelers assistant coaches, have a pretty good idea how to disrupt Ben Roethlisberger. Should make for a great football game, and the first Super Bowl title in Arizona.   Local resident Roy Contreras has heard me say it, a good friend has heard me say and my wife has heard me say. Now, I'm officially telling the public -- The Arizona Cardinals will win the Super Bowl. Actually, I sheepishly predicted the Cards to advance to the Super Bowl before they played Carolina. Roy can attest to that. He called the office because he's one of the unfortunate folks that have DISH Network and couldn't watch the football games. I told him my prediction but I prefaced that by saying,  "I wanted the Colts to win but since they're done ..." Well, these Arizona Cardinals remind me of the 2006 Indianapolis Colts. And here's how: In 2006, the Colts had the league's worst run defense and their run offense was grounded near the end of the regular season. Indy won its first nine games of the season, only to lose three out four, including a 44-17 blowout loss to Jacksonville. The Colts allowed 375 rushing yards in that game. Once the playoffs started it was another story.  The rush defense held Kansas City to just 44 yards in the first half and didn't allow a first down until the end of the third quarter in their 23-8 win. The next week, Adam Vinatieri had 5 field goals in their 15-6 win over Baltimore. In the AFC Championships game, Indianapolis rallied from an 18-point deficit in the second half as Joseph Addai scored the game winner with under a minute left.  Marlin Jackson sealed the 38-34 win with an interception. Sound familiar. It should because it's a similar recipe the Cardinals have used. Arizona lost 3 of its last 5 games, including blowout losses to Minnesota (35-14), New England (41-7) and Philadelphia (48-20), and the national media had they losing in the wild-card round. But once the playoffs started, Arizona was "in the zona."  The Cardinals passing attack struck for two long TDs in a 30-24 win vs. Atlanta before its rushing attack and defense dominated Carolina. Arizona forced five interceptions in the win. While they didn't have to stage quite the rally Indianapolis did two years early, Arizona needed a fourth-quarter touchdown to take the lead and its defense forced Donovan McNabb to turn the ball over on downs to seal the 32-25 win over Philadelphia. So now, the Cardinals play the vaunted Pittsburgh Steelers in the Super Bowl. A defense-driven, ball controlled team, sort of like the Chicago Bears. I think Ken Whisenhunt and Russ Grimm, two former Steelers assistant coaches, have a pretty good idea how to disrupt Ben Roethlisberger. Should make for a great football game, and the first Super Bowl title in Arizona.   en-us Tue, 20 Jan 2009 12:44:35 PST