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Five Super Bowl stats you should know
by: Matt Fargo Sports
Sometimes it is the unknown or smaller stats that can make a difference in locating the Super Bowl winner. Matt Fargo takes a look at five categories you might not know about.
Sacks
When you talk about sacks, you automatically think about the Steelers because that is what the media has thrown at you. You will probably be surprised to know that the Cardinals are +3 in net sacks this season while the Steelers are +2 in net sacks. It isn’t a huge difference but Pittsburgh and its defense are being portrayed as the team that will be able to dominate in that category.
Cardinals left tackle Mike Gandy is far from in the spotlight but he has made life a lot easier for quarterback Kurt Warner. He has started 35 straight games since joining the Cardinals in 2007 and this year gave up only 6.5 sacks with just one holding penalty.
Winning the battle of the sacks usually means a Super bowl win. In the last 13 Super Bowls, the sack leader won 12 of those games and went 8-3-2 ATS. Edge Even.
Redzone
People tend to look at yardage and points but fail to look inside those numbers to see where they come from. Redzone scoring is where games are won and lost Pittsburgh is in good shape.
Despite having the 3rd ranked scoring offense, Arizona is 9th in redzone touchdown percentage at a 58.5 percent clip. The Steelers are 15th at 55.1 percent. The difference here is that the Cardinals scored 72 more redzone points while having 16 more possessions inside the 20-yard line.
Defensively, the Steelers were an NFL best, allowing redzone touchdowns only 33.3 percent of the time while Arizona allowed touchdowns 63.6 percent of the time which was 5th worst. The point differential amounted to 124 more points allowed by Arizona. Edge Pittsburgh.
Field Position
Field position is a pretty simple philosophy. A shorter field makes it easier on the offense and harder on the defense. These are two of the worst punting teams in the NFL as Arizona finished 31st in net punting while Pittsburgh finished 29th. The Cardinals however have the edge in punt returning, averaging 7.2 ypr while the Steelers averaged 6.0 ypr, 31st in the NFL.
In the Arizona 21-14 win last season against the Steelers, Cardinals receiver Steve Breaston ran a punt back for a touchdown which broke a 7-7 tie. Edge Arizona.
Defense Wins Championships
Past Super Bowls can give some significant information if you are in fact a history buff. Defenses have reigned supreme of late. The last four Super Bowl winners have allowed 15.5 ppg. The last eight Super Bowl winners have allowed 17 ppg. Of the 42 past Super Bowls, the losing team has scored 20 points or fewer 33 times.
What about the offense? The winning team has scored 30 points or more 21 times however, it has not happened since Super Bowl XXVIII. Based on this little bit of history, the defenses are in fact the catalysts and we know what that means here. Edge Pittsburgh.
Passer Rating
Of the 42 winning quarterbacks in Super Bowl history, 15 of those had passer ratings better than 100 throughout their playoff run. This included both Ben Roethlisberger in 2005 (101.6) and Kurt Warner in 1999 (100.0). Looking at this season, Roethlisberger has a passer rating of 90.5 while Warner has a passer rating of 111.9.
Considering Roethlisberger had a regular season rating of 80.1 while Warner had a rating of 96.9, this current pace is not surprising. If Warner keeps it up and wins the Super Bowl, it would be the 7th highest rating of all time. Keeping that pace will be difficult but achievable. Edge Arizona.
Matt Fargo Sports Past Articles
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Matt Fargo Sports Past Picks
College Basketball
Michigan Wolverines @ Nebraska Cornhuskers Wednesday February 8, 2012 8:30 pm
Nebraska used to own one of the better home court advantages when it was part of the Big XII Conference but the home floor has not been a very big edge this season. The Huskers were decent during the non-conference portion of their schedule but even some of those wins were suspect, ... read more
NBA Basketball
Indiana Pacers @ Atlanta Hawks Wednesday February 8, 2012 7:35 pm
The Hawks are in a funk right now. After winning five of six games to close out January, they have lost their last three games, all of which have come at home and all were very winnable games. Losing to Memphis and Philadelphia are not horrible losses but the most recent defeat against ... read more
NBA Basketball
Los Angeles Clippers @ Cleveland Cavaliers Wednesday February 8, 2012 7:05 pm
Cleveland has played a very tough schedule since the end of January as it has faced Boston twice, Orlando, Dallas and Miami over its last five games and coming out of those at 2-3 isn't that bad. The Cavaliers are coming off a loss at Miami last night as the game was relatively close ... read more
College Basketball
Kansas Jayhawks @ Baylor Bears Wednesday February 8, 2012 7:00 pm
Kansas is coming off a tough loss on Saturday at Missouri and things will not get any easier here as it travels to Waco with first place in the Big XII on the line. The Jayhawks and Bears both trail Missouri by a half-game but this game is arguably bigger for Baylor. A loss here ... read more
NBA Basketball
Oklahoma City Thunder @ Golden State Warriors Tuesday February 7, 2012 10:35 pm
Oklahoma City came away with a big overtime win last night in Portland and I expect a bit of a letdown following that. The Thunder have not alternated wins and losses in each of their last five road games and while tonight's game may seem like a relief after last night, that won't ... read more
NBA Basketball
Phoenix Suns @ Milwaukee Bucks Tuesday February 7, 2012 8:05 pm
Matt is coming off a tough overtime loss with Portland but is still on an AWESOME 14-7 NBA run and his streak going back to last year remains RED HOT as he is a COMMANDING 48-28-1 (63.2%) L77! He is back with a HUGE REPORT Tuesday and it is a BEAUTY that results in an EASY COVER! ... read more
NHL Hockey
New York Islanders @ Philadelphia Flyers Tuesday February 7, 2012 7:05 pm
The Flyers are coming off a loss against the Rangers on Sunday which pushed them five points behind New York for first place in the Eastern Conference. It was the second straight loss for Philadelphia which is just 1-2-1 since returning from the All-Star break. One of the best home ... read more
College Basketball
Florida Gators @ Kentucky Wildcats Tuesday February 7, 2012 7:00 pm
First place is on the line in the SEC tonight. Even though a Florida win would still have it a half-game back from Kentucky, the all-important head-to-head win would go a lot further. The Gators have won seven straight games since a loss at Tennessee back at the start of January. ... read more
NBA Basketball
Oklahoma City Thunder @ Portland Trailblazers Monday February 6, 2012 10:05 pm
The Thunder are coming off a loss on Saturday at San Antonio and while they have lost back-to-back games only once this season, being the favorite hear is a stretch. They have been the road favorite in 11 of their 13 games on the road but the two games they have not been favored ... read more
NFL Football
New York Giants @ New England Patriots Sunday February 5, 2012 6:30 pm
The Giants are coming off their second straight playoff game where they were outgained but still pulled off the win as turnovers once again played a big role. It was unfortunate the way the 49ers season ended but you still have to give credit to the Giants as the defensive intensity ... read more
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