Steelers, Cards not exactly running on empty

Even with the all the hype that will precede Super Bowl XLIII on Feb. 1, the run game figures to be overlooked.

That's odd, considering that one of the NFL's favorite adages is that successful teams have to be able to run the ball.

The Pittsburgh Steelers and the Arizona Cardinals cast doubt on that theory during the regular season, when they finished 23rd and 32nd, respectively, in rushing yards.

But both apparently have seen the error of their ways, putting a greater emphasis on the ground game in the postseason, even though both are more adept at throwing the ball.

The Cardinals were No. 2 in passing yards, the Steelers 17th. Establishing a ground presence in the big game would only make the aerial attack more effective.

"Earlier in the season we were skewed more toward the pass because we felt we needed to do that in order to win our division," Cardinals coach Ken Whisenhunt said. "We were hot, and we were using that.

"But give credit to our offensive line, credit to (assistant head coach/offensive line) Russ Grimm and a lot of our other staff who knew it was going to be important later in the season to run the football."

In the postseason the Cardinals have jacked up their NFL-worst average of 73.6 rushing yards per game to 111 in playoff victories over Atlanta, Carolina and Philadelphia.

During a 9-7 regular season, the Cardinals practically ignored the run, part of the reason featured back Edgerrin James complained that he wanted out of Arizona late in the regular season.

They called 658 pass plays and ran it only 340 times. James, who averaged 1,339 yards over the previous five seasons, picked up just 514 yards on 133 carries this season.

But, while winning three straight playoff games, the Cardinals have uncharacteristically run the ball more than they've thrown it, 100-95. James has rushed for 203 yards on 52 carries.

"That's certainly helped us be more versatile," Whisenhunt said. "It's helped the play-action (passing) game where we've made some big plays, and it's also helped us at the end of the game when we've had some critical situations where we needed to run the ball and (have) been successful. That's been a big difference."

The Steelers weren't quite as dependent on the pass, but they still had a lot more pass plays (555) than run plays (460) in the regular season. And they've also put more emphasis on the ground game during the postseason, running 70 times and calling 64 passes.

Part of the reason the Steelers had so little success running the ball in the regular season was that their main man, Willie Parker, was hobbled by a knee injury. He played in just 11 games, rushing for 791 yards on 210 carries for a 3.8-yard average after averaging 1,337 yards and 4.4 per carry the previous three seasons.

But Parker is healthy now, as evidenced by the 146-yard game he had against San Diego in the divisional round. He was held to 47 yards on 24 carries in the AFC title game, but that had more to do with Baltimore's defense than anything else.

Parker has the best chance of making the biggest impact on the ground in Super Bowl XLIII. For openers, he has done it before. His 75-yard TD run in the Steelers' victory is the longest in Super Bowl history.

And Parker should have an easier time denting the Cardinals' No. 16 run defense than James or backup Tim Hightower will have against the Steelers' No. 1 run defense.

But the Cardinals at least have to try to run, if for no other reason than to keep the Steelers' pass rush off quarterback Kurt Warner.

"I think that's going to be the key in the Super Bowl," Warner said. "To be able to do that, especially against a great defense like the one we're going to play, is going to be a huge key to our success."