NFL preseason: Arizona Cardinals at Pittsburgh Steelers
The two teams the ended the NFL season last year open their exhibition schedules against each other as the Arizona Cardinals and Pittsburgh Steelers meet in a Super Bowl rematch.
Pittsburgh is a 3-point favorite on WagerWeb.com.
Don’t look for this to resemble the Super Bowl at all. First of all, it’s not in Tampa. But more significantly, Steelers coach Mike Tomlin and Cardinals coach Ken Whisenhunt plan to play their starters only a couple series, which means backups will be all over the field by the end of the first quarter. Both teams have full rosters, and coaches normally try to play nearly everyone who’s healthy.
“That’s a different team that won the Super Bowl and we’re a different team. I think there’s going to be a lot of excitement from being there and playing in that stadium, but other than ‘Revenge of the Super Bowl,’ I don’t think so,” Whisenhunt said. “Now if we could go back to the Super Bowl and play them again, I would say, yeah, that’s definitely the case.”
Cardinals first-round pick Beanie Wells, the former Ohio State running back, isn’t expected to play after missing more than a week of camp with a sprained right ankle. Look for both Matt Leinart and Brian St. Pierre to play a lot, as those two are battling it out to backup Warner this season. Believe it or not, it’s not a lock that Leinart wins that job.
It’s Pittsburgh QB Ben Roethlisberger’s first game not only since the Super Bowl but since a civil lawsuit alleging that the quarterback raped a Nevada woman surfaced late last month. Big Ben is expected to play only limited minutes before yielding to backups Charlie Batch and Dennis Dixon, and most of the Steelers’ starters are unlikely to play into the second quarter.
Tomlin said he plans to keep the offensive starters together, although injuries are making that difficult. Starting center Justin Hartwig (toe) is not expected to play and neither will backup Darnell Stapleton (knee). Former practice squad player Doug Legursky, an undrafted 2008 rookie from Marshall, may start.
All four quarterbacks could play in Thursday night’s game, depending on how the game goes, Tomlin said.
You should see plenty of Steelers second-year running back and 2008 first-round draft choice Rashard Mendenhall, who missed the final 12 games of his rookie season due to a shoulder injury.
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