NFL Championship Picks: A Steagle Super Bowl?

Facing a manpower shortage during the Second World War, the Philadelphia Eagles and Pittsburgh Steelers temporally merged.

Thus, the Steagles were hatched.

It wasn't always a smooth marriage. The Philadelphia Eagles Head Coach, Greasy Neale, and Pittsburgh Steeler Head Coach Walt Kiesling, became co-head coaches and had frequent heated arguments about strategy.

Greasy went on to win back to back titles for the Eagles and invent the 4-3 defense on his way to the NFL Hall of Fame. Kiesling cut hometown boy Johnny Unitas from the Pittsburgh Steelers.

Let's hope the short-lived Steagles listened to Greasy.

And why aren't coaches nicknamed Greasy anymore?

The two coaches that matter most on Sunday, Jim Johnson and Dick LeBeau, remember when men were moniker-ed Greasy. Defense has carried the Steelers and Eagles, as well as the Baltimore Ravens, this far and their Super Bowl dreams rest with the defenses.

The Pittsburgh Steelers Defensive coordinator is Dick LeBeau, who played both ways for Ohio States Woody Hayes in 1957 and nabbed 62 interceptions as a Detroit Lion defensive back opposite Dick "Night Train" Lane in the 1960s.

Night Train, now that's a better nickname even then Greasy. Where did all the good nicknames go?

Eagles Defensive Coordinator Jim Johnson has been around football since the early sixties and his attacking, blitzing style has propelled the Eagles to numerous title games. Win or lose Sunday the old timer's birds will be attack birds.

The last time two old codgers had such leading roles in a prime time event was when the aging icons Burt Lancaster and Kirk Douglas made the movie Tough Guys.

Speaking of attack Birds, the Steelers will be facing a bruising Baltimore defense which was built Rex Ryan on the foundations his famous father, Buddy Ryan, laid in Chicago and Philadelphia.

The Ravens defense plays with the spirit of Buddy Ryan's old "46" Defense which was made most famous in the Chicago Bears legendary Super Bowl run in 1985.

The Baltimore Ravens are + 5 1/2 {O/U 34} rolling into Pittsburgh on the eve of Edgar Allan Poe's 200th birthday and they are playing defense like a grim, ungainly, ghastly, gaunt, and ominous bird of yore croaking nevermore to Ben Roethlisberger's Super Bowl dreams.

The Ravens will be desperately trying to ring Big Ben's bell. 

Pittsburgh will try to ease the pressure on Big Ben by running the resurgent Willie Parker who played a prominent role last week after suffering through a season plagued with injuries.

The last time the teams meant in Pittsburgh, a 23-20 Steelers Overtime triumph, the Steelers only rushed for 69 yards. The Steelers were minus five in that game. In the rematch in Baltimore Pitt was plus three and won 13-9 on a controversial last second goal line catch.

The Ravens capitalized on a sloppy Tennessee Titan squad which committed numerous blunders and turnovers. The Steelers will not be so sloppy. The Ravens will try to pressure Pittsburgh's weakest point, its offensive line, and force turnovers.

The Ravens have made a great run but this is the week the rookie QB Joe Flacco runs out of steam on the road. Pittsburgh seems like its peaking with Willie Parker pacing the revitalized running game.

Big Ben will make fewer blunders then the rookie Flacco. The vicious Raven defense will play wondrously in the cold but so will Pittsburgh's. A close defensively dominated game in which Pittsburgh pulls away in the fourth quarter.

Home field helps greatly and the Terrible Towels will be out in force the fourth quarter.

Pittsburgh Steelers, 23-12

It's red bird vs green bird in the Arizona desert. One bird will be a dead bird when the final bell rings. The last time the Cardinals won a title, in 1947, they beat the Eagles in St Louis with their "Million Dollar" backfield.

The Eagles -4, {O/U 47} used a late season streak and a lot of luck to sneak into the playoffs but they are the leagues hottest team now, when it matters.

The Cardinals played in a terrible division, six of their nine wins came against the St Louis Rams, San Francisco Forty Niners, and Seattle Seahawks, and they faded badly in the stretch.

The Cardinal crash included a Turkey Night whipping in Philadelphia by the score of 48-20. A game that was closer then that until a fourth quarter Cardinal collapse fueled by three Warner interceptions.

The Red Birds were resurgent when it counted though. The Cards upset the Carolina Panthers at Charlotte. Panther QB Jake Delhomme had a horrendous day singlehandlying sinking his team with six turnovers.

And Cardinal wide-out Larry Fitzgerald looked like the best player on the field as he shredded the Panther defense.

This week, Fitzgerald will be facing a nasty Eagles secondary where S Brian Dawkins is dishing out vicious hits and free agent addition CB Asante Samuels is proving his big-game credentials.

The Eagles will bring pressure from all angles at Cardinal QB Kurt Warner. Playing two playoff games on the road, against the New York Giants and Minnesota Vikings, the Eagle defense has only surrendered 25 points.

Expect the Cardinals to keep old pro, and superior blitz blocker, RB Edgerrin James in the game to help Warner deal with the onslaught of Green defenders. Don't expect much from the Cardinals running game but expect Warner to fire bombs deep all day.

And don't expect Andy Reid to run much either. The Eagles coach has almost a phobia about running the ball and his best player RB Brian Westbrook is banged up. Reid will attack with his beloved short passing game and hope his QB Donovan McNabb doesn't make the costly turnover. 

The Eagles offensive tackles, Jon Runyan and Tra Thomas, are solid veterans but aging and vulnerable to speed on the edge. To protect McNabb properly the two tackles will need help.

The Eagles will make fewer mistakes, protect their QB better, and cage the Cardinal offense.

Eagles 29-Cardinals 22

Then onto a Steagle Superbowl with the two old codgers on defense, Jim Johnson and Dick LeBeau, matching wits and schemes to win the ring.

With the always follow the pack NFL suddenly taking the Doogie Howser head coaching route, it's nice to see the old timers still know a little bit about the pigskin. 

Of course, the coordinators feel like just kids when the gaze North and see Joe Paterno enthroned at State College watching his Penn State Nittany Lions.

When Joe was a youngster, he studied fellow Brooklyn gridder QB Sid Luckman.

Joe studied Sid Luckman when he was still at Columbia, before he was a Bear.

That's old school.