By Bobby Sharpz
Looking back at past Super Bowls to dictate your wager for this year's big game is like bumping into an old girlfriend: Sure, it's fun to go over the past, but it's not going anywhere.
Unless that girlfriend happens to be the Pittsburgh Steelers.
Turning back the pages a couple of years to Super Bowl XXXVII can give some hint to what could play out in Tampa this weekend.
In that 2003 tilt, former Raiders coach Jon Gruden used his knowledge of his old team to give the Bucs the inside edge, leading them to a 48-21 thrashing of Oakland and a Vince Lombardi Trophy.
Arizona Cardinals head coach Ken Whisenhunt will be standing in similar shoes this Sunday when he stares across the field at his former employer. Whisenhunt was the Steelers' offensive mastermind for three years and drew up the plans for their Super Bowl XL victory.
His Cardinals are currently 6.5-point underdogs for Super Bowl XLIII on Sunday. Legendz opened with this number two weeks ago and after a slight move to seven, the money on Arizona has brought the line back to its original post.
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Whisenhunt has intimate knowledge of Pittsburgh's most skilled players. He helped shape Willie Parker into one of the most dangerous runners in the game. He raised Ben Roethlisberger as a rookie and groomed him into a Super Bowl quarterback. He knows Hines Ward's tendencies and where he likes the ball thrown.
The former offensive coordinator already used this information to his advantage last season. In his first game against Pittsburgh since taking the job in the desert, Whisenhunt exploited Roethlisberger's weaknesses. His defense sacked his former star player four times and picked off two of Big Ben's passes.
Arizona took a 21-14 win over the Steelers as a 5.5-point home favorite. Whisenhunt said the win was special but nothing personal.
Yeah right.