In a playful moment during Super Bowl media day at Raymond James Stadium, Cardinals rookie cornerback Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie, came up behind teammate Ralph Brown, put his hands on Brown's shoulders and leapfrogged over the 5-foot-10 cornerback. He landed like a gymnast executing a perfect 10.

Rodgers-Cromartie, the Cardinals' No. 1 draft pick, will attempt another difficult task in Super Bowl XLIII: Keep Santonio Holmes from making big plays.

That might be harder than leapfrogging a teammate.

"A born playmaker," Rodgers-Cromartie said of Holmes, who has been just that in the postseason.

Holmes, pictured above left, has helped ignite his team in each of the playoff victories against San Diego and Baltimore, returning a punt 67 yards for a touchdown after the Chargers had taken a 7-0 lead on the opening possession and scoring on a 65-yard catch-and-run against the Ravens that gave the Steelers a 13-0 lead.

The big play is Holmes' signature, and his ability to deliver that in the postseason was not lost on coach Mike Tomlin, who said of his third-year wide receiver, "He likes to kill you with bullets."

Holmes not only feeds off those types of plays; he gets disappointed when he doesn't make them, sometimes to his own detriment.

"I've always had that mind-set," Holmes said. "I don't think I would be at this level if I didn't. I play with a lot of big guys, but I don't think many of them have the same mind-set I have.

"If I'm on the field, I want the game in my hands. I know every quarterback wants to be that quarterback to deliver the big one. But I want to be that guy on the other end, always making the big play. It's not to be in the spotlight or be selfish or anything like that. I just always had that desire to be that guy."

Holmes might have to play a more significant role against the Cardinals, particularly if Hines Ward, who intends to play in Super Bowl XLIII, is rendered ineffective by a sprained knee.

To make sure he doesn't hurt them with big plays, Arizona will likely assign Rodgers-Cromartie to shadow Holmes, something he has done several times this season against other big-play receivers.

The most recent -- and most significant -- came in the Cardinals' 33-13 divisional playoff victory against the Carolina Panthers when he followed wide receiver Steve Smith and held him without a catch until the fourth quarter. Smith, who had 1,421 yards receiving during the regular season, second only to Arizona's Larry Fitzgerald in the NFC, finished with two catches for 43 yards.

"He's a guy who has speed coming in and out of cuts," Rodgers-Cromartie said of Holmes. "He can catch the ball well, he catches it in traffic and he isn't scared to run after the catch. And, if the quarterback is flushed out of the pocket, he's a guy who's going to move around and make plays."

Holmes didn't do a lot of that in the regular season, at least, not as much as he and those around him expected. He finished the regular season with 55 catches, 821 yards and 5 touchdowns -- totals that were second to Ward in each category -- but he had only five catches of 30 yards or longer. That is one fewer than Ward, who is not known as a big-play threat.

Still, the Cardinals are keenly aware of the big play. And they are hoping Rodgers-Cromartie, who had a team-high four interceptions in the regular season, two in the postseason, will prevent them.

"That's a momentum switch," Rodgers-Cromartie said. "If we can eliminate big plays and keep it to a consistent and simple game, we'll be all right."