Cardinals Notebook: No grudges or grimness from Grimm
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TAMPA, Fla. -- You would think an old South Side hand such as Russ Grimm might skip some Steelers film study this fortnight because he is so familiar with Keis, Aaron and Hamp, as he still calls them.
Think again.
"No, no, actually, you probably look at a little bit more film," corrected the longtime Steelers offensive line coach and current Cardinals assistant head coach and line boss.
Yesterday, at the circus that is media day, this Scottdale native and former Pitt player praised as wholly underrated Steelers defensive linemen Brett Keisel, Aaron Smith and Casey Hampton. He should know. He has been watching them closely the past week in preparation for Super Bowl XLIII Sunday inside Raymond James Stadium.
"It's going against guys you've coached with before -- there's that factor. And you have the factor that it's the Super Bowl. So you're probably going to spend a lot more time watching stuff."
Grimm, who felt led to believe two years ago he was getting the Steelers' head coach job that went to Mike Tomlin, said yesterday that a Super matchup with his former team offers no extra motivation for him. That's the same chorus offered by his Cardinals boss, Ken Whisenhunt, who was the third finalist for the Steelers' post but opted to accept Arizona a week earlier.
"You know enough guys over there 'cause you're not that far removed from the guys I coached with, the guys I coached. If I wasn't here, I'd probably be rooting for Pittsburgh," Grimm said. "It's nice it's against Pittsburgh."
Grimm, in fact, said he often speaks to former Steelers colleagues, such as offensive coordinator Bruce Arians, mostly to ask, "Did you see anything from this team we didn't?"
Sunday isn't the only day of this wacky weekend occupying his thoughts.
Saturday, the Pro Football Hall of Fame will announce its class of 2009, and he's a finalist along with ex-Steelers center Dermontti Dawson and safety Rod Woodson, among a star-studded list.
"Last year, I was elated," when cornerback Darrell Green and Art Monk made it, said Grimm. "I'll sit back and watch it. We'll see how it goes. Sooner or later, hopefully one of us [Redskins 'Hogs' linemen] will get in there."
After beating the Atlanta Falcons and shutting down running back Michael Turner in a wild-card playoff game, the Cardinals gave one of their game balls to defensive assistant Matt Raich, a Monaca native who formerly worked with the Steelers.
Raich did such a good job with the film preparation on Turner that the Cardinals held him to 42 yards on 18 carries in a 30-24 victory.
Some of Sean Morey'sbad timing is beginning to turn into good timing.
The special-teams standout for the Cardinals, who is going to the Pro Bowl, finds himself back in the Super Bowl for the second time in the past four years, even though he switched teams.
Morey spent three seasons with the Steelers, beginning in 2004 when the Steelers were 15-1 and went to the AFC title game. The following year, when the Steelers won the Super Bowl, he figured his luck had changed.
Before he signed with the Steelers, Morey was cut by the New England Patriots before the 2001 season and by the Philadelphia Eagles before the start of the 2004 season. Each time he was cut, those teams went on to the Super Bowl that season.
"Then I went to Pittsburgh and we were 15-1 and lost to New England [in the AFC title game] and who did they play -- who else but the Philadelphia Eagles," Morey said. "So my two previous teams were playing each other and I was in Pittsburgh and the irony was just so thick and now it's come full circle.
"Now I'm playing in the Super Bowl against my former team and we just beat the Eagles to advance to the Super Bowl. The irony is really thick."
Kicker Neil Rackers on how, in his mind's eye, he imagines Sunday playing out: "I visualize the ball down the middle every time, in the end zone every time, and walking off the field with the Lombardi Trophy." ... Quarterback Kurt Warner came up with a new description of the perception for the lost-in-the-desert franchise that the Cardinals were previously: "a black hole." Added guard Reggie Wells of South Park High School and Clarion University, "We're no strangers to negativity out in Arizona." ... Former Browns cornerback Ralph Brown: "I didn't have enough history with the Steelers to really hate them. It was many ill feelings toward the Steelers when I was with the Browns," but all he knew was, "it was a big game."
First Published January 28, 2009 12:00 am
