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Whisenhunt sets tone for Cards
The man who performed a football exorcism in the desert is keeping his cool with his Arizona Cardinals a win away from the Super Bowl.
Then again, Ken Whisenhunt just about always keeps his cool.
The Cardinals franchise never has been here before, but Whisenhunt has. He was offensive coordinator of the Super Bowl champion Pittsburgh Steelers before taking on the formidable challenge of coaching the NFL's laughingstock of a franchise.
Team takes the high road
There are several ways to look at the Chargers' season that concluded Sunday in Pittsburgh.
There is, of course, the official spin: lauding the team that didn't give up when it entered December at 4-8, but reeled off five straight victories to get to the second round of the postseason.
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The sight was all too familiar for Chargers fans.
The offense standing on the sideline watching, while the defense couldn't make a play to get the ball back.
Now that Darren Sproles has established just how valuable he is to the Chargers, he's an unrestricted free agent.
And while the wound of Sunday's playoff loss at Pittsburgh was still way too fresh for many players to go into much detail about what the future might hold, the pint-sized running back/kick returner had this to say: "I hope it's not my last time in San Diego."
Electrifying early and too late, the San Diego Chargers just didn't have enough juice.
Donovan McNabb is making another run at that elusive Super Bowl title, while Eli Manning threw away his opportunity to defend it.
McNabb made all the big plays that Manning did not on Sunday, and the Philadelphia Eagles eliminated the reigning champion New York Giants, 23-11, to reach the NFC title game for the fifth time in eight seasons.
Mother Nature could be the Pittsburgh Steelers' 12th man today.
The forecast is for temperatures in the mid-20s at kickoff, with a wind chill in the teens, when the Chargers and Steelers meet for a spot in next week's AFC championship game.
Heinz Field, Pittsburgh, 1:45 p.m., Channel 2
Three story lines:
Will the Chargers be able to generate more offense in the rematch than they did in the first meeting, an 11-10 Steelers victory at Pittsburgh in November? In that game the league's No. 1 defense stopped the Chargers' running game and contained Philip Rivers' passing.
The Arizona Cardinals were expected by most to be easy prey in another futile trip to the East Coast.
Instead, Kurt Warner has the Cardinals within a victory of their first Super Bowl appearance -- with a big assist from Jake Delhomme and the bumbling Carolina Panthers.
A not-so-raw rookie and a trustworthy veteran lifted the Baltimore Ravens to the brink of the Super Bowl.
With the help of a brutal defense that knocks opponents silly, of course.
Baltimore survived 13-10 on Saturday against the Tennessee Titans thanks to Matt Stover's 43-yard field goal with 53 seconds remaining.
Is it possible that we've already seen LaDainian Tomlinson in a Chargers uniform for the last time?
Officially, Tomlinson is listed as "doubtful" for Sunday's playoff game in Pittsburgh, the torn tendon in his groin area having improved some this week but not enough for him to practice.
Realistically, L.T. all but ruled himself out Friday.
The San Diego Chargers (9-8) travel to Pittsburgh to face the Steelers (12-4) on Sunday in an AFC Divisional Playoff game at Heinz Field.
The game is scheduled to start at 1:45 p.m. and be televised by CBS Channel 2.
Click here for more on this game.
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