Remember how unstoppable that air attack seemed?

One snowy game in Foxboro not withstanding, that's the feeling you get watching Cardinals Pro Bowler Kurt Warner and his merry band of Pro Bowl receivers. Larry Fitzgerald, Anquan Boldin and Steve Breaston each logged 1,000-yard campaigns, hauling in those feathery Warner feeds. When the Cardinals quarterback puts the ball up in Fitzgerald's direction, in particular, you get that same Brady-Moss rush, that same feeling something extraordinary is going to happen.

And more often than not, it usually does. But here's one warning flag for those counting on seeing that entertaining Warner air show tonight: the New York Giants.

At the risk of bringing up an incredibly sore subject for New England fans, Super Bowl XLII last February pitted the Patriots' all-world offense against the Giants' vaunted defense.

No need to pile on that train wreck. You all know what happened. But for a quick recap, Brady couldn't get the ball to Moss or anyone else because he was being buried alive in the pocket. The matchup between the Pats receivers and Giants secondary was clearly a mismatch on paper, but the Pats offensive line had a collective collapse, brought down like a house of cards by an overpowering Giants pass rush.

Now, like the hit show ``Lost,'' let's do some time travel and zip back to the present.

Like those Giants, who boasted Osi Umeniyora, Justin Tuck and Michael Strahan, Pittsburgh enters Super Bowl XLIII tonight with a host of havoc-wreakers on defense, namely NFL Defensive Player of the Year James Harrison, fellow linebackers LaMarr Woodley and James Farrior and defensive end Aaron Smith. And those are just the front-seven anchors for the Steelers, who sport the top-rated defense in the league.

Just about every Football coach and expert will tell you defense wins championships.

Didn't that tried-and-true Football tenet hit the Patriots like a haymaker last year, one thin win away from a perfect 19-0 season?

Maybe the success or failure of the Cardinals tonight will come down to the people directly in front of Warner, the blockers protecting him, just as it did for Brady last year.

How good is Warner's offensive line? Warner may be the acknowledged master of beating the blitz, but how much time will Cardinals blockers give the former Super Bowl and NFL MVP to heave the ball to his playmakers? How will they stand up to the brilliantly disguised rushes of Dick LeBeau's zone blitz?

To flash back to last year again, during the regular season, the Patriots protected Brady like a king. He was barely touched and had plenty of time to pick and choose his targets, but that security wall crumbled in the Super Bowl.

Warner's body guards have done similar work during the regular season and playoffs. During the regular season, when Warner put the ball up 598 times in 16 games, he was sacked just 26 times. In the postseason, with 92 attempts, he's been taken down three times in three games.

Cardinals center Lyle Sendlein, who makes the calls for the blocking assignments, knows the role the O-line is going to play in the success or failure of Arizona tonight. He knows Air Warner won't get off the ground if the line doesn't hold up.

``We've thrown the ball so much this year, so we've seen a little bit of everything,'' Sendlein said. ``There have been surprises, but nothing that's completely caught us off guard. If there's something we haven't seen, (assistant head coach Russ) Grimm will pull us on the sidelines, and we'll get back out there and try to protect Kurt. It really comes down to coaching.''

Said Warner: ``They are going to throw things at us we've never seen before. Our recognition of what they're doing, where they're coming from, who we're blocking, who are the free guys -- I think that's going to be a huge key (tonight) on how much success we have.''

The Steelers said all week it's pretty much impossible to contain Fitzgerald. They acknowledge their cornerbacks are relatively defenseless against that type of talent, even with safety help. The same was said of Moss last season. But if a defense can get up in a quarterback's face, disrupt his vision and timing, that will work, too. That's as good as coverage.

Just ask Brady.

- kguregian@bostonherald.com

BOX: FIVE THINGS TO KEEP AN EYE ON TONIGHT:

Super Bowl XLIII appears to be a monumental mismatch, with the powerful Steelers taking on the happy-to-be-here Cardinals. But stranger things have happened in Super Bowl history. Just ask Arizona's Kurt Warner, who quarterbacked the two-touchdown-favorite Rams in their defeat against the Patriots in Super Bowl XXXVI, kickstarting a dynasty. Can the same thing happen tonight? It wouls appear doubtful, but we'll find out.

Here's what to look for:

1. Bring it (or sling it)

One of the most fascinating subplots will be the work of Warner against the Steelers' zone blitz. Warner is one of the best in the business at finding his hot receiver and making blitzers pay, but no one disguises their intentions like the Steelers, who are adept at dropping defensive linemen and linebackers into passing lanes that appear open before snapping shut. There's probably not going to be much in-between -- if Warner can pick up the blitz, it's probably going to be a big play for the Cards. If he can't, then Arizona is looking at a sack or something worse.

2. Robbin' Hood

The Steelers have played fairly conservatively in the postseason, grinding out victories with a decent running game and mistake-free Football from quarterback Ben Roethlisberger. However, the Steelers are capable of big plays, particularly to speedy wide receiver Santonio Holmes, and are likely to target Roderick Hood. Arizona's ostensible No. 1 corner is coming off one of the worst seasons in the NFL, beaten for a league-high nine touchdowns, according to Stats, Inc. He should have been beaten for a long TD in the NFC title game, but was saved by an underthrown Donovan McNabb bomb.

3. Troy Story

Warner hasn't been nearly as safe with the ball down the stretch as he was during what was an MVP start to his 2008 season. And if Warner makes a mistake, the odds are good that Steelers dynamo Troy Polamalu will be the one to make him pay. The dominating safety is so quick, he can cheat to the line and show blitz before wheeling 25 yards downfield into coverage. If the Cardinals can't run the ball and thereby force Polamalu to commit to the line, it could be a long night.

4. Casey at the bat

The Cardinals' dubious chances may very well hinge on the even more dubious proposition that they'll be able to move nose tackle Steelers Casey Hampton at the point of attack. The Cards have averaged 111 yards rushing per game in the postseason after virtually abandoning the run during the regular season, but it's hard to picture them making any headway against the league's second-ranked rush defense, which starts with Hampton, a Vince Wilfork clone in the middle.

5. Empty the playbook

Somewhere along the line, the phrase ``trick play'' got dropped from the NFL lexicon in favor of the fancy-yet-vaguely-illiterate-sounding ``trickeration.'' This is the game for any team to pull out all the stops, particularly the Cardinals, who have nothing to lose as big underdogs and boast an aggressive offensive coordinator in Todd Haley. The Steelers shouldn't be discounted in this area, however, since their clinching touchdown in Super Bowl XL against the Seahawks came on an option pass to Hines Ward.

- JOHN TOMASE

BOX: Steelers v. Cardinals:

TONIGHT -- 6, Raymond James Stadium, Tampa

TV/RADIO -- Ch. 7 (Al Michaels and John Madden); WEEI-AM 850 (Marv Albert and Boomer Esiason)

THE RECORDS -- The NFC West champion Cardinals, the NFC's No. 4 seed, are 12-7, including three postseason wins. The AFC North champion Steelers, the AFC's No. 2 seed, are 14-4 including two postseason wins.

THE LINE -- Steelers by 7 (over-under: 46 1/2 points)

RECORDS VS. SPREAD -- Steelers 11-7, Cardinals 12-7

SERIES HISTORY -- Steelers lead, 32-23-3. This is the first postseason meeting.

LAST MEETING -- Cardinals 21, Steelers 14, Sept. 30, 2007

HOW THEY RANKED IN 2008:

Steelers OFFENSE: No. 22 overall (311.9 yards per game), No. 23 rushing (105.6 ypg), No. 17 passing (206.3 ypg)

Cardinals OFFENSE: No. 4 overall (365.8 ypg), No. 32 rushing (73.6 ypg), No. 2 passing (292.1 ypg)

Steelers DEFENSE: No. 1 overall (237.2 ypg), No. 2 vs. rush (80.3 ypg), No. 1 vs. pass (156.p ypg)

Cardinals DEFENSE: No. 19 overall (331.5 ypg), No. 16 vs. rush (110.3 ypg), No. 22 vs. pass (221.3 ypg)