Back-ups prepare to step in for Super Bowl starters

PHOENIX (Reuters) - They are no-names on the rosters of Super Bowl combatants New England and New York, yet one crunching sack or twisted ankle could thrust Matt Cassel or Anthony Wright into the brightest spotlight of U.S. sports.

Cassel and Wright are the back-up quarterbacks for the Patriots and Giants, players who toil in anonymity behind the twice Super Bowl MVP Tom Brady and New York's Eli Manning.

Yet they could find themselves critical to the NFL title chances of their teams on Sunday at the University of Phoenix Stadium in Glendale, Arizona.

"You have to make yourself believe you're always about to go in or you're going to play this week," Cassel told Reuters. "You have to play that mental mind game with yourself that your opportunity is going to come this week or something could happen and you're going to be in there.

"That's sometimes the hardest thing, the complacency factor. You always have to fight against that."

Wright, who in 2003 stepped into the starting job for the Baltimore Ravens and helped lead them into the playoffs, said he tried to visualize rising to the challenge.

"I envision myself playing, but I don't envision anything bad happening to Eli," Wright said. "I envision, what would I do if I got into the game. It's all a matter of fate. I'll do my part, whatever is necessary."

While Wright, 31, has made 19 starts since joining the NFL as a free agent with the Pittsburgh Steelers after a college career in South Carolina, Cassel has yet to start in three seasons with the Patriots.

Cassel, a seventh-round draft pick in 2005, also backed up Heisman Trophy winners Carson Palmer (now with Cincinnati Bengals) and Matt Leinart (Arizona Cardinals) in college at the University of Southern California.

"The thing is to make sure you know the offense, make sure you understand what each receiver should be doing on each particular route," Wright said.

"That's what makes the back-up position hard, to be in tune with the offense. You have to be prepared in case your number's called."

The back-ups try to stay poised to contribute.

"On game days I wear my helmet on the sidelines," said Cassel. "I'll call the play out loud. I'll rehearse it in my mind as if I'm going through the reads and the operation.

"I'm really trying to stay in the game as much as possible. If my time is called, I'll go in there and try to execute."

(Editing by Greg Stutchbury)