Big Ben in action.
It’s back.
For the second year in a row, it is time for the Extra-large Mega-gigantic Super Bowl Preview.
In one of the more intriguing matchups we’ve seen in a while, two of the NFL’s most historic franchises face off in Super Bowl XLV(45) when the Pittsburgh Steelers play the Green Bay Packers.
(Ironically, the game is being played in Dallas, home of another one of the NFL’s most historic franchises in the Cowboys.)
But will the game be as historic as these franchises already are? Will we remember this game for years to come? With our luck, the last three Super Bowls have featured pretty exciting endings and memorable plays.
SUPER BOWL XLIV- New Orleans 31 Indy 17
(Notable Play: New Orleans onside kick to begin 2nd half)
SUPER BOWL XLIII- Pittsburgh 27 Arizona 23
(Notable Plays: James Harrison 98 yard INT return for td; Roethlisberger to Holmes with under a minute to go)
SUPER BOWL XLII- NY Giants 17 New England 14
(Notable Play: Helmet Catch)
That’s a pretty impressive streak of memorable games we have going here. And really all the pieces are in place for this game to continue the streak. Two impressive QBS and two solid defences.
As I did last year, let’s take a look at who I think will make a difference on Sunday.
(Note: This is not who I think is the better player/s…this is who I think will have a better game on Sunday due to matchups and other factors.)
Quarterback
It’s been endless praise for the two quarterbacks in this game, Pittsburgh’s Ben Roethlisberger and Green Bay's Aaron Rodgers. But it seems like everyone has forgotten that these two had subpar games just two weeks ago.
For whatever reason, Rodgers plays unreal indoors, as he showed against Atlanta earlier in the playoffs. And, sure enough, the new Cowboys Stadium is indoors. (Lucky, because Texas and most of the American Midwest/South has been hammered by snow this last week)
And the other big factor is that Roethlisberger’s regular centre, Maurkice Pouncey, looks like he might be unable to go on Sunday.
Like I said earlier, I don’t think Rodgers is necessarily the better quarterback overall, but I think because of Rodgers in the indoors and the Steelers questions at centre, A-Rod will have the better game.
Bold Prediction 1: 30 completions for Aaron Rodgers.
Running Back
Not much to break down here other than the Steelers have a run game while the Packers don’t. After Packers RB James Starks had his breakout game against the Eagles in the wildcard round, he has since put together two lacklustre efforts and now he goes against one of the best rush defenses of all-time. Not good. Steelers RB Rashard Mendenhall is quietly one of the top 10 running backs in football. Add the fact that he basically won the AFC Championship for Pittsburgh and it’s clear who has the edge at this position.
Bold Prediction 2 and 3- Green Bay QB Aaron Rodgers will end up leading his team in rushing yards/Rashard Mendenhall rushes for 2 touchdowns
Wide Receiver/Tight End
Very similar receiving corps on these teams. You have two stud receivers in Green Bay’s Greg Jennings and Pittsburgh’s Mike Wallace. As we’ve seen at times this year, when the QB’s start hitting these guys, it’s a dangerous situation for the opposing secondary. They also have those two token old guys, Pittsburgh with Hines Ward and Green Bay with Donald Driver. So it looks like the determining factor will come at the tight end position. Green Bay started off the season with the better tight end but Jermichael Finley got injured and somehow the Packers have survived without him. Steelers TE Heath Miller will have big games and then he’ll disappear for a few weeks. Which Heath Miller will show up on Sunday?
Bold Prediction 4- A Heath Miller Touchdown
Time for a halftime break.
Now excuse me if I’m a little confused here but …
WHY THE HELL ARE THE BLACK EYED PEAS PLAYING THE SUPER BOWL HALFTIME SHOW??!?!?!?
Here are a few things I’ve found really confusing about this whole choice.
1) We are only 7 years removed from the Janet Jackson Nipple Slip. It was then when the NFL decided that they were going to play it safe at halftime. So since NippleGate, we’ve seen the likes of Paul McCartney, the Rolling Stones, Springsteen, The Who, and Prince. All acts who had no plans of ripping their clothes off. But in a bizarre move, the NFL is taking its chances again with the Black Eyed Peas led by Fergie, who is known to be pretty bizarre. In other words, if anyone were to take their clothes off during a halftime show, she might be the most likely candidate.
2) Let’s think for a second.. .who are the Black Eyed Peas’ target market. Probably girls aged 16-30…right? Now how many girls aged 16-30 will be watching this game? Not many. They`ll have enough problems trying to recover from the hangover they have from the night before rather than watch a silly football game. Plus, the majority of people in the audience will be middle aged men, who will probably be in the Cowboy Stadium urinals taking a pee rather than watching the Black Eyed Peas.
Bold Prediction 5: Black Eyed Peas get booed off the stage.
Now back to the game.
Defense/Special Teams
This might be one of the rare times in Super Bowl history where the defensive names outshine the offensive names. I mean, other than Roethlisberger and Rodgers, are there really any superstar offensive players?
Pittsburgh has the defensive player of the year in Troy Polamalu (who might be THE “household” name in this game…"the guy with the hair” as people know him).
Add guys like James Harrison, Casey Hampton , and Brett Keisel with his ridiculous beard, and you have a pretty well known defence.
Same with Green Bay. Clay Matthews is the 2nd best defensive player in the league, and guys like Charles Woodson, AJ Hawk, BJ Raji are also well-known. But who cares whether they are
well known or not…the question is who’s better?
Look at it this way. Pitt doesn’t have to worry about Green Bay’s garbage running game, and will put most of their focus on Mr. Rodgers and the Green Bay passing game. Don’t you think Troy Polamalu will be ready? Don’t you think James Harrison will be ready?
Bold Prediction 6: Pittsburgh LB James Harrison lays a questionable hit on a Green Bay Packer Player prompting Fox Announcer Joe Buck to freak out during the broadcast.
Kicker
A Canadian kicker for the Steelers in Shaun Suisham. Remember the last time a Canadian kicker performed on a big stage? Someone named Mike Vanderjagt who is famous for missing a game tying fieldgoal 25 yards wide right in a playoff game a few years back.
I don’t trust Canadian football players, to be honest. Give me Green Bay K Mason Crosby, who has never had problems in his few years with the Packers.
Bold Prediction 7: In classic Canadian fashion, Suisham shanks one.
The Verdict
Let`s go back to a theory that I introduced 2 weeks ago. And apparently it worked, because amazingly, I went 2-0 on Conference Championship Weekend. In a game with two defences ranked in the top 10 in the NFL, like these two teams, always pick the better quarterback.
Now earlier in the blog, I said that Rodgers would have the better game.
BUT…
When it comes down to it, Ben Roethlisberger is the better quarterback. The guy does something that Tom Brady and Peyton Manning seem to have touble doing recently. That is the ability to perform in clutch situations. The ability to close out games that are up in the air.
ESPN columnist Michael Wilbon has always stated that if he could pick any QB on his team to win a big game, it would be Big Ben.
2 recent examples, Super Bowl XLIII against the Cardinals where he calmly leads the Steelers, who trailed by 3, down the field and throws an amazing pass to Santonio Holmes in the endzone to give the Steelers the lead and ultimately the win.
And in the last 2 playoff games, he has made two clutch throws including the long bomb to Emmanuel Sanders in the Baltimore game right after the 2 minute warning, and the pass against the Jets in the AFC Championship, where he scrambled around to find a wide open receiver to clinch the game.
In a game that is probably going to be close, Roethlisberger’s experience in these moments will pay huge dividends, and will, in the end, give him a 3rd Super Bowl title.
Let’s name the quarterbacks who have 3 or more Super Bowl Titles.
Bradshaw, Montana, Aikman, Brady.……..Roethlisberger??
You better believe it.
Pittsburgh 24 Green Bay 17
MVP: Rashard Mendenhall
It’s back.
For the second year in a row, it is time for the Extra-large Mega-gigantic Super Bowl Preview.
In one of the more intriguing matchups we’ve seen in a while, two of the NFL’s most historic franchises face off in Super Bowl XLV(45) when the Pittsburgh Steelers play the Green Bay Packers.
(Ironically, the game is being played in Dallas, home of another one of the NFL’s most historic franchises in the Cowboys.)
But will the game be as historic as these franchises already are? Will we remember this game for years to come? With our luck, the last three Super Bowls have featured pretty exciting endings and memorable plays.
SUPER BOWL XLIV- New Orleans 31 Indy 17
(Notable Play: New Orleans onside kick to begin 2nd half)
SUPER BOWL XLIII- Pittsburgh 27 Arizona 23
(Notable Plays: James Harrison 98 yard INT return for td; Roethlisberger to Holmes with under a minute to go)
SUPER BOWL XLII- NY Giants 17 New England 14
(Notable Play: Helmet Catch)
That’s a pretty impressive streak of memorable games we have going here. And really all the pieces are in place for this game to continue the streak. Two impressive QBS and two solid defences.
As I did last year, let’s take a look at who I think will make a difference on Sunday.
(Note: This is not who I think is the better player/s…this is who I think will have a better game on Sunday due to matchups and other factors.)
Quarterback
It’s been endless praise for the two quarterbacks in this game, Pittsburgh’s Ben Roethlisberger and Green Bay's Aaron Rodgers. But it seems like everyone has forgotten that these two had subpar games just two weeks ago.
For whatever reason, Rodgers plays unreal indoors, as he showed against Atlanta earlier in the playoffs. And, sure enough, the new Cowboys Stadium is indoors. (Lucky, because Texas and most of the American Midwest/South has been hammered by snow this last week)
And the other big factor is that Roethlisberger’s regular centre, Maurkice Pouncey, looks like he might be unable to go on Sunday.
Like I said earlier, I don’t think Rodgers is necessarily the better quarterback overall, but I think because of Rodgers in the indoors and the Steelers questions at centre, A-Rod will have the better game.
Bold Prediction 1: 30 completions for Aaron Rodgers.
Running Back
Not much to break down here other than the Steelers have a run game while the Packers don’t. After Packers RB James Starks had his breakout game against the Eagles in the wildcard round, he has since put together two lacklustre efforts and now he goes against one of the best rush defenses of all-time. Not good. Steelers RB Rashard Mendenhall is quietly one of the top 10 running backs in football. Add the fact that he basically won the AFC Championship for Pittsburgh and it’s clear who has the edge at this position.
Bold Prediction 2 and 3- Green Bay QB Aaron Rodgers will end up leading his team in rushing yards/Rashard Mendenhall rushes for 2 touchdowns
Wide Receiver/Tight End
Very similar receiving corps on these teams. You have two stud receivers in Green Bay’s Greg Jennings and Pittsburgh’s Mike Wallace. As we’ve seen at times this year, when the QB’s start hitting these guys, it’s a dangerous situation for the opposing secondary. They also have those two token old guys, Pittsburgh with Hines Ward and Green Bay with Donald Driver. So it looks like the determining factor will come at the tight end position. Green Bay started off the season with the better tight end but Jermichael Finley got injured and somehow the Packers have survived without him. Steelers TE Heath Miller will have big games and then he’ll disappear for a few weeks. Which Heath Miller will show up on Sunday?
Bold Prediction 4- A Heath Miller Touchdown
Time for a halftime break.
Now excuse me if I’m a little confused here but …
WHY THE HELL ARE THE BLACK EYED PEAS PLAYING THE SUPER BOWL HALFTIME SHOW??!?!?!?
Here are a few things I’ve found really confusing about this whole choice.
1) We are only 7 years removed from the Janet Jackson Nipple Slip. It was then when the NFL decided that they were going to play it safe at halftime. So since NippleGate, we’ve seen the likes of Paul McCartney, the Rolling Stones, Springsteen, The Who, and Prince. All acts who had no plans of ripping their clothes off. But in a bizarre move, the NFL is taking its chances again with the Black Eyed Peas led by Fergie, who is known to be pretty bizarre. In other words, if anyone were to take their clothes off during a halftime show, she might be the most likely candidate.
2) Let’s think for a second.. .who are the Black Eyed Peas’ target market. Probably girls aged 16-30…right? Now how many girls aged 16-30 will be watching this game? Not many. They`ll have enough problems trying to recover from the hangover they have from the night before rather than watch a silly football game. Plus, the majority of people in the audience will be middle aged men, who will probably be in the Cowboy Stadium urinals taking a pee rather than watching the Black Eyed Peas.
Bold Prediction 5: Black Eyed Peas get booed off the stage.
Now back to the game.
Defense/Special Teams
This might be one of the rare times in Super Bowl history where the defensive names outshine the offensive names. I mean, other than Roethlisberger and Rodgers, are there really any superstar offensive players?
Pittsburgh has the defensive player of the year in Troy Polamalu (who might be THE “household” name in this game…"the guy with the hair” as people know him).
Add guys like James Harrison, Casey Hampton , and Brett Keisel with his ridiculous beard, and you have a pretty well known defence.
Same with Green Bay. Clay Matthews is the 2nd best defensive player in the league, and guys like Charles Woodson, AJ Hawk, BJ Raji are also well-known. But who cares whether they are
well known or not…the question is who’s better?
Look at it this way. Pitt doesn’t have to worry about Green Bay’s garbage running game, and will put most of their focus on Mr. Rodgers and the Green Bay passing game. Don’t you think Troy Polamalu will be ready? Don’t you think James Harrison will be ready?
Bold Prediction 6: Pittsburgh LB James Harrison lays a questionable hit on a Green Bay Packer Player prompting Fox Announcer Joe Buck to freak out during the broadcast.
Kicker
A Canadian kicker for the Steelers in Shaun Suisham. Remember the last time a Canadian kicker performed on a big stage? Someone named Mike Vanderjagt who is famous for missing a game tying fieldgoal 25 yards wide right in a playoff game a few years back.
I don’t trust Canadian football players, to be honest. Give me Green Bay K Mason Crosby, who has never had problems in his few years with the Packers.
Bold Prediction 7: In classic Canadian fashion, Suisham shanks one.
The Verdict
Let`s go back to a theory that I introduced 2 weeks ago. And apparently it worked, because amazingly, I went 2-0 on Conference Championship Weekend. In a game with two defences ranked in the top 10 in the NFL, like these two teams, always pick the better quarterback.
Now earlier in the blog, I said that Rodgers would have the better game.
BUT…
When it comes down to it, Ben Roethlisberger is the better quarterback. The guy does something that Tom Brady and Peyton Manning seem to have touble doing recently. That is the ability to perform in clutch situations. The ability to close out games that are up in the air.
ESPN columnist Michael Wilbon has always stated that if he could pick any QB on his team to win a big game, it would be Big Ben.
2 recent examples, Super Bowl XLIII against the Cardinals where he calmly leads the Steelers, who trailed by 3, down the field and throws an amazing pass to Santonio Holmes in the endzone to give the Steelers the lead and ultimately the win.
And in the last 2 playoff games, he has made two clutch throws including the long bomb to Emmanuel Sanders in the Baltimore game right after the 2 minute warning, and the pass against the Jets in the AFC Championship, where he scrambled around to find a wide open receiver to clinch the game.
In a game that is probably going to be close, Roethlisberger’s experience in these moments will pay huge dividends, and will, in the end, give him a 3rd Super Bowl title.
Let’s name the quarterbacks who have 3 or more Super Bowl Titles.
Bradshaw, Montana, Aikman, Brady.……..Roethlisberger??
You better believe it.
Pittsburgh 24 Green Bay 17
MVP: Rashard Mendenhall
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