Tuesday, I took a look at the offenses of Green Bay and Pittsburgh. Today I look at two of the strongest Defenses in the National Football League. Hair seems to be the theme of these two Defenses. Green Bay has the long locks of Clay Matthews and the underrated hair of A.J. Hawk while the Steelers have the mane of Troy Polamalu and the Viking style beard of Brett Keisel. Let's break them down.
Defensive Line
During the regular season, Pittsburgh's Defense was the best run-stopping team in the NFL. They barely gave up 1000 yards for the entire season. They have to be licking their chops at the prospect of taking down Green Bay's running attack. Green Bay had a good line as well, giving up about 115 yards per game during the regular season, and the Bears and Falcons combined for only 128 yards on the ground in the last two playoff games. Rashard Mendenhall is going to be a guy they really have to key on in this game. B.J. Raji has been absolutely great during the post-season and the Green Bay lineman had a pick-six against the Bears. Both of these lines will pressure the opposite QB but what it really comes down to is the...
Linebackers
Clay Matthews has been an absolute beast this post season. James Harrison has been a force of nature as well. With 3.5 and 3.0 sacks, respectively, these guys will be a big part of their team's plans when it comes to putting pressure on the passing game. Clay will also be called upon to help shut down Mendenhall when he does get past the lineman. A.J. Hawk has been a bit of a presence too. While he hasn't been in the backfield as much as Matthews but he has nine solo tackles. He could have more than that in the Super Bowl alone, depending on how the Green Bay line affects the running game of Pittsburgh.
Defensive Backs
Tramon Williams and Sam Shields have been absolutely eye-popping this post-season. They have combined for five interceptions (one pick-six) 16 tackles and a forced fumble. In the Conference Championships, both passing defenses performed pretty well, giving up 236 (GB) and 219 (Pit) yards. The Jets passing Defense was able to shut down the Pittsburgh passing game and Green Bay should be able to do the same. Troy Polamalu will be looking to fly in from the outside to get to Aaron Rodgers and Green Bay's offensive line will have to be on its toes to keep Rodgers safe.
So, what will the outcome be? I honestly feel that this game is going to be one of the best Super Bowls of my lifetime. Maybe that's because I think that the Packers are going to roll. I would not be surprised if the Packers Defense kept the Steelers out of the endzone for the entire game. That being said, I think the final score will be 24-9 in favor of the Green Bay Packers. Yes, I know that Ben has been here before and it is a new experience for Aaron Rodgers, but Green Bay has played five straight playoff games. First, they had to win their last two regular season games just to get into the playoffs and they have flown through the NFC side of the playoffs to get to the Super Bowl. The Packers are the best team in this game.
Thursday, February 3, 2011
Tuesday, February 1, 2011
Super Bowl Preview Part I
You see what I did there? I used the whole Roman Numeral thing, just like the Super Bowl does. How awesome is that? I know what you're thinking. "This guy hasn't posted a blog in AGES! Now that one of his favorite teams is in the Super Bowl, NOW he decides to write a blog?" Well, yeah, that and I've had the writing bug for a while now with no time to give in to it. So, here it goes, back and better than ever, Part I of my Super Bowl Preview. Today, I will look at the offenses and Thursday I will tackle the two MONSTER Defenses that are playing in Big Game XLV.
Aaron Rodgers vs. Ben Roethlisberger
As much as it pains me to say it, Ben Roethlisberger is not a bad quarterback. But, he is also not of the same caliber, passing-wise, as Aaron Rodgers. Rodgers had 28 TD's to Ben's 17. Rodgers out threw Ben by over 700 yards. Rodgers completion percentage was slightly better, but still better. Rodgers did throw 11 interceptions to Ben's 5 but he also threw almost 100 more passes and played in four more games. Rodgers also had a higher QB rating than Ben and did not find his name in the Police Blotter as many times as Roethlisberger. In my opinion, Green Bay has a huge advantage in this department, especially since this game is being played in a dome. Look at what Rodgers did to the Falcons in the playoffs. Those numbers are ridiculous. Both of these guys are the faces of their franchise. Rodgers face is much, much better.
The Running Game
Pittsburgh clearly holds the advantage on the ground. Rashard Mendenhall is a freak of nature and picked up right where Jerome Bettis left off in the "running people over" department. He picked up almost four yards per carry in the regular season, scored 13 touchdowns and racked up over 1,200 yards. On the other side are the Packers and their "Runningback by Committee." Because of injuries and under performances, Green Bay's leading rusher, Brandon Jackson, finished the season with just three rushing touchdowns and just over 700 yards. Your Quarterback should never be your team's second leading rusher (unless said QB is named Michael Vick, then he could be #1) but that is exactly what happened in Green Bay. Pittsburgh will attempt to pound the ball down Green Bay's throat and Green Bay will have to find a way to stop them.
Receivers and Tight Ends
Let's look at the top threats for each team: Greg Jennings of Green Bay and Mike Wallace. These guys are frighteningly similar. They each went over 1,200 yards but Wallace did it in 16 less catches, averaging almost 20 yards per catch. Jennings was slightly lower at just under 17. Jennings had two more touchdowns and is great at going after the deep ball. Wallace likes to catch the short passes and break big runs after the catch. They both have the ability for YAC's but Wallace is slightly better. Overall, I think the Packers hold a slight edge in the Receivers game with Donald Driver, Jordy Nelson and James Jones all contributing in big ways.
When Jermichael Finley went down, it was a big blow to the Packers passing game but the other receivers were able to pick up the slack. Pittsburgh doesn't have to worry about that as Heath Miller was one of Ben's go-to-guys, but mostly outside of the red zone. Miller had just two touchdowns this year, down from six last year. Teams really keyed on him and focused on shutting him down. That combined with Mendenhall's ability to run over people on his way to the end zone made Miller a little less important in the Steelers game plan.
These two offenses are both very talented. In the playoffs, Green Bay has been the Number One offense while Pittsburgh is fifth on the list, behind even the Seahawks in total yards. That's right, a Super Bowl team is lower on the total yards list than a team that lost in the 2nd round. Green Bay has put up 90 points in this playoffs to just 55 by Pittsburgh. The Packers have gained almost 100 yards more per game in this playoffs and I don't see them slowing down any time soon. The offensive edge definitely goes to the Packers.
Check back on Thursday for my look at the two Defenses that will be battling in Super Bowl XLV!
Aaron Rodgers vs. Ben Roethlisberger
As much as it pains me to say it, Ben Roethlisberger is not a bad quarterback. But, he is also not of the same caliber, passing-wise, as Aaron Rodgers. Rodgers had 28 TD's to Ben's 17. Rodgers out threw Ben by over 700 yards. Rodgers completion percentage was slightly better, but still better. Rodgers did throw 11 interceptions to Ben's 5 but he also threw almost 100 more passes and played in four more games. Rodgers also had a higher QB rating than Ben and did not find his name in the Police Blotter as many times as Roethlisberger. In my opinion, Green Bay has a huge advantage in this department, especially since this game is being played in a dome. Look at what Rodgers did to the Falcons in the playoffs. Those numbers are ridiculous. Both of these guys are the faces of their franchise. Rodgers face is much, much better.
The Running Game
Pittsburgh clearly holds the advantage on the ground. Rashard Mendenhall is a freak of nature and picked up right where Jerome Bettis left off in the "running people over" department. He picked up almost four yards per carry in the regular season, scored 13 touchdowns and racked up over 1,200 yards. On the other side are the Packers and their "Runningback by Committee." Because of injuries and under performances, Green Bay's leading rusher, Brandon Jackson, finished the season with just three rushing touchdowns and just over 700 yards. Your Quarterback should never be your team's second leading rusher (unless said QB is named Michael Vick, then he could be #1) but that is exactly what happened in Green Bay. Pittsburgh will attempt to pound the ball down Green Bay's throat and Green Bay will have to find a way to stop them.
Receivers and Tight Ends
Let's look at the top threats for each team: Greg Jennings of Green Bay and Mike Wallace. These guys are frighteningly similar. They each went over 1,200 yards but Wallace did it in 16 less catches, averaging almost 20 yards per catch. Jennings was slightly lower at just under 17. Jennings had two more touchdowns and is great at going after the deep ball. Wallace likes to catch the short passes and break big runs after the catch. They both have the ability for YAC's but Wallace is slightly better. Overall, I think the Packers hold a slight edge in the Receivers game with Donald Driver, Jordy Nelson and James Jones all contributing in big ways.
When Jermichael Finley went down, it was a big blow to the Packers passing game but the other receivers were able to pick up the slack. Pittsburgh doesn't have to worry about that as Heath Miller was one of Ben's go-to-guys, but mostly outside of the red zone. Miller had just two touchdowns this year, down from six last year. Teams really keyed on him and focused on shutting him down. That combined with Mendenhall's ability to run over people on his way to the end zone made Miller a little less important in the Steelers game plan.
These two offenses are both very talented. In the playoffs, Green Bay has been the Number One offense while Pittsburgh is fifth on the list, behind even the Seahawks in total yards. That's right, a Super Bowl team is lower on the total yards list than a team that lost in the 2nd round. Green Bay has put up 90 points in this playoffs to just 55 by Pittsburgh. The Packers have gained almost 100 yards more per game in this playoffs and I don't see them slowing down any time soon. The offensive edge definitely goes to the Packers.
Check back on Thursday for my look at the two Defenses that will be battling in Super Bowl XLV!
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