Superbowl XLV

Superbowl XLV will feature a 2 seed from the AFC and a 6 seed from the NFC. The Pittsburgh Steelers and the Green Bay Packers will play for the ultimate prize of hoisting the Lombardi Trophy and calling themselves World Champions. The game is now less than a week away, so let’s break down everything about this game.

QUARTERBACKS: Ben Roethlisberger vs. Aaron Rodgers
Roethlisberger is 10-2 for his career in the playoffs, which includes two Superbowl Championships and is now only one game away from winning his third. Big Ben is a great quarterback and he is on the cusp of becoming an elite quarterback in the NFL. How many quarterbacks or players for that matter can say that they have won three Superbowls before the age of 30. Not many. The intangibles Roethlisberger brings to the field each night cannot be match by many others. His size and mobility make it tough for opposing defenses to pursue and bring him down. Roethlisberger is very good at extending the play outside of the pocket and by time for his receivers to get open down field. He also has a strong arm and one of the fastest receivers in the league with Mike Wallace, so the big play threat is always there. Roethlisberger will be facing different blitz packages and has to deal with two tough corners in Charles Woodson and Tramon Williams.

Rodgers in his second go around in the playoffs has put up some remarkable numbers before his hiccup in the NFC Championship game against the Bears. In his first four games of the playoffs (which includes the 2009 Wild Card game against the Arizona Cardinals), Rodgers has thrown for 10 TD’s and 3 INT’s. Rodgers is also very good at extending the play with his feet and is not afraid to take off for the first down markers. Rodgers is very accurate with the ball and also has a strong arm like Big Ben. The Packers offense relies heavily on the pass game and the Steelers are the best team in the league at shutting down the run, so Rodgers will have to throw, throw, throw.

EDGE: even

RUNNING BACKS: Rashard Mendenhall vs. James Starks
Mendenhall has really blossomed this season into a really good running back. Mendenhall ran for over 1,200 yards on the ground and had 13 TD’s. Watching Mendenhall run the ball this postseason, it is clear that he is hard to bring down. He is shifty with quick feet, but is also strong enough to shrug and break tackles. Mendenhall is not the fastest back in the league, but he does have a nice burst of speed out of the backfield and is not afraid to run north and south in the trenches.

Starks is a rookie running back for the Packers and only played in three games during the regular season. Starks exploded into the postseason by running for over 120 yards against the Eagles in the Wild Card game. Starks failed to live up to the hype he created after that game in the next two, but did have a rushing TD against a stingy Bears defense. Starks is still a nobody in this league, but he has done well enough this postseason to give a little more balance for the Packers on offense. Starks is going against the #1 rush defense in the NFL, so all I have to say is good luck.

EDGE: Rashard Mendenhall

WIDE RECEIVERS: Steelers WR/TE vs. Packers WR/TE
Mike Wallace and Hines Ward are the two standout wide receivers for the Steelers. Wallace in his second year has made a name for himself by being one of the fastest wide outs in the league and is known for the home run threat. Ward has been around for 13 years and has won two Superbowls with Big Ben already. Ward has tremendous hands and can make the big catch. Ward is not the fastest wide out, but he runs excellent routes, which makes it hard to cover him. Both receivers will be covered by Packers corners Woodson and Williams, so nothing will come easy to them during the game, but don’t be surprised if one or both of them make a huge play during the course of the game. Heath Miller has been a staple at the tight end position for the Steelers for years now. Miller is an excellent blocking tight end, but is very capable of going out over the middle and making a catch in traffic. The Steelers also have young receivers in Antonio Brown and Emmanuel Sanders that are going to need to step up on Sunday as well.

Donald Driver is in his first Superbowl as a player after spending his entire 12 year career with the Packers. Driver doesn’t seem to show his age as he is the model of consistency for wide receivers in the NFL. Greg Jennings is probably the Packers best wide out and in his 5th year in the league, he had his best season totals by racking up over 1,200 yards receiving for 12 TD’s. The Packers lost TE Jermichael Finley earlier in the season to a leg injury, but Donald Lee and Andrew Quarless have done an admirable job filling for the injured Finley. Both James Jones and Jordy Nelson have developed at the wide receiver position as well.
EDGE: Even

DEFENSE: Steelers D vs. Packers D
The Steelers Defense comes into Superbowl XLV with the #1 overall defense in the NFL. They are the best at stopping the run and have an outstanding secondary too. This defense is anchored by Safety Troy Polamalu who can call on his number on any play and potentially cause a turnover. Polamalu is a ball hog and must be accounted for on every play. The linebacking core of James Harrison, James Farrior, and LaMarr Woodley is intimidating in itself. We all know about Harrison and his hard-hitting abilities thanks to all those fines he received from the NFL front office, but Woodley and Farrior are expected linebackers as well. The defensive linemen speak for themselves because they are so good at stopping the run and clogging up and potential holes. The Steelers should mainly concern themselves with stopping Rodgers in the passing game because they should be fine in stopping the running game. I really like the Steelers defense, especially also due to the playoff experience most of these guys have too.

The Packers Defense comes into this Superbowl matchup with the #2 overall defense in the league. The Packers are known best for the secondary with Woodson, Williams, and Nick Collins. This Packers defense has really grown into Dom Capers 3-4 system and one player who has benefited the most from it would be LB Clay Matthews. Matthews finished the regular season with 13.5 sacks and thrived in all the different blitz packages. Offenses struggled at times trying to adapt to all the different schemes brought on by the Packers. Many of the players on the Packers defense do not have the playoff experience that the Steelers do, which may play a factor on the biggest stage of them all next Sunday. Capers will have to continue to bring pressure of the edge to get to Big Ben and the most important thing for the Packers defense to remember is to finish each play.

EDGE: Steelers

This is building up to be one of the more exciting Superbowls in recent history. Roethlisberger is playing to restore his image and place his name in the elite hall of quarterbacks by winning his 3rd Superbowl. Rodgers is trying to make a name for himself and finally cast away the rest of talks of still being in Brett Favre’s shadow. We have the two best defenses in the NFL going against each other and two offenses that are capable of lighting up the scoreboard in a heartbeat. I fully expect this game to be within a touchdown and will most likely come down to the final minutes in the 4th quarter.