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.
Sunday, January 30, 2011
9 All Star starters, One not so much.
The NBA All Star game seems to have controversy every single. Whether it is over a starter or a reserve player. So far it seems that the controversy lies within the tallest player in the recent past, Yao Ming.
Yao Ming was selected this past week to his 8th all star game, all as a member of the Houston Rockets. This season the Rockets kept him below 24 minutes and not play him on the second night of back to backs. In December it was found that Ming had a stress fracture in his left ankle, and again Yao was gone for another season. Yao played in five games and averaged only 18 minutes a night, is that really an all star? No. Is it his fault? No.
The rule in the NBA is that the fans get to vote their favorite all stars to start this glorified pickup game, and then the coaches decided who will be the reserves. The people who vote are not just from the United States but from all over the world, meaning China will obviously vote for their hero Yao Ming. This is not fair to any American player, let alone any American player that plays the Center position in the Western Conference. Andrew Bynum I will skip over because he is injury prone as well, but what about Nene from Denver. Nene is a warrior underneath and one of those guys who gives you his all every night. The reason he is not an all star is because his name.
The NBA, like all other major sports, is a business and you cannot take power away from the fans once given to them. There has to be a way to prevent the injured players to be on these teams. If they are injured and know they will not be able to perform, then they should not even have their name on the ballot. Give the players that have been working hard on the court all year the opportunity to start in the most fun fan friendly game on the NBA calender.
This fans have voted in the following:
Western Conference
C- Yao Ming, HOU
F- Carmelo Anthony, DEN
F-Kevin Durant, OKC
G- Kobe Bryant. LAL
G- Chris Paul, NO
Eastern Conference
C- Dwight Howard, ORL
F- Amare Stoudimere, NYK
F-Lebron James, MIA
G- Derrick Rose, CHI
G-Dwyane Wade, MIA
Yao Ming was selected this past week to his 8th all star game, all as a member of the Houston Rockets. This season the Rockets kept him below 24 minutes and not play him on the second night of back to backs. In December it was found that Ming had a stress fracture in his left ankle, and again Yao was gone for another season. Yao played in five games and averaged only 18 minutes a night, is that really an all star? No. Is it his fault? No.
The rule in the NBA is that the fans get to vote their favorite all stars to start this glorified pickup game, and then the coaches decided who will be the reserves. The people who vote are not just from the United States but from all over the world, meaning China will obviously vote for their hero Yao Ming. This is not fair to any American player, let alone any American player that plays the Center position in the Western Conference. Andrew Bynum I will skip over because he is injury prone as well, but what about Nene from Denver. Nene is a warrior underneath and one of those guys who gives you his all every night. The reason he is not an all star is because his name.
The NBA, like all other major sports, is a business and you cannot take power away from the fans once given to them. There has to be a way to prevent the injured players to be on these teams. If they are injured and know they will not be able to perform, then they should not even have their name on the ballot. Give the players that have been working hard on the court all year the opportunity to start in the most fun fan friendly game on the NBA calender.
This fans have voted in the following:
Western Conference
C- Yao Ming, HOU
F- Carmelo Anthony, DEN
F-Kevin Durant, OKC
G- Kobe Bryant. LAL
G- Chris Paul, NO
Eastern Conference
C- Dwight Howard, ORL
F- Amare Stoudimere, NYK
F-Lebron James, MIA
G- Derrick Rose, CHI
G-Dwyane Wade, MIA
Wednesday, January 12, 2011
Stags trip up Peacocks 70-43
Entering Sunday's MAAC contest, the Fairfield Stags were number five in the nation in scoring defense, giving up only 54.7 points per contest. Sunday would be no different, as Fairfield once again proved why they are one of the feistiest defenses in the nation.
Entering the game St. Peter's College was 3-1 in the MAAC, and were set to be Fairfield's toughest conference matchup yet, and coming off a 70-52 loss to Iona it was thought to be a battle. Both teams came slow out of the gate and Nick Leon for St. Peter's led all scorers with seven. The Stags had only shot the ball 10 times up to that point and had turned the ball over three times, two by point guard Derek Needham. The Stags led though 12-11. After the media timeout though the Stags would put some breathing room in between the two. The Stags would end the half with eight different players scoring, led by Needham who had seven, and the front court of Maurice Barrow and Ryan Olander each having six of their own. At this point the Stags had a 35-21 lead, and held the leading scorer of the Peacocks Leon to only two more points since the media timeout at 10:55.
The second half would be dominated by the Stags on both the offensive and defensive end. Offensively the two headed attack of strength and speed (Olander and Needham) would score 15 and 16 respectively. The balance of half court offense and high tempo kept St. Peter's uneasy the entire half. Olander would finished up with 12 rebounds also, while Needham dished out four assists. The supporting cast of the Stags was no pushover either as shooting guard Colin Nickerson caught fire scoring nine of his own, and Barrow powered for eight. This made up for second leading scorer Yorel Hawkins not playing the second half with a leg injury, he is day to day.
Despite the impressive offense, the story of the year has been the defense and Sunday this was no different. St. Peters would only score 43 points and shoot a poor 25% from the floor, 16% in the second half. The Stags stole the ball eight times, and blocked seven Peacock shots (3 by Olander). Leon was held without a point in the second half and end with those nine points. Coming into the game Leon was the leading scorer of the team, putting in just over 10. Leon and the Peacocks would turn the ball over 16 times.
The Fairfield Stags lowered their average to 53.9 points per game and will hit the road for four conference games starting with Loyola on Friday night.
Entering the game St. Peter's College was 3-1 in the MAAC, and were set to be Fairfield's toughest conference matchup yet, and coming off a 70-52 loss to Iona it was thought to be a battle. Both teams came slow out of the gate and Nick Leon for St. Peter's led all scorers with seven. The Stags had only shot the ball 10 times up to that point and had turned the ball over three times, two by point guard Derek Needham. The Stags led though 12-11. After the media timeout though the Stags would put some breathing room in between the two. The Stags would end the half with eight different players scoring, led by Needham who had seven, and the front court of Maurice Barrow and Ryan Olander each having six of their own. At this point the Stags had a 35-21 lead, and held the leading scorer of the Peacocks Leon to only two more points since the media timeout at 10:55.
The second half would be dominated by the Stags on both the offensive and defensive end. Offensively the two headed attack of strength and speed (Olander and Needham) would score 15 and 16 respectively. The balance of half court offense and high tempo kept St. Peter's uneasy the entire half. Olander would finished up with 12 rebounds also, while Needham dished out four assists. The supporting cast of the Stags was no pushover either as shooting guard Colin Nickerson caught fire scoring nine of his own, and Barrow powered for eight. This made up for second leading scorer Yorel Hawkins not playing the second half with a leg injury, he is day to day.
Despite the impressive offense, the story of the year has been the defense and Sunday this was no different. St. Peters would only score 43 points and shoot a poor 25% from the floor, 16% in the second half. The Stags stole the ball eight times, and blocked seven Peacock shots (3 by Olander). Leon was held without a point in the second half and end with those nine points. Coming into the game Leon was the leading scorer of the team, putting in just over 10. Leon and the Peacocks would turn the ball over 16 times.
The Fairfield Stags lowered their average to 53.9 points per game and will hit the road for four conference games starting with Loyola on Friday night.
Venue Review: Webster Bank Arena at Harbor Yard
To kick off our reviews on different venues, I found myself at the St. Peters, Fairfield Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference game on Fairfield's home court at the Webster Bank Arena at Harbor Yard. The Arena holds 9,000 and is home for both the men and women's basketball teams at Fairfield University. Although the Arena is not on campus, it is only a ten minute drive away. This has been the home of the Stags since the opening Arena Madness event on October 18,2001. How in it's tenth year of having Fairfield University as the showcase, the Webster Bank Arena at Harbor Yard surpassed 1,000 events for the venue. The Arena has also been host to Disney on Ice, World Wreslting Entertainment (WWE), the permanent home ice of the Bridgeport Sound Tigers (New York Islanders, AHL), and the host venue for the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference basketball tournament. For basketball, the arena has more of a professional feel then a college feel. There are no benches as seating, only seats, which makes it a more comfortable environment for the fans, no matter what the event is. The other major difference that the Arena has are the executive suites that surround the rafters of the arena. On a college campus you do not get this professional type of atmosphere. The other attribute that this venue has is that even though the professional feel is present, the college environment is still there. There are banners in the rafters of all the Fairfield University accolades, such as the years the programs made the postseason tournaments and years they won conference titles as well. On the east side of the court you will also find banners of every MAAC conference team there is in basketball. Those banners hang next to the 1,000 point scorer lists for both the men and women's teams. The Webster Bank Arena at Harbor Yard is a beautiful venue, and is an easy comfortable place to watch any event.
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