I think the title says it all but I really hate the Pittsburgh Steelers. This post will be totally biased in favor of the Green Bay Packers and I don’t even really like the Green Bay Packers. Being a Browns fan hasn’t given me very many great memories, especially lately. The Brian Sipe/Bernie Kosar era is long gong and that one good Tim Couch season seems so long ago. The one thing that has brought me joy during those miserable seasons is hating on the Steelers.
Who's with me?
The Packers are a 3 point favorite going into the game, which makes it easier for me to spew pro-Green Bay rhetoric without looking like (much of) a fool. To be honest, this game looks like it will be a good one. Both teams are hot but Green Bay looks to have the most momentum coming in. Before I break down the game I’ll give you the particulars.
Super Bowl XLV will be played in Cowboys Stadium and kickoff should be somewhere around 6:25 pm EST. There will be like 10,000 hours of coverage devoted to the game, not including the all day pre-game show and yukfest on FOX and ESPN. The game will be on FOX and your broadcasters will be the loathsome Joe Buck and the knowledgable Troy Aikman. Pam Oliver and Chris Myers will be bringing you speculation and rumors from the sidelines. In the studio, the FOX team will be Curt Menefee, Terry Bradshaw, Howie Long, Jimmy Johnson and Michael Strahan. They most likely won’t give you anything concrete but be somewhere near the truth so that they can boast right after the final whistle has blown. Odds are that Howie Long will be the most serious person on the show but then you remember that he made Firestorm and he’s pretty hard to take seriously.
Yes, this happened
This will be Pittsburgh’s eighth Super Bowl and their third in the last six years. They’ve won six of the seven they’ve already played. The Steelers won the AFC North and had a bye in the opening round of the playoffs. In the Divisional round they faced the Baltimore Ravens and dominated them defensively but still needed a late touchdown to win 23-24. The Steelers D held the Ravens to 126 total yards on offense and were down 21-7 at the half. The offense lost two fumbles and one of them was returned for a touchdown. In the AFC Championship game they beat the surprising Jets 24-19. The game wasn’t really that close. The Steelers led 24-0 with 1:09 left in the 2nd quarter. Roethlisberger didn’t look sharp, throwing 2 interceptions. It helps when the “brilliant” Rex Ryan punts with 1:43 to go in the game from the Pittsburgh 44 yard line. Did the Jets really think they were getting the ball back with that little time?
This will be the fifth Super Bowl for Green Bay. They’ve won three of the four they’ve played in. The Packers beat Chicago 10-3 in the final game of the season to earn a Wild Card birth. They pretty much handled Philadelphia in the opening round of the playoffs with Aaron Rodgers tossing 3 TD’s at Lincoln Financial Field. In the second round, Green Bay travelled to Atlanta and pretty much OWNED them after the first ten minutes of the game. Against the Falcons, Rodgers threw three more TD’s and ran for another. The Packers didn’t punt in that game. In the NFC Championship, Green bay beat Chicago in Soldier Field 21-14. This time Aaron Rodgers didn’t throw any touchdowns and was picked off twice. Not a very Aaron Rodgers postseason performance.
Aaron Rodgers is the best quarterback in the postseason. The stats don’t lie. Who has thrown for more yards than Rodgers this postseason? Nobody. I know Rodgers has played in one more game but his 263.3 yards per game average is 84 yards more than Roethlisberger’s. Rodgers’ QB rating is 109.2, the highest in the postseason, compared to 75.5 for Big Ben. Rodgers has six touchdown passes, one rushing touchdown and only two interceptions. Roethlisberger has two touchdown passes, one rushing touchdown and two interceptions. Aaron Rodgers has also completed fifteen passes of 20+ yards compared to four for Roethlisberger. I know Ben Roethlisberger is mobile but so is Rodgers. Look at the game against the Falcons. They had his sacked at least ten times in that game and he was able to get away and make a positive play. Sure, Ben Roethlisberger is 2-0 in Super Bowls but Rodgers is the hotter quarterback coming in.
Rodgers is on fire
The Steelers look to have the better running game but Pittsburgh only holds a half a yard advantage per game. Both have four touchdowns but Pittsburgh has fumbled three times compared to two for Green Bay. The Steelers have the best defense in the league but are giving up 21.5 points per game this postseason compared to 17 for the Packers. Don’t forget, Green Bay played all three of their playoff games on the road. The Steelers have the best rushing defense but the Packers are second. These teams are so close in many stats so look for this to be a pretty good game
This game will come down to who takes advantage of their opportunities and makes fewer mistakes. The Green Bay Packers have shown that they can convert on third-downs and make the most of their red zone opportunities. Green Bay is just too hot right now. This team seems to be doing whatever they want on offense and Tramon Williams is quickly moving up the ladder of being a great cornerback in the league.
Rodgers needs this
I don’t think we understand how much Aaron Rodgers wants to win this game. I mean every football player wants to win the Super Bowl but it would be huge for Aaron Rodgers to have a Super Bowl ring. He can start coming out of the shadow of Brett Favre. He’s only 27, the same age as Brett Favre when he won Super Bowl XXXII. Plus, Green Bay would be vindicated for choosing Rodgers over an aging Brett Favre three seasons ago. Rodgers can own this town with a win and, who knows, even surpass Favre if he’s able to get multiple Super Bowl rings. Don’t tell me Green Bay GM Ted Thompson doesn’t want this badly either. You just know he wants to stick it to Favre because Favre’s been trying to stick it to the organization and especially Ted Thompson since he left. After seeing Favre’s act over the past three seasons, I’m looking forward to Green Bay getting over on him too.
Another reason I want the Steelers to lose is because I hate Ben Roethlisberger. I hated him even before everyone found out how much of a douche he was. I hated Roethlisberger before hating Roethlisberger was cool. I can’t bear to see Roethlisberger winning another ring. I know one thing, Ben Roethlisberger clone, Chase Daniel will be watching this game with a chubby. Chase Daniel is not really relevant to this Super Bowl discussion but I just like mentioning him whenever Roethlisberger is involved. Remember how hard Daniel’s tried to look and act like Roethlisberger while at Missouri? It was actually quite embarrassing watching him with Ben’s facial hair, Ben’s wristbands, Ben’s eye black, Ben’s wristbands, Ben’s mannerisms at the line and so on. Another reason to mention Chase Daniel is to mention how much I hate Missouri. Not just the college but the state as a whole. C’mon people, if Missouri failed to exist in the morning would we really miss it?
Douche
Lea Michele of Glee fame will sing America the Beautiful during pre-game festivities and Christina Aguilera will sing the national anthem. I didn’t realize Christina Aguilera was relevant enough to merit the singing of the national anthem. Being a native of Pennsylvania probably didn’t hurt her cause. The Black Eyed Peas will perform at halftime…errrr…..at the Bridgestone Halftime Show. Does anyone really like the Black Eyed Peas? I don’t think a single one of my friends has ever mentioned liking or disliking the Black Eyed Peas. Is it just me or does it seem that the halftime entertainment is always someone past their prime or someone you wouldn’t expect to be performing at the halftime show? The Black Eyed Peas are never ones to shy away from being on TV. I think I’ve seen them on various worldwide shows, kicking off something like the World Cup or Oprah’s visit to Michigan Avenue in Chicago. Almost every time I’ve seen them at some live event, they seem to perform My Humps. I think they have more songs than that but they continue to trot out that ridiculous song every time they need people to remember who they are. Something tells me that My Humps won’t be played at something as family friendly as the Super Bowl. Remember when Prince got in trouble for playing his guitar behind the curtain?
Rachel from Glee
My prediction: Green Bay 30 – Pittsburgh 20
I’m not telling you to bet the house or anything like that. This is coming from my gut. If you’re into placing a little friendly wager, go to covers.com to get all of you information. Enjoy the Super Bowl, even if you have to listen to Joe Buck.
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