The Super Bowl is finally upon us. I know the Pro Bowl was last weekend, but I don’t pay much attention to that honestly. It seems like it’s been forever since I had a meaningful football game to watch. Honestly, I am not as interested in the Super Bowl this year. Maybe because I’m not going this year. And maybe because the Saints aren’t in the game.
With that said, I’m still looking forward to the game. In all honesty, I’m hoping the Packers win. It’s not that I have anything against the Steelers. On the contrary, I enjoy watching them. Mike Wallace is a lot of fun to me. I’m not sure there is anyone faster in the league. Polamalu is a blast to watch as well. The Steelers have just won a lot lately and I like to see new blood win from time to time.
However, the Steelers seem to have the edge. Their defense is scary good. Their offense is more than good enough. And they can hurt you on special teams. The Packers are playing great too. The Steelers have been there before and I feel like they are more prepared. Onto the more in depth breakdown.
The Steelers pass the ball very well. They have a lot of weapons. Mike Wallace, Hines Ward, Heath Miller, Emanuel Sanders and Antonio Brown are all serious weapons. The Packers have to account for all of those guys. Woodson can certainly stop one of those guys. And Tramon Williams can slow them down too. I think Mike Wallace is good enough to burn either one and that will be a major issue. I see Wallace breaking a big play or two and wreaking havoc. Roethlisberger is a risky player and needs to control that. He’s super tough to get down and he will on occasion try to make too much out of nothing. He has to control his urges and throw the ball away at times. The Packers have to put pressure on Big Ben, but they can’t abandon coverage. This was something they could afford to do more against Chicago and Atlanta. Those teams had a smaller amount of weapons than the Steelers do. It’s similar to what the Packers had to deal with when they played the Eagles.
The Steelers also run the ball very well. Mendenhall tore the Jets apart. He can do the same against the Packers. The Packers have to make sure they don’t overload the box to stop the run. Wallace will definitely have his day if they do. If they drop too many into coverage, Mendenhall will eat them up. That’s what makes Pittsburgh hard to stop. You can be very effective against the run and they’ll beat you with the pass. And vice versa.
The Packers are an extremely tough team to stop. They pass the ball as well as just about any team in the league. Like the Steelers, they have a lot of weapons in the passing game. Jennings is their biggest weapon. He’s a guy that can hurt you big time after the catch. He will eat press coverage alive if the DB doesn’t do his job. Rodgers moves very well in the pocket and you can’t risk blitzing him too much, as he can hurt you with his legs.
The Packers definitely don’t run the ball as well as they pass it. James Starks has come to life throughout the playoffs, but he’s still not someone they can rely on to beat a team like Pittsburgh. Rodgers can be a big threat in the running game though. And they’ve shown the ability to put up a lot of points without having tons of success running the ball. One thing they don’t do is give up on the run. Pittsburgh has to keep that in mind and not forget about Starks. The Packers are good at wearing teams down and getting more production out of the running game as it progresses.
Both teams are solid on special teams. I like Crosby a little more than Suisham because Crosby has a lot more history with his team. I could see the Steelers having a problem with timing because they haven’t worked together as long. Sanders and Brown can both hurt you in the return game. Randle El can be dangerous on punts too. Tramon Williams has also shown flashes on the punt return.
I see this as a very close game. I think the Steelers will have some success running the ball and this will open up the deep ball to Wallace. The Packers will be able to have some luck in the passing game. In the end, their inability to really run the ball will hurt them. I don’t see a lot of turnovers in this one. The Steelers will have just enough to win. I see it fairly high scoring as well. Prediction: Steelers 31, Packers 27.
I hope everyone enjoys the game. Have a great weekend and be safe.
Josh
Tags: antonio brown, Auto, Bowl, bowl preview, Crosby, Draft, heath miller, hines ward, Honestly, honesty, mike wallace, one of those guys, polamalu, roethlisberger, run, Saints, Super, Tramon, tramon williams, weekend, Williams, wreaking havoc