Super Bowl Preview

Well this is it. The Super Bowl is just about here. So, as is traditional and before I put myself in a calorie coma from too much red meat, let’s cover a preview of this game, position-by-position. We’ll start off with the grinders in the middle.

Offensive-Line: It’s odd that for a pair of teams that have come this far and have had so much success through the course of the regular season and post season would have such maligned offensive lines. This is especially true of the Steelers offensive line. All of that certainly has to do with the amount of injuries that the Steelers offensive line has suffered. Planned starting tackles Willie Colon and Max Starks have missed the majority of this season with injuries, leaving the responsibility of protecting Ben Roethlisberger’s flanks to Flozell Adams and Jonathan Scott. Scott has been pretty good in the running game and can stonewall weak pass rushers, but does struggle with faster players (like Clay Matthews). Adams is a good tackle, but has clearly fallen off in quality from the days when he was a perennial Pro Bowler. On the interior, the Steelers seem quite satisfied with the combination of Chris Kemoeatu, Maurkice Pouncey and Ramon Foster. Kemoeatu is, in every sense of the word, a road-grater. His pass protection skills could use some work, but he good for what the Steelers want him to do. Pouncey was playing great until we has injured in the NFC championship game. The same couldn’t be said of Doug Legursky, who will likely struggle against the complicated blitz packages of the Packers. Foster took over the starting guard spot part way through the season and has been effective. The Steelers need to focus on getting Scott, Adams and Legursky ready to face the talented defensive front that the Packers boost.

The Packers have a pretty nice, though under-stated offensive line. Center Scott Wells has been a solid, steadying force along that line for the past five years and should continue that role in this game. Daryn Colledge has fit in similarly, not missing a game in three years and doing a good job as the left guard. He does occasionally struggle against bigger defensive tackles, but is still solid. Josh Sitton is still settling in, but has been a good addition. His play is almost the exact opposite of Colledge’s in that he has a harder time with smaller, more agile defenders but can stonewall bigger players with a good ability to anchor. Chad Clifton is still playing well as a left tackle, but his age and a knee injury suffered in the last game could leave him struggling against the speed of James Harrison. God help the Packers if T.J. Lang has to play the majority of the game. While he has good potential, he is still far from ready to go against the blitz packages of the Steelers. Rookie First Round Pick Bryan Bulaga has played well since getting his first start in week 5, though he still shows his youth from time to time. How well he handles Lamarr Woodley could determine the outcome of this game.

Wide Receiver: In recent years, the importance of having a deep receiving corp. has increased significantly. Depth is certainly the strength of the Packers receiving corp. Donald Driver is the senior most wide-out and shows his veteran savvy in his route running and ability to read and react to opposing defenses. However that veteran status also means he’s on the older side, and the loss of speed is beginning to show more noticeably. Driver can be dangerous, but the real threat in the starting lineup is Greg Jennings. Jennings (one of the best in the NFL right now) has great hands, speed and ability to break the big play from short routes. He’s difficult to cover one-on-one and can outrun zone coverage if given the chance. James Jones and Jordy Nelson are great compliments to Driver and Jennings. Jones is a consummate deep threat, though his hands are inconsistent. He has the talent to be a starter, if he can ever catch the ball with any amount of consistent. Nelson has much better hands and great quickness coming off the line and in-and-out of his breaks. However he lacks elite speed down the field and is still pretty young.

The Steelers are in a somewhat similar position, though they aren’t given nearly enough credit for that fact. Hines Ward is the consummate professional and perhaps the most balanced wide receiver to ever play the game. Like Driver he may have lost a step as the years have progressed, but unlike Driver he can still take a linebacker out of a play with his blocking. Mike Wallace has stepped in become every bit the playmaker the Steelers envisioned him becoming when they traded Santonio Holmes. In addition to his big play ability, he showed a surprisingly good ability to adjust his routes to accommodate Ben Roethlisberger’s moving around outside the pocket. That’s going to be something that the Packers must be very aware of. If he starts going deep when the Packers secondary falls asleep, there’s a good chance a touchdown will be scored. Rookies Antonio Brown and Emmanuel Sanders have developed nicely as the season has progressed. Sanders brings great quickness to the position and has shown a good ability to work the underneath routes. Brown has amazing long speed but is very raw as a route runner. ON the opposite side of that is Antwaan Randle El, who is a strong route runner, but has begun losing speed has he ages.

Tight End: While they’re not discussed very much, the tight ends for these teams are going to be just as crucial to victory as the more discussed outside linebackers. Packer’s tight ends Tom Crabtree and Andrew Quarless have tried to fill the hole left by Jermichael Finley when he went down with an injury. While neither is particularly good at blocking, both have done a decent job playing as the split end pass catcher. Quarless especially has shown potential as the season has gone on. That being said neither is good enough to compare to Steelers tight end Heath Miller. Miller is a throwback to the days of the Ditka-type tight end. He plays just as well as an in-line blocker as he does as a receiver. He also does a very good job moving with Ben Roethlisberger when the pocket breaks down. He may not be the most athletic guy out there, but he is still a matchup problem and a solid blocker.

Runningback: This is the area where there is perhaps the biggest difference in ability. While James Starks has come on in recent weeks and shown a great ability to pick up tough yards when they are needed, the Packers still mix Brandon Jackson and John Kuhn into their running game. Jackson fills in as a third down back while John Kuhn doubles as a fullback and short yardage back. All of these backs rely on the spread passing game and heavy formations to give them space to run. Even then the still aren’t good enough to carry the team should the passing game fail. The Steelers on the other hand have a franchise type runner in Reshard Mendenhall who has, in spite of injuries along the offensive line, still rushed for 1200+ yards and thirteen touchdowns over the course of the season. He’s also brought the speed and power he used to accumulate those numbers in the regular season to the post season. He is complimented by Mewelde Moore who is an excellent third down receiver and surprisingly tough runner. This two give the Steelers a decided advantage in the running game.

Quarterback: Obviously this is going to be the most talked about area going into this game. Aaron Rodgers has experienced a meteoric rise since taking over the starting job in 2008. Rodgers has a strong arm, good release, nice athleticism and very good intelligence. He’s everything that one would want in a franchise quarterback, seemingly. While I am nitpicking a bit, something I have noticed about Rodgers is that he can only really succeed in the short passing game when he gets the ball out of his hands in the first two seconds. If he holds the all longer than that he tries to escape to the outside and will either run or pass deep. Either way, he tries to get out of the pocket if the short routes aren’t there. The Bears did a good job of pressuring Rodgers by keeping him in the pocket while covering the short routes. To me, it’s clear that Rodgers isn’t extremely comfortable passing deep from inside of the pocket. That’s a fact the Steelers could take advantage of. On a side note, Rodgers shouldn’t be playing right now. After suffering two concussions, the only responsible thing the Packers could have done was to put Rodgers on IR and let him heal up for next season. A Super Bowl win will wipe that from everyone’s mind, but it should be said.

While Ben Roethlisberger may never put up the kind of numbers that will get him an MVP award or a league passing title, he is still on the verge of winning his third Super Bowl as a starter. Big Ben plays much more in the style of Brett Favre than Peyton Manning. He’ll find a way to make a crucial play whenever it’s needed. He also knows who to engineer a drive in the clutch, as his last appearance in the Super Bowl proved. He’s escape ability is much different from Aaron Rodgers’. Ben is extremely difficult to bring down because of his size and strength. It takes a lot of effort to bring Big Ben down and he can still create plays while having defenders hanging off of him. He may not be the flashier of the two, but he is a winner.

Defensive End: Perhaps the most underrated aspect of the 3-4 defense are the defensive ends. Not only do they hold the responsibility of setting the edge against the run, but they also have to try and free up lanes for the outside linebackers. These two teams feature almost completely different defensive ends, in spite of the fact that they play the defensive scheme. The Steelers feature a veteran pair of defensive ends, with a young talent mixing in. Brett Keisel excels at his job even though he never gets the kind of publicity that his partner Aaron Smith gets, at least not until he grew the beard equivalent of Moby Dick. (God that beard is awesome!) Smith has missed ever game since week 7 and may be on his way out, having missed a combined 21 games the past two seasons and being nearly 35. When healthy, Smith is a solid, though not spectacular pass rusher and run defender. He’ll probably be splitting snaps with 2^nd year player Ziggy Hood, who has been starting in his place since Smith tore his triceps. Hood was drafted to be an athletic pocket presser from the defensive end position. When given the chance to start he began to fill that role somewhat. He is still inexperienced, but is a good change-of-pace when compared to Smith or Kiesel.

The Packers, on the other hand, have a pair of defensive ends in Cullen Jenkins and Ryan Pickett, who have great talent, are near to the prime of their careers, but somehow don’t seem to be able to play their position fully. Jenkins, the brother of Kris Jenkins, is a surprisingly good pass rusher for a person his size and has the ability to fill against the run. Pickett is similar in his ability to defend the run, though he is less of a pass rusher. Both are good as space eaters however their inexperience within the defense could be problematic against an offensive coordinator that interacts with this defense every day. C.J. Wilson and Jarius Wynn provide depth and a change of pace when the Packers want to rush the passer.

Nose Tackle: The play of these talented nose tackles are going to play a huge role in the outcome of this game. Packers nose tackle B.J. Raji may be getting a lot of the media attention because of his comparisons to “Refrigerator” Perry. However he is still very raw as a nose tackle. He certainly has the frame and quickness to make an impact penetrating into the backfield; however he still has a much to learn about properly anchoring against the run and being able to take up two lockers without giving up ground. He’ll figure it out with experience, but that isn’t going to help him this Sunday, though playing against Doug Legursky may cancel that out. The real name to focus on that many people forget about is Casey Hampton. While he doesn’t lineup at fullback, he just goes out and excels at the job asked of him. On more than one occasion (and in spite of his age) I’ve seen him shoving experience centers and guards into the backfield and changing running lanes through pure power. Against teams that throw the ball more like the Packers, he collapses the pocket and force quarterbacks to make hurried and frantic decisions. I’ll look for Hampton to make more of an impact on the defensive side of the ball than Raji.

Outside Linebacker: Probably the most important and highest profile aspect of the 3-4 defense is the outside linebackers. This is where this game will be won or lost, for both teams. The Packers have a great player in Clay Matthews Jr. (though not close to Defensive Player of the Year quality, not this year at least). He has developed into an excellent pass rusher in a very short period of time and will be the key to the Packers defense taking down Ben Roethlisberger. However, the Packers have had a rough time replacing Brad Jones when he went down with an injury very early in the season. Frank Zombo filled in admirably, but is more of a try hard player. Against a veteran like Flozell Adams he would have a hard time getting himself disengaged and in position to pursue the athletic Big Ben. Erik Walden filled in well while Zombo was hurt and is more athletic, but he is another guy who is likely to be stonewalled by the veteran. Matthews may have to provide the entirety of the pass rush by himself.

The Steelers, on the other hand, have two excellent outside linebackers and either one could take Aaron Rodgers out of the game. James Harrison’s athletic ability and speed are well documented, as is his ability to make a big play when it’s needed. On the other side, Woodley is more complete than Harrison, though no less fast. Woodley knows a wide-variety of pass rush moves and how to incorporate them into a game plan to confuse the opposing offense. While Harrison maybe locking horns with the Veteran Clifton during the whole game, Woodley will be facing a rookie in Bulaga. This gives a definite edge to the Steelers, especially if they can force a few turnovers when they get to the quarterback.

Inside Linebacker: Both teams have found breakout players along the interior, which bodes well for their future. For the Packers, Desmond Bishop was finally given enough playing time to show his wares as an interior linebacker. He has shown well during this time and was signed to a four year contract extension before the post-season began. He is a strong tackler who can lay wood with the best of them. His ability to play more aggressively comes from the confidence that having a stalwart, solid player like A.J. Hawk at the other spot brings. While Hawk doesn’t make a lot of “impact” plays, he is almost never out of position and makes all the normal plays with little issue. He can be there to clean up a lot of the plays that Bishop may miss on. The same could be said of Steelers leader James Farrior. While he gets more props than A.J. Hawk, and has a lot more experience in playing from the 3-4 formations. He may not get the kind of publicity that his teammates on the outside get, but he excels at his role. Next to him, Lawrence Timmons has come out of his shell and showed why the Steelers made him a first round pick in 2007. While Farrior uses his experience to diagnose the play quickly, Timmons has amazing athleticism that he uses to make up for any misreads he finds himself guilty of. He has the kind of speed that allows him to shoot gaps created by pulling offensive lineman and run plays down from behind. Additionally, both Farrior and Timmons are solid in pass coverage and at rushing the passer from their interior positions.

Safety: One team finds the Defensive Player of the Year in their secondary while the other has a tremendously underrated ball hawk filling a similar role. The former is obviously Troy Polamalu. Polamalu is not consistently the kind of ball hawk that his counterpart on the Packers is, however he is probably the best impact player in this game. His speed allows him to play deep and still have the ability to defend the run. He is often found playing in the box and he must be accounted for on every play. Ryan Clark compliments Polamalu very well, being able to support the run and play the pass equally. The Packers are fortunate enough to have a ball hawking centerfielder in Nick Collins. While Collins isn’t as flashy as Polamalu, he is solid in every aspect of the game and has shown the ability to turn a mistake into a touchdown. Next to him, the Packers have been trying to settle on a regular starter. Atari Bigby was the starter coming into the season, but missed the majority of the preseason with an injury, losing his job to rookie Morgan Burnett. However injuries have left special teams ace Charlie Peprah as the starter. Peprah is athletic and a good hitter, however he is also very undisciplined and doesn’t have the best range. Peprah could be the weak link in the Packers secondary.

Cornerback: With the spread offense and passing game being such a huge part of these offenses, the play of the corners will be crucial. The Steelers’ corners may not have biggest names, but they are solid within the system the Steelers run. Ike Taylor doesn’t get a lot of credit, but he sticks with receivers well and is able to limit the production of most receivers. He is better at knocking down passes and tackling receivers shortly after they make the catch. It’s not flashy, but it gets the job done. Bryant McFadden, William Gay and Anthony Madison are pretty good at what they do, but each one has struggled at different points during the season. The Steelers really rely more on the pass rush to force bad throws than they do the corners.

The Packers on the other hand have numerous players who have shown both the ability to be ball hawks and to run with most receivers. Charles Woodson leads this group, and he has experienced a resurgence since coming to the Packers. He still has good speed, but focus more on using his technique and experience to force turnovers. He also plays in the same vein as Troy Polamalu in that he is a more than willing tackler and can force fumbles. He also is a good blitzer so he can help in pressuring the quarterback. Behind him, Tramon Williams and Sam Shields have proven to be invaluable assets as the season has progressed. Williams has really come on during the playoffs, intercepting three passes and showing his ability to run with most receivers. He can get caught out of position on occasion, but generally makes up for it with his athletic ability. Shields, an undrafted rookie free agent, has shown a good ability to run with most receivers and the ability to play the ball in the air. Pat Lee and Brandon Underwood come in for dime packages and generally fill their roles well.

Special Teams: While it doesn’t always play the biggest role in any individual game, special teams are still extremely important to the game (if you don’t think so, just remember the name Devin Hester). The Packers haven’t really settled down with their returns. Shields and Williams fill the roles of kick returner and punt returner respectively, but they really aren’t great in those roles. Both have very good speed and some quick moves, but they only occasionally make big plays in these roles. Both may even been removed from these roles in order to prevent injury. Really the strength of the Packers special teams is the kicker and the punter. Mason Crosby has a great leg and great accuracy, one of the best in the NFL. Tim Masthay has had an excellent season and postseason. One need only look at his game against the Bears in the NFC Championship to see how he can confine a dangerous returner.

That being said the Steelers have an equally talented punter in Jeremy Kapinos (who is filling in for Daniel Sepulveda). Kapinos has actually put together a slighy better postseason than Masthay and has the capability of shutting down the Packers return game, not to mention keep the Packers pinned in the shadow of their own goal posts. Shaun Suisham is not the best kicker in the world, but does the job put before him. Antonio Brown fills both returner roles and is dangerous as a kick returner. He has great long speed and can move well in smaller spaces, though he doesn’t have great quickness. Between him and Kapinos, the Steelers are going to have a big advantage in the field position battle.

Final Judgment: While the Packers do have a certain advantage in terms of talent, there’s just something I am still not sold on. Maybe that has more to do with the Steelers than the Packers. I don’t think that Chad Clifton and Bryan Bulaga will be able to keep James Harrison and LaMarr Woodley at bay for the entire game, especially while trying to account for all the blitzers in the complicated Steelers defense. Also, while the Steelers are going to have problems with the injuries to the offensive line, that has been the status quo all season. Ben Roethlisberger is used to that and has been clutch in spite of that. Ultimately that is going to be the difference. I’ve got the Steelers for the win.