By Leopold Geans 1/6/11
Tough pick between two very balanced football teams in the Pittsburgh Steelers and the Green Bay Packers.
These two Super Bowl quarterbacks Aaron Rodgers and Ben Roethlisberger will set the tone.
The bigger the game the bigger he plays is something I’ve said about Rodgers and I witnessed it early when he threw 23 straight completions against No.1 ranked USC in 2004 after beating them the year prior.
What’s great is that you could say the same thing about Ben Roethlisberger. Is there anybody more clutch than the black and gold’s lucky No.7?
Ben Roethlisburger knows how to win close games and executes better under pressure.
The component that sets Ben apart is his under the radar athleticism; he also has a master pump fake to go with his football instincts. Ben runs and makes plays outside of the box, all the time, he’s made a living of it.
The key instinct these two quarterbacks have is the clock in their head, they know when time is up, they both get rid of the ball when they are supposed to and run when they’re supposed to as well.
The Packers defense will have trouble preparing extended plays and improvisation coming from Roethlisberger.
The Steelers can play power football or pass, heck the Steelers can run goal line all game if they wanted to.
Whereas Green Bay may seem a tad more one dimensional with their high-powered air attack.
The Packers lost tune with their run game earlier in the season after the loss of Ryan Grant and their offense sputtered until the run game was sparked by rookie James Starks.
The problem is that no one runs on the Pittsburgh Steelers it’s just something they don’t allow to happen. They are No.1 in team defense for a reason allowing 63 yards per game rushing.
As much athleticism as the Green Bay Packers have on defense I feel the Steelers can handle it.
The Steelers can handle most of whatever the Packers can throw at them, blitz packages, disguised defenses, corner blitzes, Ben Roethlisberger will improvise.
I see deep strikes in the Packers future; they should stay in the upper tier of the gridiron.
Stick with what got you there, attacking gridiron air space.
The Packers should come out and play to their strengths and just light up the sky with their air arsenal keeping the Steelers on their heels all game with fast passes and quick tempo offense is something that could slow down the Steelers defense and interrupt their pass rush but not for long with these disciplined Steelers.
They saw a very similar situation against the Arizona Cardinals two years ago in Super Bowl XLIII edging the Cardinals 27-23 against a former high-powered air attack and Kurt Warner.
What a difference a quarterback makes.
The key to the Packers victory will be for them to play football they way they have been playing, the slightest dose of conservatism will not serve the Packers they have to be open, loose and let it rip in order to beat this Steelers football team they must come out full throttle and never relent because the Steelers are like a predator in the wild they watch their prey’s posture and reaction before they go in for the kill.
With the Steelers they foresee posturing, anticipating up and downs in the hunt and like predators they never stop until they get their prey.
When the league fined the Steelers throughout the season for playing pro football the Steelers way, this team got a chip on their shoulder and played tougher and hit harder.
This is all about which team performs best in the face of adversity and the Steelers have that face.
If the Packers get stage fright and step away from what got them to the Super Bowl they could get blown out of the Super Bowl.
The Steelers are salty dogs, grown men going up against a sprite young group in the Packers.
The Packers are a great offensive passing football team the defense will have to make stops against Pittsburgh but I’m taking the Steelers, black and gold playing football how it is supposed to be played, pounding opponents into submission is the Steelers method and it works.
I also see a team that feels they can handle anything having lost their quarterback for the 1st four games of the season
It’s the journey that builds mettle.
These two football teams are the pride and joy of America two teams embarking on the longest journey two football teams can brave, two of the most original NFL Football franchises of all, only one team can be victorious and I’m taking the Pittsburgh Steelers.
Enjoy your Super Bowl!
