Super Bowl XLV

The Game Room
1

I’ll be damned if I’m posting my thoughts on this game in a Steeler thread.

First things first. Thanks to a very loving wife and an awesome sister with some nice connections, I actually get to go to the Super Bowl. It’s actually a lifelong dream of mine to go see the Packers in the Super Bowl, so I am so incredibly stoked for the game, and one huge thing will get marked off my bucket list.

Now, the thing that strikes me about the game is how similar these two teams are. Great 3-4 defenses with solid big guys in the middle, a stud rush linebacker, and playmakers in the secondary. SBoth franchises have a long tradition off winning (wake me when you get to double digit championships Pittsburgh), have great owners (I like and respect the Rooney family and the people of Green Bay), and have built their current teams through the draft, street free agents, rather than high priced free agents. And both have young franchise QB’s. Luckily the Packers’ QB hasn’t raped anybody, so the Packers are ahead on that mark.

It should be an interesting game. The Steelers’ running game scares me a bit, but I love me some Dom Capers, so I think he’ll have a damn good gameplan in place to stop Mendenhall. And the Steelers’s QB’s production has really dipped in the playoffs this year, so I’m not horribly worried about him, although he’s always a threat. I think the key will be interior pressure and wrapping him up. Cullen Jenkins and BJ Raji need to abuse the Steelers O Line and contain/tackle their QB to stop him from becoming dangerous.

On the other side, the Steeler D is formidible. They bring the pressure and don’t press cover a lot, so I expect a fair amount of quick passes, slants, and screens. I also expect that Rodger’s ability to avoid the rush and make things happen with his feet will have a big influence on the outcome of the game. I do like how the Packers match up against the pass defense of the Steelers, but I don’t expect a lot of of James Starks this game.

I really would feel a lot better if we had Jermichael Finley in this game, because he could be a huge difference-maker against this defense. But water under the bridge.

All in all, it should be an interesting game. I’d love a Packer blowout, but I don’t see that happening. But the Packers will win.

2

Was watching Media Day and was just about to start a proper thread of my own. I still haven’t decided which team I want to lose more. Good god, this couldn’t be a more distasteful Super Bowl. I thought a Cowboys-Steelers and Patriots-Giants Super Bowl was gross, but this one reaches a whole different level. I’m still leaning towards hoping the stadium falls in on itself, hopefully Hamlet will have stepped out for a beer and a brat.

I’m leaning toward picking the Packers to win mostly because I think the injuries on the O Line of the Steelers will cause too many problems for their offense. Plus I think Packers fans crowing about another championship will be less obnoxious than Steelers talking about another Super Bowl. Hopefully, a SB win will cause the Packers to implode under the spotlight and the disease of more.

I was hoping to make a trip to Dallas to see the stadium for myself at some point this season but it just didn’t work out. I guess I’ll have to settle for your first hand reports.

3

Congrats on scoring tickets!

I agree with this entirely. IMO the game comes down to two matchups:

  1. the Steelers OLine vs. the Packers front seven.
  2. Aaron Rodgers vs. Dick LeBeau. The Packers are not going to run the ball effectively.
4

Yeah, with the exception of Roethlisberger, not only do I not dislike any players on either team but actually am a fan of several. However, for the most part Packer fans are far more tolerable so the aftereffects of a GB win would would be decidedly less egregious.

As mentioned, the matchups are good, ought to be an exciting game. I hope the fans celebrate for a day, then shut the fuck up about it.

I’ll be interested to hear what you think of the stadium, Hamlet. I’ve been next door often for Rangers games, but despise Jerry Jones so I haven’t set foot inside Cowboy Stadium yet.

Enjoy yourself, Ft. Worth and Dallas are great towns to wine, dine and party in.

5

I plan to. I’m going with my brother in law, we’re going down Friday and leaving Monday afternoon. Is there anything in the area you’d recommend? We’ll have a car, and free time, so if you know something that is not to be missed, let me know. Thanks.

6

The view from the outside and the general chatter from the media seem to think the opposite. Traffic is supposed to be historically bad and all the events are spread out and isolated from each other. It’ll be interesting to hear what first hand reports are like. I did the Detroit and Miami/South Beach Super Bowls and they were excellent largely because everything was tightly packed and walkable.

ETA: I’m sure The Lodge will still be excellent though!

7

I was astounded to find out how little public transportation there is for the Stadium (and Arlington/Dallas as a whole). Being used to Wrigley and Comiskey off the Red Line, you get used to the idea that real cities have real public transportation. Although it’s a bit of a walk, you can still use Metra and the El to get to Soldiers Field. But it appears that there is next to nothing to the game by way of public transport. Jerry Jones really wants that $70+ dollar parking spot money. I’m kinda hoping to find a Packer bar with shuttles to the game. C’mon internets!

8

That’s great! I hope you have a lot of fun. Don’t get arrested. :slight_smile:

9

Yeah, public transportation isn’t going to be anything like Chicago. The metroplex is so spread out and Texans love their cars (you’ve never seen so many pickups in your life) so there’s not much demand.

Old standbys are Deep Ellum, The West End, The Ft. Worth Stockyard, etc. I knew a ton of places during my 20 years there but have lived elsewhere for too long now to be a reliable resource. Hopefully some of our DFW dopers can contribute here.

10

If it’s anything like Miami there will be more shuttles than you can shake a stick at. In Miami they greatly discouraged anyone driving their own car for security reasons. The shuttles are their own slice of hell in their own way. We sat on ours for nearly 3 hours to make a short 15 mile drive because the off ramps to the stadium simply cannot handle the traffic coupled with the restrictions. I haven’t been to Cowboy Stadium but supposedly the roads around it are a nightmare under the best of conditions, unbearable for regular season games and I suspect the stadium will be lucky to be half full come kickoff for the Super Bowl.

11

I think the Packers win it, without a doubt.

I’m also rooting for the Packers, so that’s a nice coincidence. Pride of the conference, baby! If the Packers win, that would mean the NFC won three of the last four Superbowls. (Giants, Steelers, Saints, Packers.)

Also factoring in is the QB battle. I can’t imagine any neutral observer choosing to back Rapelisberger over Rodgers. Even ignoring off the field stuff, you gotta love the story of a guy making good after being handed the impossible task of taking over for a legend. Ask Brian Griese or Jay Fiedler how much fan that is.

12

I think it will come down to whether Green Bay’s pass rushers can tackle that Steelers QB. I mean, once they get a hand on him, how fast can they bring him down? I say don’t bother with any parts of the body other than the throwing arm.

(Oh, and if the Packers win, I’ll punch Mike Nolan in the ear if I ever see him.)

13

One prediction. After watching how Rodgers’ played worse after being illegally hit in the head by Peppers in the NFC Championship, James Harrison will, if given the chance (he’ll be held ON EVERY SINGLE PLAY!!!), deliberately land a helmet to helmet hit on Rodgers.

14

I can understand a distaste for the Steelers since they have Big Ben and his…Big Ben…they also have a plentily fined James Harrison and play kinda dirty but:

Why the hate for the Packers?

They don’t seem to have anyone who is remotely outspoken or brash, they are a good homegrown team…so why the hate?

15

If Harrison is smart, he might consider that it was the Bears’ defense and not the hit that caused Rodgers’ erratic play. If he’s smart.

16

I cannot articulate an answer to this question. The best I can do is say to you, grow up in Chicago as a Bears fan; that’s why the hate. I don’t care if the Packers consist of 45 cuddly kittens who each gave up two kidneys to save 3-year-old abused orphans, you put that G on your head and you’re worse than an amalgam of Satan, Jeffrey Dahmer, and Josef Mengele. But I can only feel it; I can’t express it.

17

If Harrison is smart. Heh. You might as well wish to fly or that the Bears had beaten the Packers.

18

The closer we get to this game the more I like the Steelers. This is a fight between the no. 1 and no. 2 defenses meaning of course that it will be a high scoring game!

Clearly, of all of the NFC teams, the Packers are the one that had the best chance to beat Pittsburgh (my rooting for a Steelers-Seahawks rematch fell through). But look, Chicago held Rodgers in check most of that game and the Steelers are better defensively in all areas than Chicago. Pittsburgh has the edge in experience. As good as Green Bay’s secondary is I think the Steelers receivers have an edge in speed and if they’re played soft they can work the middle. Green Bay should just abandon any illusions that they can run the ball in this game as this was not just the best run defense in the league but the 3rd greatest run defense since the merger.

The big matchup problem for Pittsburgh is their injured offensive line against GB’s stellar defensive line. If they can consistently get good middle pressure and keep Ben in the pocket GB can win this game running away.

And hey if the Steelers lose, half of Green Bay’s staff is from Pittsburgh so it’s like a Pittsburgh win anyway, it’s win-win. For instance GB’s tight end coach is from my current hometown of Homer City PA and of course Mike McCarthy is from Greenfield (neighborhood in the city of Pittsburgh). I could live with them getting rings.

19

But that isn’t really the right comparison. The Bears defense played them outside, in the cold, on grass, and in particular on grass that was falling apart. It’s a very different thing to plain inside, especially when you have 4 seriously good wide receivers spreading out the Steelers’ pass D.

The only way the Packers will have success running is if they have success passing. And I think they might.

That said, and I hate every fiber of my core for thinking this, but I will be very surprised if the Packers win. Absolutely delighted, but very surprised. I just don’t like how the Packers play in close games.

20

So if a guy goes to court and gets acquitted, he’s innocent, but if he’s not even tried in the first place, he’s guilty? Bwuh?

You mean a low-scoring game?