I think nerves got to Legursky and he hastened the handoff because he was so worried about getting set fast. It could happen again but I don’t think it will. What Legursky can’t do is block his man and then hand him off to a guard and go looking for a Linebacker to block. That’s pretty important on a team with so many weak links. Ramon Foster had been seriously overmatched in every game but he’s in there because he’s still playing better than Essex did. It will be interesting to see who they have backing up Legursky for the Super Bowl. You have to wonder if Justin Hartwig could come off the street and perform better than the guy they have on the practise squad. He’d be better at making the line calls at least.
While the purpose of the line is to get equal money on both sides of the bet, the line captures every piece of available information about the game. You’re right that there are average bettors who will simply bet with their hearts (similar to an E-Trade user who will buy Apple and Google without performing a discounted cash flow analysis). But there are also large bettors who will pounce* on an incorrect line (similar to a large investment bank who will go long or short huge amounts of money if they see a mispriced stock or bond). The latter is why it is so important for Vegas to set a good line to start off. Here’s an interesting short article about “Black Sunday” when so many bookmakers got “middled”.
http://www.betrepublic.com/news/nfl-betting/Black-Sunday:-Super-Bowl-XIII/2009012213182644
The Wisdom of Crowds by James Surowiecki does a good job of summarizing the mechanics of a betting line. But simply due to the size of the Super Bowl “market”, the line is very efficient in capturing all available info.
*no pun intended
By the way, ESPN is now reporting that Pouncey will not play.
Hey! Count me as thinking when this thread was started it would go nowhere 
Uggggh, they already have.
Stairway to 7 = good. 7th heaven = Bad Christian Family how.
This year I’m keeping the Superbowl party to a minimum. No assholes who bring samosas, no chicks who don’t know what a down is or why they bring out the “shiny thing with a chain on it”. If you don’t know why I hate Bruce Arians, GTFO.
Who has the ultimate authority in injury situations, the player or the doctors? If Pouncey wants it enough and since it’s not a concussion situation, does he get to decide he goes out there?
I’m debating whether or not to even have a SB bash this time. Gotta work at 0530am Mon, no way out of it.
Damn!
Yeah, I can’t imagine why they don’t do a Saturday night. I mentioned this on the boards a few years ago and people made fun of me - wondering what kind of fan can’t stay up to watch - but for those of us who have an early start, Saturday would be better. I work with the Brits and 10:00 their time is 5:00 our time. Now, I work from home, so I can get up and go straight to a meeting with them, but it still would be nicer if I could sleep the day after the game.
With the move to an 18 game schedule and an extra bye they should try to land the Superbowl on Presidents Day weekend.
I’m no fan of long layoffs or dragging out the season like college ball but it would be great to have a 3 day superbowl weekend and there is no way that the owners or the players want games before Labor Day
The coaching staff has the final say. Tomlin seems to let the position coaches determine who can go. From his comments in press conferences I would say they probably never overrule the doctors but sometimes it comes down to pain tolerance and then it’s a player decision.
No, dammit – I like sharing my birthday weekend with Super Bowl weekend! 
See, this is one of the benefits of living on the West Coast. The game starts at 3:30…even with the extra commercials and long halftime it’ll still be over long before bedtime.
And what better way to celebrate it than with a Steelers victory, right?
I don’t know what to believe about Pouncey.
I heard on the radio this morning that he was definitely out.
On the 6 o’clock news they did a big report about how his tendon was already stretched (from a previous injury) and that he could heal in less than 2 weeks.
Now the Post Gazette is saying he has a broken bone along with the sprain.
HongKongFooey, thanks, I was curious. And if he’s just a rookie, they might play it safe.
I don’t know how in hell they can attempt an 18 game season. It’s going to be 3rd stringers in the Superbowl at half the positions.
There must be an economic force behind the Sunday night game; it makes no sense in the context of a weekend and people working Monday morning. Sunday people could shop and dance in the streets and spend more money than they would Monday at work, and Saturday night they could dance and party without worry about work.
Then again, I’ve always taken the day off of school or work, or come in late. But surely that’s not reasonable for even most people.
This year there are 25 weekends starting with Labor Day and ending on Presidents Day. 20 weeks for the regular season (18 games + 2 byes), 5 weeks for the playoffs culminating with a 3 day Superbowl weekend. Sprinkle in a little patriotism, and Presidents Day could grow to be one of the biggest holidays of the year, like new years and the 4th of July rolled into one.
I think that if the owners want to play hardball with the CBA, they could leak that plan to the media and gain a whole bunch of supporters. “Give us your support and we will give you a day off after the Superbowl”
That’s a lot of Labor Days.
One more week. I’m getting anxious.
Of course you’re getting anxious, because there is too much time off between Championship games and the Super Bowl. Although I know there is a lot to do (rest, media, fan promotions, practice, travel), the Super Bowl functioned fine with no week off and the Pro Bowl is awkwardly placed. Such as it is, I guess next week fans will be happy the Super Bowl wasn’t this week.
I too, despise the extra week off. Its ridiculous, just like the BCS setup for many collegiate teams. Take Ohio State. They play their last regular season game at the end of November, and then don’t play in their bowl game until the beginning of January, after being off for more than a month. That’s nuts.
This talk of extending the NFL season to 18 games will only make that delay worse, let alone the injury and scheduling concerns.
Don’t fuck with a good thing!
Seasons in all pro sports seem to keep getting longer and longer, and they really don’t need to be.
I kinda like the extra week off for the Super Bowl. Gives teams a chance to heal their players. It won’t result in 2 perfectly healed teams meeting, but it’s the best you can do. From a fan perspective, of course I’d like week-after-week of solid football, but considering how often the Steelers are in the post-season mix, I’d like them rested and healed for the big show.
I’ve heard talk about the 18-game season, but read nothing about it. If they do this, are they planning on expanding rosters? I don’t want to see the season extended, but if they do, they should allow the teams to prepare for more injuries.
I’m very worried about this game. Aaron Rodgers has 3 or 4 dangerous receivers to throw to, and he’s good at escaping the pocket. If he’s successful at spreading out the defense early (like the Cardinals did in the fourth quarter of Super Bowl XLIII), this could very easily be a blowout loss. Ben is clutch in tight games, but I don’t see him putting up 400+ yards and outscoring a potent Green Bay offense.
Let’s face it, the Steelers are pretty bad in pass coverage. Their success is predicated on getting consistent pressure on the quarterback and forcing him to make mistakes. If the Steelers have to keep their nickel and dime defenses on the field all day, that means fewer people to rush Rodgers, which equates to him being able to dink and dunk to the underneath receivers for big chunks of yardage.
I think the Steelers’ defense, including the secondary, is at least as good as the Bears’, and the Bears contained Rodgers, and Green Bay, twice in 4 weeks, including the last regular season game at Lambeau when the Packers had to win and the Bears weren’t “playing for anything.” Of course Green Bay won both games, but that was greatly due to their often atrocious offense. The Steelers have a much better offense; they will be able to support the defense if they do dominate the game, which the Bears have recently demonstrated can be done.