In case you missed it, during the awards ceremony after the game, Clay Matthews brought a heavyweight championship wrestling belt up to Aaron Rodgers on the podium. Rodgers was a big wrestling fan growing up and when he runs for a TD he always goes to his waist and pretends that he has a championship belt on.
Here’s a pic:
Pundits are great. They’re usually knowledgeable and objective. But no one knows a teams like its fans. True fans have watched all 19 games from start to finish and know their team’s ins and outs better than anyone. Informed fans are cautiously optimistic or appropriately pessimistic because they’ve seen their team at its best, and at its worst.
So with that in mind, here are a few things that this die-hard Packer fan is worried about…
1. That Mike McCarthy will play too conservatively with a lead.
We’ve all seen it. The Packers get up by 10 or 14 points in the second or third quarter and Mike McCarthy changes his game plan to try to kill the clock with his running game. Only the Packers can’t line up in the I-formation and run it up the middle with consistent success. I think the Steelers’ vaunted rush defense is actually a blessing in disguise for Green Bay because McCarthy knows he can’t run the ball down Pittsburgh’s throat. While most teams set up the pass with the run, Green Bay will need to set up the run with the pass. The Packers fare pretty well when they spread the defense out and run draws or inside handoffs out of the shotgun, and Brandon Jackson and James Starks could catch the Steelers off guard once or twice and break off a 15-yard run.
Sometimes McCarthy will take his shots downfield with a lead, but it’s usually a deep pass that has a low success rate. What’s wrong with a 20-yard post route that moves the chains and gets the team into field goal range?
2. That the Packers won’t be able to stop Rashard Mendenhall.
The Steelers offensive line is banged up, but Mendenhall scored twice against the Ravens and rattled off 121 rushing yards against a pretty good Jets defense. The Packers have been susceptible to the run all season, but have masked problems in that area with an outstanding pass defense, and teams haven’t been able (or haven’t been willing) to commit to a run-oriented attack.
The last time the Packers were in the Super Bowl, Terrell Davis rushed for 157 yards and three TDs as the underdog Broncos controlled the ball and the tempo. Packer fans do not want to see a repeat performance by an opposing running back.
3. That the Packers won’t play a clean game.
Penalties, turnovers and special teams. These are the areas of a football game that can swing the outcome even if a team dominates both offensively and defensively. And these are the areas where the Packers sometimes struggle. Whether it’s James Jones’ untimely fumble against the Bears in Week 3, the 17 combined penalties in losses against the Redskins and Falcons, or the many problems of the Green Bay special teams, Packer Nation will be holding its collective breath when the ball hits the turf, when the yellow flags fly or when the opponent is setting up a return. If the Packers can play a clean game in these areas, they have a great shot at winning the Super Bowl.
4. That the O-line won’t be able to protect Aaron Rodgers.
It was just last season that the Packers led the league in sacks allowed (51). This was a combination of two things: 1) the Packers’ O-line was getting beat at the point of attack and 2) Rodgers was holding the ball too long. Over the past year, the Packers have improved in these areas, but against a great pass-rushing team like the Steelers, protecting the QB is no gimme. Had the Falcons been able to wrap Rodgers up, that game in Atlanta could have gone very differently. The Steelers are going to throw all sorts of blitz packages to try to rattle Rodgers and his fairly young offensive line, and everyone needs to hold up to the pressure.
5. That the receivers can’t hold onto the ball.
Drops have been a problem this season, but the game is indoors so the weather won’t be a factor. Concentration is key. James Jones, Greg Jennings…even Donald Driver have all had key drops this season, and one nightmare scenario has Rodgers finding the open guy on a game-changing third down only to have the receiver drop the ball. It’s so deflating to see the ball bounce off of a receivers hands. The Packer wideouts need to come up big on Sunday if the Packers are going to hoist the Lombardi Trophy.
6. That the Packers won’t be able to bring Big Ben down.
We’ve all seen Ben Roethlisberger extend plays with his incredible strength in the pocket and use that extra time to find an open man downfield. The Packer secondary is great, but DBs can only cover for so long, so it’s crucial that the Green Bay front seven find a way to bring Big Ben down when they get a free shot at him.
In news that won’t surprise even the most optimistic Pittsburgh fans, center Mauricke Pouncey has been ruled out for Super Bowl XLV. The rookie suffered a high ankle sprain against the Jets in the AFC title game and while the Steelers maintained for two weeks that Pouncey had a chance of playing, it was inevitable that he would be ruled out.
That means Doug Legursky will now start against the Packers, who employ a red-hot defensive line and a nose tackle in B.J. Raji that has dominated in the postseason. Legursky played well against New York two weeks ago, but he lacks the drive and strength that Pouncey gets in the running game.
According to NFL Network’s Albert Breer, the Packers plan to test Legursky with Raji. To say that a defense will go after a backup isn’t each-shattering news, but it’s newsworthy nonetheless.
This is what Breer said via Twitter:
From what I hear, the Packers, no matter what they say, r ready to test/take advantage of Legursky. And they expect big things from BJ Raji.
Since losing to the Jets in Week 15 of the regular season, the Steelers have averaged over 30 points a game, despite having issues along the offensive line. Granted, they had Pouncey for all but three quarters of those games, but clearly Pittsburgh has been able to mask its biggest weakness.
So if the Packers want to test Legursky with a strong helping of Raji then: Game on.
Donald Driver was added to the Packers’ injury report on Thursday due to a problem with his quad, but Mike McCarthy says he would be shocked if his starting receiver doesn’t play in the Super Bowl.
I’d also be shocked if Driver doesn’t play, as the injury doesn’t sound serious enough to hold him out. That said, how effective will he be? If he’s being held out of practice (even for precautionary measures), then it stands to reason that he’s not at full strength. Will his injury have an effect on the Packers’ passing game?
It’ll be interesting to see what coverages Dick LeBeau uses on Sunday. The Steelers run mostly a cover-2 like the Bears, although LeBeau knows that his corners will also have to man-up in certain situations, which may be a problem seeing as how Bryant McFadden is dealing with an abdominal injury.
With Driver hurt, will LeBeau use Ike Taylor on Greg Jennings and take his chances with McFadden on Driver? Or will he want Taylor to take away Driver and have McFadden cover Jennings with safety help over the top?
I wouldn’t be surprised to see Pittsburgh go to their nickel or even dime package plenty of times throughout the night. But LeBeau wants to avoid the dime as much as possible because that means Lawrence Timmons, a good cover linebacker, comes off the field in favor of Anthony Madison. That’s an advantage for the Packers, just as it was when the Patriots crushed Pittsburgh 39-26 back in November when the Steelers used a lot of dime.
Assuming Driver’s injury isn’t a major concern, the Packers must get the Steelers out of their base defense as much as possible. Again, it’s a major advantage to them to face Pittsburgh’s nickel and dime units because it limits what LeBeau can do with his front seven.
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In our final sponsored post for T.G.I. Friday’s, here are five questions surrounding the Packers and Steelers as they prepare for Super Bowl XLV.
1. Can the Steelers’ O-line hold up?
While the team hasn’t officially ruled him out, it appears as though center Maurkice Pouncey won’t play on Sunday. That means Doug Legursky will once again take his place, just as he did in the AFC title game when Pouncey first suffered the high ankle sprain. Legursky could probably start for many teams around the league, but he’s not the same player Pouncey is. He’s not as strong at the point of attack and he isn’t the mauler Pouncey is in the running game. There’s no doubt Legursky will have his hands full against Packers’ NT B.J. Raji, who has had quite the postseason so far. Of course, Legursky might not be the Steelers’ biggest problem along their offensive line. People forget that they’re starting two backup offensive tackles in Flozell Adams and Jonathan Scott, and the latter could have a ton of problems with Clay Matthews. Granted, the Steelers have averaged nearly four touchdowns thus far in the postseason, so clearly they’ve been able to mask their weaknesses. That said, whether or not their O-line can hold up against the Packers’ stout pass-rush is arguably the biggest question surrounding their chances of winning.
2. Will the Packers be able to slow Mendenhall?
When Rashard Mendenhall rushed for over 80 yards this season (including in the playoffs), the Steelers were 6-1. The Packers had trouble this year with power rushing attacks. When teams were patient with the running game and kept pounding the edges of Green Bay’s defense, they had a fair amount of success. The Packers yielded 4.5 yards per carry this season, which was among the worst in the NFL in that category. If the Steelers can get Mendenhall going early, they’ll accomplish a couple of things in the process. For starters, they’ll leave Aaron Rodgers and Green Bay’s high-powered passing game on the sidelines. The Steelers will also be able to control the tempo of the game and if Green Bay’s safeties have to come up and play run support, then Pittsburgh could open up the play action pass. The Packers must stop Mendenhall.
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