Tag: Pittsburgh Steelers (Page 12 of 61)

      Super Bowl XLV Morning After: What everyone is saying

      February 7, 2011 /
      Packers fans celebrate after the Green Bay Packers beat the Pittsburgh Steelers during Super Bowl XLV at Cowboys Stadium in Arlington, Texas on February 6, 2011. The Packers beat the Pittsburgh Steelers 31-25. UPI/Juan Ocampo

      Five Things We Learned, John Clayton, ESPN
      Clayton shares five things we learned about Super Bowl XLV, including how the long layoff helped the Packers more than it helped the Steelers.

      Championship Worthy of Lombardi, Mike Lopresti, USA Today
      You’d have loved Rodgers. Loved him like Bart Starr. Persistent, productive, unflappable, no longer in Brett Favre’s shadow. He’s had all those gaudy passing numbers, but what do those mean? You need an MIT graduate student to explain how to figure a quarterback rating. But everyone can figure out if a guy has won the Super Bowl, or he hasn’t.

      Big Ben Comes Up Small in Defeat, Dan Graziano, FanHouse
      Ben Roethlisberger was supposed to be the unflappable quarterback. The born winner who always made the big play in the big spot. A win Sunday would have meant a third Super Bowl title, and only four members of his profession have ever done that. Plans were being made to carve him right into that Mount Rushmore alongside Bradshaw, Montana, Aikman and Brady, and some were even putting forth the preposterous notion that a victory in Sunday night’s football game might somehow offer Roethlisberger some form of “redemption” for the reprehensible offseason behavior that almost got him drummed out of Pittsburgh and the NFL last year.

      Ring Vaults Rodgers to Elite Status, William Rhoden, New York Times
      Rodgers recounted how in 2005 he told Packers General Manager Ted Thompson that he would not regret drafting him. After they released Favre, Rodgers told Thompson, “I was going to repay their trust and get this opportunity.”

      Steelers Get What They Deserve: Defeat, Ron Cook, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
      You commit three turnovers and don’t get any. Two of your most dependable offensive stars fail you in the clutch. Your No. 1-rated defense in points allowed can’t stop the other team’s quarterback from throwing three touchdown passes. You deserve to lose.

      Curse of Jerry Leads to Disaster, David Whitley, FanHouse
      Everything he touched turned to frozen cow manure before the game, but who would’ve thought it was only a warmup? Sunday’s big hoedown at Cowboys Stadium turned into the imperfect ending to a thoroughly imperfect week. Unless you were a Packers fan, in which case you just want to get out of town before the Curse of Jerry gets you.

      What Super Bowl Can Teach Other Sports, Mike Bianchi, Orlando Sentinel
      Two of the tiniest markets in professional sports played in arguably the biggest Super Bowl in history Sunday night. There were more fans in the stadium (105,000) than any Super Bowl in history. There were more media (in excess of 5,000) covering this Super Bowl than ever before. All forecasters predicted that the TV ratings Sunday for Green Bay’s 31-25 victory will make this the most-watched event in the history of American television.

      External Sports, NFL, Super Bowl

      Packers top sloppy Steelers to take home 45th Lombardi Trophy

      February 6, 2011 /
      Green Bay Packers cornerback Charles Woodson carries the Vince Lombardi championship trophy off the field after defeating the Pittsburgh Steelers in the NFL’s Super Bowl XLV football game in Arlington, Texas, February 6, 2011. REUTERS/Pierre Ducharme (UNITED STATES – Tags: SPORT FOOTBALL)

      Here are five quick-hit observations from the Packers’ 31-25 victory over the Steelers in Super Bowl XLV.

      1. Aaron Rodgers, welcome to history.
      I distinctly remember a few years ago when some Green Bay fans said that it was a mistake for GM Ted Thompson to choose Rodgers over Brett Favre. Hopefully those fans will happily eat a serving of crow after Sunday night because they were dead wrong. In a game where mistakes were aplenty, Rodgers made very few. He misfired on a few throws, but that’s just being nitpicky. For the most part, he was great and he would have been even better had guys like Jordy Nelson, James Jones and Brett Swain bothered to hang onto the ball. Mike McCarthy barely ran the ball in the second half, instead relying on Rodgers to win the game. After the Steelers took all the momentum in the third quarter, Rodgers stepped up and led the Packers on two huge scoring drives. On a night when he threw for 304 yards and three touchdowns, I wonder how much better his numbers would have been had his receivers not dropped so many passes. He didn’t have the game of his career, but he was excellent nonetheless. He now joins exclusive company as a Super Bowl-winning quarterback and MVP. As many football fans know, that now makes him virtually untouchable.

      2. Once again, Green Bay battles through adversity.
      How fitting was it that in a year when the Packers lost so many starters during the season that they would have to battle through more injury issues to win the Super Bowl. They lost two of their three defensive backs on consecutive plays near the end of the second quarter, including Pro Bowler and team leader Charles Woodson. Yet once again, they pushed through and overcame the hurdles that were placed in front of them. Let’s stop for a second and think about what this team was able to accomplish this year. They lost starters Ryan Grant, Jermichael Finley and Nick Barnett. They needed to win two games in Week 16 and Week 17 just to qualify for the playoffs. They had to win three straight games on the road in the postseason and then they suffered a couple of more key injuries in the Super Bowl and still won it all. Talk about a team of destiny. After they lost Woodson in the second quarter, it looked like they were headed for disaster in the second half. Yet they never trailed, which is a testament to the team that Ted Thompson built off the field and the team Mike McCarthy ran on it.

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      External Sports, NFL, Super Bowl

      As a Packer fan, here’s what I’m worried about…

      February 4, 2011 /
      Green Bay Packers fans celebrate after the NFC Championship game against the Chicago Bears at Soldier Field in Chicago on January 23, 2011. The Packers won 21-14. UPI/Brian Kersey

      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.

      External Sports, Fantasy Football, NFL, Super Bowl

      Pouncey ruled out for Super Bowl XLV, Packers plan to attack Legursky with Raji?

      February 4, 2011 /
      Green Bay Packers defensive tackle B.J. Raji blows kisses to fans after the NFC Championship game against the Chicago Bears at Soldier Field in Chicago on January 23, 2011. The Packers won 21-14. UPI/Brian Kersey

      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.

      External Sports, NFL

      How will Driver’s quad injury affect the Steelers’ coverage units?

      February 4, 2011 /
      Green Bay Packers wide receiver Greg Jennings (L) and wide receiver Donald Driver play with a video camera prior to Media Day for Super Bowl XLV in Arlington, Texas on February 1, 2011. The Pittsburgh Steelers will take on the Green Bay Packers on February 6, 2011. UPI/Roger L. Wollenberg

      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.

      External Sports, NFL

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