Super Bowl XLV Recap

A few words about Sunday's big game...

First, Dallas...

Dallas is catching a lot of jabs for the city's response to the snow and ice that stormed through there in the last week. Really? I realize that many of the people there were from the northern parts of the country, but Dallas and the rest of Texas is not a place that gets that kind of weather often. In a time when economic restraint should be practiced, perhaps people should realize that having substantial amounts of city budget set aside for weather events that may or may not happen on a yearly basis isn't the best course of action. I've lived in cities that have great snow response - Detroit and its suburbs, for example. I've lived in cities with virtually zero snow response - Seattle and it's suburbs. And places that get good amounts of snow but seem to have not yet discovered salt for some reason (that's you, Minneapolis, and we really need to talk about that). Seattle, much like Dallas, doesn't get snow every year. Some years a big storm rolls through and the city is paralyzed for a day or two. Remember everyone, salt costs money. Plows cost money. Maintaining those things costs money. It is unfortunate that said storm rolled through Dallas at the time of the Super Bowl, but holding it against Dallas that they didn't have the preparedness of a northern, oft-snow-laden city is ludicrous. Unfortunate timing, that's all it is.

The game...

Okay, it wasn't the epic game I expected. If there's one thing required to make a game epic, it's lead changes. Green Bay took hold of this game early and never lost its grip - oh, it came loose at times, but Green Bay held this game the entire time. Aaron Rodgers played like an MVP, if not better - his stat line had his receivers not had the dropsies would have been pretty incredible - and remembering the 7-3 Green Bay loss to Detroit late in the season makes me think that he might have been deserving of some season MVP consideration. All things considered, my hat is off to the Packers - resilience was their name and their game and any team that survives that many injuries to win the championship earns my respect. Unlike other years, I expect no fallout from either team - I have no doubt they'll both be playoff teams next year.

The Packers.

Two questionable mentions here, one for the players and one for the coach. To the players - sorry, receivers - man up and stop dropping the ball. Rodgers played as well as you could ask and his receivers almost dropped the ball and, as a result, gave the Steelers a chance to win. To McCarthy - why only 11 rushes? Especially in the second half, with the lead, it seemed the abandoned the rush when they could have been chewing more clock. That they rushed so little only further enhances the profile of Aaron Rodgers, who it is safe to say has arrived as one of the elite of the NFL. He's no longer just an elite fantasy football quarterback - he is an elite quarterback and should be mentioned alongside Tom Brady and Peyton Manning here on out.

The Steelers.

Where was the top-ranked defense of the league? More importantly, where was Troy Polamalu? The Defensive Player of the Year was more like the Defensive Player of Where on Sunday. I don't mean to hate, but Polamalu is the lynchpin of that defense and he might as well have not been out there at all. Beyond that, they couldn't get pressure on Rodgers - not enough, at least - but that's more a testament to good protection by the Packers line. I think Rashard Mendenhall is taking a lot of flak for his fumble when the scrutiny should be as much - if not moreso - on the two picks thrown by a Ben Roethlisberger who looked not-quite-right all night. I thought Mendenhall's hard running kept them in the game for the most part. But really, the story here was the lack of defense. Rodgers shredded the Steelers defense at will. That Randle El 2-point conversion play was, hands down, the best play of the game, though.

The aftermath.

I can't imagine how vindicated the Packers brass must feel now. They've watched Brett Favre ride various waves of success and calamity in New York and Minnesota, all the while building this young team and taking their fair share of criticism for shedding the aged quarterback. But here they stand, three years after that epochal franchise event, holding Lombardi. Aaron Rodgers has arrived and Favre has physically fallen apart, almost certainly done with his career, not out with glory, but out because he simply can't anymore. I watched Brett Favre go from a kid to an old man in the span of about 18 years. I hope to never see that again. I think many people are curious as to what he thinks right now. But the limelight is on Rodgers and well so - he has been patient and simply waited. His moment came and he stepped up to it. That's his team and will be for some time to come.

Meanwhile, if I'm Pittsburgh, I walk away with all sorts of questions. What happened to Polamalu? If he is the catalyst on defense, his disappearance, even on-field, has a crippling effect and if he can't play at a high level anymore, if he's suffered one injury too many, then the vaunted Pittsburgh defense might be in trouble on the back end. Not serious trouble, but trouble in the sense that they might go from a perennial top-5 defense to a top-10 or top-16 defense. I think this Super Bowl was also a chance for Tomlin to stake his ground. There are those who consider the 2008 Steelers to be a carryover from the Cowher area, a team that Cowher assembled and Tomlin simply had to not mess up. This was his chance to step out on his own and his team faltered. I believe this team is built for the long-term and that Tomlin will get his second ring, and Ben his third, but it'll take a little more time - and if they can't do it while veterans like Polamalu and Hines Ward are still playing at a high level, that journey becomes more difficult as time goes on, especially with Baltimore nipping at their heels.

Looking forward...

I expect a labor dispute that results in a lockout. It may not result in lost season games, but there will be a lockout. Bear in mind what that means - no trades, no free agency, and murky waters when it comes to signing rookies. There's a lot of interest to be had here. I think Roger Goodell is starting to want something sooner than later, perhaps realizing finally that a lockout - a lost season - would define his career as commissioner four years into his tenure. I have little pity for millionaire players and billionaire owners, but I do feel for the second/third-string players making the league minimum and moreso than that and more importantly, I feel for all of the local business that thrives because of football games. I feel for the stadium employees and the vendors who won't have jobs. I feel for the ball-boys and the groundskeeper. Remember that football is a business and as such, it employs and is lucrative for far more than the players. It's been said by other people than me, but it stands to reason - the true losers in any labor conflict here are the fans and those people who make a living (not millions) from football. So here's hoping that whatever extent this labor dispute goes to, it is resolved in time for the 2011 season.

Pierce's Pick - Super Bowl XLV

I called the big game correctly, so I'm 6-4 on the playoffs. So, without further ado...

Sunday, February 6th, 2011, at 6:30pm ET -
Super Bowl XLV
The Pittsburgh Steelers (AFC 2-seed) @ The Green Bay Packers (NFC 6-seed)

It took me about a week to decide who to pick for this game. This is one of the most evenly matched Super Bowls I can remember and I honestly believe the best team from both conferences is playing. The Steelers are #1 in points-allowed defense. The Packers are #2. Both have franchise quarterbacks. Both have experienced receiving corps featuring a aged veteran, a younger speedster, and a cast of lesser-known skill receivers. Both have battled injury all season. Both have an iconic playmaker in the secondary. Both have monsters in the linebacking corps. These teams are closely matched.

The differences come here: the Steelers have Super Bowl experience and, perhaps more importantly, rings. The Steelers have backups at every position on the offensive line. The Packers have an unknown at running back. Rodgers posts godly number inside. The Steelers don't match up as well against 4 or 5 receiver sets. Rodgers hasn't performed on a stage this big before.

As far as football logic goes, I ask myself a simple question - given that I expect a close game, if it comes down to one team trailing by 4 with 2 minutes left, from their own 20, do I trust Ben against the Packer defense or Rodgers against the Steeler defense to make the game-winning drive? And in football logic, I would take the experienced, ringed hand of Roethlisberger in that situation normally.

But I don't see Ben with 3 rings in 7 years. I don't see Tomlin with 2 in 4. It's easy to go with experience, but sometimes hunger trumps that. This is a Packer team with swagger, a team that's overcome a lot to get where it is, playing with a chip on its shoulder. Like the Steelers, they can play whatever game they need to in order to win. Have I mentioned Rodgers posts godly numbers indoors?

I like both teams. I think both are built to be good for a long time - perhaps enough so that they'll meet again like this. I think both build properly - by developing young players through the draft and avoiding big free agent moves. Both are long-standing franchises of good reputation. Both are franchises beloved by the blue-collar working man. They're gritty teams, punch-you-in-the-mouth, we-play-in-the-cold teams that it's hard not to respect, if nothing else. But I'm playing my gut this weekend. My gut says Green Bay wins, that these two teams match up well enough across the board that, ultimately, it becomes a game of willpower and hunger and I think in that category, Green Bay wins.

The Lombardi Trophy goes home to Green Bay on Sunday.