Green Bay Packers (10-6) vs. Pittsburgh Steelers (12-4)

Packers – 9th

Steelers – 14th

Packers – 5th

Steelers – 2nd

Well, it’s finally here.  After almost two weeks of chatter, the Super Bowl is finally upon us.  Will this be the last football game for the foreseeable future?  That’s another issue for another day.  Now it’s time to give you the breakdown of both competitors and my choice for the big game.

Two of the more laid back coaches in the NFL.  Green Bay’s Mike McCarthy and Pittsburgh’s Mike Tomlin.  McCarthy has a good offense that’s been put in place since he was hired in 2006.  Hiring Dom Capers as his defensive coordinator was perhaps the biggest acquisition during his tenure.  Capers has built a dominant defensive unit since arriving in 2009.  Tomlin has had a winning attitude in place since his arrival in 2007.  The defensive coordinator has been Dick LeBeau.  He’s been in Pittsburgh since 2004.  Both head coaches have gone about their business the right way.  Easily Tomlin has the advantage having already won a Super Bowl in Pittsburgh.  McCarthy is known to have a few tricks up his sleeve and it should be a fun chess game between these two.

We all know who the quarterbacks are.  Aaron Rodgers for Green Bay and Ben Roethlisberger for Pittsburgh.  I have a feeling someone that no one talks about will be the MVP of this game.  Guys like the running backs James Starks for Green Bay and Rashard Mendenhall for Pittsburgh.  The Packers receivers Greg Jennings and Donald Driver.  The Steelers receivers Hines Ward and Mike Wallace.  Heck, someone on the defensive side of the ball could be the MVP as well.  Charles Woodson, Clay Matthews and B.J. Raji for Green Bay.  Troy Polamalu, James Harrison and Ike Taylor for Pittsburgh.  All of the players I just mentioned will all play a big part in their teams gameplan.  Don’t be surprised hearing their names the entire game.

Who will make the big play?  That’s what it will boil down to for this game.  Both teams play a similar style on defense.  They don’t allow a lot of yards rushing.  They keep the opposing quarterback under wrap for most of the game.  The one thing both defense will try to prevent is the big play.  Most likely a pass from the way the offenses function.  An Aaron Rodgers pass to Greg Jennings.  A Ben Roethlisberger pass to Mike Wallace.  That’s what the defenses will have to stop from happening.  If either team can get a completion of more than 30 yards a couple times, they will be the team hoisting the Lombardi trophy.  

My original pick was the Green Bay Packers and the New York Jets.  I came oh so close, but yet so far. Either way the Pittsburgh Steelers will make for a worthy opponent for the Packers.  As mentioned before both teams play a similar style on defense.  It should be a low scoring game, but with most Super Bowls in the last decade, they’ve been fairly high scoring.  I don’t think it will happen.  The likely outcome is either a late field goal or a go-ahead touchdown for the winning team.  With that said, my pick is the Green Bay Packers 24, the Pittsburgh Steelers 21 thanks to a Rodgers-Jennings touchdown to put the Packers ahead for the win.