Football

Super Bowl XLV Preview

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Green Bay Packers (10-6) vs. Pittsburgh Steelers (12-4)
Ranks
Offense
Packers – 9th
Steelers – 14th
Defense
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.
Coaches
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.
Players to Watch
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.
Key of the 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.  
Who will win?
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.

Say What You Mean and Mean What You Say

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There is one thing that is bugging me since Sunday.  Not the fact that former and current NFL players have been criticizing Chicago Bears quarterback Jay Cutler’s toughness or lack there of in the NFC Championship game.  Rather, that some are beginning to back track from their comments or tweets in some cases.

I will first preface by saying that I don’t care if Jay Cutler could have played or not.  That was the team’s decision and they have to live with it.  Cutler didn’t do himself any favors with his posture on the sidelines as every player should know that TV cameras will be rolling and you have to be careful.  Just ask Arizona Cardinals quarterback Derek Anderson about the cameras always rolling.

With that said what’s troubling me is what was said by some players during the game.  Not what they said so much, but rather that they didn’t mean it.

Twitter has its upsides and its downsides.  Fans can communicate with people they adore, idolize or respect on a daily basis.  The one downside of course is that what you say on twitter goes viral in an instant and it can’t be taken back.  Sure you can delete it, but it’s already there.  Plus with the limit of 140 characters, it’s hard to get your full point across in the context it was intended to be in.

Maurice Jones-Drew, running back for the Jacksonville Jaguars, tweeted; “Hey I think the urban meyer rule is effect right now… When the going gets tough……..QUIT..”


He then followed that tweet with this one; “All I’m saying is that he can finish the game on a hurt knee… I played the whole season on one…”


Maurice clarified the following days that the tweet about Urban Meyer was a joke directed at Florida fans and it was taken out of context.  Now I’m willing to hear his explanation to which he said it was never meant to demean Jay Cutler in anyway.  That’s fine.  It sure didn’t sound that way with the second tweet.  By the way.  In reference to that knee injury of Maurice’s, he didn’t play the whole season.  He missed the final two games due to said knee injury.


Darnell Dockett, defensive tackle for the Arizona Cardinals, also opined on twitter.  Here’s what he tweeted; “If I’m on chicago team jay cutler has to wait till me and the team shower get dressed and leave before he comes in the locker room!“


Now Darnell’s is a little different.  He responded a couple times on twitter saying he never was questioning Jay Cutler’s knee injury.  In essence he was saying what we were all thinking.  In a big game like that where a spot in the Super Bowl is on the line, you don’t want to be taken out no matter what.  


Credit to Darnell and Maurice for not deleting those tweets like so many others have done before when they tweeted something that drew a negative light on them.  It’s troubling that in this day and age someone can be scrutinized for simply speaking their mind.  


Now I will say that anyone inciting violence or anything to that nature is just plain stupid and has no part of the discussion.  Freedom to speak is the first amendment of the United States Constitution.  Continue to use it and by all means back it up.  If you do retract from it, don’t say someone took it out of context.  I’m sick and tired of being told that.  If you didn’t mean for it to be said than say you’re sorry and lets move on.  


We know there are two sides to every story.  Just as there are two sides to this one.  We can decide for ourselves what is right and what is wrong.  Don’t say something you mean one day only to say it wasn’t what I meant it to be the next.  The sooner we can do that, the sooner we can stop blaming others for what we meant to say.  Only you can make that call.  

NFC and AFC Championship game recaps

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So close and yet so far
I know Jay Cutler was hurt and his toughness has come into question in the aftermath, but the Bears were almost crowned NFC Champions today.  That’s a testament to Chicago’s defense.  They were outplayed in all aspects of the game in the first half and yet they were only down 14-0.  The second half was a brilliant bit of gameplanning by the Chicago coaching staff.  Aaron Rodgers was forcing throws and Green Bay couldn’t get anything going on the ground.  Chicago also got another bit of luck with their third string quarterback Caleb Hanie leading the way at the end of the 3rd and the entire 4th quarter.  Not only did he wake the Bears offense, but the defense started to play even better down the stretch.  The passing game was awoken and it resulted in two 4th quarter touchdowns.  Unfortunately for two moments Hanie realized that he was a third string quarterback.  Throwing a game winning interception that resulted in a touchdown to Packers defensive tackle B.J. Raji (pictured above) and another to end the game to Sam Shields.  Green Bay should count their blessings and thank their defense for getting them to their 5th Super Bowl in franchise history.  Aaron Rodgers can get flustered from time to time like any quarterback who is under pressure and faces good coverage.  He won’t always win it for them and they will need the entire team to play their ‘A’ game if they want to beat their next opponent.
Complacency nearly cost them
When you out gaining the other team by nearly 200 yards going into halftime, you might start thinking you can play it safe in the second half.  That’s what happened to Pittsburgh.  They were up 24-3 and played it safe for the second half.  The result?  Pittsburgh was out gained 231 to 75 by New York.  Pittsburgh scored just enough in the first half to end up with the win.  The Jets scored 16 points in the second half and probably would’ve won had Mark Sanchez not fumbled before halftime that resulted in the Steelers last touchdown.  New York should be proud of their effort.  It shows that there is no quit in them no matter what.  Almost everyone had them being tapped out for the rest of the game.  To me they were gassed and needed the rest at halftime to re-charge themselves.  Did I think they would win?  Not necessarily.  I figured they would make it close and they did.  What I didn’t expect was the lack of urgency out of Pittsburgh’s offense.  They had them where they wanted them and they did one thing I didn’t think they would.  They stopped running the ball.  Rashard Mendenhall ran for 27 of his 121 yards in the second half.  That’s unacceptable for Pittsburgh going forward.  If they have an advantage, especially on the ground, they should continue with it until the other team stops it.  Two of their four second half drives ended with Roethlisberger throwing an interception and fumbling the football that resulted in a safety.  Pittsburgh is by no means perfect and their next opponent should capitalize on that from the start of the game.

NFL Conference Championship Games Preview

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Green Bay Packers (10-6) vs. Chicago Bears (11-5)
Ranks
Offense
Packers – 9th
Bears – 30th
Defense
Packers – 5th
Bears – 9th
The NFL’s most storied rivalry will be on stage for only the second time in the playoffs.  The last was 70 years ago in a similar fashion.  They played each other for the last spot in the championship game.  Now it’s for the Super Bowl, different name, same concept.  The hottest team and really the hottest player in these playoffs is Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers.  It’s a testament to his work ethic and commitment to his craft.  He has played with a lot of his receivers since he was drafted and they have worked well together for most of the year.  With the recent discovery of a running game in rookie James Starks, the Packers have balance that the opposition must adhere to.  The Packers defense has tremendous speed and a knack for the ball that I haven’t seen for some time.  The last defense I can remember that had this kind of tenacity for the ball was Tampa Bay’s defense from 2002.  Green Bay will have their hands full with a familiar opponent in Chicago, but the Packers defense should be up to the challenge.  
Not surprisingly the Bears feel this is the biggest game next to the Super Bowl for them.  It should be for all teams, but for Chicago this is against their hated rivals.  This is also quarterback Jay Cutler’s biggest game of his career.  If he can repeat what he did against the Seahawks last week, Chicago will forever see him as ‘The’ quarterback for them.  The Bears one problem that I’ve seen is that they aren’t establishing the run enough.  Matt Forte has been involved in the passing game, but he should be better utilized in the ground game.  The Bears defense will be given a daunting task of slowing down Aaron Rodgers and the Green Bay offense.  They have the know how, but the Bears will need their not so secret weapon, Devin Hester to make a difference in field position.  Chicago fans have been expecting a big play from him and they know it’s only a matter of time.
Matchup to watch for: Green Bay Packers QB Aaron Rodgers vs. Chicago Bears DE Julius Peppers
New York Jets (11-5) vs. Pittsburgh Steelers (12-4)
Ranks
Offense
Jets – 11th
Steelers – 14th
Defense
Jets – 3rd
Steelers – 2nd
Rex Ryan has the New York Jets in the Championship game once again.  He hopes this time that their fortunes will turn out differently.  They didn’t have Santonio Holmes on offense last year for one.  That might help and hurt them at the same time.  Holmes has a knack for making big catches at big moments.  His former team Pittsburgh knows this all too well.  He was the Super Bowl XLIII MVP for Pittsburgh.  The Steelers know that they will have to neutralize him and force Mark Sanchez into making mistakes.  The Jets will have to continue with what has worked in the playoffs.  Establish the run first and when needed, Sanchez can find an open man down the field for a big play.  Defensively it will be more difficult as Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger isn’t libel to go down as easily as Peyton Manning or Tom Brady under their pass rush.  The Jets figure to blitz more against the Steelers than against the Colts and Patriots.  Pittsburgh has a better rushing attack than the Jets two previous opponents.  New York will have to force Big Ben to throw to his check down receivers more than down the field for big gains.  Just ask Baltimore how that worked for them.
Pittsburgh’s defense should be on their ‘A’ game against the Jets.  Not just Holmes, but Braylon Edwards and LaDainian Tomlinson can beat them for big plays.  New York has balance on offense and it came at the perfect time.  The Steelers will put constant pressure on Sanchez.  The ground game is the one place where the Steelers might have trouble, but they aren’t named the “Steel Curtain” defense because they can rush the passer.  If Mark Sanchez is forced to throw the ball more than 25 times, the Steelers will be on their way to another Super Bowl title.  Their offense has a steady and methodical pace to it.  If they can establish the run with Rashard Mendenhall, it will go a long way in opening up the passing game for gains of 25 yards or more.  Roethlisberger can run as well, but it would be better if the Steelers avoid having Ben getting flushed out of the pocket for most of the game.  The offensive line has been criticized all year long and this game will go a long way in helping them debunk their reputation of being a called porous line.  New York and Pittsburgh aren’t making this game personal.  They both respect one another.  That is until the game starts.
Matchup to watch for: New York Jets Defense vs. Pittsburgh Steelers QB Ben Roethlisberger
Predictions
Packers over Bears
Jets over Steelers

Recap of the Divisional Playoffs

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You must play for 60 minutes

They had a picture perfect plan for the first 30 minutes.  Unfortunately for Baltimore, the Pittsburgh Steelers had a backup plan for the last 30 minutes.  The Ravens were leading 21-7 at halftime.  They were playing great defense.  Joe Flacco was making plays.  Pittsburgh made their move when Baltimore was getting complacent.  Soon the game was tied at 21 and the Ravens were in panic mode.  Yes you could make the argument that the referees were not helping the Ravens cause, but you have to expect that they won’t help.  Pittsburgh was playing at home and their crowd gave them the extra boost they needed.  Flacco didn’t get any help from his receivers and the Ravens defense, especially the pass, was getting beat on almost every play.  Baltimore will be thinking ‘what if’ the entire offseason, but they should know that they gave their division rivals everything they had.  This was the only game that was split right down the middle as far as who you thought would win.  Next year shouldn’t be any different.

Someone wants it more

Atlanta had two weeks to be ready for this playoff game.  They had one week to prepare for the Green Bay Packers specifically, but the way they played it was apparent they were lost.  Now all the credit does go to Aaron Rodgers and the entire Green Bay defense for the way they prepared for the Falcons.  They did play earlier in the season which resulted in a Falcons victory.  Green Bay learned from that game and it was evident in the way they played the final three quarters.  The Packers forced turnovers at key points in the game.  Atlanta couldn’t run the ball at all.  Matt Ryan seemed to be an average quarterback at best for the game.  Green Bay didn’t have to establish the run as much as I expected.  Rodgers was on target for the entire game.  The Packers have a formidable offense and their defense is at their best when they’re perceived vulnerable.  They are the scary team right now and yet most didn’t seem them because of their lack of experience.  Someday that cliche will be overlooked and it might start with the Green Bay Packers.

Chicago played their game

From start to finish Bears quarterback Jay Cutler was on fire.  The snow was melting away for the Bears to take control of the game.  Seattle had no answer for Cutler and were lost for all four quarters on offense.  Yes, Seattle scored 21 of their 24 points in the fourth quarter, but by that time Chicago was already thinking about hosting Green Bay next week.  It was strange though at certain points in the second half offensive coordinator Mike Martz was calling wildcat plays that resulted in no gains and one interception thrown by running back Matt Forte.  That will have to stop from this point on.  If Seattle isn’t going to fall for those plays, what’s to say Green Bay will?  The Windy City has breathed a sigh of relief with the great performance of Jay Cutler.  Now they just hope it will continue for what is perhaps the biggest game for the Bears since Super Bowl XX.

They talked the talked and backed it up

Well, the Jets have put themselves back into the Super Bowl conversation.  I will say right now that I’m not and never have been actively rooting against the Jets to lose.  I’m not a Jets fan, but I believe that have a pretty talented team.  Just laying that out right now for Jets linebacker Bart Scott.  That guy was intense after the victory over the hated New England Patriots.  You can’t tell me that the Jets didn’t think that was their own personal Super Bowl.  Once again it was a perfect gameplan in all three phases by Rex Ryan and his coaching staff.  Mark Sanchez was even better than during the Wild Card game against Indianapolis.  Braylon Edwards, Santonio Holmes and LaDainian Tomlinson each proved their value for a formidable offense.  They even beat the Bill Belichick led Patriots in the psychological aspect of the game.  All that trash talking was to the Jets benefit.  They wanted to prove not only to the football world, but to themselves that they can beat New England at Foxboro.  New England was stunned at their ferocity and it shook every player, including Tom Brady, to their core.  I believe the Jets haven’t reached their peak yet, but they probably have their work cut out for them against Pittsburgh.  The Steelers are a different animal from New England.  Either way it was going to be a good AFC Championship game, but for most of us we secretly wanted the Jets and Rex Ryan to be there.