Super Bowl XLV Preview
Are you ready for some football?! The Green Bay Packers square off against the Pittsburgh Steelers on February 6th in what is sure to be an amazing game.
The 2010-2011 NFL season will culminate this Sunday February 6th, as two storied franchises will clash in Super Bowl XLV. With the Green Bay Packers representing the NFC and the AFC representative being the Pittsburg Steelers, two teams will enter but only one will lift the coveted Lombardi trophy when the clock hits zero. This game will be big; the players, the stadium, the hits, even down to Troy Polamalu and Clay Matthew’s hair. Being held in Texas where “everything is bigger”, Jerry Jones the owner of the Cowboys has ensured everyone that this year is going to be better than any other. The Cowboys Stadium itself is undergoing changes to allow attendance numbers to skyrocket with the addition of 15,000 temporary seats within the stadium, and a “party plaza” where fans can buy tickets that will run them a cool 200 dollars just to stand outside the stadium to watch the game. Fans lucky enough to get into the event will being paying much steeper prices in the thousands of dollars, but the majority of us can view one of the most watched events every year from home with a couple of friends, a six pack of your favorite beverage, and of course great food.
As far as the game itself goes Green Bay enters Dallas coming off a 21-14 win over the Chicago Bears. After a rough year filled with injuries, the Packers rallied late in the season winning their last two games to make it to the playoffs and haven’t looked back since becoming the first six seed to make it to the Super Bowl. With the emergence of running back James Starks, the plethora of wide receivers both young and old, and Aaron Rodgers playing some of the best ball of his career, this offense is clicking and dangerous. At the same time it can be argued that the Packer’s defense is what really got them to this point. Clay Matthews has been having a career year causing opposing quarterbacks trouble recording the fourth most sacks in the league this year. The Packer’s defensive strengths don’t stop there. Michigan alum, Charles Woodson, has been solid as always. But what has really locked down their secondary is surprising play of Tramon Williams, who has been hot in the post season with 3 interceptions. To come out on top at the end of the night the Packer’s will have to get their run game to be somewhat effective against the league’s best run D, and at the same time have their own defense contain the pounding running game of the Pittsburgh Steelers.
The Pittsburg Steelers booked their tickets to Dallas after a 24-19 victory against the New York Jets. Many people thought the Steelers would struggle this year following all the controversy surrounding quarterback Ben Roethlisberger and the rape accusations that were made. Despite Ben sitting out the first four games of the season, the Steelers continued to do everything right and played championship football riding their defense and running game into the playoffs. Rashard Mendenhall has been huge for the Steelers this year and will be coming off a 121 yard rushing performance against the Jets. Expect the Steelers to get the ball in this man’s hands. Generally when the Steelers are mentioned the first thing that comes to many fans mind is their defense. Under the coordination of Dick Lebeau, one of the most respected coaches in the league, the Steeler’s defense continues to rarely skip a beat. From their downright scary linebacker personnel to the unmatched secondary play of Troy Polamalu, this defense is feared by all. And then there is Big Ben, argued by many sports analysts to be the most clutch quarterback in the game due to his ability to create a big play out of nothing.
Last year the two teams matched up against each other and provided one of the most exciting games of the regular season with the Pittsburg Steelers coming out on top on a game winning catch made by Mike Wallace as time expired. Both these teams bring to the table fantastic quarterbacks, hard nose defense, and a combined nine Super Bowl titles. Whether you are watching for the offense, defense, hard hits, halftime show, or even the commercials, be sure not to miss out when these two teams line up across from one another to compete for Super Bowl XLV on February 6th.
