We are down to the final two, and each franchise has more than
its share of NFL tradition. The Pittsburgh Steelers will be making
their record-tying eighth Super Bowl appearance Feb. 6 at Cowboys
Stadium in Arlington, Texas.
HACKENSACK, N. J.
We are down to the final two, and each franchise has more than its share of NFL tradition.
The Pittsburgh Steelers will be making their record-tying eighth Super Bowl appearance Feb. 6 at Cowboys Stadium in Arlington, Texas.
On the other sideline of Jerry Jones’ palace will be the Green Bay Packers, the team that won the first two AFL-NFL championships in convincing fashion.
This will be the first time the teams have met with everything at stake. But before they kick off, both must endure the rigors of Super Bowl week, when story line after story line will be churned out by a media looking to satisfy public thirst for the big game.
Here are five story lines to follow leading up to Super Sunday:
Big-game experience
Pittsburgh has 25 players on its roster who were with the Steelers for their Super Bowl XLIII win over Arizona, and 10 — including quarterback Ben Roethlisberger and MVP wide receiver Hines Ward — who played in their XL win over Seattle. Green Bay has just two players who have played in the big game: cornerback Charles Woodson for Oakland in the XXXVII loss to Tampa Bay, and defensive tackle Ryan Pickett for Arizona in XLIII. The only Packer with a Super Bowl ring is running back John Kuhn, and he got one as a member of the Steelers’ practice squad for XL.
While this is the Steelers’ third visit in six years, Green Bay becomes the 10th NFC team to play in the Super Bowl since the 2001 season. The NFC is 3-6 in the previous nine games, with wins by the Saints, Giants and Bucs. Four of the six NFC teams who have not appeared since 2001 — Dallas, San Francisco, Minnesota and Washington — combined for 22 of the first 35 NFC appearances.
QBs with similar MOs
Only Arizona cornerback Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie stands between Aaron Rodgers and Roethlisberger on the NFL’s alphabetical list of active players. And this closeness translates to their play.
While Roethlisberger is bigger and more physical, he and Rodgers can get the ball downfield with their strong arms. And while neither is known as a scrambler, each can take off and make a vital first down when warranted. Both throw well on the run, have a slew of talented outside targets and have scruffy beards. The biggest difference is Big Ben has two rings, Rodgers none.
Impact linebackers
The Associated Press All-Pro team is out, and the first-team outside linebackers are Green Bay’s Clay Matthews and Pittsburgh’s James Harrison. Both have the ability to turn the course of a game with one play, be it a big sack or a big hit.
Harrison became the poster boy this season for the league’s crackdown on illegal hits, but it has not slowed him down one bit. He and Polamalu will deliver the monster blow that will make a running back think twice about getting that extra yard, and a receiver hesitate to venture across the middle. Matthews is versatile enough to rush the passer and drop in coverage, and has developed into a sound run-stopper.
Offensive tackle woes
Both teams have been forced to look to their backups in key spots on the offensive line. The Packers lost veteran right tackle Mark Tauscher after four games, forcing No. 1 draft pick Bryan Bulaga to debut as a starter ahead of schedule. Veteran left tackle Chad Clifton has been gimpy of late and missed a few series with a stinger (replaced by second-year man T.J. Lang) in the NFC title game against the Bears.
Pittsburgh has been hit worse. Two projected starters, Willie Colon and Max Starks, were injured. Colon went down before training camp with an Achilles injury, and Starks was lost after seven games with a neck problem. The Colon injury prompted the signing of former Cowboy Flozell Adams, and he and Jonathan Scott have become the starters. Veteran Trai Essex is available as a backup, but rookie center Maurkice Pouncey’s ankle injury may tax the line depth even more.
Coaching matchup
Mike Tomlin has been through the Super Bowl grind during the week leading up to the Arizona game. But this will be new to Mike McCarthy, just as it will for most of the Green Bay players.
Both will try to get the bulk of their game plans done this week, before their teams leave for the week of distractions. Then it will be a matter of fine tuning and maintaining focus, not always easy for players with a circus of relatives suddenly popping up and old friends from second grade looking for tickets.
We know Tomlin has the ability to manage the focus, and it appears McCarthy is solid enough to do the same. He’s a no-nonsense guy who pays attention to every detail, and he directed the Green Bay ship through some very rough waters to wind up dry-docked in North Texas.
— Story by Vinny DiTrani, The Record (Hackensack, N.J.)
