Comparing the Offenses

The high of making it to the Super Bowl has now been supplanted by the work it will take to win the Super Bowl. We’ll begin by making some comparative analysis of both the Green Bay Packers and Pittsburgh Steelers.

These are two very, very good teams, and built almost in mirror images of the other. Both feature big, rangy QB’s, a solid receiving group, and punishingly stingy defenses that employ a 3-4 base. These are two of the oldest and proudest franchises in the history of the NFL, and among the most successful in terms of championships won. They play in far less than major markets yet manage to have fan bases that spread around the world. Both teams are blue collar, lunch bucket, roll up your sleeves and get dirty hard working groups that eschew the trash talk and big city nonsense. These are two teams that have respect for their opponents and come right out and play a good, old fashioned hardnosed brand of football better suited for the mud and snow of a field in a long gone era. The roots of the NFL are entrenched in Green Bay and Pittsburgh, and how fitting it is they should meet in the big one. Look closely at the Steelers and you’ll see the Packers and vice versa.

The Packers are the singularly unique entity in all of professional sport in that they are the only community owned team that exists. This can never happen again, not in today’s multibillion dollar deals that comprise the makeup of today’s sports owners. There is a board of directors, yet no single owner calling the shots. How quaint.

The Steelers are owned by the Rooney family and always have been. Arthur Rooney began the team and has seen it pass from his son to his son’s son. The Steelers, after the dark days of their existence pre 1970 have had but 3 coaches in 40 years – Chuck Noll, Bill Cowher, and Mike Tomlin. Talk about stability.

Both teams play before knowledgeable fans that demand as much of their players off the field as they do on the field and are as fiercely devoted to their respective teams as a mother bear is to her cubs. The Steelers faced tremendous adversity with the off field antics of Santonio Holmes, Jeff Reed, and Ben Roethlisberger in the past year. Holmes, a former Super Bowl MVP was dispatched to the Jets for a draft choice that was technically a move backwards for the Steelers. Reed was also sent packing, and when Roethlisberger displayed his moronic frat boy stupidity in the men’s room of an Atlanta night club, it is a fair guess that the entire organization heard the saber rattling.

While the Steelers have high expectations they are not stupid. Rather than expel Big Ben they offered him up on silver platter to Roger Goddell and the suspension committee to serve as a poster boy for off field bone headedness. While not in the room it is no stretch to say that Ben probably heard one of the Rooney’s tell him to take his lumps, shut his mouth, and clean up his act, an act that had worn thin the patience of the entire organization. To his credit Roethlisberger does seem chagrined by the whole mess and seems to have taken his job and role far more maturely and seriously. To be measured by his achievements on the field without the taint of afterhours activity is a testament to the demands placed squarely on Roethlisberger’s broad shoulders.

His counterpart in Green Bay had a much different trial by fire. After famously sweating the draft as he fell to #23 Aaron Rodgers then had to take a seat to a legend in Titletown behind Brett Favre. Faced with the dilemma of Favre’s waffling and Rodgers’ 5 year contract due to expire the Packers tossed the dice, forced Favre’s hand and went with the untested kid. To Rodgers’ credit he remained above the cacophony of noise that surrounded the ugly divorce. The Packers remained solid in their support of Rodgers. When Favre took an unfair shot at Rodgers saying he would not only compete for the Green Bay QB position but “… we all know who’s gonna win it…” was a left handed slap at his understudy. Rodgers simply went about his job in his California laid back style and avoided the fight. In the process he has earned the respect of his coaches, fans, and most importantly his teammates. At this juncture Rodgers has rewarded the faith placed in him so much so that he now has, at age 27, exactly one half the same Super Bowl appearances as the guy he replaced. While no one will ever make anyone forget Brett Favre, Rodgers has gone a long way in being the most successful player to ever replace a legend. The Packers are now his team, and in this game the obvious areas to begin the comparison is at the key position of quarterback.

QB –

Break out the mirror here. Both teams feature big, tough, rangy, mobile signal callers. Aaron Rodgers and Ben Roethlisberger just might be the two best QB’s when it comes to extending plays, stretching the field and improvising on the run. They can kill you the same way in a variety pack of ways. Each man is the right guy in his team’s offense. Both are smart, rangy, and with enough machismo to believe they can make any throw. Roethlisberger is the bigger of the two and a harder load to bring down while the nimble Rodgers posses more speed. Neither QB wants to make his living with his feet however. Roethlisberger has played well with a broken bone in his foot while Rodgers has had 2 serious concussions this year. Roethlisberger has a flair for the dramatic while Rodgers has been tested under the fire of a 5 current game win-or-go-home streak of his own that has seen him catch fire. Both are capable – very capable – of loading their teams onto their shoulders and carrying them a long way. With the noted exception of Rodgers ill-advised toss that Brian Urlacher of the Bears almost turned into a nightmare for the Pack Rodgers has taken better care of the ball. He has learned to not force a ball into an area where he can’t get a favorable match and has also learned the art of dumping it off when no one is open. Roethlisberger can still frustrate Head Coach Mike Tomlin with what Tomlin likes to call Big Ben’s ‘John Wayne’ style of play. One thing Roethlisberger has that Rodgers doesn’t at this point in his career is the pedigree – Roethlisberger has 2 Super Bowl rings while Rodgers is looking for #1. Ben’s experience vs. Rodgers’ hunger?

ADAVANTAGE – NONE

RUNNING BACKS –

It wasn’t too awful long ago that when the subject of running backs came up that Packers fans everywhere were relegated to downcast eyes and visions of what might have been. When Ryan Grant went down at the time the conventional wisdom was he took the Pack’s hopes for any post season success with him. #2 back Brandon Jackson never quite became that #1 back, yet FB John Kuhn became an unexpected treasure and burgeoning folk hero as he rediscovered his Shippensburg and Dover Pa. High days as a feature back. The Packs game went from good to none to serviceable to okay to maybe we CAN run the ball when 6^th round draftee James Starks came off the PUP list. Starks showed early promise but followed that up with some incredibly piss poor practice habits that landed him in Head Coach Mike McCarthy’s doghouse and his butt back on the bench. Credit former Packer RB and current RB coach Edgar Bennett with sitting the promising rookie down and setting the first year man straight. Rather than sulk and pout Starks heeded the advice and responded with an explosive breakout in the playoffs. MM’s playbook is one half play action, and without a running game the defenses had a much easier shot at getting after Rodgers as the Dolphins and Redskins showed. Now with Starks in the Packers have a legit #1 back, albeit one who has also gone in 2 short years from Buffalo to a season long+ injury filled hiatus to a start in the Super Bowl. And, for the record, that was Buffalo University, not the Bills. The Steelers counter with bruising RB Rahsard Mendenhall who has had quite a ride in the Steel City. Big, powerful and fast Mendenhall can break it wide outside or run it up the gut and over any defender. A compact bowling ball of a runner Mendenhall has found his stride and when he goes, so goes the Steeler offense. Much like the Packers when the running game is working with Mendenhall that creates more options for Pittsburgh as Roethlisberger can use the threat of the run to set up his deep strikes. Mendenhall’s tendency to put the ball on the ground or disappear altogether in ball games still can cause Tomlin to bang his head on a wall. The key for the Steelers and their hopes rides on Mendenhall. If he can get loose, the Steelers will like their chances. If he is contained or doesn’t show up or has ball security issues, swing it back the Packers way.

ADVANTAGE – STEELERS

OFFENSIVE LINE –

It would be unfair to call both the Packers’ and Steelers offensive lines anything other than “much maligned”. At times both teams have had issues with protection, run blocking, injuries and blown assignments. Ironically these two teams with supposed inferior lines are in the Super Bowl. The Packers line has finally stayed intact and has some success to show for the collective efforts. LT Chad Clifton is the workhorse Pro Bowler and is flanked by promising rookie Bryan Bulaga. Bulaga has looked like a rookie at times and yet has shown he is worthy of his first round status when he lined up across from Julius Peppers. Scott Wells is an undersized and undervalued C for the Pack while LG Darryn Colledge has been steadily if slowly improving. Colledge still may be the weakest run blocker on either team, while the best offensive lineman in this game is Packers RG Josh Sitton. Sitton has been a beast all year and makes no technical mistakes. He is a solid pass defender and excels in blowing large holes open in the run game. Big and strong as a horse this will be Josh Sitton’s last year in anonymity and he adds an element of nastiness that can spark the entire OLine. The Steelers will have to somehow get around this man beast to have any hope of getting to Rodgers. Super rookie Maurkice Pouncey of Pittsburgh may not even make it to the dance. After having his left leg rolled in the W over the Jets Pouncey is reported to have somewhere between a ‘high ankle sprain’ to a ‘broken bone in his ankle’. At last report he was not practicing and was seen in a walking cast. NFL injury reports are traditionally sketchy at best. Pouncey’s leg could be severed at the hip and dangling by sinew and the injury report will state he has a “leg contusion”. Without Pouncey Roethlisberger will have a case of the night sweats as Pouncey has been the Steelers best all year. LT Jonathan Scott has had serious issues in pass protection while RT Flozell Adams is on his last legs as he signed from Dallas for the year. While the G package of Chris Kemoeatu and Ramon Foster have strength enough in the run game they are not necessarily mobile. The loss of Pouncey, who draws the assignment of additional inside support, will be huge as the thought of B. J. Raji in the middle of the Pack’s D Line is an intimidating one and will give Tomlin fits.


ADVANTAGE – PACKERS

RECEIVERS –
 
The Steelers have learned to go from smash mouth to air it out. With Hines Ward, Emmanuel Sanders, Mike Wallace and Antwaan Randall El the Steelers have 4 very solid WR’s who are tough, nasty, and good. While both Ward and Randall El have both lost a step Sanders and Wallace both provide enough speed to open up the airways over Heinz Field. Ward’s toughness and leadership can never be questioned, but is worth noting that when the Steelers take to the air Ward is usually not seen on the field. Wallace has big play ability and Sanders is the X factor in the Steelers passing game. If the Oline can hold off the Packers ferocious rush Roethlisberger may have enough time to wing it in to his WR’s hands. TE Heath Miller also presents Ben with a solid target and the Steelers love him in short yardage situations. One advantage that the Steelers exploited against the Jets is one the Packers will be better prepared for than the Jets. In the AFCCG vs. New York the Steelers used a deployment of a 3 wideout set to create a numbers mismatch and set up a quick bubble screen, primarily to Sanders with Ward and Wallace plowing the road. The Jets foolishly continued to counter this set with a 2 deep zone and the mismatch worked heavily to the Steelers. That was the Jets… they will have no such luxury as the Packers will rotate between man and zone to keep the Steelers guessing.

The Packers counter with what may be the deepest set of receivers in the game. Led by All Pro Greg Jennings and vet Donald Driver the Packers WR’s are as scary as any in the league and tougher to cover than Brett Favre at a retirement announcement. Jennings has just gotten hot and is coming off an 8 grab game against the Bears, and showed incredible toughness in hanging onto the ball while being rocked by the punishing Bears D. It’s a good dress rehearsal as the Steelers will be bringing some pop to the party. While Driver has lost a step he is still one of the NFL’s toughest players over the middle in any type of throw. Call him the Green Bay version of Hines Ward. The Packers also have the luxury of James Jones and Jordy Nelson. Nelson had his own coming out party against Atlanta while Jones has quietly become a reliable target for Rodgers. While the Packers are without budding superstar Jermichael Finley TE Andrew Quarless has been forced into a more pressing role as he has been an improvement throughout the season. Look for Jennings to get a lot of attention. If he does the Steelers will be forced into guessing which poison they want to take. This could be a game for the # 3 and 4 receivers to shine.

Greg Jennings, Jordy Nelson,and James Jones
may be the best in the business as a group

ADAVANTAGE – PACKERS

NEXT EDITION – THE DEFENSES