The other day, I saw an advertisement for "The Social Network," a best picture nominee. In case you missed it, the movie is about this guy named Mark Zuckerberg who made a website that allowed people you've never met to look at pictures of you and invite you to slam poetry readings. Anyway, this new trailer features the intense Kanye West song "Power" in the background, presumably to highlight Zuckerberg's hubris and pursuit of money presented in the film. The song has one of those catchy beats you end up singing under your breath until all of your friends want to strangle you.
Even though the TV was showing Andrew Garfield smashing a computer and jabbing his finger in Jesse Eisenberg's face, the only thing I could think was, "Yeah, I'm definitely seeing a montage of big plays with this over the top of it come Sunday." And why not? There's a lot of power tied up in this Super Bowl. The Steelers are pursuing their third Super Bowl in six years. That would give quarterback Ben Roethlisberger his third title and move him into a tie among active quarterbacks for championships with...Tom Brady.
Excuse me. (Vomits) Okay, I'm good for now.
Yes, a win this Sunday would allow Roethlisberger to plop his ample frame in the discussion for best quarterbacks of this era. Of course, he'll have to go through a fellow candidate in Aaron Rodgers and the Green Bay Packers. It's a game with some intriguing matchups, so I think it would be fun for us to run through some of them and analyze which team has the edge.
Quarterbacks
How on Earth do you make a team — led by a guy who has two championships and has willed his team through the playoffs — the underdog when you have never played in a Super Bowl before? You put up a quarterback rating of 109.2 and throw for 790 yards in the playoffs. You go into the No. 1 seed's house and drop four touchdowns on them. You "put on the championship belt" whenever you have a big play. In short, you be Aaron Rodgers.
Big Ben has been playing well, but no one is playing better than Rodgers. Like Ben, he can extend a play with his legs, throw on the run and scramble for yardage when nothing is there. He also has an absolute cannon for an arm, and can thread the ball into tight coverage better than Roethlisberger can. In this quarterback matchup, I take the real A-Rod.
Edge: Packers
Secondary
On the one hand, you have former Heisman Trophy winner Charles Woodson, the best tackler in the game. On the other hand, no one covers more ground and accounts for more of the field than Troy Polamalu. Woodson's corner blitzes are deadly, but bringing down Big Ben is like trying to wrangle a baby killer whale — I don't think that his blitzes are going to be as effective as usual.
It's no coincidence that when Polamalu was injured last year, the Steelers missed the playoffs. He is the single most important member of this squad. With the exception of some spotty tackles against the Ravens, he's been nothing short of superb for the Steelers. With his size, speed and high football IQ, having Polamalu peering in from the backfield is the asset that pushes this Steelers pass defense to the next level. Oh, and he's the Associated Press Defensive Player of the Year.
Edge: Steelers
Hair
Though linebackers Clay Matthews and A.J. Hawk have some good-looking freak-flags, Polamalu has science on his side for his long, flowing locks. As he tells us in his overplayed and ridiculous commercial, it's the "Polamolecules, dude!" I file that ad in the category of "funny, but not for the reasons it's supposed to be."
Edge: Polamolecule
Linebackers and Pass Rush
You'd think this would be a landslide, given the sensational play of Clay Matthews and the entire Green Bay blitzing corps. But James Harrison, a Steeler who lands my nominee for most terrifying man in the world, isn't someone you can forget about. The hard-hitting Harrison is just as likely to injure someone in a game as I am to underhandedly whine about the Steelers' thuggery in one of my columns. This one is close, but given the Steelers' depleted O-line, I gotta go with the Pack Attack.
Edge: Anyone not getting hit by Harrison
Receivers and Tight Ends
Both these teams are going to have to account for deep threats in this game, with speedsters Mike Wallace and Greg Jennings on the field. Veterans Donald Driver and Hines Ward both bring experience to the table, but where this matchup gets decided is at the tight end position. With Jermichael Finley on injured reserve since early on in the season, Donald Lee has filled in wonderfully for the Pack's big man. Talented as Lee is, he can't hang with the monstrous scoring threat that is Heath Miller. Miller is one of Ben's favorite targets in the red zone, and given his size and hands, it's easy to see why. When it's time for a big third-and-goal, the Pack had better be accounting for the big ole' Heath bar.
On a side note, be ready for the guy who figures out that you can make "Pulp Fiction" jokes with Wallace's name halfway through the game. You're going to need that preparation to prevent yourself from throttling him when he follows each of Wallace's catches with, "WHAT DOES MIKE WALLACE LOOK LIKE?"
Edge: Steelers
Run Game
Rashard Mendenhall is quick and powerful and has been putting up numbers all season with a thin O-line. The key to this game is going to be if the Pack can stop the run, making Mendenhall the most important guy on this side of the ball. Show me stats all day, but Mendenhall is a much better running back than James Starks. The good news, Green Bay fans? You don't need to run the ball because you have Aaron Rodgers.
Edge: Steelers
Final Score
Pittsburgh likes to make games ugly slugfests, but the Packers like to run them in a more high-octane fashion. For that reason, we are going to be somewhere in the middle. I predict a 24-21 Packers win, with Rodgers finally banishing the Brett Favre demon. No matter what the outcome, I bid you farewell, NFL season. Here's to hoping you are around next
Sam Sheehan '12 just wants another round of good, talking baby E-trade ads out of this Super Bowl. Talk sports with him at
sam_sheehan@brown.edu or follow
him on twitter @Sam_Sheehan.
