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In the Red Zone: Super Bowl is upon us

  • Published
  • By Bryan Swink
  • Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst Public Affairs
JOINT BASE MCGUIRE-DIX-LAKEHURST, N.J. --  It's been two weeks since we've seen actual football played on the gridiron. If anyone happened to witness the joke called the Pro Bowl Sunday, they witnessed a bunch of players standing around, not tackling, blocking or putting forth any effort to display talent. The NFL needs to do away with that game or find a way to make it entertaining. Enough about that waste of time, lets breakdown the matchup happening in Dallas.

Green Bay vs. Pittsburgh

Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger has a distinct advantage over Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers. He has been in this position before and won, not only once, but twice. Rodgers is making his Super Bowl debut. The difference in comparing the two quarterbacks is their team's reliance on their performance. The Steelers have won in the past without the need of excellent play by Roethlisberger. His surrounding cast has the talent to dominate the game in the running game and hard-nosed defensive play.

On the other hand, Rodgers is the cornerstone to the Packers and without his successful play, they wouldn't even be a playoff team. The good news for Packers fans is he is consistently successful and has established himself as one of the top quarterbacks in the league. I rank him just under Peyton Manning and Tom Brady. He finished the regular season with a 101.2 passer rating and threw for 28 touchdowns and only 11 interceptions in 15 games. I give the edge to the Packers in the quarterback matchup.

The Steelers have always been known as a run-oriented team that pounds the ball up the middle and controls the clock. In the AFC championship game against the Jets, they started the game with a 15-play, nine minute scoring drive. Of those 15 plays, 10 were running plays led by running back Rashard Mendenhall. The Steelers running game may turn into the most important aspect of the game. Controlling the clock and keeping Rodgers off the field will be one of the main focuses during the Steelers preparations.

The Packers have had recent success in their running game with James Starks but are squaring away against the best run defense in the league. They have to find a way to take some of the pressure off Rodgers and utilize the tools in the backfield. Starks has been a spark in the running game but they need to utilize him on screens and draw plays. I give the advantage to the Steelers in the running game.

Packers receiver Greg Jennings is the key to success and the life support for Rodgers. Last week he caught eight passes for 130 yards. Jordy Nelson was the only other receiver to catch more than one pass. Nelson and James Jones are nice complementary receivers but if the Steelers are able to shut down Jennings, the Packers will be in a world of trouble. We will see if Rodgers can utilize complimentary players like Peyton Manning did depleted receiving core throughout this season.


The Steelers have young talented receivers led by the hard-working veteran Hines Ward. He will bring Super Bowl experience to the inexperienced receiving core. The Packers have an impressive secondary that might pose problems for the receivers to get open. Unlike the Packers, the Steelers think about the running game before they think pass. The receivers will be valuable but I have to give the edge to Green Bay's receivers.

Both of these teams have nasty defenses. Pittsburgh has an amazing run defense and the 12th-best pass defense in the league. Only four weeks in the regular season did any team score more than 21 points against them. They only had 18 forced turnovers this season but are one of the most aggressive and hard-hitting teams in the league. It will be interesting to see how the defensive player of the year, Troy Palamalu, roams and controls the secondary. He led the team and was tied for 2nd in the league in interceptions.

Green Bay has the 5th-ranked defense in the league and is better at stopping the pass than the run. Much of the success of the pass defense comes from the aggressive pass rush from the front seven. Clay Matthews and B.J. Raji have a combined 20 sacks for the season and consistently put pressure on opposing quarterbacks. Unfortunately for them, Roethlisberger is not an easy quarterback to get to. They must be able to contain him in the pocket and prevent him from creating plays with his feet. I give the Steelers a slight advantage in the defenses.

This game will be close in score with both teams taking the lead throughout. The Packers have not trailed in any game by more than seven points this season. If anyone is to run away with this game, it won't be the Steelers. I see more than 65 points being put up on the scoreboard with the game being won by less than a touchdown.
Swink's prediction: Packers win Super Bowl XLV