Superbowl XLVI: Part I

Or, in which Frank and Eric debate the relative merits of teams they don't really care about but which the whole nation will watch.

Look, we all love the game. We want to see who will be the champion of the NFL. We just wish it wasn't the Pats and the Giants. It's not that they aren't great franchises from great cities. It's that they were just here. Both of them. There isn't much of a compelling point here unless you are really excited for a rematch. Or if you really enjoy the "which Manning is better" debate.

No one wanted this Superbowl outside of New York and New England. We saw this already. Merely four years ago in Superbowl XLII, a little known wide receiver named David Tyree made a catch that has immortalized him in football lore. It looked like this:



And guess what sports fans? The Giants are going to leave Indy with yet another Lombardi Trophy.

Super Bowl XLV, The Aftermath

Well, it's official. The Green Bay Packers are your Super Bowl XLV champions. I thought it was a fantastically entertaining game. The Steelers were poised to make it even more fantastic, but the Packer defense held, and my boy, the Second Coming, Aaron Rodgers, won the Super Bowl.



I extend sincere congratulations to the Pittsburgh Steelers, their fans, their city, Mr. Rooney, Mike Tomlin, Big Ben, and every other person associated with the team. They played a fantastic game, and should be proud of what they accomplished this season.

I made a point to a few friends earlier that I want to reiterate. When you get to this level of play, it becomes less about who is the better team and more about who makes fewer mistakes. The KNBR commentator on earlier this evening used this argument to state that this makes it less of an exciting Super Bowl in the annals of history. I disagree. It is what every game is. Mistakes happen. It's been said in every losing post game conference I've ever attended: "We didn't execute." That's what happened tonight. Two great teams squared off. They both played their games that they had played the entire season. When they play each other, they still play those great games, and the team that wins is the team that causes or capitalizes on the most mistakes. Otherwise, we would have seen a blowout. Those only occur when one team beats another team on scheme. That didn't happen tonight. Both teams showed why they were there, one just outlasted the other.

Three Steeler turnovers. 21 Packer points off those turnovers. Game. Sure, the Packers had dropped catches and missed tackles, but they did not make the egregious mistakes suffered by the Steelers. I don't believe this makes the game any less exciting. Yes, the onside kick out of halftime was insane last year, but does not make the game. The Packers, and Mr. Rodgers, played a hell of a game.

Though they did not get to Roethlisberger like I thought they would, they also protected Rodgers just fine. The secondary had a field day. The third and fourth Packers defensive backs, and third and fourth Packer receivers beat their counterparts across the line of scrimmage. Destiny seemed to be the Packers favor. Ben had his chance. He's proven he can take it, but it didn't happen this time. Maybe it was that the Packers had one less meltdown, but it still made for great football.

Look at my rebuttal post though. How right was I? The Packers jumped out ahead, by the time the Steelers showed up, they had too much overcome. It's like I scripted it. Rodgers did what he does:

C/ATT YDS AVG TD INT RATING
24/39 304 7.8 3 0 111.5

Pretty brilliant if you ask me, and totally deserving of the MVP. Tonight, I am very proud to be a Bear, and proud of having talked him up so much. It would have been even better in Nelson and Jones don't drop a few passes. Then again, I don't think the Packers win without the Mendenhall fumble in the 4th quarter. It was funny, Frank was yelling about his ball position the whole game, and on a carry where he had it tucked close, Pickett and Matthews combined to punch it right out.

Though Frank may be sad, he should be very happy over what the Steelers did this year. They have been an incredible team over the past five years, and though they didn't make it this year, they should still be a force for years to come.

For tonight,celebrate you Green Bay fans. They played a great game. Whether or not it was a game based on mistakes or on execution, they are champions of the National Football League.

Anyway, go Bears! Go Packers! Go A's! Go Giants! And lets look forward to another year of fantastic sports.

Why the Packers Will Win, A Quick Hit Rebuttal

Well, my scripture has been besmirched. I sent you all to the mountaintop, and my sermon fell on deaf ears. My words had been given unto me from on high, and I spoke them with conviction in the hope that you, my flock, would follow me to the path of salvation behind the right arm of our Second Coming, Aaron Rodgers. So, as my respected counterpart has provided you with false words to turn you toward the path of evil and sin, I am forced to write a rebuttal to turn you all back to the way of righteousness. Seriously, its in Epheseans 6, I'm not making this up.

Zack Follett - Response to my comments made from zack follett on Vimeo.

1. Karma and Hunger, the intangibles
Frank is just loathe to admit that the Packers have it on their side. Yes, its intangible. Yes, both teams have some unscrupulous characters. But really, when it's all said and done, which team has the second coming? Which team needs to forget Brent and move on with Aaron, just to show the football gods that Brent is a terrible human being as well? That's right. The intangibles are the same reasons Frank argues that Ben is a top 5 quarterback in the league. The Packers have them here.

2. Sure, the Steelers are the best team that the Packers have played since week 15. I don't understand how this equals advantage Steelers. Week 17 was a snow bowl of a game, I wouldn't look too hard at those stats. The Giants were almost a playoff team, and desperately needed that game to make it there, and the Packers came out and steamrolled them. Say what you want about the Falcons defense, their offense is strong enough to destroy most of the time. And say what you want about the Bears, but all season they found ways to win, and that means more that stats most of the time, as Frank so eloquently points out when discussing Big Ben. The Packers have had good wins and close games all season. There will not be a let down.

3. Have you seen Rodgers' career stats when he plays indoors? They are insane! From Sports Illustrated:

Location G YPG TD INT TD:INT
Indoors 11 308 25 5 5.00
Outdoors 39 261 71 28 2.54

Read more: SI.com

Do some mental math. Almost 2.5 TDs/game. Less than .5 INT/game. Forget almost everything I've said about Rodgers so far. This is the part that matters. The boy is good. He actually, according to the article, has the highest passer rating indoors of all-time. This bodes well for Jerryworld. Aaron is about to pick apart the secondary of the Pittsburgh before you can say Punxsutawny. Did you try saying it? TOUCHDOWN! Now say it five times fast. You are now my slave. And.... to go along with this point:

4. The Steelers have not fared well this season against elite QBs
Granted, they haven't played very many elite quarterbacks this year. They got beat by Brees early in the season, and then destroyed by Brady in week 10. Since that loss to Brady, the Steelers have faced: Campbell/Gradkowski, Fitzpatrick, Flacco, Palmer, Sanchez (lost, made him look good), Clausen, McCoy, and then Flacco and Sanchez again. With the exception of possibly Flacco, none of these come close to my top 10. Now, I'm not saying that Tomlin and LeBeau don't know how to prepare for a big time quarterback. I'm not saying that Polamalu hasn't seen Rodger's before. I am saying that sometimes not having seen someone of this quality for some time, one can be slow to react to the heightened level of ability. With Rodgers outstanding indoor stats, it would not surprise me to see the Packers jump out to an early lead on what looks to be a sluggish Steeler defense. Then, by the time they wake up, the Packers are too far ahead, and the Steeler offense is forced to lose their balance, and then becomes a throwing club. As the dominoes fall, the Pack front seven pins their ears back and makes hay out of a patchwork Steeler offensive line, driving Ben to the ground again and again. The Packers then coast to victory as McCarthy learns from last week, does not take his foot off the accelerator, and lets Rodgers pass the ball to glory. Packers win, 31-24.

5 Reasons Why the Packers Will Win the Super Bowl

With Frank so convinced that the Steelers will somehow win yet another Super Bowl, I have taken it upon myself to tell you all why the Green Bay Packers will be your Super Bowl champions.

The game you will see Sunday, Feb. 6 will be a tightly contested one between two great teams. You first have the Steelers. A team with six Super Bowl titles to their name already and hailing from a wonderful blue-collar city. Then, the Packers. You might call them the people's team, as they are the only publicly owned professional sports franchise. Most of the people in Wisconsin own a piece of them. The Packers are a team of destiny. The Steelers wave is about to come crashing down. It's like Conan the Barbarian. The Packers are Conan. The Steelers are James Earl Jones. Conan is coming for you, and he knows what is best in life.



So, other than being really cool, here are the five reasons why the Green Bay Packers will be your Super Bowl XLV champions.

1. Karma

The Steelers have angered Crom. Between Roethlisberger, a womanizer and rapist, Polamalu, a Trojan and hair enthusiast, and Harrison, a psychopath, the Steelers have a crop of players who are not good people. Bad people can't win the Superbowl. There is more and more evidence of this every year. You don't think karma plays into it? Do you really think the Saints won last year just on skill. You're wrong. It was destiny. Aaron Rodgers has taken so much crap over the last decade missing out of championships and what have you. Its time he gets what is coming to him. Which is a great thing considering how good of a person he is. Crom will not let the Steelers win a seventh Lombardi trophy with this cast on their roster.

2. Aaron Rodgers

Will Ferrell was actually describing what Rodgers is about to do here. Could not find it on youtube, so, many apologies. Watch at 2:28.



He is a top 5 quarterback in the NFL. He does it without a running game. He does it with a none-too-impressive O-line. He throws the deep ball, he throws the screen. He throws on the run. He throws in the pocket. The guy is just freaking good. He is the X factor above anyone else in this game.

Here's a video of him being awesome last year.



He is the second coming. He will lead the faithful to salvation. Ben has nothing and is a bum. This could easily be reasons 1-5. He will do it. And everyone will eat cheese to celebrate.

3. Raji, Matthews, Bishop, Jenkins, Hawk and Co.

The Green Bay defense is as good as it has been in a long while. The front 7 is going to give the Steelers fits. As I see the Steelers, they have a good balanced offense. However, there has to be balance in order for them to be successful at either. If they are forced to go run or pass heavy, its game over. I see the Packer pass rush blowing by a beaten offensive line. I see them showing looks they haven't shown all season. I see them filling the holes and stopping the running game. The Steeler offense will never hit their stride. Game, Packers.

4. Treman Williams and Charles Woodson
With the front seven harassing Ben and the running backs, the cornerbacks of the packers will have a field day. These are world class players with world class talents. Ben will be intercepted at least twice during the game. Wallace and Ward will be blanketed during the rest of the attempts. The Steelers won't move the ball.

Here's what Woodson did last season:



5. The Hunger
The Packers want this. They want this for Aaron. They want this for the doubters. No one has doubted the Steelers. No one likes a dynasty except for the fans of the team that has it. The Packers have the bigger chip on their shoulder. They're eager to make this happen, and there's no reason why they can't. I know Frank pointed this out as a reason why the Jets might beat the Steelers, and then they didn't. The Packers want it way more than the worst QB in the NFL (Sanchez). Hunger will play a part in this game, and the packers are hungrier. That, and Crom is on their side.



GO BEARS! GO PACKERS!