Super Bowl XLV Predictions + Pro Bowl Recap

Super Bowl XLV Preview

5 months or 21 weeks of pounding, edge of your seat gridiron action has now culminated to this...Super Bowl XLV in Dallas, on Sunday night.

SUPER BOWL XLV
Dallas Cowboys Stadium; Arlington, Texas
6:25PM EST on Fox
Sunday February 6, 2011

Pittsburgh Steelers (14-4) vs. Green Bay Packers (13-6)

The two best physical teams, and two of the three biggest NFL fanbases converge in the Lone Star State for Super Bowl XLV.

The Pittsburgh Steelers have won more Super Bowls than any other team in Super Bowl history with six, and would love to have a seventh. Pittsburgh's eighth appearance ties them with the Dallas Cowboys for the most Super Bowl appearances of all-time.

On the other side of the field, the Green Bay Packers were the first two teams to win the Super Bowl. The Packers defense rode the coat-tails through the playoffs, becoming the first NFC # 6 seed to knock off the top three seeds in the NFC playoffs for the golden ticket to Super Bowl XLV.

In the AFC Championship game last week, the Steelers jumped out to a 24-0 lead before halftime as the Steelers' physical defense knocked the New York Jets over and over. The Steelers almost blew that lead as the Jets came back in the second half with a couple of touchdown drives, to pull within five. But that's as far as the Jets would get as the Steelers hung on for a 24-19 win.

In the NFC Championship game, the Packers jumped to a 14-0 lead in a defensive game, as the Chicago Bears lost Jay Cutler to a knee injury. By the end of the third quarter, the Bears were left with third-stringer Caleb Hanie, after Todd Collins was benched for an ineffective performance. The Bears pulled within seven, but the Packers Raji scored on an interception return for a touchdown to take a 21-7 lead. Hanie would throw a touchdown on the ensuing drive, but that's as far as the Monsters of the Midway would get, as the Packers hung on for a 21-14 victory.

Here are the keys to the Super Bowl Kingdom for Both Teams:
For the Steelers- The defense will need to get into Aaron Rodgers' face, 24-7. The secondary will have to play toe-to-toe with Green Bay's receivers. The offensive line will have to one-up the Green Bay front line.
For the Packers- The defense needs to take care of Big Ben. And by that, I mean, take the pass out of the game, and force the Steelers to run the ball. The offensive line needs to protect Aaron Rodgers from the sack and hit-happy Pittsburgh defense, namely that # 92.

Super Bowl XLV Outcome:
It will be a tough and physical game. Don't expect a wild shoot-out like at the Pro Bowl last week, but expect the Packers defense to make big plays, and force Ben Roethlisberger to run for his life. Expect Charles Woodson to have a big day with a few tackles and a couple of interceptions.

Pick: Green Bay wins Super Bowl XLV, 28-20.
MVP: Charles Woodson

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41st Annual AFC-NFC Pro Bowl Recap

On Sunday, the NFL's finest (sans the two teams playing in Sunday's Super Bowl) took flight in Honolulu for the NFL Pro Bowl.

After a sluggish start, the NFC took charge, with a 14-0 lead after the first quarter. The NFC forced seven AFC turnovers overall in the game, jumping out to a 42-0 lead in the second quarter, courtesy of AFC mistakes.

The second half, the AFC made it interesting, scoring three touchdowns in the third quarter to cut their deficit to 17. The NFC put the game away, as Carolina Panthers linebacker Jon Beason returned a Matt Cassel (QB, Kansas City Chiefs) interception 49 yards for a score to make it a 55-28 game. Cassel would throw two meaningless touchdowns in the final four minutes, including a "hook and lateral" with finished with Cleveland Browns center Alex Mack diving into the end zone to make it a 55-41 game, and that's would end up being the final score.

DeAngelo Hall, cornerback from the Washington Redskins was named MVP of the Pro Bowl, coming up with six tackles, and two interceptions, including one for a touchdown.

Mike Smith and the Atlanta Falcons coaching staff were the winning coaches for the Pro Bowl, coaching the NFC. The AFC was coached by Bill Belichick and the New England Patriots coaching staff. Both staffs were provided by the highest seeds eliminated in the second (Divisional) round of the playoffs.

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COACHING CAROUSEL:
On Thursday, the Tennessee Titans announced that Jeff Fisher would not be returning to the team next season, ending a 17-year run for Fisher as the Titans head coach. Fisher, was the second-longest tenured coach in ALL of major professional sports, not just football, behind Jerry Sloan of the Utah Jazz.

Only six NFL coaches (George Halas, Tom Landry, Don Shula, Chuck Noll, and Bud Grant) have coached for one team longer than Fisher. Fisher moves to 12th all-time in coaching wins.

Fisher became the longest-tenured NFL coach after Bill Cowher stepped down as head coach of the Pittsburgh Steelers following the 2006 season. Andy Reid of the Philadelphia Eagles is now the longest-active tenured coach in the NFL, coming back for his 13th season next fall.

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COACHING CAROUSEL EDITORIAL:
Yesterday, the Cincinnati Bengals, in an effort to keep Carson Palmer as their quarterback, fired offensive coordinator Bob Bratkowski after ten seasons. Or as many die-hard Bengals fans would say, ten seasons too many.

Bratkowski was to blame for all of the Bengals offensive problems in recent years. After a run-based offense got the Bengals the AFC North in 2009, they reverted to a pass-style offense that fell flat in 2010, and sunk the Bengals to 4-12 and a last-place finish in their division.

Hopefully, Bengals owner Mike Brown fires himself as Owner and General Manager before things take another turn for the worse in Cincinnati.