Super Bowl XLV Rewind

Super Bowl XLV
February 6, 2011
Arlington, Texas
Green Bay Packers 31, Pittsburgh Steelers 25

Off the field, Super Bowl XLV got off to an ugly start. The weather outdoors was frightful, hundreds of ticket-holders were shafted out of their seats, Christina Aguilera positively destroyed the Star-Spangled Banner (in a bad way), and the hands of fate inexplicably swung in the NFC's favor for the 14th year in a row when Green Bay won the coin toss.

When we got down to business, fans were treated to a Super Bowl that was sloppy at times — neither team played as well as it could have — but came down to the final minute, with Aaron Rodgers continuing to emerge as a star, and veterans like Donald Driver and Charles Woodson (both of whom left the game with injuries) finally earning Super Bowl titles. It takes a heart of stone (or steel) to begrudge those guys their rings.

Why the Packers Won

Turnovers were the obvious difference in the game. The Packers forced three turnovers, including an interception return for a touchdown, and committed none. Super Bowl teams that go +3 in turnovers are 22-1, and those with INT return TDs are now 11-0. Credit Green Bay's defense: the Steelers hadn't committed three turnovers in any of their previous 18 games this season.

The other thing Green Bay did was score. I worried two weeks ago that the Packers would settle for field goals, but instead they found the end zone four times. It was only the second time this season that an opponent scored more than 24 points against Pittsburgh (the Patriots put up 39). The Steelers, however, were just the third team to score more than 24 against Green Bay (Patriots and Lions).

Perhaps the most amazing note about the game is that Green Bay was able to overcome so many problems and still win. Woodson got hurt, and the Packers nearly squandered a 21-3 lead after he left. Driver got hurt, and the other receivers dropped about 70 passes. The Packers got hit for seven penalties, including three 15-yarders. They overcame it all and won. That's how good this team was. Years from now, people may see that the Packers went 10-6, snuck into the playoffs as the sixth seed, and assume this wasn't a great team. They'd be wrong. A lot of things came together at the end of the season, but the Packers were dangerous all year.

Noteworthy

The Packers won partially by forcing Pittsburgh out of its gameplan. The Steelers began the game very conservative on offense, but quickly got away from the run. At halftime, Rashard Mendenhall had eight rush attempts, and Ben Roethlisberger had three. Pittsburgh averaged 5.5 yards per rush, which is phenomenal, but only handed off 19 times, compared to 45 pass plays. The Packers had even less balance, but they're a passing team, and were able to win despite handing off just 11 times.

Even in the passing game, the Steelers were forced out of their comfort zone. Mike Wallace scored a 25-yard touchdown in the fourth quarter, but the Packers mostly kept him underneath. During the regular season, Wallace, one of the NFL's fastest players at any position, averaged 21.0 yards per reception. In the Super Bowl, he caught 9 passes for 89 yards, a 9.9 average — less than half his regular-season average.

Ultimately, though, you can't get away from the turnovers. The Steelers had more yards, more first downs, better third down percentage, and more time of possession, but you can't give away possessions and field position that many times and expect to win.

What Happened

The Steelers came out conservative on offense, using one-receivers sets, or two receivers in tight where they could block. The Packers did the opposite, spreading the field with three or four wide receivers. This wasn't surprising unless you expected the teams to try to surprise each other, out-think the opponents and maybe themselves. Run defense was the weak link in Green Bay's defense, so Pittsburgh tested it early. The Steelers' ground defense was nearly impenetrable, and the Packers have depth at WR, so they forced Pittsburgh into nickel coverage.

Rodgers began the game 1/4 for 24 yards, but he sparked an 80-yard touchdown drive on Green Bay's second possession, followed immediately by Nick Collins' 37-yard INT return for a touchdown. Collins drew a 15-yard penalty afterwards, and while I support the league's efforts to promote sportsmanship, the rule that made it a penalty for Collins to fall to his knees is stupid. He wasn't showing anyone up. I really think officials should have more discretion about what does and does not constitute excessive celebration. Anyway, it's 14-0.

The Steelers drove for a field goal, but another Roethlisberger interception gave Green Bay the ball around midfield, and the Packers scored another touchdown, giving them a 21-3 lead. The largest deficit overcome in a Super Bowl is 10 points, and the Steelers trailed by 18. At this point, though, Woodson was injured defending a deep pass on the left sideline, and Pittsburgh's offense came alive, driving 77 yards in 1:45 to make it 21-10 at halftime.

Pittsburgh's momentum carried into the second half, as Green Bay went three-and-out (really five-and-out because of two penalties). The Packers drew another penalty on the punt, a 15-yard facemask penalty that replays showed was a bad call by the officials. The Steelers went 50 yards on five straight runs, and all of a sudden the Packers' lead was down to four: 21-17. The Packers punted again, and then the Steelers made a strange decision: they let Shaun Suisham try a 52-yard field goal.

Suisham has played in the NFL for six seasons. He's just 3-of-9 from 50 yards and beyond, and he has never made a field goal longer than 52. I realize the 34-yard line is No Man's Land. It's too close to punt, and you can't go for it on 4th-and-15. But Suisham missed by a mile, and the Packers took over at their own 42, which is great field position. If your punter can force a fair catch inside the 20, or kick it out of bounds at the 10- or 15-yard line, that's a huge swing in field position.

The Packers apparently realized this, because on the ensuing possession, they punted instead of trying a 56-yard field goal, and Mason Crosby's chances from 56 have to be just as good as Suisham's from 52. Tim Masthay's punt went only 25 yards, but it was fair caught at the 13, and Pittsburgh took over deep in its own territory. After a couple more punts, Rashard Mendenhall fumbled — Pittsburgh third turnover — and the momentum palpably shifted. Green Bay's stalled offense woke up, and the Packers scored another touchdown.

Abandoning the run, the Steelers threw on eight straight plays, culminating in a perfect 25-yard rainbow from Roethlisberger to Mike Wallace for a touchdown. Antwaan Randle El scored a two-point conversion on a really brilliant option play, and it was 28-25 Packers with 7:34 remaining in Super Bowl XLV. Rodgers responded. He engineered a 10-play, 5:27 drive that ended on a Crosby field goal, giving Green Bay a 31-25 lead with just 2:07 to play. Roethlisberger completed two passes for 20 yards, then threw three straight incompletions to turn the ball over on downs, and Rodgers knelt twice to run out the clock.

The Dumbest Play

The most foolish play in Super Bowl history was obviously Leon Lett's premature celebration in Super Bowl XXVII, turning a touchdown into a touchback. This game didn't feature anything of that magnitude, but with 1:01 left in the third quarter, Green Bay's Tramon Williams made one of the dumbest plays I have ever seen in a postseason game. Back to field a punt, Williams let the ball bounce. That was a bad idea, because the ball rolled about 15 yards in the wrong direction. Then he hung out near the ball. I don't know if Williams is aware of this, but footballs are oval, and sometimes they take funny bounces. He's lucky the ball didn't hit his leg and result in a turnover.

Finally, when the ball stopped rolling, Williams turned and slapped Anthony Madison in the head. That drew a 15-yard penalty, and it could have gotten him ejected. At this point, Woodson was already out of the game and Sam Shields was playing hurt. If Williams had been tossed, the Packers would have spent the fourth quarter trying to hold a four-point lead without either of their top two cornerbacks, and the third guy playing with a bad shoulder. Williams made three separate mistakes on the play, and he's lucky that all he cost the team was 30 yards of field position.

Aaron Rodgers, MVP

I seldom agree with the official Super Bowl MVP selection, but Rodgers was a no-brainer, the most obvious choice in over a decade. He passed for 304 yards with 3 TDs and a 111.5 passer rating against the best defense in the NFL, and that's even with all those drops. If his receivers had played better, it easily could have been 400 yards, 4 TDs, and a rating somewhere in the neighborhood of 140. Against the best defense in the NFL. MVP, hands down.

After the game, there was some discussion about Rodgers' place among the greatest quarterbacks in the league. He's at the top, as good as anyone. I don't understand how people can still say he's behind Peyton Manning. And I love Peyton Manning. If you're talking about their careers, obviously Manning is more accomplished. But if we mean, "Who's better right now?", the answer is, "No one."

In my mind there are five QBs who stand head-and-shoulders above everyone else: Tom Brady, Drew Brees, Peyton Manning, Philip Rivers, and Rodgers. Suggesting that Rivers or Rodgers aren't in that class is absurd, and claiming that anyone else other than maybe a healthy Tony Romo is on the same level is just stupid. People who put Big Ben in the same category, for instance, don't understand football. Ben is a good QB, but suggesting that he's as good as Rodgers is nothing short of idiocy. He is not nearly as good as Aaron Rodgers.

In addition to the Super Bowl MVP Award, Tom Brady was announced Sunday as league MVP, the only unanimous AP selection in history. The NFL also announced before the game that Minnesota defensive back Madieu Williams won this year's Walter Payton Man of the Year Award. This primarily honors off-field contributions, and it's a very high form of recognition.

Announcers, Entertainment, and Commercials

This section is a scattered collection of thoughts that don't fit well into paragraph format, so I'm just going with bullet points.

* Calling the Super Bowl pre-game show a waste of time is an insult to wasting time. Next year I'm not tuning in until kickoff.

* Do you sing the National Anthem to honor the country or to show off your vocal range? Unforgivably bad performance by Christina Aguilera, even apart from her omitting one line and screwing up another. One of the ugliest, most disrespectful renditions of the song I have ever heard. Kat DeLuna thinks that was bad. Roseanne Barr thinks it was tasteless.

* Joe Buck and Troy Aikman did a surprisingly nice job in the booth on Sunday.

* My favorite Super Bowl ad: Kia Optima, with the constant one-ups of who wants the car.

* Boring halftime show by the Black-Eyed Peas. And my goodness, Fergie can't sing. What was she thinking on that version of "Sweet Child O Mine?"

Hall of Fame

The Pro Football Hall of Fame announced the Class of 2011 on Saturday: Richard Dent, Marshall Faulk, Chris Hanburger, Les Richter, Ed Sabol, Deion Sanders, and Shannon Sharpe. Faulk and Sanders, both in their first years on the ballot, were locks. Sabol, the man behind NFL Films, was long overdue for induction, an unassailable choice. Sharpe, who revolutionized the tight end position and set a number of records, enhances the Hall with his induction. Chris Hanburger, a nine-time Pro Bowler who should have been in years ago, might be the selection I'm most pleased by. Les Richter, who joined Hanburger as a Senior nominee, made eight Pro Bowls before the AFL merger. He and Hanburger are both among the greatest linebackers in history. Richard Dent was a cornerstone of the great Chicago defenses of the 1980s.

Dent's selection ahead of some of the other finalists surprised and disappointed me. As an easy comparison, Dent clearly was not as deserving as Chris Doleman. Both players were defensive ends in the NFC in the '80s and '90s. But Doleman made twice as many Pro Bowls (8) as Dent (4). Doleman had more tackles, more sacks, more forced fumbles, more fumble recoveries, more safeties, more touchdowns. There is nothing Dent was better at than Doleman.

I'm not trying to bash Richard Dent, and I don't think his election is some tragedy. But I can't imagine what led the voters to support Dent rather than Dermontti Dawson and Willie Roaf, or Tim Brown and Cris Carter, or Curtis Martin, or Doleman. I hope Dent's selection will at least clear the way for other worthy pass rushers, like Kevin Greene and Doleman, to finally win induction.

Similarly, I suspect Sharpe's election may pave the way for someone like Tim Brown. The voters have been reluctant to support receivers, and disagreement over which ones are worthy has kept many of them out for very long periods of time. What the voters demonstrated this year is that they are far more impressed by a high peak than sustained consistency. Guys like Brown and Carter and Martin have terrific career numbers, but were never considered the best at their positions. I have to believe all three will get in eventually, but the next few years will remain very competitive.