Superbowl XLV PreGame

February 5, 2011 by 5 Comments

2010 Super Bowl Commercial Highlights

Super Bowl XLV Preview

Two of the most storied programs in professional football are set to meet in the most expensive sporting venue in the world.

The Pittsburgh Steelers and Green Bay Packers have nine Super Bowl trophies between them and will face each other Sunday in Super Bowl XLV.

Tough they’ll play indoors at the $1 billion Cowboys Stadium, the winter storm that’s blanketed north Texas is fitting for two cold-weather teams.

The Steelers (12-4) beat the Arizona Cardinals two years ago for their sixth Super Bowl all-time and their second since 2006.

Pittsburgh, buoyed by their typical lock-down defense and strong-armed quarterback Ben Roethlisberger, beat the New York Jets and division rival Baltimore Ravens in the playoffs.

The Packers (10-6) beat Michael Vick and the Eagles, the NFC’s top-ranked Atlanta Falcons and the Bears to earn their first trip to the Super Bowl since 1997.

Sunday’s matchup pits two of the league’s most dynamic quarterbacks in Green Bay’s Aaron Rodgers and Roethlisberger. Both signal-callers are adept at avoiding the pass rush and making plays outside the pocket.

Rodgers completes 65.7 percent of his passes and finished the regular season with 3,922 passing yards and 28 touchdowns.

Roethlisberger returned from a league-mandated, four-game suspension to finish with 3,200 yards and 17 touchdowns.

Roethlisberger, however, will have a new center for the game after first-year player Maurkice Pouncey was ruled out of the Super Bowl due to a high ankle sprain suffered in the AFC Championship Game.

Second-year center Doug Legursky, who has played all three positions along the line and even lined up at fullback, will start in place of Pouncey.

That could be good news for Packers nose tackle B.J. Raji, who is the centerpiece of Green Bay’s 3-4 defense led by Dom Capers.

Both defenses run similar 3-4 schemes as Capers was once an assistant with Pittsburgh defensive coordinator Dick LeBeau while they worked on Bill Cowher’s staff.

The zone-blitz concept was birthed by LeBeau and used by both coordinators throughout stops with Cincinnati (LeBeau) and Carolina (Capers) and Houston (Capers).

In the 3-4, rush linebackers play a crucial part in creating pocket pressure.

For Green Bay, second-year linebacker Clay Matthews has been unstoppable at times this season with 13.5 sacks.

His Pittsburgh counterpart is 2009 NFL Defensive Player of the Year James Harrison, who returned an interception off Kurt Warner for a 100-yard score two years ago in Pittsburgh’s last Super Bowl win.

Harrison is known as a big-hitter.

Linebacker play is a staple of both defenses, but both teams have a dynamic, Pro Bowl defensive back to keep an eye on.

Pittsburgh’s Troy Polamalu finished the regular season with seven interceptions despite missing two games to injury.

Green Bay veteran cornerback Charles Woodson had just two interceptions this season, but accounted for 92 tackles – third most on the team. He’s lined up in the slot and out wide, giving Capers the option of blitzing him and letting him play coverage. Woodson forced five fumbles this season.

Pittsburgh’s defense led the league with 14.5 points given up per game. Green Bay was just a hair behind at 15.

Two premier quarterbacks, two crushing 3-4 defenses and two of the most historic teams in league history will create what looks to be a classic Super Bowl.

That said, which quarterback has the edge. Which 3-4 defense will make the most plays?

NFL Shop | NCAA Shop

Filed Under: Green Bay Packers, NFL, Pittsburgh Steelers Tagged With: ,

What A Day for Signings?

February 3, 2011 by 2 Comments

2011 Signing DayNational signing day is always known to have drama, but this year’s signing day was a little overboard. Most players picked where they were going without a problem, but some were different stories. For example, Cyrus Kouandjio committed to Auburn on live national television, before changing his mind a little while later. No he needs more time to decide. The ESPNU top player Jadeveon Clowney has still yet to decide where he wants to make the biggest impact. Most people believe it is down to South Carolina and Alabama, but after yesterday there is no telling where he will decide to spend the next couple of years.

As of yesterday, Jimbo Fisher made his case to get the Florida State Seminoles back to one of the elite programs in the country with grabbing 12 of the ESPNU 150 players and the top recruiting class in the country according to ESPN. Visit Florida State Store.

The SEC didn’t go down without a fight in this year’s recruiting battle either. Alabama and Auburn held on to the number 2 and 3 spots. The SEC had nine teams in the top 25, and six in the top 13.  Auburn Shop |  Alabama Shop

Georgia’s national signing day class is being referred to as “The Dream Team.” Richt stated that it’s the deepest and most talented class he’s signed at Georgia and comes at a time when Richt needed something good to happen on the heels of a 6-7 finish to the season.  Georgia Shop

USC was another big surprise on national signing day, where Lane Kiffin recruited a class that was ranked fourth in the nation according to ESPN Recruiting. Kiffin ended up with 30 recruits so far, which include eight early enrollees. Said coach Lane Kiffin: “This may be the most critical class that ever signed at USC.”  USC Shop

After the year that Oregon had that left the Ducks falling just short of a National Championship, the Ducks won big in the recruiting battle signing the nation’s No. 1 athlete DeAnothony Thomas. The Ducks also signed the No. 2 athlete with Devon Blackmon which now some people are saying that this is the best recruiting class in Oregon History. The Ducks class was only ranked 14th in the nation according to ESPN Recruiting, but the Ducks feel that are in the top 5.  Oregon Ducks Store

In the Big 12, it was no surprise when the Texas Longhorns hauled in the best recruiting class in the Big 12 by barely beating Oklahoma. They got a nice balance of offensive and defensive talents, but most other recruits will offer depth early on in their careers. The Longhorns only lost one recruit, which went to Auburn, but ended up finishing at the number 5 spot in ESPN’s class rankings.  Texas Longhorns Shop

There are still a number of recruits out there that have not made up their mind where they want to play at. Those recruits can certainly make any number of teams stock rise in this year’s class ranking.

Other Top Team Shops

Mississippi State Shop | Oklahoma Shop | Florida Gator Shop | Ole Miss Shop | Arkansas Shop | LSU Shop

If we didn’t mention your team then that doesn’t mean we don’t like your team.  Please share all of your comments about your teams recruiting class in the comments section below.  If you are avid sports fan and enjoy writing then we are accepting guest blogging applications.

We want your feedback on the 2011 Signing Day!  Which class will make the most impact?  Which team got the shaft?  Which staff does the best job recruiting?





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