NFL GridIron Gab Daily Digest

Senior writer Jclombardi previews Super Bowl game day & predictions.

Packers have the horses to exploit Steelers’ weaknesses: Other than a mediocre half here or there, the Green Bay Packers have been the epitome of consistent excellence since their defeat in Detroit almost two months ago. Now that the Super Bowl is upon us, there’s no compelling reason to think that the Packers can’t sustain almost that same level of performance against the Pittsburgh Steelers. Obviously, Mike McCarthy is feeling it. I ran into him Friday morning as he bounced between interviews at the Downtown Sheraton. When a team has played as well over time as the Packers, its coach can be as loose as McCarthy appeared to be. ”The players totally believe what’s in front of them,” McCarthy said with confidence and just the right touch of bravado at his final press briefing. “We respect Pittsburgh, but we feel that this is our time and Sunday will be our night.” Still, the more one analyzes the two teams, the Packers have a better chance to counter the Steelers’ strengths than the Steelers do to counter the Packers’ strengths. In other words, Pittsburgh has more holes to hide than Green Bay, and that doesn’t bode well for the Steelers if the Packers keep doing what they’ve been doing. For two weeks, the Steelers undoubtedly have been trying to figure out ways to help right tackle Flozell Adams against Clay Matthews. As uncanny as Roethlisberger might be escaping the rush, they know that not even Roethlisberger is physical enough to avoid the relentless surges of Matthews. The best way to slow Matthews would be an effective running game. One of the biggest men I’ve ever seen, “Flozell the Hotel” can toss Matthews around in close quarters and maybe wear him down physically. Center Doug Legursky, will need help from a guard in pass protection. In the run game, the guard that doubles Raji with Legursky will have to linger longer than usual and figures to be late getting off to the inside linebacker. What this scenario really does is throw open the door for Cullen Jenkins to have an MVP-type performance. For Green Bay, it’s a terrific three-pronged rush that, barring a rash of turnovers, will make it difficult for the Steelers to score more than 20 points. Not only will Roethlisberger be confronted inside and outside, he will find conventional completions much harder to come by than a season ago. The Steelers always find ways to spring receivers from their bunch sets, but unless Roethlisberger can get outside consistently he probably won’t have time to go deep. ”It’s almost like getting ready for a different defense,” offensive coordinator Bruce Arians said. “They’re more man-to-man press coverage than they played last year, especially on early downs.” But Capers will have more than a four-man rush ready. He has been blitzing more and more with each passing week, a direct result of Sam Shields’ ability to man cover. In order, coordinator Joe Philbin listed pass protection, turnover avoidance and balance as the main objectives for the offense. He said the Packers had no interest in asking Chad Clifton and Bryan Bulaga to block Harrison and Woodley snap after snap without the threat of a running play. Based on coaches who have played the Steelers, the best way to run on them is from spread sets. No one really has run on their base 3-4. LeBeau must play zone because his three cornerbacks generally can’t hold up without a rush. If LeBeau does play man-to-man or run overload blitzes, Rodgers could kill him with his scrambles. McCarthy said he expects Polamalu to be LeBeau’s key pressure player. LeBeau does a great job on third down bringing a safety from out of his walk-around defense. If Rodgers spends too much time making dummy calls at the line in a game of cat and mouse, the Steelers are masters at timing their blitzes off the 40-second clock and the quarterback’s cadence. Let’s say neither team can run the ball. Then it becomes a game of who can protect and which quarterback can figure out the blitzes. The Packers have the better offensive line plus they have a blitz-pickup ace in Brandon Jackson. Pittsburgh’s linemen might have to use their hands illegally to slow the rush down, and if the game is closely officiated the Packers should be the beneficiary. And Rodgers should win the cerebral game every time against Roethlisberger. The Packers would seem to have better players at more important positions, and consistency is their trademark. Those are two powerful forces in their favor. What will matter most, of course, is which team plays better under the bright lights of Cowboys Stadium.

It’s been a long journey for the Pittsburgh Steelers. From a suspended QB to losing their Pro Bowl Center for the biggest game of the year and everything in between, the Steelers have made it again to the biggest stage here in Dallas. The atmosphere is electric in the city, and while the snow and ice has put somewhat of a damper on the week, the bottom line is it’s Super Bowl Sunday, and the game will go on.

The Steelers are coming in as slight underdogs to the red-hot Packers, who ran through the Eagles, Falcons and Bears to get to this point. They have a sizzling QB in Aaron Rodgers, and a defense led by Clay Matthews Jr. that is playing very well at the same time.

So with everything on the line, here we go with my final pick of the season, and why I think it’s going to go the way it is come Sunday evening at the home Jerry Jones built.

1. Pressure – It’s been the buzz word of the week in Dallas, but not just for the reason everyone thinks. First, the Steelers have to get to Aaron Rodgers, and when they can and do, get him down. Rodgers can run, and has shown that in the past, and the Steelers cannot afford to let him escape their clutches. There’s also plenty of pressure that goes along with playing a game in front of 100-thousand people, and millions worldwide on a big stage. The Steelers have been here, the Packers have not. That is a clear advantage for the black and gold, and one that should help them get off to a good start against a Packers team that could have butterflies.

2. Tempo - Clearly the Packers have no intentions of running the ball Sunday night. They have a nice little story in the postseason in James Starks, but no one runs on the Steelers D. They want to make this a track meet, with plenty of points and going up and down the field. The Steelers on the other hand do have an established back in Rashard Mendenhall, and he can control the tempo with good yards on first and second down to set up third and short. Against the Jets, the Steelers held the ball for over half the first quarter in going up 7-0, and that’s the same type of game they want vs the Pack. The Steelers have no problem winning this game 20-17, while the Pack want this to be more of a 30-27 game and one where there’s plenty of big plays all over the field.

3. Big Plays at Big Times – That’s what the Super Bowl is all about. You don’t remember the grunt work that gets teams there, you remember players and plays that win the games. Last year it was the onside kick, two years ago the INT by James Harrison, so on and so forth. The Steelers have a couple guys who can make those big plays – Mike Wallace, Harrison, Troy Polamalu. Green Bay has the likes of Greg Jennings, Rodgers, and Matthews. The question will basically be, what players step up in the biggest game of their lives to make the big plays when it’s all on the line. Don’t be shocked as well if a guy like Antonio Brown or Emmanuel Sanders gets a shot at a big play as well.

Prediction – Quite frankly the Steelers are due to lose a game like today. They played not to lose in the second half vs the Jets, and were two touchdowns down vs the Ravens in the divisional game. With that though, all the stats, numbers and matchups can be thrown out the window. Both teams have had two weeks to prepare, and it’s tough to go against Dick LeBeau and the Steelers D on the biggest stage with a number of playmakers that we didn’t even mention like LaMarr Woodley and Ryan Clark. Green Bay will spread the field and try to make it a track meet, but they are no considering the speed the Steelers will counter with in terms of getting to Rodgers to force a few mistakes. Remember Ben Roethlisberger’s first Super Bowl? Awful. I’m not saying that Rodgers will have that type of day by any means, but at the same time, it wouldn’t surprise me if the Steelers get him to have a few bad plays that could decide the outcome.

It’s been one heck of a ride for the Steelers, and while it wasn’t the smoothest way to find their 7th Lombardi, I truly think that once again the city of Pittsburgh will have a parade. Rashard Mendenhall goes for a 110 yards with a score and is the MVP, Roethlisberger had a solid day, and the defense rises up with the game on the line to stop Rodgers and the Pack. Steelers 23 Packers 17

I often wonder if the voters really keep era in perspective. In the 1990s, there were only two receivers more dominant than Cris Carter: Jerry Rice and Tim Brown. While the Vikings only won three playoff games – one each in 1997, 1998 and also 1999 -, Carter’s dominating run from 1992-2000 featured eight playoff appearances in those nine years and a streak of eight consecutive 1000-yard seasons.

I would have made Faulk wait a year in place of Cris Carter. Yes, Faulk was even more statistically dizzying during his peak but his peak was only five years long and only got him one ring. As great as some of the numbers he put up as a Colt were, it’s hard to ignore that season in 1996 that stuck out like a sore thumb and these numbers:
1. Marshall Faulk helped get his team playoff berths in 1995 and 1996 but only touched the ball 13 times for 51 yards and no scores as they got knocked out in one game each time.
2. Faulk left Indianapolis after five productive but not dazzling seasons. I know he was capable of putting up huge numbers just as he would have been during the last year of his peak, 2002, when the Rams had injury issues. That said, we’re talking about his Hall of Fame case.
3. Faulk finally got to 20 total TDs in a season in 2000 and 2001, his seventh and eighth seasons, when he had 26 and 21 respectively. Maybe Faulk – with his receiving ability – was by far the best running back in football for three straight years (1999-2001). I won’t dispute that.

I don’t think this is an issue of preference. It’s not about choosing a RB/WR with sustained good stats or one like Faulk that was so good for five years, you couldn’t tell the story of the NFL without mentioning him.  Whether you look at the lopsided stats (five years that he had both 1400+ yards from scrimmage and 10+ TD; finished with a four-season streak where he didn’t hit both of those plateaus and scored 26 total TDs in that span) or not, you have to ask yourself: Was Marshall Faulk so good that he deserves to be first ballot? The answer, for me, would actually be “yes” in an average year but not in one where Cris Carter has waited this long.

The only receivers other than Rice and Tim Brown that come close to Cris Carter’s stats in his era are Irving Fryar (eight-year run) Henry Ellard (nine-year run), and they aren’t in the Hall of Fame either. And Carter actually brought his team to the playoffs and won three times.

Should he have gotten first ballot Hall of Fame honors with a pretty good career because of 3 years of amazing dominance while Cris Carter waits year after year despite being 4th all time in receiving TDs?

Between 1991 and 2000, Carter made the Pro Bowl eight times and was in the top 10 in receptions eight times. He was in the top 5 in receptions six straight years and that was with four different quarterbacks finishing as the top starter for the Vikings.

Carter doesn’t need Hall of Fame status to validate his story of overcoming substance abuse to become an icon synonymous with big catches, great routes and great hands. The Hall of Fame, however, needs to include him to validate their operation and it better not take as long as it did for another Chris this weekend: former Redskins LB Chris Hanburger got in on his 28th year of eligibility.

Note: I’m too young to remember some of the other inductees (Sharpe impressed me more than Faulk; I’m not sure about Prime), so it’s possible that – if I were on the panel – I would find that I might leave off someone else and put both Faulk and Carter in.

Prime Time Was The Best Shutdown CB Of All Time

Deion Sanders and Richard Dent led a class of seven voted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame on Saturday.  Joining the two superstar defenders were: Shannon Sharpe, Marshall Faulk, Ed Sabol (NFL Films founder), Les Richter and Chris Hanburger.

“I’m excited. These guys — are you kidding me? It’s hard to describe,” Sanders said. “To be held up in high regard, to this standard … I am honored.”

“Neon Deion” let his personality and sense of humor shine like he always did, and still does, while talking about Faulk and Sharpe.

“Man, this is real,” he said, “and I got to see Marshall Faulk and Shannon Sharpe cry.”

As for Dent, the Super Bowl XX MVP for arguably the best team ever, the ‘85 Chicago Bears, he put some perspective on his selection into Canton.

“It was a long time coming, I am very happy,” Dent said. “If you can do your thing the way [Walter Payton] did his, you can be in the Hall of Fame. I am so thankful for this.”

The finalists who did not get in were Cris Carter, Jerome Bettis, Curtis Martin, Dermontti Dawson, Cortez Kennedy, Andre Reed and Willie Roaf.

Induction ceremonies are Aug. 6 in Canton, Ohio.

Interesting tidbit: Marshall Faulk is one of four players to win the AP’s Offensive Rookie of the Year, Offensive Player of the Year and MVP Awards. All four — Faulk, Barry Sanders, Marcus Allen and Earl Campbell — are now Hall of Famers.

Packers lead blogger & writer jclombardi on NY sports pre-Super Bowl show.

On Saturday night, February 5, at 9:40 pm CST, syndicated senior writer and Packers lead blogger jclombardi is scheduled to appear on the “NY Football Blogs Live (Super Bowl Preview Part 2) On The Sports Blog Radio Network.” Sports fans and Packers fans can join Steve and Frankie when they preview the Super Bowl game coming up on the next day, Sunday evening. It’s the night before the Super Bowl with Steve and Frankie ready to give you their predictions and more. Frankie and Steve’s guests will include: Joe Theismann, Karl Mecklenburg and Mark Duper. Also syndicated senior writer & Packers lead blogger jclombardi of Packers Gab, Lambeau Field Insider, & Packer Backer Blog will be back talking about his Packers and more. Fans can call in with your Super Bowl scores and more: 646-716-8896. Fans can listen in at http://www.blogtalkradio.com/sportsblogradio/2011/02/06/ny-football-blogs-live-super-bowl-special-part-2.

The Steelers are ready. They will play for their 7th title on Sunday, but will do it without a veteran leader on the D-line, and also their rookie Pro Bowl center. The team placed Pro Bowl center Maurkice Pouncey on injured reserve and signed center-guard Dorian Brooks from the practice squad on Saturday.

Pouncey was ruled out Friday by coach Mike Tomlin after he suffered a high left ankle sprain in the AFC Championship Game against the New York Jets nearly two weeks ago. Backup Doug Legursky will start at center in Super Bowl XLV Sunday.

Brooks has never before appeared in an NFL game, and is not likely to be active against the Packers. Veteran D-linemen Aaron Smith won’t play, as he hasn’t been able to take the field since tearing a triceps vs the Dolphins in Miami.

In honor of Super Bowl XLV, we are giving away a FREE Harmony Advanced Universal Remote to control all the TV’s in your House!  All you have to do is send an email to matt@nflgridirongab.com with the score of tomorrow’s game, and we will pick a winner for the closest score or the correst score.

Logitech's Harmony line of universal remotes provides one-touch simplicity to control all your home entertainment devices and can replace up to 15 remotes.  Harmony remotes can control the home-entertainment devices you have for this Super Bowl, as well as the devices you'll have for future games.

• From a recent Logitech study, nearly half of all living rooms globally have four or more remotes, and almost half need to press 3 or more buttons for one task like watching a DVD. And from 2005-2010, people in all seven countries have increased the number of remotes taking up space on the living room table – that's a lot of coffee table clutter!
• Approximately one out of five households have written their own "Remote Control for Dummies" list to keep track of how to use them all. Why something like a remote that's supposed to make life easier needs instruction manual – we just can't understand.
• More than a quarter (27%) of Americans would rather give up their toothbrush for an entire month than their remote controls, showing how important the remote is to some people. Some not-so-fresh-breath people that is.
• A majority of consumers (between 53% and 65%) in all countries surveyed believe that they personally "own" the remote. If you've ever battled for the remote control driver's seat – you'll understand how this feels.

Josh Dhani – ColtsGab.com

Packers 28, Steelers 24 – This is going to be a really exciting match-up. I say the Packers will march down the field, led by Aaron Rodgers, and get a game-winning touchdown drive to beat the Steelers. It’ll be a good defensive battle, but when it comes to offense, the Packers look like they got an advantage. Expect a big game from Donald Driver in this one.

Adam Warwas – VikingsGab.com

Steelers 24, Packers 18 – Aaron Rodgers, James Starks, and the Packers defense is getting a ton of attention leading up to the Super Bowl.  Meanwhile, two-time Super Bowl winner Ben Roethlisberger and his team of ring wearing players are preparing for the big game with experience under their belt.  In the end, I am going to take experience and the league's top rated defense to win this one.

Matt Gallardo – TitansGab.com

Steelers 21 Packers 17 - With the matchup of the most historic teams in the NFL, this one is all about playmakers on defense. With all the hype surrounding Aaron Rodgers and the passing attack of the Packers, the running game of the Green and Yellow will determine this one. If the Steelers are able to shut down the ground game of James Starks and the rest of the Packers, Pittsburgh will be able to work their zone blitz schemes and bring pressure on known passing downs to frustrate Aaron Rodgers. The Steelers often struggle with mobile quarterbacks, but James Harrison and LaMarr Woodley will keep Rodgers in the pocket and force him to step up to deliver the ball. Rodgers works well by making quick reads and getting rid of the football as fast as any quarterback in the league. If the Steelers are able to stop the run, they can disguise their blitz packages and force Rodgers to take a half second longer to get rid of the football than he would like.

With the Steelers defense putting pressure on Rodgers, I see them using their ground game to set up play action and keep play makers Clay Matthews and Charles Woodson away from Roethlisberger. The injury to Maurkice Pouncey is a huge loss for the Steelers, and one that the Packers will look to take advantage of. Look for blitzes from A.J. Hawk and stunts from Matthews to fill the A and B gaps next to Pouncey. The ability for the Steelers to recognize these blitzes and pick them up will be key for Roethlisberger to push the ball downfield. Look for Ben to use a lot of no huddle to keep the Packers out of their comfort zone and keep his offensive line in a flow.

Troy Ballard – EaglesGab.com

Packers 31, Steelers  28 -The Steelers have had a good season, but they have done just enough to win in the postseason. The Packers have dominated the postseason, aside from the Caleb Hanie fiasco. The Packers are simply the best team in football, and there is no stopping them. It doesn’t matter if the Steelers had a whole team of Troy Polamalus, they wouldn’t be able to slow down Aaron Rodgers in this Packers offense. It’s going to be one of the best Super Bowls of all-time, and it’s not going to disappoint.

Scott Johnston – RaidersGab.com

Packers 39, Steelers 27 – I’m done with the Greek Alphabet– is gonna be a high-scoring affair, and unless the Pittsburgh defense can control the field position, and maybe come up with a score, I don’t see Pittsburgh’s defense being able to stop Aaron Rodgers and the Packers. This is basically an indoor game, and the Packers are made for this situation. Pittsburgh gave up 43 points to Baltimore and New York while playing at home, not two of the game’s best offenses. Green Bay ill move the ball at will. Big Ben will keep it close… for a while.

From: TMZ

Just a few years ago, Plaxico Burress was playing in the Super Bowl — this year, the former NY Giants superstar will be allowed to watch the big game from the confines of a NY prison … TMZ has learned.

According to the Public Information Officer for the New York State Department of Correctional Services, Burress — who’s serving time on gun charges — has full TV privileges and will be able to enjoy the game in the company of his fellow inmates.

We’re told the prison has no plans for an official Super Bowl party … because it’s a PRISON!!!

And with all the talk of Plax signing with an NFL squad when he gets out of the joint in June … it’s possible he could be playing in the big game next year.