A leader was made in this game, and his name is Aaron Rodgers. I have to admit, I underestimated his abilities going into this game. He beat an overrated Atlanta Falcons team as well as the Chicago Bears who, being led by Jay Cutler, it was no surprise that the Packers took care of business. Going into this game and even up to the kickoff I was continually asking myself and my peers, "Why are the Packers favored by 3 points against an extremely experienced Steeler team captained by one of the best playoff quarterbacks of all-time?" The answer: Aaron Rodgers.
The experience of the Steelers never came to any fruition like I thought they would. They had 29 players on their roster with past Super Bowl experience; the Packers had none. The stats were relatively balanced between the two teams regarding first downs (Pitt 19, GB 15), 3rd Down efficiency (Pitt 7-13, GB 6-13), and even penalties (Pitt 6, GB 7). They both basically attempted and completed the same amount of passes and the Steelers out-gained the Packers on the ground 126-50. So what stopped the Steelers from winning their 3rd Super Bowl since 2006? Turnovers (and the combination of Christina Aguilera's remix of the Star-Spangled Banner and whatever that the Black Eyed Peas did at halftime). The first turnover, the pick-six by Nick Collins, looked like it had put the proverbial nail in the coffin for the Steelers as the team that has thrown a pick-six in the Super Bowl has never won (now 0-11). I believe however the biggest turnover was the Rashard Mendenhall fumble on the first play of the 4th quarter. Pittsburgh was ready to deliver the final blow but instead Mendenhall fumbles, the Steelers lose all sense of the momentum the had by coming back to only a 4 point deficit, and it seemed like the fat lady was only minutes if not seconds away from making her appearance. But as they always say, "The fat lady doesn't sing until the winning players are celebrating rather awkwardly on the sideline."
Big Ben almost put the team on his back and drove his team down on another epic Super Bowl winning final drive after the inexplicable 15 yard unnecessary roughness penalty, but it's hard to throw a pass when your hands are around your neck. The list of receivers targeted on that drive were Heath Miller for 15 yards (Wait...Heath Miller played?), Hines Ward for 5 yards, throw away, confusion on incomplete pass to Mike Wallace, and lastly a high throw to Mike Wallace. First off I was waiting for Gus Johnson to randomly pop into the booth and say "Mighty Mouse Hines Ward...with the reception!" Secondly haven't all of us figured out that Mike Wallace can only do one thing and one thing only, which is "Run deep and I'll throw the ball as far as I can, except for when I overthrow you or throw a duck to you in the Super Bowl." So why would Ben throw the ball to Wallace in traffic, who is about as worthless as Charlie Sheen's digestive tract who collectively at this point are just saying "F**k it, this guy is out of control, it's not worth the effort." Why not go back to Hines Ward or try and let Heath Miller know that "There is a game going on, you should really be involved"? These are the questions that need to be answered soon.
So at this point your probably wondering "Why is this column named The Redemption Game?" Well I'm glad you thought of it. This game had many story lines that were in play waaaaaay before the fly-over at the end of the National Anthem over a domed stadium (Can we get a round of applause for the NFL please! Also not their last screw up of the night...). The alleged rape of a girl in a bathroom by Ben Roethlisberger highlighted the sports media conversation leading up to the game. But instead of a rapist, accused on two separate cases I recall, winning the Lombardi Trophy, it was the team that Lombardi turned into a household name and put the town of Green Bay on the map (Let it be known that the entire population of Green Bay could have fit inside the stadium with a couple thousand seats to spare).
Aaron Rodgers, who was drafted to replace The Anointed One, The Traitor, Is He Still Playing, and my favorite, That's Not Mine, finally gained the complete acceptance as a leader and champion, league-wide.
Charles Woodson, winner of the Heisman Trophy, NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year, NFL Defensive Player of the Year, has finally added a Super Bowl ring to the list. Remember Woodson was the player that hit Tom Brady and created the Tuck Rule in the 2002 AFC Divisional Playoff game. Thank you NFL gods for prying Woodson from the cold, dead hands of Al Davis. Seriously, check out this video and try and argue that Davis is alive. Woodson shattered his collarbone on a touchdown saving pass deflection and played the next play! If that and the emotion he showed at halftime isn't deserving of a Super Bowl win, I don't know what will ever qualify.
Clay Matthews III finally wins a Championship for the Matthews NFL family dynasty. Clay Jr., his father, played linebacker for the Cleveland Browns and Atlanta Falcons for 19 years. He also holds the NFL record for oldest player to record a sack at 40 years, 282 days. His father, Clay Sr., played offensive tackle and linebacker for the San Fransisco 49ers from 1950, 1953-55 with a 3 year stint in the Army's 82nd Airborne Division in which he served as a paratrooper in the Korean War. If those two weren't enough Clay III's uncle was Bruce Matthews, a 19 year veteran, a Hall of Famer, 14-time Pro Bowler, a member of the 1990's NFL All-Decade Team, and the record holder of most games played by an offensive lineman in NFL history (296). Out of all of that past experience Clay III, in only his second year in the league, did what his family members couldn't do in a combined 42 years.
That was all of the good that Super Bowl XLV had to offer...these were the other interesting/bad notes that I observed:
- Brett Favre was not mentioned ONCE during the entire game
- Where was James Harrison and Troy Polamalu when the Steelers needed them most?
- Jordy Nelson's 140 yard performance puts him in 10th place for receiving yards in a Super Bowl
- Ryan Clark guards wide receivers one-on-one worse than the Nazi guards in "Hogan's Heroes". (If you have no idea what that show is because it was aired from 1965-71 and you think you are too young to watch anything before 1992 go and watch it. Now! You will thank me later.)
- The combination of the seat fiasco, National Anthem, fly-over, and the halftime show really put a damper on a fantastic game. First let's start with the seats. A fire marshal ordered that 1,250 temporary seats had to be removed because they weren't approved by him. There's something about that that just doesn't sound right. My guess; someone from the NFL really messes up and the seats were never installed. The NFL gave the fans triple the face value (important detail) of their ticket. Most fans paid triple the face value from scalpers to get the ticket. Also, the NFL made the right decision today to give these poor fans free tickets to ANY Super Bowl of their choice.
- As for the fly-over over a stadium where the fans attending the game couldn't see the fly-over (whose idea?), Christina Aguilera's combination of lines because she was "too into it" (Child Please), and the absolute abomination of a halftime show that sounded more like someone yelling into a megaphone or in some cases had no noise at all. Yikes. I honestly can't remember who performed at what Super Bowl since Nipple Gate. I propose the fans vote for who should perform because the NFL has completely lost touch with society as a whole regarding entertainment, not to mention how many games the players should play (I'll save that topic for when the deadline nears).
Well I guess that's the last game of football we will see for awhile and possibly awhile more than we think. The season was highlighted by concussions, fines, a male appendage, multiple rape charges, the first sub-.500 team to make the playoffs, an extremely productive rookie class, Philip Rivers being mentioned in the same sentence as Dan Marino (shakes head in disbelief), Trip Gate, a barely publicized Trip Gate Part Duex, one of the best "Hard Knocks" seasons to date, and more concussions. Let's do it all again next year.
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