Unbait your breath, K-Bors...
... it's the inaugural Pre-Super Bowl post. Having just hung up the ol' IM after a terribly unpleasant exchange with my former friend and roommate, I am filled with nervous energy and righteous fury - prepared to tell you how it's gonna be on Sunday. We've all had our full week-and-two-thirds to absorb all the hype, take all the various issues into consideration, and arrive at a reasonable conclusion. So, without further introduction, I present my final prediction for NFL '05-'06...
Super Bowl XL - Steelers vs. Seahawks: The paths these teams have taken to glory are different, but they remain strikingly similar. The Steelers, after all but writing themselves out of the playoffs with a midseason three-game losing streak, won their last four to sneak in as the second AFC Wild Card team. They then whomped a Cincinatti team that lost its QB early, shocked the HEAVILY favored (to the tune of "unbeatable") Indianapolis Colts despite late-game miscues and easily handled an apparently overrated Denver squad. They have ridden their multi-faceted, platoon running attack and an attacking, hard-hitting defense to the big game, but QB Roethlisberger has been better than anyone expected and ultimately made the difference by getting Pitt out to early leads throughout their now seven-game winning streak.
The Seahawks stumbled out of the gate, losing two of their first four games. They didn't lose again until backup QB Seneca Wallace started a completely meaningless Game 16 (an ugly loss to the Packers that featured very few Seattle starters). Still, nobody paid too much attention to them. A lot of people said that they weren't ready for a rolling Redskins team after the day off versus Green Bay and a bye week. Turns out they were ready; so ready that they lost the NFL MVP in the first half and still doubled their opponents' score. They then trampled a Carolina team that was hyped as a giant killer after embarassing my Bears' defense. Apparently Steve Smith can be stopped after all (though I am fairly certain somebody got to Delhomme before the game and paid him off not to even look for his star receiver). The Seahawks' staple, for most of the year, was NFL MVP Shaun Alexander. He broke a touchdown record and rushed for completely ridiculous yardage (he's now over 2,000 yards rushing if you include the playoffs). Yet Seattle has successfully diversified - a very underrated smashmouth defense features rookie star Lofa Tatupu, and Pro Bowl QB Matt Hasselbeck has stayed cool under pressure and been very good so far in the playoffs (QB Ratings of 100.6 and 118.0 against Washington and Carolina). Stopping Seattle is not as easy as stopping Shaun.
In the end, we should see a great battle. Great runners, greatly improving passers, and angry defenses make for spectacular football matchups. I'm torn: on one hand the Steelers have looked unbeatable to me, playing against most of the best teams in football; on the other hand, the Seattle games were hardly worth watching because they so badly beat teams that were considered very good. On one hand I see the Steelers' defense doing serious damage to Seattle, on the other hand the Seahawks' D
put a serious hurting on Steve Smith and the Panthers. Matt Hasselbeck had a Pro Bowl season and has stormed through the playoffs, but Ben Roethlisberger has completed over 68% of his postseason passes. Shaun Alexander is a beast, but Willie Parker and Jerome Bettis are a two-headed monster. Mike Holmgren won one Super Bowl and lost another, Bill Cowher was the youngest coach to lead his team to a SB when he lost to the Cowboys ten years ago.
I guess I'm saying it could go either way. If nothing else we will finally know the answer to the question (posed a number of times this season) of whether the last seed in the AFC can defeat the first seed in the NFC. The answer is..... YES! Score it Pittsburgh 27 - Seattle 24.
Super Bowl XL - Steelers vs. Seahawks: The paths these teams have taken to glory are different, but they remain strikingly similar. The Steelers, after all but writing themselves out of the playoffs with a midseason three-game losing streak, won their last four to sneak in as the second AFC Wild Card team. They then whomped a Cincinatti team that lost its QB early, shocked the HEAVILY favored (to the tune of "unbeatable") Indianapolis Colts despite late-game miscues and easily handled an apparently overrated Denver squad. They have ridden their multi-faceted, platoon running attack and an attacking, hard-hitting defense to the big game, but QB Roethlisberger has been better than anyone expected and ultimately made the difference by getting Pitt out to early leads throughout their now seven-game winning streak.
The Seahawks stumbled out of the gate, losing two of their first four games. They didn't lose again until backup QB Seneca Wallace started a completely meaningless Game 16 (an ugly loss to the Packers that featured very few Seattle starters). Still, nobody paid too much attention to them. A lot of people said that they weren't ready for a rolling Redskins team after the day off versus Green Bay and a bye week. Turns out they were ready; so ready that they lost the NFL MVP in the first half and still doubled their opponents' score. They then trampled a Carolina team that was hyped as a giant killer after embarassing my Bears' defense. Apparently Steve Smith can be stopped after all (though I am fairly certain somebody got to Delhomme before the game and paid him off not to even look for his star receiver). The Seahawks' staple, for most of the year, was NFL MVP Shaun Alexander. He broke a touchdown record and rushed for completely ridiculous yardage (he's now over 2,000 yards rushing if you include the playoffs). Yet Seattle has successfully diversified - a very underrated smashmouth defense features rookie star Lofa Tatupu, and Pro Bowl QB Matt Hasselbeck has stayed cool under pressure and been very good so far in the playoffs (QB Ratings of 100.6 and 118.0 against Washington and Carolina). Stopping Seattle is not as easy as stopping Shaun.
In the end, we should see a great battle. Great runners, greatly improving passers, and angry defenses make for spectacular football matchups. I'm torn: on one hand the Steelers have looked unbeatable to me, playing against most of the best teams in football; on the other hand, the Seattle games were hardly worth watching because they so badly beat teams that were considered very good. On one hand I see the Steelers' defense doing serious damage to Seattle, on the other hand the Seahawks' D
put a serious hurting on Steve Smith and the Panthers. Matt Hasselbeck had a Pro Bowl season and has stormed through the playoffs, but Ben Roethlisberger has completed over 68% of his postseason passes. Shaun Alexander is a beast, but Willie Parker and Jerome Bettis are a two-headed monster. Mike Holmgren won one Super Bowl and lost another, Bill Cowher was the youngest coach to lead his team to a SB when he lost to the Cowboys ten years ago.
I guess I'm saying it could go either way. If nothing else we will finally know the answer to the question (posed a number of times this season) of whether the last seed in the AFC can defeat the first seed in the NFC. The answer is..... YES! Score it Pittsburgh 27 - Seattle 24.
posted by Kolsky at 3:50 PM
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