Game On

Well, here we go. After two weeks of all the hype you can stand, we are now just days away from one of the biggest games in Pittsburgh Steelers history. The Steelers and Seahawks will square off in Detroit, with the winner taking home the NFL title for 2005.

When you look at this game, many things seem to favor the Steelers. Pittsburgh has been playing lights out on both sides of the ball. They want to win this one for Jerome. Seattle played only one 3-4 defense all season (Dallas) and had trouble with it. Non-descript franchises who finally reach a Super Bowl after years of ineptitude often don't fair well (see San Diego 1994 or Atlanta 1998). And that's what scares me. That's what makes me think this is going to be a really tight game.

Seattle's defense ranked somewhere in the middle of the pack this year, but many people keep pointing out the fact that they are very quick and very underrated. They also led the league in sacks. But they are a young defense with several first-year starters - just like the 2004 Steelers defense - and they may crack under the pressure like that team did in the AFC Championship Game, when they gave up 41 points. Once again, Ben Roethlisberger is going to have to play a great game. I'm also wondering if this will finally be the breakout game for FWP. The Steelers haven't done too well running the ball this post-season, mostly because teams have been putting 8 or 9 guys in the box. With Big Ben burning teams who do that, I wonder if the Seahawks will back off a bit and thus open up the possibility of a running game. Parker himself hasn't been playing as well, reverting back to his old habits of hesitating rather than running straight ahead. We'll see if he can come up big on Sunday.

The Steelers defense will have its hands full trying to shut down league MVP Shaun Alexander and the great O-line that's in front of him. Usually the Steelers do well against good running backs, but Seattle's offense is hardly one-dimensional. Matt Hasselbeck has been playing great lately, just like Ben. The key here is going to be the same as the last game - if the Steelers can score early and take the Seahawks running game out of the picture, they should have an easier time on defense.

I could say so much more about this matchup, but it gets tiring to hear it after a while. Both these teams are very good. They both earned the right to be here. Whichever one executes their gameplan the best will come home to a nice victory parade - period. Here are some additional game notes:

I personally think that Joey Porter kind of overblew that comment by Seattle's tight end. In case you missed it (which is unlikely given the mass media frenzy), Seahawks TE Jerramy Stevens said something to the effect of, "Yeah, it's nice that Bettis can play in his hometown - too bad he has to go home a loser." It's the typical 6th grade crap that has come to identify this Seattle team (see Hasselbeck's "we want the ball cause we're gonna score" coin toss call from two years ago), but it really wasn't major trash talk. But if that gets Joey fired up, and if he can back up his mouth like he has been doing for the past month, then more power to him.... CB Willie Williams is the only current Steeler with Super Bowl experience, playing on the 1995 Pittsburgh team that went to Super Bowl XXX. He also played for the Seahawks between his two stints with the Steelers.... The AFC has won six of the past eight Super Bowls..... The last wild card team to win the Super Bowl was Baltimore in 2000.... The team with the fewer turnovers is 29-2 in the Super Bowl.... Seattle is 29-5 when Alexander rushes for 100 yards.... Since Week 12, the Steelers have averaged 29 points per game.... Unfortunately, the Seahawks have only allowed 12 points per game during that time span.... The Super Bowl will be played on the nine year anniversary of the launching of this web site.

The Bottom Line: This is it. The Steelers have been on a 26 year journey to capture that elusive "one for the thumb". Will the dream finally happen? If we play like we've been playing the last few weeks, I say yes. The Seahawks are a good team, but I think this is our game to lose.

Steelers in Super Bowl Under Cowher

1995: Steelers 17, Cowboys 27 - Larry Brown covers grass but still wins MVP award.

Elsewhere in the NFL: N/A

All-Time Series: Seahawks lead 8-6
Last Meeting: Seahawks won 23-16 in 2003
Last Playoff Meeting: N/A
TV: 6:00 on ABC; announcers - Al Michaels and John Madden
RADIO: 102.5 WDVE in Pittsburgh (and affiliates); announcers - Bill Hillgrove and Tunch Ilkin

All-Time Playoff History

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