Super Bowl XLV injury update: Pittsburgh Steelers & Green Bay Packers

Filed under Superbowl by on February 5, 2011 at 6:43 am {no comments}

Any NFL Betting fan knows that one of the biggest contributing factors to a team’s performance is health – specifically which players are out of the lineup with injuries, and which players are playing hurt.

And at no time, in no game, are injuries a bigger factor than the Super Bowl.

Heading into Super Bowl XLV on Sunday, both the Green Bay Packers and the Pittsburgh Steelers have some injury concerns.

For the Packers, wide receiver Donald Driver is nursing a quadriceps injury, but the team said Friday he will play in Super Bowl XLV on Sunday against the Steelers.

Driver has been battling the injury all week. He was put on the Packers’ injury report Thursday, leading to speculation he wouldn’t play in Dallas. But Green Bay head coach Mike McCarthy told reporters Friday that while Driver was being held out of Friday’s practice as a precaution, he expects the veteran receiver to play Sunday.

For the Steelers, there has been a lot of speculation about starting center Maurkice Pouncey’s availability for the Super Bowl.

Pouncey suffered a high left ankle sprain in the Steelers’ 24-19 win over the New York Jets in the AFC championship, and has been seen on crutches and wearing a walking boot on his left foot.

But Steelers coach Mike Tomlin said Friday he expects Pouncey back at center on Sunday. Pouncey’s ankle sprain is a Grade II+, in other words, almost a complete tear of at least one of the major ligaments in the ankle. If this was a regular season game and not Super Sunday, there’s little doubt he would be out.

Green Bay Packers Will Win Its Forth Super Bowl Title

Filed under NFC by on February 4, 2011 at 12:13 pm {no comments}

Most people don’t know this, but the “G” on the Packers helmet does NOT stand for Green Bay. It stands for Greatness.

Come this Sunday in Dallas, Texas in the House-that-Jerry-built, The Pack and its legion of Cheeseheads are going to be able to stand proud with their storied franchises’ fourth Super Bowl victory, this time over the Pittsburgh Steelers.

Here are five reasons why:

Aaron Rodgers: the Green Bay quarterback is simply the hottest pivot in the NFL since the mid-way point of the season, and no defense can handle the fast balls that Rodgers has been throwing into the smallest of holes. Add to that the fact that Rodgers is deadly indoors, and I just can’t see the Pack scoring less than 30 points, which Big Ben Roethlisberger will not be able to match against the blitzkrieg that is the Packers defense.

Going Deep: Troy Polamalu and weak side safety Bryant McFadden will struggle at handling the deep balls that will be coming their way. Polamalu may be the defensive player of the year in the National Football League, but that is based on the first 14 weeks. Since he re-injured his Achilles tendon, he’s not been the same player, and you can see he’s just not been the impact player in both games vs the New York Jets and the Baltimore Ravens. McFadden is also banged up and will be seeing a lot of the big weak-side receiver James Jones.

Four and Five Wideout sets: With Greg Jennings, Donald Driver, Jones and Jordy Nelson, the Packers have the ability to really stretch the Steelers defense, and take away their strength: stopping the run. You will see Green Bay head coach Mike McCarthy go to the pass early and often, and forsake trying to run into the brick wall that is the Pittsburgh run D.

Steelers struggle against Elite QBs: twice this year, the Steelers have played elite quarterbacks: Tom Brady of the Patriots, and Drew Brees of New Orleans. They are 0-2 in those two games. Make no mistake about it, Rodgers is an elite pivot and will be able to read, and react, firing off bullets when the Steelers come blitzing with their two outstanding linebackers, James Harrison and Lemarr Woodley.

Steelers O-Line Struggles: starting center Mike Pouncey will not be playing, and both tackles are backups, with the Steelers losing its left tackle at the start of the year, and the other in November. The Packers will be able to get pressure without having to send more than five players, allowing them to take away many of the deep seam patterns that Roethisberger like to throw at, getting big chunks. The key is to bring down Big Ben when they can, as the 6’5”, 245lb quarterback is a load, and buys more time for his receivers to get open.

Final Score: Green Bay 30 Pittsburgh 24