The Steelers may be the underdogs in this game, despite finishing second in the AFC and with 3 more wins than sixth seeded Green Bay, but they are comfortable with the tag.
For the record-holding, six-time champions of the National Football League, it takes some of the pressure off and heaps it onto a younger, far greener team (only former Steelers’ practice squad member, John Kuhn, has a ring for the Green & Gold).
This is odd because the Steelers genuinely boast one of the best defensive units ever seen in the NFL. It isn’t so much their single-season dominance, but their consistency, which, in all honesty, is bordering on the dynastic fantastic.
Some of their players are too good to be true, most notably strong safety, Troy Polamalu. The long haired, hard-hitting dynamo has just been selected as defensive player of the year, edging Green Bay’s Clay Matthews for the honour in the final round of voting. With two Super Bowls under his belt with the Steelers already, Polamalu – a living legend – is a lock for the Hall of Fame whenever he chooses to retire. Number 43 may well call it quits after Lombardi number 3, having stated in the past he wants to get away from football and spend time with his dear family.
But don’t count on it.
Polamalu won’t be happy until his mantelpiece is bowed with Tiffany’s knickknacks. Winning this year is a definite possibility for a Steelers defence that topped the defensive rankings, allowing a league-low 207.5 yards per game (the Packers finished third, with 282.3 yards) in the postseason – much better than their 276.8 and 309.1 marks for the regular season (despite finishing in second and fifth respectively overall).
In terms of turnovers, the Steelers’ secondary has taken-away 21 errant passes and returned 3 for touchdowns, trailing second placed Green Bay, who have 24 INTs and 3 TDs for the regular season.
Tackles can’t really be used as a measure of a defences skill due to the fact that more will be made by virtue of a bad offence rather than a good D. To cement this fact, just look at the top of the table: the Buffalo Bills rank first in the league. The Steelers are in 13th and the Packers below them in 23rd. Rest assured though, when these teams hit, they hit hard. It is no coincidence one member of either unit finished in the top two players of the year on this, perhaps the side of the ball that will decide Super Bowl XLV.
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