This Sunday, the Green Bay Packers and the Pittsburgh Steelers will meet on the biggest stage as they clash in this year's Super Bowl. Both teams are known for being traditional powerhouses with many conference and NFL championships. While the Packers and Steelers are famous for hard-nosed defenses that are unrelenting, today we will analyze their offensive ringleaders, the quarterbacks.
Quarterbacks:
Packers: Aaron Rodgers is on fire right now. This past season, Rodgers passed 3,922 yards on 312 completions for 475 attempts with 28 touchdowns. And he has done all of this without a consistent running game. Rodgers is hyper accurate and rarely forces the ball into coverage unlike his predecessor, Brett Favre. Rodgers also has the ability to scramble out of the pocket in a tight situation giving the Packers yet another weapon in their offensive arsenal.
Steelers: Ben Roethlisberger is a physical specimen to behold. At 6'5" and 241 lbs, Roethlisberger is nearly impossible to bring down in the backfield. Despite his incredible size, he has an uncanny ability to move outside of the pocket and make plays with his feet. Coupled with the rocket launcher on his right shoulder, Roethlisberger is a headache for defenses to plan for because he can hurt you in so many different ways.
Edge: Though Roethlisberger is a monster in and outside of the pocket, his best performances hinge upon the success of his team's running game. Conversely, Rodgers has been able to hang with the best quarterbacks in the league without any real running game to speak of. Roethlisberger does have a stronger arm but he can be inaccurate at inopportune times in the game. Rodgers however, rarely throws the ball off target and places the ball only where his receiver can grab it. Both quarterbacks are equally good at scrambling and have excellent mobility down the field. And while Roethlisberger has been to the Super Bowl before, Rodgers wins this battle because of how vital he is to his team's success and how consistent he is week in and week out.
I definitely agree with you about how Rodgers has been able to "carry" the team without a decent running game. It seems that he doesn't get as much credit as he deserves compared to Roethlisberger who has a pretty decent running game to support his ups and downs as a quarterback. This Super Bowl will be very interesting because I still don't have a good idea of who is going to win this year.
ReplyDeleteWell I'll be doing an analysis for every position so look out for what which team has the edge overall.
ReplyDeleteNice post! I think your blog is a great source of information for people interested in football. I like how you present both sides so that fans can read what you have to say and still make a determination on their own. I'm excited to read what you have to say after the Superbowl!
ReplyDeleteThis was a very well written post--strongly argued, concise focus, vivid descriptions. I'll be looking forward to seeing how things shake out this weekend.
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