The Super Bowl Shuffle
By Ty Windy
IV Leader Sports Writer
Well with the hope of the Chicago Bears
making a new rendition to the ’85 Bears “Super Bowl Shuffle” long gone, we will
have to rely on the famous Cubs saying, “Wait till next year!”
Before we start waiting to see if Rex Grossman can stay
healthy for a full year or prove his talked about skills in the 2006-07 season,
a wrap must be put on this season.
The No. 6 seed in the AFC, the Pittsburgh Steelers, and the
No. 1 seed in the NFC, the Seattle Seahawks, will be rockin’ to Detroit for
Super Bowl XL aspiring to carry the title of NFL Champions.
The question is who will be crowned on Feb. 5, 2006?
Da Bears seems like a self fulfilling answer to the question,
but I must wake up from my fantasy world driven by the words of Walter Payton’s
Super Bowl Shuffle lines, “They call me sweetness and I like to dance, running
the ball is like making romance…”
Shaun Alexander would have to agree with Sweetness. Coming
off an MVP season and a huge 132 yard, two touchdown game in the NFC title game
against the tough defense of the Carolina Panthers, anything less than a Super
Bowl ring would be a disappointment.
The “Bus”, Jerome Bettis, is on his way out of the NFL for
retirement, and nothing could possibly be sweeter than a Super Bowl victory in
his final game of his astonishing NFL career.
Two teams with great aspirations, but a podium with only
enough room for one, the Seahawks and the Steelers both can taste the champagne
for the final celebration of the season. The Seahawks and Steelers are both
coming off of dominant 34-17 and 34-14 victories in route of tough Carolina and
Denver teams.
The Seahawks took advantage of the injury-stricken Panthers
running game and put their main focus on dangerous and game-changing Steve Smith
by containing him and Delhomme to five catches for 33 yards. Although Smith made
his presence with a 59 yard punt return touchdown, it was not enough to match
the high-powered Seahawks offense.
The underdog story of the year hopes to continue for the
Steelers as they continue to knock off the higher seeded and favored teams
throughout the playoffs. The road warriors, as they may be called, have
demonstrated the ability to play and handle the pressure in any situation by
staying calm and collective.
In the AFC title game, the Steelers had to march on down to
Invesco field to face the unbeaten at home Denver Broncos (9-0) in thin air. It
was not long before the Broncos realized they were on thin ice when Pittsburgh
started off with 24-3 lead at the half.
The dominance would not let up as the Steelers punished the
Broncos to a 34-14 defeat. The victory made the Steelers the second team to ever
reach the Super Bowl by winning three road playoff games. The pose of young
quarterback Ben Roethlisberger, who has dominated this year’s post season with a
68.1% completion rating with seven touchdowns and only one interception, will
lead the Steelers in the high anticipated Super Bowl XL.
The showdown in Motown, who will prevail?
A showdown will be an understatement when these two hardnosed
high powered running offenses meet. With the well known statement, “Defense wins
championships” drilled into my head, my decision of picking the winner becomes
much more difficult than I anticipated.
I give the Steelers the edge on the defensive side of the
ball. The Steelers defense, which previously shut down the Indianapolis Colts,
will contain NFL MVP, Shaun Alexander.
You may ask how can you contain the leagues best running
back? The answer is simple. The same way they shut down Peyton Manning in a
divisional game: blitz packages.
The defense led by strong safety Troy Polamalu and outside
linebacker Jerry Porter, allows them to throw all kinds of blitzes at the
Seahawks, but they must be careful not to over pursue the talented running back
in Alexander. He is not an MVP for nothing.
Containing Alexander is one step to beating the Seahawks, but they proved with a
20-10 win over Washington they can win without him. Alexander had to watch with
a fuzzy vision from the sidelines with a concussion that occurred in the early
minutes of the first quarter. He witnessed true leadership in Pro Bowl
quarterback Matt Hasselback, as he put the team on his shoulders to place them
in the NFC title game, and now a Super Bowl birth.
Shutting down Seattle’s offense is one thing, but can
Pittsburgh produce the offense to back the D?
With a few tricks up their sleeve, I think the Steelers can put a number on the
board, and the number will be enough. The Bus is on a mission and I believe the
Vince Lombardi Trophy will be a passenger on a trip back to Pittsburgh where he
will leave his fine NFL career on top of the league.
In a sweet underdog story, Roethlisberger and Bettis with the
help of receivers Hines Ward and Antwaan Randle El and the Steelers tough
defense will continue to lead the sixth seed to their sixth Super Bowl victory.
I know it’s a super bowl’d prediction, but I take Pittsburgh
over Seattle in a 17-14 victory.