Aaron Rodgers played beautifully in the Super Bowl, like he had to for his team to win (what we're they going to do? hand the ball off to James Starks?), but what's so impressive about Rodgers is the throws he doesn't make. Rodgers is the answer that Packers fans needed post-Favre because Rodgers has the arm of Favre but the mind of Manning. Meaning what exactly? Rodgers isn't going to throw the ball into a place he can't fit it because he believes he can "will it" in there, much like Favre does. However, Rodgers is no Captain Checkdown especially judging from some of his throws on Sunday Night, he was scary accurate all night that his incompletions hit his receivers' hands, how often does that happen? I was amazed that some of the voters legitimized in their heads that Rodgers wasn't the MVP. For those of you who didn't know the breakdown was: Rodgers 17.5 votes, Jordy Nelson 2.0, and Clay Matthews .5. A final thought on Aaron Rodgers, I believe with that win he has entered the upper echelon of the quarterback hierarchy, the VIP room. Whose in my VIP room? Brady, Manning, Roethlisberger, Brees, and now undoubtedly Rodgers. I have been doubtful about Rodgers throughout this season and postseason but I can no longer question his greatness.
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| The Champions |
The deciding moment of the game went to the defensive side of the ball for the Packers when Clay Matthews did his best "Remember the Titans" impersonation, the Green Bay LBs coach approaching Matthews before he forced the fumble and simply telling him, "its time. Its time."
The Steelers' turnovers were their ultimate downfall in the game, caused by their lack of an offensive line. However, credit goes to the Packers for taking advantage of it where the Jets or the Ravens could not. The game looked to be over when it was 21-3 but Roethlisberger, as he so often has, tried to lead another Super Bowl comeback. The Packer defense's flaw of being unable to put a team away almost cost them the game much like it almost did in the opening round Wild Card when Eagles QB Michael Vick was able to lead a similar comeback but the Packers bend, not break, and rose to the occasion once again when needed to despite their multiple injuries during the game. Also people, please stop with Ben Rapelisberger and that crap. Its dumb and although Ben may have a poor judgment of character issue, it reflects more poorly on you for the trite comments. Do you think people should approach you at your job discussing your poor decisions on who you've slept with? No, didn't think so. All that being said, in no way do I think that this game tarnishes Big Ben's reputation and would still choose him for a game winning drive out of the multitude of quarterbacks in the league. He was the only reason the Steelers remained in that game, so no it wasn't his fault.
The Packers rose above in a year where parity was the norm and no team could be called "great." The Packers win was a product of getting hot at the right time and having all of the components necessary to win in this day, much like the Steelers of 2005 when they defeated the Seahawks in the Super Bowl and the Giants two years later defeating the Patriots with some star heroics by Eli Manning and David Tyree. Maybe now, in this new era of NFL football, bye weeks don't mean as much, maybe they make you soft and the harshest road is the best. Maybe home field advantage doesn't matter and neither do winning all of your games. That's why the NFL playoffs are great, you truly don't know who will win and David has as much chance as Goliath. What's important is getting hot at that right time and having players that have the ability to make plays when it matters like Rodgers, Jennings, Matthews, and even Jordy Nelson. That's how the Packers won the Super Bowl, who'll be next?
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