Knorts
Wednesday, Feb. 2. 2011
The
¡teeters poised for Super Bowl win
’
By Robert Morrison
Sports Editor
A common statement made by many coaHes and
atbajl players alike is “defense wins champion-
iips-”
This may also be the mindset the Pittsburgh
peelers have heading into the Super Bowl. This will
Jthe second time in three years that the Steelers
Je made it to the Super Bowl and their eighth time
nerall- The Steelers have won six of seven trips to
-¿Super Bowl; that’s 86 percent of the time. History
¡on their side. Their six Super Bowl wins put them
head of all teams:
Speaking of defense, the Steelers had the No. I
jnked overall defense during the season. During their
ko playoff games leading up to the Jyper Bowl, the
,ieelers allowed just 415 yards totaL Most oXthbse
jrdgcame in the second half of thrNew York Jets
unei With four minutes left in the first half of that
jnegame, the Jets had 12 total yards.
During the season the Steelers allowed an NFL low
62.8 yards rushing a game but fell a little short dur-
i the season in their defense against passing yards,
¡ey were not in the top five but still remained in the
x-ond spot in total yards allowed on average.
The “Steel Curtain” defense also got ttrffie quar-
¡biick a league-leading 48 times. The Steelers have
a unique defense that has many different looks and with 13 touchdowns. The Steelers offense was third in®
ways to pressure a
They were also fifth in.Jjjthe league in plays 20 yards or more and sixth in playsH
the league ip
sixth in fumbles forced.
40 yards or more. Wide receiver Mike Wallace led thjll
They icyoteryd 4les.
league in plays of 40 yards or more. He is the Steelers’
■Linebacker LaM^r^^Mey has had six straight
fastest offensive player and the biggest big play threat
pl^yofI gamés with a sack. Reigning defensive player for the Green Bay Packers to guide.
oÇthe year, Linebackei1 arrison. will also have
Steelers’ quarterback Ben Roethlisberger, who is
aWy m the outcome byjBrend.of the game. Probably
2-0 in his career in the Super Bowl, is arguably the
the biggest differencOrgK Super Bowl game with
toughest player to get to the ground and the highest
be the effect of the ayJBs’ All-Professional Safety percentage of his completions are when he gets out
Troy Polamolu. Thq^^^Krs’ défense has seen a very
of the pocket. The Packers have a solid defensive that
noticeable decreasjjh Jjlality in the last few years
will get to “Big Ben” because of a horrible offensive
when Polamolu isu|t?in the game compared to when
line but when a quarterback does better when players
he is.
are after him then these ill cancel each other out.
•A former University Ef Southern California Trojan,
The team also only allowed nine interceptions all
Polamolu has aJyQ;f onquarterbacks that makes year, fourth best in the NFL. Therteam had iWRjre
them not wainygi throw thdfeotball in his direction as
takeaways theifBeynad tufhoV^^secdttd^
well as a ktfiek for alwàyirbcing around the football.
to only th||||||w England Patriots. The
Proof of tnar^^na re ns seven interceptions that Steelers are more likely to take the ball
were second among defensive backs. He also had a
away then they are to give it away.
«»defensive touchdown during the season,
The Steelers arc one of the most com
t*
Offensively, the Steelers have a
plete teams in the NFL with a defensive
team that can hang, with thé best
that makesz|juarterbacks make bad deci
of themfeRunning Back Rashad sions and'^^ffense that can score fast
.■
Menderihallwas eighth in the on big plays. With history on their side
leagueOfeushing yards with
and history still yet to be made, there is
127.'TWr his position and
no question that the Steelers will win on
■I
^was second in the league
Feb. 6 and add a seventh Super Bowl to
among running backs the record books.
itsburgh Steelers win against the New York Jets in the AFC championship on Jan. 23 at Heinz Field in Pittsburgh, Penn. The final score was 24-19 The
h are now headed to the Super Bowl to butt heads against the Green Bay Packers.