PREVIEW SUPERBOWL XL

February 3rd, 2006 8:00 AM ET

Preview Superbowl XL
Sunday, February, 2006, 6:00 p.m. ET
Seattle Seahawks (15-3) vs. Pittsburgh Steelers (14-5)

After two solid weeks of hype, Hank Jr. doesn't have to ask. Yes, we're ready for some football!

So forget about Media Day, the Rolling Stones, the guacamole… let's talk about the game.

Preview SuperBowl XL - When the Steelers have the ball: The Bus may be getting all the attention, but the fact of the matter is that it's Ben Roethlisberger who has delivered the Steelers to Detroit.

The Steelers relied primarily on their ground game and defense during the regular season, but in the playoffs have thrived thanks to Big Ben's passing. Roethlisberger has posted a jaw-dropping 124.8 passer rating this postseason, tossing seven scores and rushing for another while completing almost 70 percent of his passes.

And given that the Seahawks sport one of the league's best run defenses—and that fully 80 percent of the offensive touchdowns Seattle has allowed this season have come via the air—the Steelers will have to ask Big Ben to do it one more time. And Pittsburgh is okay with that.

The Steelers are averaging just 3.2 yards per carry in the playoffs after rolling to a 4.0 mark in the regular season. Jerome Bettis and Willie Parker have combined for 89 carries but just 269 yards, barely three yards per carry. Meanwhile, Seattle has surrendered just 95 yards on the ground in two games. As such, it's tough to see either Bus or Parker producing much in the way of yardage.

But that's not what the Steelers have asked for from their ground game this postseason. They're perfectly comfortable letting Big Ben throw the ball early and getting a quick lead, which allows them to both run the ball and milk the clock on offense and apply pressure defensively when teams are forced to throw the ball downfield.

So while Bettis may be getting the attention for his homecoming, and he's a virtual lock to score a short-yardage touchdown, neither he nor Parker should expect more than 15 carries or 65 yards on the day. Ideally for Pittsburgh, the bulk of those carries will come in the second half as the Steelers protect a lead.

That leaves the onus for producing points on Roethlisberger, the second-youngest quarterback to start a Superbowl game. After struggling last postseason, he's looked like a seasoned veteran this time around—and not just because of the Grizzly Adams beard.

Big Ben has been accurate, he hasn't made mistakes (just one pick in 72 postseason attempts), and most importantly he's made the correct reads. Certainly, Ken Whisenhunt's play-calling has helped put Roethlisberger in situations to be successful, but this is clearly not the same quarterback who was picked off five times in two games last postseason.

Perhaps most importantly for the Steelers passing game is the fact that Hines Ward is getting some help. Oh, he's still the guy Big Ben wants to throw the ball to in every key situation, but Antwaan Randle El (nine grabs and a touchdown), Cedrick Wilson (eight catches, 196 yards, and two scores) and Heath Miller (seven for 107 and a touch) have made opposing defenses pay for focusing too many resources on Ward. Even Parker has gotten into the mix, catching nine balls out of the backfield.

And when teams don't keep tabs on Ward, he's burned them for 10 catches, 137 yards, and two scores.

Expect Roethlisberger to continue to spread the ball around, unless for some reason the Seahawks choose not to lock down Ward, in which case give him the MVP trophy right now. Big Ben has all but patented a stat line in the vicinity of 20-for-25 for 210 yards and two touchdowns, and those sound like reasonable expectations for Super Sunday.

Preview SuperBowl XL - When the Seahawks have the ball: Blame the late starts, the Great Northwest location, or plain old "West Coast bias"; whatever the reason, despite 15 wins and the fact that they were the NFC's top seed the Seahawks are the Rodney Dangerfield of this Superbowl.

Oh sure, everybody knows about Shaun Alexander. He's put up gigantic numbers again this season, thanks in no small part to a dominant offensive line that features tackle Walter Jones and soon-to-be-extremely-rich guard Steve Hutchinson. But the Steelers seem extremely well equipped to at least slow down the 2006 MVP.

Alexander has struggled against defenses that match up well physically with his line, and the Steelers' front seven (plus a hard-charging Troy Polamalu) do just that. Consider the games in which Shaun struggled this season: 73 yards against Jacksonville, 61 against Dallas, even 98 (for Alexander this year, that was struggling) against the Redskins in the regular season. All those defenses were able to stand their ground against the Seahawks, closing down cutback lanes and bottling Alexander up. Note that those three foes were also the only clubs to keep Mr. Touchdown out of the end zone this year (though truth be told it took a concussion in the playoffs for the Redskins to shut him out).

So, if the Steelers are able to contain Alexander, likely keeping him under the century mark for just the seventh time in 19 games, are the Seahawks doomed? Hardly. Matt Hasselbeck has been every bit as good in the playoffs as Roethlisberger has been for the Steelers, albeit with significantly less hair. He, too, has a triple-digit passer rating (109), a solid completion percentage (66.7), and few mistakes (he hasn't thrown a pick since December 11). And if the Steelers take away the run and force Hasselbeck to beat them, he's certainly up for the challenge.

The real key for Hasselbeck will be remaining upright in the face of Blitzburgh's pressure. His talented offensive line will have its hands full, but he has enough options to spread the field and find the single-coverage matchup to exploit. Darrell Jackson, fresh off a knee injury that cost him most of the regular season, has been his favorite playoff target, but tight end Jerramy Stevens has found success working the middle of the field as well. That's an area the Seahawks may be able to take advantage of if Troy Polamalu creeps too close to the line of scrimmage to stop Alexander or comes hard on a blitz.

And while neither Bobby Engram nor Joe Jurevicius have been called on to do much this postseason, both are certainly capable of stepping up when necessary. That's a lot of targets to cover, especially if the Steelers are already bringing an extra guy or two on the pass rush.

The Steelers allowed 11 of 16 opposing quarterbacks to throw for at least 200 yards this season and are giving up 233 passing yards per game in the playoffs. Given the situation, not to mention an average of 270 passing yards per game, Hasselbeck is in line for another solid postseason performance; 240 yards and at least a touchdown wouldn't be surprising.

But if the Pittsburgh blitz is getting to Hasselbeck before he's getting the ball into the hands of one of his downfield targets, his individual numbers may go up (out of desperation) but it won't bode well for the Seahawks.

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