How they can take home Lombardi

In this blog post, I will be looking at how the Packers and Steelers can win this Sunday. The two teams need to do similar things to win the Super Bowl, but there are some things they must do different if they want to be crowned champions of the NFL. I'll start off with the away team and "underdog", the Pittsburgh Steelers.

What the Steelers need to do to win:

In my opinion the Steelers need to a number of things if they want to win their third Lombardi Trophy in just six years. The number one thing they need to do on offense is run the football. Green Bay is good at stopping the run, but the Steelers must stay committed. You cannot try and beat a Dom-Capers-led defense by being one dimensional. The Steelers offense must also be good on third down. If you're good on third down it allows your defense to rest, and it doesn't allow the opposing teams offense to get in rhythm. On defense, the Steelers defensive lineman must get their hands up to swat down Aaron Rodgers' quick passes. It's hard to pressure him because they use a lot of three-step drop passing plays so you have to try and disrupt those passing lanes to make him hold onto the ball. Steelers safety Troy Polamalu must be a force for the Steelers defense as well. He can really make things tough for an offense when he's on his game. If Pittsburgh can constantly frustrate Rodgers and the Green Bay offense, they should be the ones walking away as champions.

What the Packers need to do to win:

As the "favorites" it's important that the Packers start the game fast. There is a lot of pressure to perform in the Super Bowl, especially for the team that's expected to win. Green Bay has virtually no Super-Bowl experience so you can expect to see some nerves in the beginning of the game. One way to cool those nerves is start fast on offense. If they can get into a rhythm early they will feel comfortable like every other game. The Packers must also try to have a balanced offensive attack. This will keep the Steelers defense on their toes and somewhat slow down their blitzes. Defensively the Packers have to make Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger get the ball out of his hand quickly. Roethlisberger is at his best when buying time so they must keep him in the pocket and make him get rid of the football. Another thing they must do is tackle well. They will get to Roethlisberger, but it's another story if they'll bring him down or not. My advice to Green Bay is tackle his right arm. If you do that he won't be able to get rid of the football. If Green Bay successfully does all the things I mentioned above they will win their franchise's fourth Super Bowl this Sunday.

Check back tomorrow for my Super Bowl XLV prediction.