In It To Win It: Superbowl 45 Pick

Updated: January 29, 2011

First and foremost, this piece is totally my opinion only. You should not under any circumstance bet or gamble using my opinion. This is for entertainment only.

In the first edition of “In It To Win It” I gave you guys my AFC and NFC Championship game picks. In that article, I predicted that the Chicago Bears would roll past the Packers and meet the Pittsburgh Steelers in Superbowl 45.

Well… I was halfway right. The Bears failed to win a game they should of absolutely took in the second half (no thanks to you Jay Cutler) and the Steelers fended off the Jets 4th quarter attack. They also covered the oh-so-important spread of 3.5 points.

Let’s take a look at this year’s championship.

Super Bowl 45: Pittsburgh (+2.5) at Green Bay (-2.5)

The first thought that comes to my mind as I see this line is WHY is Pittsburgh a 2.5 point underdog? There is something that has to be said for experience. The Steelers have been here twice before with largely the same supporting cast around Ben and won on this stage twice. One could even argue that they have significantly upgraded at WR and RB since the last time we saw them in a Superbowl (Superbowl XL).

Anyways, on the field I do think that the Packers can find some success throwing the ball. Ryan Clark and Troy Polamalu are not the best pass defenders in the world, and can be vulnerable at times. The Packers don’t have much of a running game so this plays right into their favor. If Woodley and Harrison cannot contain Rodgers this is going to be a long day for the Steelers.

On the other end, the Packers come into the game with one of the best pass rushes in the game. But like I said in the previous installment of this series, if you can neutralize the rush then you can find some success against them. Tramon Williams and Sam Shields are growing into a formidable duo right in front of our eyes but they have not played on this stage before. Roethlisberger and Hines Ward are veterans and will find ways to get the ball down field on the young Packers CBs. Not to mention that the Steelers young WR corps are growing up as well, and will put a lot of pressure on them especially on third down.

In the end, I do expect this to be a close game. The difference in this game is going to be Rashard Mendenhall. If he can get some tough yards and keep the chains moving the way he did against the Jets in the first quarter the Packers will lose this game. The best way to neutralize any quarterback is to keep him on the sideline.

I predicted before the season that the Steelers would win this year’s Super Bowl and I am not going to waiver from that pick now. The Steelers win this behind the legs of Rashard Mendenhall, who is also the MVP of this game with 140 combined yards and 2 touchdowns. (Make sure you lay that prop on Mendenhall as MVP too).