The Sports Roundtable

Quick Super Bowl Prediction

Since my son is waking up, I have to make this quick :-)

This should be a good game.  The 15-3 Seahawks vs. the 14-5 Steelers.   It simply comes down to this.  Steelers NT Casey Hampton vs C Robbie Tobeck.   All I heard when the Steelers faced Indy is that the Steelers won't be able to be able to rush the passer vs Indianapolis.  Look at what happened.  Then against Denver, my friend, Mal Galleta told me that the Steelers offensive line wouldn't be able to penetrate Denver's great offensive line.   Look at what happened.   Now the Steelers play what I think is the best offensive line in the NFL, the Seahawks.  The Seahawks might have the best left side in the NFL with Walter Jones and Steve Hutchinson and it shows in their running game.  The Seahawks love to run to the left side with Shawn Alexander.

But, it comes down to Hampton, a massive 325 pound NT vs the very solid Robbie Tobeck, a 297 pound 12 year veteran.  If Tobeck can't handle Hampton, the Seahawks have to double team Hampton with Tobeck and say RG Sean Locklear or with Mack Strong, it opens gaps for the Steelers.  This is how the Steelers won against Indy and Denver.  They found the gaps and pressured and sacked Manning and Plummer.  If Tobeck can somehow contain Hampton on his own, this game could turn out very different from what I think.

I think it will be a very close game.  The Seahawks present the Steelers with perhaps the best overall offense they have faced, plus by far the best defense they have faced, especially in the pass rush.  Tatupu, Wistrom, and friends are terrific.  And any team with Matt Hasselbeck and Shawn Alexander, two Pro Bowl players, is dangerous offensively.

However, the same can be said for the Steelers.  This isn't the offensively challenged Redskins nor is it the Panthers with no running game. Remember, this Steeler team was 15-1 last year before New England beat them in the Super Bowl.  This is a very good team that has found its groove in the playoffs.  They can run the ball and Roethlsberger is a very solid quarterback who has nice weapons in Hines Ward, Antwan Randle El and Heath Miller (the Jets already regret trading their pick to get Doug Jolley instead of drafting Miller, a no brainer).   

As for my prediction, It will be the Steelers ability to stop Alexander and put pressure on the quarterback.  Casey Hampton will again be the big factor.  Steelers win 24-17

Quick Blog on Mangini

Great hire by the Jets with Eric Mangini.  Learned from the master Bill Belichick  himself.   Should work well with Mike Tannenbaum, who he used to work with in Cleveland under Belichick.  Sorry to see Donnie Henderson let go, but its not surprising given Mangini was the former defensive coordinator with the Patriots.  Was surprised to see Mike Heimerdinger stay on as offensive coordinator.  Perhaps Bradway can give him more offensive weapons to work at in the offseason. 

The Jets need help, someone who is willing to put the time and effort in to build a team from the bottom up.  There are some decent building blocks to work with like Jonathan Vilma, John Abraham, a healthy Kevin Mawae, Kerry Rhodes, Victor Hobson among others.  Jets fans need to be patient.  What's another couple of years to fans who haven't seen a Super Bowl team in 36 years.