The Last Words (NOT Bloody Likely!)

First -- congratulations to the World Champion Green Bay Packers!

Second -- congratulations to the officials -- no obvious and major screw ups. Nice to see it can be done still.

Third -- The Game was over, with the half time show, and the extra commercials, by 10:06 -- that is 3:37 minutes. NOW -- can the NFL do that when there ISN'T enormous pressure from Fox to get Glee on during sweeps? Don't believe me -- watch how quick they get out of the postgame crap that no one really cares about (I am writing immediately following the game).

Four -- The Weis Guy posted this as his status at the game's end -- and I think he has it EXACTLY right -- Did Green Bay win? Or did Pittsburgh lose? I think a STRONG case can be made that it was the latter. They did nothing to force Green Bay to even pretend to run the ball, and even though the run was working, they got away from it way too quickly to force Green Bay. In a game in which they could and should have dictated, they appeared not to be prepared. The "experience factor"? I think it made Pittsburgh overconfident. Doesn't matter how many guys with microphones and vested interests say it was a great game -- only by the low standard set by previous Roman Numeral Fests could that even been claimed with a straight face....

Five -- To help prove my point above -- who deserved to be the MVP of this game? For my money, Hines Ward may have been the best performer on the field. Jimmy Johnson just called Aaron Rodgers "outstanding." What game was he watching? 300 + yards passing means NOTHING in a game where your offense rushes only 10 times! Of course Rodgers will win it (again, writing BEFORE the announcement!) -- just not sure it is deserved. And, is he REALLY a better QB tonight than he was this afternoon?! 24-39, 304 yards, 3 TDs? Sure, that equates to a decent passer rating, but mostly because the equation grossly overvalues a high TD to INT ratio. 62% completion percentage? Nice, not spectacular (and only 2 of those "drops" had to be caught!). Less than 8 yards per attempt? Nice, not spectacular. 12.5 yds per completion? Nice, NOT spectacular. In other words -- he played well -- NOT great!

Six -- How many HUGE plays did Green Bay get off of the ridiculous overload blitz that Capers drew up? It was clear that Green Bay had that one solved the first time, yet I saw it backfire at least twice more. In critical moments. Again -- won or lost? Again -- QBs' doing? Or lack of preparation and overconfidence?

Seven -- turnovers, turnovers, turnovers. Pittsburgh made them, 2 of them EXTREMELY poorly -- and what a coincidence, but BOTH led to Green Bay touchdowns. Green Bay did not. Roethlisberger did not acquit himself well, and lost (anyone else bracing for the "disclosure" of how badly he was hurt in this game?). Is he a worse QB tonight than he was this afternoon? And does something that has little to do with the offense at all make Rodgers a better leader or quarterback? Sure, he led them to the scores to convert those TOs into points, but where would they have been without the TOs???

Eighth -- I KNOW football is a contact sport. It IS physical. These ARE two physical teams. BUT -- why did it seem like there were too many injuries occurring because of contact with -- the turf? There were more such injuries in this game -- on the golden field, with the roof closed, than in that ill-fated outdoor game in Minnesota!

Ninth -- Can the NFL now avoid the disaster of a lock-out or strike? And please, oh please, oh please, can we fix the officiating for next season? See my pre-game rant about the axiomatic truth of the value of a running game. Not completely disproven here -- mostly for Pittsburgh's failures on both sides of the ball to make this a game about the run. But still, dealt a serious blow -- and I believe the rules are to blame.

Tenth -- I NEVER want to hear ANY other fans -- especially Ravens' fans -- EVER complain again that Pittsburgh ALWAYS gets the calls when they need them. Period!


Post-script #1 -- I agree with LP -- musically, I was unimpressed with the Black Eyed Peas. I knew I would be -- theirs is not my music, and my younger friends tell me they are terrible live. But for entertainment value? Wow -- Sir Paul rocked us, and saved the NFL's keister for running after "Nipple-Gate". But NO ONE has ever used the massiveness of the stage at half time better than what I saw tonight. I have NO idea what show everyone on Facebook was watching that hated it....

Post-script #2 -- Likewise, I was generally impressed with the commercials... the excellence and cleverness, and actually some intelligent advertising essentials far outweighed the poor efforts -- been a while since that was true.


And the last two words -- Brett who???