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 Photo by Associated Press Matt Hasselbeck, shown here during Sunday's victory over the Panthers, has had little experience this year against 3-4 defenses like Pittsburgh's. |
Helmet to helmet: Breaking down Super Bowl matchups
Thursday, January 26, 2006 1:13 PM PST
By Associated Press
Printable version
E-mail this articleDETROIT -- Here's a look at the folks who'll be staring across the line of scrimmage next week.
When The Seahawks Have The Ball
RB Shaun Alexander (37) led the league with 1,880 yards rushing, set a league record with 28 touchdowns and was voted the NFL's MVP. He will carry on about 85 percent of the runs, with Maurice Morris (20) as a capable backup. FB Mack Strong (38) made the Pro Bowl for the first time in a 13-year career and broke a 32-yard run to help beat the Redskins. Strong's blocking is likely to be important against the blitzing Steelers and Alexander will have to help there, too.
QB Matt Hasselbeck (8) has matured into a confident and clutch playoff quarterback. He is mobile, a trait that will be needed against Pittsburgh's blitzes, although the Steelers did a good job of controlling Denver's Jake Plummer, another mobile QB. WR Darrell Jackson (82) is solid but sometimes prone to drops. Bobby Engram (84) and Joe Jurevicius (87) are two other primary targets. Tight end Jerramy Stevens (86) also figures in, and so does Seneca Wallace (15), the very athletic backup QB used at WR in the NFC title game who had a 28-yard reception that helped set up the first touchdown.
The left side of the Seattle OL has two All-Pros: T Walter Jones (71) and G Steve Hutchinson (76). C Robbie Tobeck (61) played in the Super Bowl with Atlanta in 1999 and also will be instrumental. Strong and Tobeck may be used to help block Pittsburgh LB Joey Porter (55), who was all over Plummer in the AFC title game.
Porter and the other linebackers are the stars of Pittsburgh's 3-4, orchestrated by coordinator Dick LeBeau, the former head coach in Cincinnati. James Farrior (51) is the steadiest, but Larry Foote (50) and Clark Haggans (53) contribute to the league's most active unit. They could be helped by Seattle's lack of experience this season against 3-4 defenses.
For Pittsburgh, it starts with the line: NG Casey Hampton (98) and DEs Kimo von Oelhoeffen (67) and Aaron Smith (91). Their job is to keep the OL off the linebackers and they normally do it superbly. The key will be stopping Alexander and getting Hasselbeck in third-and-long situations where the blitz will be at its most effective.
Ike Taylor (24) has become one of the NFL's better cover CBs in his first year as a starter, and often is matched on the other team's best WR. For Seattle, that would be Jackson. Rookie nickel back Bryant McFadden (20) made some big plays late in the Indianapolis playoff game. All-Pro S Troy Polamalu (43) is the most visible Steelers defender because of the hair that flows halfway down his back. He's also one of the NFL's best and will be instrumental in stopping both the run and pass.
When The Steelers Have The Ball
It's almost always about running in Pittsburgh. But QB Ben Roethlisberger (7) is looking more like Terry Bradshaw every week. After throwing five interceptions in two playoff games as a rookie last season, he has just one in three games this year to go with seven touchdown passes. Pittsburgh has passed to set up the run.
The Steelers are now 26-4 in games he has started.
RB Jerome Bettis (36) will be the focal point of this game, almost surely his last after a 13-year career in which he's become the NFL's fifth-leading rusher. That's accentuated because he's going to his first Super Bowl in his hometown of Detroit. The speed back is Willie Parker (39), who will start, giving way to Bettis as the Steelers approach the goal line, and late in the game if they are running out the clock. Verron Haynes (34) is often used in third-down situations.
Normally, Roethlisberger's favorite targets are WRs Hines Ward (86) and Antwaan Randle El (82). Rookie TE Heath Miller (83) gives him the big receiver at that position he didn't have last season. Add Cedrick Wilson (80) and rookie Nate Washington (85), who made big plays in the AFC championship game in Denver. Ward is probably the best blocking WR in the NFL. Roethlisberger is a good enough athlete to make a game-saving tackle in Indianapolis on a return of a rare Bettis fumble.
All that works because of a very good OL, led by LT Marvel Smith (77), LG Alan Faneca (66) and C Jeff Hartings (64). They compare favorably to Seattle's line, generally considered the best in the game.
The Seahawks have revamped last year's defense with seven new starters, including two important rookies: LBs Lofa Tatupu (51) and Leroy Hill (56), unusual at a position where rookies usually take a while to learn. CB Marcus Trufant (23) is the best cover man, with Andre Dyson (21) on the other side. SS Michael Boulware (28) is a better pass defender than most strong safeties, and FS Marquand Manuel (33) stepped in when Ken Hamlin was injured in a street assault. Jordan Babineax (27) plays in passing situations and is always around the ball.
Seattle beat Carolina in part because it got a pass rush up the middle, especially from DT Rocky Bernard (99). Marcus Tubbs (90) may have more of a role this week because he's probably the best run-stuffer in the middle. The defensive ends are Grant Wistrom (98), the most experienced and versatile, and Bryce Fisher (94), who had a team-leading nine sacks. The Seahawks led the NFL with 50, but they spread them around.
SPECIAL TEAMS
Seattle K Josh Brown (3) has excellent range: 5-of-8 on field goals of more than 50 yards, better than his 4-of-7 accuracy between 40 and 49 yards. Veteran P Tom Rouen (16) was picked up during the season and is adequate, but not much more, although he is one of five Seahawks with Super Bowl experience -- he played with Denver in 1998 and 1999.
The Seahawks did not have a return for a touchdown this season. Josh Scobey (39) returns kickoffs and Peter Warrick (81) has replaced Jimmy Williams (22) as the primary punt returner. Warrick, the third overall pick in the 2000 draft by Cincinnati, has been troubled by injuries throughout his career, but still has a little burst.
Pittsburgh's Jeff Reed (3) was 24-of-29 on field goals this season playing at Heinz Field, a difficult venue for kickers, but 0-for-2 outside of 50 yards. P Chris Gardocki (17), in his 15th year, got 22 of his 65 punts inside the 20.
Unlike most teams, who don't use regulars to return kicks, the Steelers use Randle El for punt returns and he had two for touchdowns this season, one more than he had as a receiver. Ricardo Colclough (21) handles kickoff returns.
Coaching and Intangibles
Pittsburgh's Bill Cowher and Seattle's Mike Holmgren have the longest continuous coaching tenures in the league. Both started in 1992 -- Cowher with the Steelers and Holmgren with Green Bay. Holmgren took the Packers to two Super Bowls, winning after the 1996 season and losing the following year. He moved on to Seattle as coach and general manager in 1999, but now is only the coach.
Cowher has gotten the Steelers to the AFC title game six times, but has won only two. The first five games were at home. This year's title game was in Denver, a victory that capped a string of three straight playoff road wins for the Steelers, the AFC's sixth-seeded team. They have won seven straight overall.
Holmgren was supposed to take Seattle to the Super Bowl more quickly. But he was 0-3 in playoff games with the Seahawks until this season, lost his GM duties and might have lost his job with a less patient owner than Paul Allen.
Holmgren is considered one of the NFL's quarterback gurus. He worked with Joe Montana and Steve Young as an assistant in San Francisco; groomed Brett Favre with the Packers; and worked in Green Bay with Hasselbeck, Mark Brunell, Aaron Brooks and a young Kurt Warner before all ended up elsewhere.
Despite the fact the Steelers were the lowest-seeded team in the AFC and Seattle was first in the NFC, Pittsburgh is favored. That's because of its winning streak, perceived AFC strength and, in part, because it could have a home-field advantage. Steelers fans travel, and Detroit is just 285 miles from Pittsburgh. Detroit fans may also root for Pittsburgh because of Bettis.
Despite Pittsburgh's history, only one Steeler, little used CB Willie Williams, has had Super Bowl experience, with the Pittsburgh team that lost to Dallas in 1996. The Seahawks have five who went with other teams: Tobeck, Rouen, Jurevicius, Wistrom and DT Chuck Darby.
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