This is the official second half game thread for Super Bowl XLV. The Green Bay Packers lead the Pittsburgh Steelers 21-10 at halftime, but things could get interesting in the second half. The Packers' offense has been dominant and two interceptions have cost Ben Roethlisberger, but all of the Packers' defensive backs seemed to suffer injuries just before halftime. If they don't come back or are limited the rest of the game, then the Steelers will have a great opportunity to get right back into the game. It'll be up to Aaron Rodgers to prevent that from happening.

VS.

Game: Green Bay Packers vs. Pittsburgh Steelers
Date/Time: Sunday, February 6, 2011 at 6:30 p.m. EST
Local Television: FOX, Channel 8 (Cleveland)
Announcers: Joe Buck & Troy Aikman

If you are looking for a pregame breakdown of today's Super Bowl, then check out my position-by-position review from this morning. Ben Roethlisberger will be trying to capture his third Super Bowl, while Aaron Rodgers will try to capture his first. Both teams have clutch offenses, and both teams have playmaking defenses. In a game that looks like an even battle on paper, which team will come up with that defining moment that allows them to bring home the Lombardi trophy?

VS.

Game: Green Bay Packers vs. Pittsburgh Steelers
Date/Time: Sunday, February 6, 2011 at 6:30 p.m. EST
Local Television: FOX, Channel 8 (Cleveland)
Announcers: Joe Buck & Troy Aikman

This is the official game thread for the Packers vs. Steelers game. Any comments regarding the game as it is taking place should go in this thread. As the number of comments increase during the game, there will be one or more "overflow" threads where the rest of the discussion will be continued.

Let's not see Pittsburgh take home another title, GO PACKERS!!!

It is time to get excited for the 2011 NFL Pro Bowl, which takes place at 7:00 PM EST! This is the official game thread that you can use as you witness two members of the Cleveland Browns, Joe Thomas and Alex Mack, block for some of the AFC's most elite players.

A word of caution though: SB Nation lists the Colts' Jeff Saturday as the starting center for the AFC team. Whether that is an assumption by them or a fact will be determined when the game kicks off. It might be accurate, because Mack was originally billed as a second alternate. My guess is that Saturday was the first alternate, and therefore would play first.

By the end of today, we will know which two teams will square off on February 6th, 2011 for the Super Bowl. Both games should be very intense, as all four teams feature a great mixture of offense and defense. Use this as your game thread to discuss each game as they unfold; my brief previews and predictions for both games are after the jump.

Continue reading this post »

As much as we hate both teams, it is remarkable how closely contested and tense every Ravens vs. Steelers game turns out to be. Baltimore's 21-7 start to the game was shocking, but Pittsburgh's 24-3 advantage in the second half wasn't so surprising. I had visions of the Steelers rallying in the 2001-2002 playoffs to beat Kelly Holcomb and the Cleveland Browns. Only this time, T.J. Houshmandzadeh acted as a substitute for Dennis Northcutt. Seriously, though, the turning point in the game was Ray Rice's fumble to give all of the momentum to the Pittsburgh Steelers.

Even though I picked the Falcons to win in the second game, I had no problems with the Packers winning. Green Bay was the team I initially hoped would come away with the victory, but I changed my mind at the last second because of how consistent the Falcons had been during the regular season. They fell apart in the playoffs, from not being able to take down Aaron Rodgers with the pass rush to Matt Ryan throwing uncharacteristic interceptions to cost his team dearly.

Let's get to the preview of today's games.

Continue reading this post »

There are two games taking place today for Saturday's NFL Divisional Playoffs. Cleveland Browns fans can use this game thread to discuss the games as they are taking place, and I'm sure the Ravens-Steelers game will be of particular interest. I encourage you to head over to the respective team sites to see some of the articles they have been posting as well.

Continue reading this post »

Well, that was a pretty surprising Wildcard Saturday, wasn't it? You have to give credit to the Seahawks' offense and the throws made by quarterback Matt Hasselbeck. He hasn't played that well in years -- in fact, I don't know if I've ever seen him play a better game. The run by Marshawn Lynch to seal the game was unbelievable. Considering the weapons they had (i.e. they don't have superstars), I give a ton of credit to the Seahawks' offensive coordinator for coming up with some creative formations and plays, and going toe-to-toe with the Saints.

The Colts game was more of a disappointment for me. The Jets' defense deserves credit for getting enough stops, but the thing that killed the Colts during the game was that they had so many 3rd-and-1 situations. They are not a team that gets into those situations very often -- they either convert the first down on second down, or they are faced with a 3rd-and-medium for an obvious passing situation down the field. The execution in those situations didn't work out for Indianapolis.

And then, I'm still baffled by the timeout that Jim Caldwell called with under 30 seconds to go in the game. The Jets appeared content with trying a 51-yard field goal as time expired, but Caldwell called a timeout in hopes that the Jets would be forced to run another snap. I understand that philosophy and would have agreed with that call had the Jets already been in chip-shot range. However, even though it was in a dome, Nick Folk has choked a few times in his career. The timeout allowed the Jets to wisely take advantage of a one-on-one jump ball to the hated Braylon Edwards, setting up the chip shot. Ballgame.

After the jump are my previews for today's games.

Continue reading this post »

There are two games taking place today for Saturday's NFL Wildcard Weekend. Cleveland Browns fans can use this game thread to discuss the games as they are taking place. I encourage you to head over to the respective team sites to see some of the articles they have been posting as well.

Continue reading this post »