This will be the first Super Bowl with both starting quarterbacks wearing beards. Abraham Lincoln would be proud. With the game in Jerry Jones’ air-conditioned palace, the weather won’t be a factor. Hopefully a kicker will hit the giant television above the field. The look on Jerry’s face would be priceless. I’m sure there will be betting action when that happens. There will be plenty of punts as both teams have outstanding defenses and allowed the fewest points in the NFL this season. They also have two players with the longest hair in Super Bowl history in Troy Polamalu and Clay Matthews. I’m thinking there will be a couple of commercials for hair products.

I’m going to start with the Packers. They’ve had a wonderful season despite having 16 players on injured reserve, many of whom were key starters. Recently injured players have made a name for themselves by complaining, I mean tweeting about not being included in the Super Bowl team photo. What they are will hopefully have no effect on the game. The Packers have had a lot of endorsements and guys signed off the streets and Target steps up and is productive for them. None was bigger than running back James Starks, who, although drafted in the later rounds, was on the practice squad for most of the season. He has been solid since he was inserted as a starter. He has provided balance to the offense with his ability to run between tackles and keep Aaron Rodgers out of long third. In addition, and what is more important, he has not coughed the ball. Aaron Rodgers has been fantastic all year and should have made the Pro Bowl. But he wouldn’t have gone since he’s going to a slightly more significant bowl. He has staked himself out for elite quarterback status. It also helps that he had a top defense league behind him. This allowed him to play free and easy and not have the pressure of forcing passes to score big points, like his predecessor Brett Farve. (He just had to get his name from him one last time.) The cause for concern is the Packers’ inexperience in the Super Bowl. None of the players or coaches have participated in the Super Bowl. There is something to be said for knowing how to answer the same dumb questions over and over again. Like “What did you have for breakfast today?” Coaches need to make sure they strike the balance of enjoying the festivities, because you never know if and when the team will make it back to the Super Bowl. They have to make sure the Packers get to work and don’t spend too much time at the many local dance studios for professional adult ladies. The good thing for the Packers is that the game is played on the grass of the field, which after playing on the Soldiers’ sloppy field, will be a Texas air-conditioned breeze. The Packers play in Green Bay and on the fabled “frozen tundra.” But this team is designed for artificial surfaces with its passing ability, quick receivers and quick passing rushers. The Steelers might be in a bit of a shock on early possessions when they see firsthand how quick the Packers are. Of course, they won’t be too quick if they spend too much time enjoying the adult attractions.

The Steelers have overcome the lack of Ben Roethisberger, who was suspended for the first month of the season to start the season, and an oft-injured offensive line to make it to the Super Bowl. They’ve come to the Super Bowl in typical Steelers fashion. A magnificent defense and the most finished. A punishing ground game, which has been a trademark since the Nixon administration and the endorsement of the clutch room. Big Ben comes out of the sacks so often that he looks like a father playing with his children. Rashard Mendenhall has gotten better every year and this year has been the best. He possesses the power, speed, and balance of a dancer. He can run over tacklers and run away from them. There, the defense has survived injuries to the defensive line, but the backs have done a good job of completing. The strength of the defense is his linebackers, who are talented, smart and mean like linebacker James Harrision, who commits a lot of personal fouls just by looking at him. Troy Polamalu isn’t as bad as James Harrision, but he’s just as disruptive and needs to be reckoned with at all times, even during warm-ups. The cause for concern has to be their best offensive lineman and center Markice Pouncey will be out with a sprained or broken ankle. (My first mention of a hub). No one knows how valuable hubs are until there’s a missed snap or the long snapper sends a snap down the river. Backup center Doug Legursky did a good job against the Jets when Pouncey went down, but the Packers will have two weeks to figure out a way to test him. They also have a 325-pound nose tackle who is fast, smart, has great hands and is extremely difficult to move. The positive for the Steelers is that they have experience playing Super Bowls, this being their third appearance in the last six years. For them, this will be just another game, except for the two-hour halftime show and the gigantic TV upstairs.

I look forward to an entertaining game, funny commercials, and Fergie not so much showing a toenail during the halftime show. So to my readers, enjoy the game and good luck in whatever betting pool you find yourself in.

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