Super Bowl Week!

Well, the Super Bowl hype is getting into gear this week. Woohoo! Here at good ol' SBS, we'll try and keep our readers entertained without spewing the same bullshit you read on every other site out there, but it will be tough. :P

Let's start out with a look at the running games for both teams, shall we?

Are you sick of hearing about the homecoming to Detroit by Jerome Bettis yet? Me too.
I mean, don't get me wrong, I've always respected Bettis and his abilities. He's had some impressive runs, games, and seasons throughout his career. But really, his legacy is based on two things: 1) his longevity/durability and 2) his whole career as a Steeler. He never really was the type of player to make you go "Wow!" very often. He's just stuck around a really long time on a team that generally has a "run first" offensive mentality.

Anyways, here's my point - Jerome Bettis has not won games by himself in a long time. Don't expect this to suddenly change on Sunday because it may be his last game and it just happens to be the Super Bowl in his hometown. Seattle has been excellent against the run all season long, including the playoffs. This will not change.

Predicted Bettis stat line: 14 carries, 43 yards, 0 TD.

Then there's that other guy, "Fast" Willie Parker. He may be fast, but he's young, and maybe even a little uncertain back there at times, and a little shaky. He had a fumble last week that could have been HUGE, but it rolled out of bounds. He almost coughed it up once or twice more. Not to mention that the double-back system often telegraphs what kind of play is coming - Bettis back there, look for a run inside. Parker in there, look for a speed run outside. I imagine that by watching enough film this week, Seattle will have a very good idea what plays are run with each back in there.

Predicted Parker stat line: 8 carries, 21 yards, 0 TD.

On the other side of the ball, it's up to NFL MVP Shaun Alexander to put up a big game. Keep in mind he will be an unrestricted free agent after this game, and that Seattle has agreed not to slap him with the franchise tag. After he was knocked out of the Redskins game with a concussion, all we kept hearing about was how Alexander has never had a good playoff performance. Well, you can bury that talk. He was pretty damn good last week, hitting the holes hard, breaking tackles, and making his trademark cutbacks when there's nothing there. Make no doubt though - how he performs in this single game will have a HUGE impact on his negotiating power and final contract value. This is the biggest stage, and if he steps up and plays great (or, alternatively, vanishes), it won't be forgotten.

Personally, I think he'll do just fine. And it's not necessarily because he's so dope a runner - we'll debate that plenty after this game. But it's because they'll do what they've done all season: set up the run with the pass, and let the dominant offensive line open the holes for him. The holes WILL be there eventually, and he WILL get into the secondary with a run more than once this game. Alexander knows what's at stake. Not just for his team and his own personal accomplishments as potential Super Bowl champions, but for his wallet as well.

Predicted Alexander stat line: 25 carries, 102 yards, 1 TD.

And in other news, I'm working from home today, so here's two Madden XBox simulation scores so far. ;)

First game:
Seahawks 17, Steelers 10
2 picks by Big Ben, one taken to the house by Andre Dyson.

Second game:
Sehawks 29, Steelers 14
Again, Big Ben looks jittery in the big game. This time throwing a whopping 4 interceptions (2 by Dyson).

3 picks by Andre Dyson in 2 games.. Hrmmm, could that be a sign of a big game? ;)