Super Bowl Analysis - WRs

And the Super Bowl hype continues! Let's continue my wacky side-by-side comparisons, shall we? Here's what I plan on for the rest of the week: Today - Receivers. Tomorrow - Defenses. Friday - Coaches and final predictions.

So let's look at the targets for each teams.

First, the Steelers. They actually have a pretty good receivers group, led by Hines Ward. Ward has been great for several years now. He puts up Pro Bowl numbers, and even has some flashy big plays that show up on SportsCenter occassionally. I've always liked him and thought he was fairly underrated. He has good enough speed to be a deep threat, good enough hands and quickness to be a possession type.

Then there's Antwaan Randle El, the former college QB and the featured player in any gimmick plays the Steelers try. He's blazing fast. But he drops the ball more than he shoudl, and is somewhere between 2nd and 3rd receiver it seems.

Especially after the game Cedrick Wilson had last week. He caught 5 balls for 90 yards and a TD, and there were a few other balls thrown in his direction. During the regular season, he never caught more than 4 passes in game (and that was only once). Seems Roethlisberger is looking for him more, but maybe it was just that he was so wide open last week.

The final piece, and maybe the scariest, is rookie tight end Heath Miller. He had a pretty good year for a tight end, and has excellent hands and size. He's only had 3 games all year with 0 catches, pretty impressive for a rookie tight end in an offense that generally runs the ball first.

Willie Parker out of the backfield isn't a huge threat, although he does have some speed to gain yardage if he gets some space. Seattle was all over the WR screen last week, and if the Steelers like using screens, I don't expect them to do much with them.

Overall, I think the Steelers have a pretty solid, well-rounded group of receivers. Seattle won't be able to just focus on one receiver like they did last week. If Big Ben has time, he should be able to find an open receiver. As long as his throws are accurate. Really, the Steelers passing game will come down to how accurate Roethlisberger can be with the pressure of the Big Game and the Seattle pass rush.

Predicted stat lines:
Ward: 7 catches, 101 yards
Miller: 5 catches, 67 yards, 1 TD
Ranle El: 3 catches, 42 yards
Wilson: 3 catches, 29 yards
Parker: 2 catches, 14 yards

Seattle has a simlar approach, spreading the ball around to their reliable receivers. Yes, I said it - reliable. After leading the league in drops for 3 years in a row, they cut their total in half this year. A big reason is simply because it's a psychological thing that seems contagious. And Koren Dropinson, the biggest offender, is gone. Maybe he was a bit tipsy during most games and that's why he had so many drops. But the disease spread. Darrell Jackson was uncharacteristically dropping balls last year. Bobby Engram held onto it most of the year, but he dropped the most important pass of all, the one in the end zone against the Rams in the playoffs. Jerry Rice was brought in short term in hopes of helping the team shake the dropsies, but he started dropping balls too. It was a frickin nightmare.

This year... out is Koren, in comes Joe Jurevicius. The results have been amazing.

Darrell Jackson missed much of the season with a knee injury, but he's been great in the playoffs. When Alexander was knocked out against the Skins, Jackson was Hasselbeck's main target. My favorite play that game was a long pass to Jackson down the sidelines. Jackson was pretty much wide open, but there was a lot of air under the ball. Hard-hitting Redskins safety Sean Taylor (the same guy who was ejected the previous week for spitting in a player's face, and now faces several years in prison for waving a gun in the faces of several people) was closing in fast. Jackson caught the ball, just as Taylor unloaded on him. Jackson held onto the ball, and jumped right up. Taylor remained on the ground for several moments as he has hurt himself. Jackson got in his face and said something like, "I'm 200 pounds, baby. Bring it."

Bobby Engram missed several games with an injury as well. With the departure of Robinson, Engram was promoted to the #2 receiver role, something many people questioned whether he was ready for. Well, he was. He played great. He's a smart veteran who knows how to run routes and adjust to blitzes. Sure handed. Not blazing fast, but quick. He gets open.

And Joe Jurevicius. Another sure-handed veteran who knows how to run routes and get open. He stepped up big time for this team when both Jackson and Engram were out. Basically, he was asked to be the team's #1 receiver for a team for the first time in his career, and he stepped up. And here's the thing I noticed about Jurevicius this season - he probably has the nastiest stiff arm of any wide receiver in the league. He's had at least a dozen plays this season where he planted a stiff arm in the face of a defensive back and picked up an extra 5-20 yards. Oh, and in case you were wondering how big he is, since some announcers will in passing mention that he's a "big target" : 6'5", 230 pounds. For comparison, Troy Polamalu is 5'10", 212.

Tight end Jerramy Stevens. A first round pick in 2002, he had a bit of a chip on his shoulder his first two years because he wasn't starting. Last year, he started being used more, and accepted the role as #2 tight end (behind Itula Mili). As long as he could still contribute, he'd be happy. This year, he worked his ass off in training camp, and earned the starting job. And he's never looked back. With all of Seattle's weapons, he's often overlooked by the defense. I'm not real sure how a defense does not notice a 6'7", 265 pounder running routes, but they do. Exhibit A - his 17 yard touchdown catch last week against the Panthers. The dude is a frickin beast. You'll often hear that it's tough to cover a tight end with a safety, because of the size advantage of the tight end. This dude is so big that he's a size mismatch against most linebackers. For comparison, Joey Porter is 6'3", 250. That's 4 inches and 15 pounds Stevens has on him. Even beyond this game, look for Stevens to be a solid contributor on offense for years to come.

Predicted stat lines:
Engram: 6 catches, 87 yards, 1 TD
Jackson: 5 catches, 69 yards
Stevens: 4 catches, 41 yards, 1 TD
Jurevicius: 2 catches, 26 yards
Hackett: 1 catch, 24 yards