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Now, I have been thinking about this game and also some pasttrends (mostly since 2000) that I think are relevant for variousreasons. I don't care if the team wearing the away jerseys won5 of the last 6 or if the team with the most guys named "Jones"won 3 of the last 4 or if Cowher has never won the "big one" andHolmgren has. Seriously, common sense tells you those first 2are just completely stupid and Cowher (more on him later) hasnot won the "big one" because he was unfortunate to run smackinto a Cowboys dynasty in his only Super Bowl appearance....andquite possibly Holmgren did because he had Brett Favre and onehell of a team in Green Bay and plus, they played a Bledsoe ledPatriots team who was probably just happy to be in the game. Holmgren'sPackers also got their butts kicked by Denver the following year.

But I do care about trends that can actuallymean something.

Here's what I've been thinking...

(1) The dog has covered the last 4....and wonoutright in two of those (Tampa over Oakland and NE over St Louis).Interestingly enough, the team with the flashy offense was favoredover the team with the better defense, and defense won out.

(2) AFC has won 4 of last 5. That's probablya combination of the Patriots being so good and the NFC havinginferior representatives to the AFC representative. I mean really,if the NFC has won say 28 of the first 39, does that really matter?(answer: NO)....so throw that one out. Obviously the 85 Bears,80's Niners, 90's Cowboys, or 70's Steelers, or the recent Patriotswill not be competing in this game.

(3) The last 5 SB's have been won by the teamwith the better DEFENSE....which is basically true for most championshipgames.

Most notably....Baltimore clearly had a betterdefense then NYG, Tampa clearly had a better defense than Oakland,NE clearly had a better defense than St Louis. Two of those gamesweren't even close and the other was won by a 14 point underdog.The last 2 match-ups featured good defenses on both sides, butwith NE still having the defensive edge IMHO...and getting thewin.

Now what do I think of this game?

Well, I think both defenses are good. It's hardto say which one is better, unfortunately, or this selection wouldbe a piece of cake.

I think Pittsburgh has much more playoff experiencehowever. I took note to the fact that the first thing Cowher saidwas "we've still got one more to go" after defeating Denver. Thismeans something....as Pittsburgh doesn't feel they've accomplishedanything yet. Big Ben has faced the fact that he cost his teama shot last year by playing horribly against NE in the AFC championship.Also good is that it shows he's learned and grown from that experience.

Pittsburgh won't be overwhelmed or overconfidentgoing into this game. It remains to be seen if Seattle will ornot.

Road to the super bowl....Pittsburgh had no businessbeing here. Really, many said they would lose to Cincinnati. ThenJUST ABOUT everyone said they would lose at Indy and almost asmany said they would lose at Denver. Instead, they showed theywere clearly the AFC's best team this year, by beating all 3 ofthose teams soundly, ON THE ROAD.

Seattle had a bye then beat a depleted Washingtonsquad at home and then an even more beaten up Carolina team, alsoat home.

While I do think Seattle is an impressive team,I believe Pittsburgh has "shown" more....more than any team couldhave possibly shown.

Now with Pittsburgh winning all these big games,the questions coming along with it are:

Will they emotionally spent in the super bowl?No way. No one has a "let down" in a super bowl, lol

Will they be physically spent in the Super Bowl?May have been a factor had the game been played this Sunday, butprobably not with the 2 weeks in between.

Now as far as "Cowher" goes....while he IS theHC of the Steelers, it's been offensive coordinator Ken Whisenhunt(or however the hell you spell it) that's kept defenses guessingin these playoffs and defensive coordinator Dick LeBeau comingup with the excellent defensive schemes that have helped the Steelerplayers shut down the pretty darn good offenses they've faced.So saying "Cowher" really has much to do with this game otherthan a motivator and decision maker is probably not accurate.

In closing, whether it be by 2 or 20, I willbe surprised if the Steelers don't win this game, but then again that'swhy I am interested in what everyone else thinks.

Feel free to post your opinion, agree of disagreewith mine, but please, no stupid responses. Let's at least haveit pertain this convo THIS game and the 2 teams playing in it.

In other words, if you're making a homer pickwith nothing behind it, post it in your own thread, as it willadd nothing to this discussion.

Thanx in advance to everyone who offers somethinghere.

Replies to this thread can be found here .Feel free to register and contribute if you have something to say with substance!

Good luck whoever you decide to take in the biggame!