PASSING OFFENSE: After serving a four game suspension, Ben Roethlisberger came back to have a very good season. He threw for 3200 yards in just 12 games and had a touchdown to interception ratio of 17 to 5 in the regular season. Along with his big arm, Big Ben is known for his size and toughness and is hard for defenders to bring down.

Said Clay Matthews, “Ben Roethlisberger is one of toughest QBs to sack. He’s one of those guys who will fight. He makes plays by breaking tackles.”

Last year, he shredded the Green Bay secondary for 503 yards passing and exposed some real weakness that the Packers had last year in pass defense. He was aided by a solid group of receivers led by the blazing fast Mike Wallace (60 rec, 1257 yards), ageless possession receiver Hines Ward (59 rec, 755 yards), and tight end Heath Miller (42 rec, 512 yards). Emmanuel Sanders and Antwaan Randle El are good 3rd and 4th receivers that add speed and depth to the the corps, and former Viking Mewelde Moore has emerged into a threat to catch out of the backfield as a 3rd down back.

Passing has become the strength of the Steelers’ offense. They finished  ranked 14th in the NFL in passing, but that ranking would have been significantly higher had Roethlisberger not been suspended to start the season.

• WST’s Take: This match up with the Packers’ pass defense will go a long way into deciding the winner of Super Bowl XLV. Green Bay has improved significantly in pass defense since last year’s debacle at Hines Field, and they have the speed to match the Steelers receivers. Green Bay  comes in ranked 5th in the league in pass yards given up and 2nd in interceptions. Two of Roethlisberger’s worst games this year have come against the Jets, who like the Packers have a very strong secondary and run a 3-4 defense. New York was able to get pressure on the quarterback, and it is very important for the Packers are able to get a pass rush on Big Ben (the Pack ranks 2nd in the league in sacks). Although it appears highly unlikely that the Steelers have the type of success they did last year against Green Bay, this is one of the best passing attacks the Packers have seen this year and will be a major challenge for Dom Capers.

RUSHING OFFENSE: Pittsburgh has been able to run the ball effectively when they need to. Rashard Mendenhall (324 attempts, 1,273 yards, 13 touchdowns)  is a very physical runner who is coming off a game where he was called on to run the ball 27 times for 121 yards.

He has been particularly effective in short yardage situations because of his ability to bounce off of the first defender to make contact with him. He has been used as a workhorse in games where the Steelers have struggled to pass the ball, such as the first four games of the season (when Roethlisberger was not playing) and last week against New York. In a game against Buffalo, he ran the ball 36 times for 151 yards. He has however struggled against strong run defenses such as Baltimore (he ran for only 46 yards on 20 carries in the divisional playoff game).

Second year player, Issac Redman (52 attempts, 247 yards) is another physical runner who has been used effectively to spell Mendenhall. The Steelers come into the game ranked 11th in the NFL in rush yards.

• WST’s Take: The Packers ranked 18th in the league in rush yards allowed this year, a steep drop off from last year’s number one ranking. The main reason for this is because the Packers have used their Nickel package more than any other team in football this year in order to stop the pass. This “bend, but don’t break” approach has led to more rush yards given up. Despite the mediocre ranking, Green Bay has been effective in stopping the run when they need to, and are not overly susceptible to huge games by opposing running backs. Look for Pittsburgh to run the ball often early in the game and have mixed success. If Roethlisberger struggles to find his rhythm, expect heavy doses of Mendenhall especially if the game remains close and low scoring. The Steelers may be without Pro Bowl Center Maurkice Pouncey, which could hurt their rush offense. With the largest 3-4 defensive line in the NFL (B.J. Raji, Ryan Pickett, and Howard Green), the Packers will present a challenge to the Steelers in short yardage. There may be some interesting 3rd or 4th and 1′s that will play a major role in this game.

PASS DEFENSE: No team rushes the quarterback better than the Pittsburgh Steelers. James Harrison and Lamar Woodley make up the NFL’s best outside linebacker duo (by far). Both players have at least 10 sacks on the season, and have helped the Steelers lead the league in this category.

With help from the pressure on the QB, Pittsburgh ranks in at 5th in the league in interceptions. They also have the most dynamic Safety in the league in Troy Polamolu, who is often playing in the box and blitzing. Troy is also very capable of covering receivers and tight ends as well as any safety in the league. He is one of the most valuable players to their team in the league; over the last two seasons Pittsburgh is 16-4 when Polamalu plays compared to 6-7 when he sits.

Opposite safety Ryan Clark has done and excellent job of playing center field this year, and Ike Taylor has become a very solid left corner. Although he is not a complete “shut down” corner, he is in the upper tier of corners in the league. The other side is the weaker side. Bryant McFadden has been a weak link in the Steelers secondary and has given up a very high completion percentage this season. According to STATS INC. McFadden was targeted 166 times by opposing QB’s and allowed 77 completions (66.4 percent), including five TD’s. Nickel back, William Gay has been solid but is also susceptible. Pittsburgh ranks 12th in the league in pass defense.

• WST’s Take: There is no question that the Packers think they can win the match up of their receiver corps against Pittsburgh’s secondary. The question is: Can Chad Clifton and Bryan Bulaga handle Woodley and Harrison? If the answer is no, it will be a long day for the Packers offense. If Bulaga and Clifton can hold up long enough against those two on the outside, someone will be open. Don’t be surprised to see Aaron Rodgers try to spread Pittsburgh out like against Atlanta. Look for Rodgers to try to isolate McFadden and Gay like he did against Chicago’s Tim Jennings and Atlanta’s Christopher Owens. Green Bay’s top four receivers could all have big days like against Pittsburgh. Rodgers is also the best quarterback in the league against the blitz and has done well to avoid throwing interceptions. Cowboy Stadium is a semi-roofed facility with a controlled environment, and the Packers have been able to pass very well indoors over the last few seasons.

RUN DEFENSE: The Steelers’ run defense is far and away number 1 in the league. They sit back and protect against the pass and dare teams to run the ball on them. Last week against the Jets, who came in ranked 4th in the league running the ball, Pittsburgh only gave up 70 yards rushing (they average only 62.8 yards per game given up).

They are led by nose tackle, Casey Hampton and inside linebackers Lawrence Timmons and James Farrior. One of the main reasons they are able to pressure the QB so well and intercept passes are because they are so good against the run that their opponent becomes one-dimensional.

• WST’s Take: While James Starks has had success running in the playoffs, this will be his biggest challenge of his young career. Expect the Packers to try to use the pass to set up the run, as opposed to the more conventional opposite approach. Green Bay could run into trouble if they try to ice the clock with the lead at the end of the game if they cannot run the ball.

While Aaron Rodgers was lighting up the Falcons’ secondary — and the scoreboard- it might have gone unnoticed that the Packers mixed in the run quite well on Saturday night.

The numbers were by all means not eye-popping. James Starks only had 66 yards on 25 carries (2.6 yards per carry). But he ran hard and was effective. The amount of carries, 25, also shows that Mike McCarthy and company really trust Starks to be their work horse back.

The short yardage situation also saw some major improvement thanks in part to 340+ pound DT, B.J. Raji. He was used as a fullback on a John Kuhn one yard touchdown.

The commitment to the run helped give Aaron Rodgers and the Packers the ability to control the time of possession and total yards (as it further opened up the passing game). The time of possession was an unbelievable 38:19 to 21:41 in favor of the Packers. Even with a kickoff return for a touchdown by Eric Weems, that difference in time of possession is an unquestioned formula for winning.

Look for James Starks to continue to get a lot of carries against Chicago, the NFL’s second best rush defense. Atlanta came in to the game ranked 10th in rush D, showing that if the Packers get a lead, they have no problem letting Starks carry a heavy load no matter who they are playing.

If Starks finishes with 25 carries agains the Bears, it will probably be an indicator that the Packers won the game.

In little more than a week, the Brewers have gone from having the worst starting rotation in the NL, to now having one of the best in the entire MLB. After making a huge trade that landed 2009 Cy Young Award winner, Zack Greinke, there is no doubt now that 2011 has the potential to be a big year and not just another “rebuilding” year.

The rotation now features a very good 1-2-3 in Grienke, Yovani Gallardo, and  Shaun Marcum. Throw in Randy Wolf, and Chris Narveson, and the Crew suddenly has a very good starting 5.

Starting pitching has been the achilles heal for the Brewers during the past two seasons. And that is putting it nicely. Last year the rotation had no consistency with pitchers moving in and out of the bullpen and finished with the second worst ERA in the NL. With the recent additions, these numbers are all but guaranteed to improve.

Obviously, the Royals did not just give up Greinke for free. The Brewers traded away young stars Lorenzo Cain and Alcides Escobar, along with top pitching prospect Jake Odorizzi. That does leave a hole in centerfield and shortstop. Promising Jeremy Jeffress (a young pitcher) may also be sent to Kansas City as a player to be named later. As part of the trade, the Brewers aquired Yuniesky Betancourt (.259 Ave, 16 HR in 2010) to fill the gap left by Escobar.

With this deal, along with last week’s deal in which the Brewers aquired Shaun Marcum for top prospect, Brett Lawrie, the Brewers have made a statement. That statement clearly says that they are trying to win NOW.

Clearly, they are not going to trade Prince Fielder any time soon. They have mortgaged the future by buying a good pitching staff and using their top young prospects as currency.

2011 will be a big year for Brewers fans.

Remember last year when the Packers lost to a winless Tampa Bay team?

Or in 2007 when they lost to the lowly Bears twice?

Sunday’s loss at Detroit was the 2010 version of that. When it happened last year in Tampa, the team dropped to 4-4, and the prospects of reaching the playoffs appeared to be pretty bleak. The Pack had just lost to the worst team in the league, and were about to face one of the best the following week, the Dallas Cowboys. Fans were saying that Mike McCarthy should be fired, that Ted Thompson should be burned at the stake for letting Brett Favre go, and that all the preseason hype was, well, hype.

The team went 7-1 from that point forward, and finished with a very respectable 11-5 record, including a win the next week against Dallas.

Sunday’s loss at Detroit was a stinker, and on top of that, New England– a team that is regarded as the best in the league, and is very tough at home- is next on the schedule. To make matters worse, it is happening at a time when the Packers need wins to get in the playoffs. The team remains a both a game behind in the division and at the moment, out of the playoffs (if it started today).

There are three games left against good teams. After New England, it the Giants, who are the main competition for a wild card, and Chicago, who is the main competition for the division. So this game against Detroit was an important game that should have been won.

But like the situation last year, it’s not time to panic. There are 3 games left and the team could still finish 11-5 or 10-6. Chicago is also only one game ahead and they looked pretty bad on Sunday. The Packers still control their own destiny. It’s likely that winning 2 of the next 3 will get them to the playoffs.

Moral of the story: Don’t be one of those fans that calls for McCarthy to be fired because he had a few questionable calls on Sunday. Don’t call for Thompson’s job because he didn’t trade for Marshawn Lynch. And don’t write off the season because of one ugly loss.

Have the Packers found the solution to their problems running the football?

It’s too early to tell.

Is there at least some hope and excitement that James Starks is that solution?

Absolutely.

In his first action in nearly two years, James Starks looked good running the ball 18 times for 73 yards against a 49ers defense that came in 8th in the league against the run.While these numbers (a 4.1 yard per carry outing) are not eye-popping, it was the way he ran that turned heads. For the first time since Ryan Grant went down with an ankle injury, the Packers have a decisive runner that runs downhill and gets positive yardage after first contact. “He falls forward and the bigger backs have that ability. And that’s the difference. That’s the difference between second-and-7 and second-and-4,” said Mike McCarthy after the game.

Also impressive was the workload that Starks carried. The 18 carries was tied for the most any Packer runner has had all season and more than Brandon Jackson has had since week 1. This is especially remarkable for Starks, who sat out all of his senior season at the University of Buffalo and was forced to the PUP before training camp (missing preseason and the first 11 games of the season.

There were concerns that because of this time off, Starks would have problems holding onto the ball after recieving his first taste of NFL tacklers.

Starks said: “I was waiting for it, the first run, that’s why I just ran straight. I just wanted to get hit, just to see how it is. Test the NFL a little bit. You have to get the rust off. So, first carry, I tried to keep the ball high-and-tight and just hit the hole. After that I was ready to roll.”

It’s got to be a breath or fresh air for the Packer organization to have a big back (6-2, 218) that is physical and runs hard.

Looking forward, it would be hard to imagine the Packers not giving this rookie the lion’s share of the carries out of the backfield. Jackson only carried the ball four times for 13 yards. For the first time in a long time, the Packers may have reason to be excited about running the ball.

If there has been one constant during MU Coach, Buzz Williams’ tenure as Marquette’s head coach it’s been that the Golden Eagles exceed expectations—at least the expectations of the national pundits.

Take last year for example; everyone in the national media knew that MU would finish near the bottom of the Big East. They had just lost their 3 best players in Jerel McNeal, Wes Matthews, and Dominic James. They had lost their best recruit, Junior Cadougan to an injury (torn achilles tendon) that would keep him out for the majority of the season. Players that were coming in to replace these guys—players like Darius Johnson-Odom, Jimmy Butler, and Maurice Acker—were complete question marks at the time. Acker, initially, wasn’t even apart of Marquette’s roster.  On top of all that, Buzz Williams found a way. He led the Golden Eagles to the big dance, took them deep into the Big East Conference tourney (semifinals), and finished with 22 regular season wins.

This year is similar. Lazar Hayward, an NBA first round pick, and unquestioned senior leader of the team is gone. There are some apparent holes to fill in the low post and at point guard.  Once again, the national media isn’t giving the Golden Eagles a lot of respect. Most publications are picking MU to finish 8^th or 9^th in the loaded Big East (which, this year,  may not be good enough for the tournament). But there is still reason to be optimistic about this squad and there is reason to think that MU will once again exceed expectations.

Take a look at this team. The two returning stars are Jimmy Butler (14.7 ppg, 6.1 rpg last season) and Darius Johnson-Odom (13 ppg, 58.2 ts% last season). These guys were integral parts of last year’s success. The team brought in JUCO (Junior College)  player of the year, Jae Crowder, who appears to be a Lazar Hayward clone. This freshman class is also one of the best MU has had in years . The state’s best player, Vander Blue, signed on and figures to be a big part of the rotation. The same can be said for highly touted recruits, Reggie Smith, big man Davante Gardner, and Jamail Jones. Senior, Dwight Buycks figures to play big minutes at the point guard position. At center, 6-11 Chris Otule, who has been hit by injury the last couple years, is set to see more time and is expected to make a contribution as well.

DJO and Butler will be fixtures in the starting line up and Jae Crowder will most likely be a major player at power forward. If Buzz Williams can get big contributions from two or three of the afore-mentioned freshman and holdovers aas well as returning players, Joe Fulce F and Junior Cadougan PG, this team will again exceed expectations. A big positional battle will be minutes at the point guard position.  Dwight Buycks is holding off newcomers Reggie Smith, Cadougan and Vander Blue (who is really more of a shooting guard). It should be interesting to see how that shakes out, as Buzz Williams has lots of options. In the low post, expect Crowder to be a big re-bounder and a scrappy player in the paint. Wide bodied, Davante Gardner has also been very impressive so far with his ability to both shoot and bang down low. If Otule can come in and get some rebounds and block/alter shots, it would be huge for the Golden Eagles, who last year, lacked any significant size inside.

The regular season starts off with some tough competition with non-conference games against the likes of Wisconsin, Vanderbilt, and a mini-tournament in Kansas City where the team plays defending national champ, Duke, and either Gonzaga or #3 Kansas State. Then the real fun begins when Big East season basketball opens up on January 1 vs West Virginia.

Look for this team to lose some disappointing games like they did last year, but also hang tough against the elites (like Duke, Villanova, etc.). They will be playing in and most likely winning some big games this year. My prediction is that they exceed expectations and finish better than 8^th or 9^th in conference.

After a signature win against 10th ranked Villanova, Marquette played a poor second half in a loss to the Georgetown Hoyas. The Golden Eagles’ Big East season is over, but they are now primed for a run in the big tournament.

After two hard fought wins in as many days against St. John’s and Nova, MU appeared a little exhausted in the second half on friday; they were outscored by 20 points in the final 20 minutes against a bigger Georgetown team. The Hoyas were able to expose Marquette’s weakness- their lack of a legit big man- as Greg Monroe had a monster game (23 points, 13 rebounds, 7 assists, and 2 blocks).

Beating G-Town and reaching the Big East finals would have been huge obviously, but the win over Nova on thursday will do wonders for the seeding of MU. Once considered a bubble team, the Golden Eagles look like they’ll likely be a 7 or 8 seed in the tournament. Thats pretty good considering they were a 5 seed in their own conference tournament, and were looked at as a 10 0r 11 seed in the big dance up until about 2 weeks ago.

Because of their ability to shoot the 3ball, MU will be a tough out no matter who they play. As a 7 or 8 seed, they will likely be matched up with a 1 or 2 seed in the second round. Marquette will obviously be the underdog in this game, but they still have a chance at beating anyone based on their outside shooting and experience they have because of the tough schedule they’ve had going through the Big East their last 20+ games. Any team without a dominant big man (a la Greg Monroe) will definitely not be happy to see Marquette next weekend.

In the first move the Packers have made with their eight resticted freeagents, they resigned backup safety and special teams ace Derrick Martin. Martin, who who finished second on the team in special teams tackles with 21, signed a two year deal with the team for an unspecified amount.

While the move appears to be minor, it shows the Packers’ commitment in keeping key special teams players. It also shows that Ted Thompson and company like what they have seen from the 4 year veteran.

Considering how much Martin struggled when he replaced Atari Bigby early in the season (his last significant playing time on defense), he must have shown something in practice to give the organization some confidence in him at safety. Martin’s agent, Brad Cicala, said that his client expects to see more time in the secondary next year. Possibly as a nickel or dime back.

While I’m not quite sure about Derrick Martin playing significant time on defense, I think this is a good signing because he is a valuable special teamer and the Packers don’t have to break the bank with a guy like Martin. He is just as good and cheap as anyone else on the backup safety market.

If the Golden Eagles have the misfortune of missing out on the big dance for the first time since 2005, they will most likely be looking back at this three game stretch as where the ship sank.
MU’s next 3 games are all against strong, but not elite competition. The three teams- South Florida, Pitt, and Cincinnati- are all pretty much in the same bout as the Golden Eagles. They all sit in the middle of the Big East standings are considered bubble teams for the tourney at this point (although Pitt may be in the best position of the four teams).
The first game, Saturday vs. USF, could be the most important of the three. The Bulls are hot of late, and could be considered as one of the big surprise teams in the NCAA this year. After going just 9-22 last year, USF has pulled it together this year and has garnered wins against the likes of #7 Georgetown and #23 Pittsburgh. They are a tough team and very much alive for a tournament selection; and a win at the Bradley Center Saturday would be big on their resume. Led by a strong front court of Augustus Gilchrist and Jarrid Famous, South Florida could create match-up problems for MU. The Golden Eagles will need another big performance from their back court to counter the Bulls’ paint presence.
On Thursday, Marquette travels to the Zoo to take on the perennially strong Pitt Panthers. After starting out the season very strong, Pitt hass cooled down -losing four of their last 7 games. Of the Panthers’ six losses this year, only 1 has come at home. The Zoo is considered one of the hardest venues to win in for opposing in the Big East, and will provide a major challenge for Marquette. If the Golden Eagles are able to win this game, it would certainly boost their chances come Selection Sunday.
The final of the three games is against the Cincinnati Bearcats. UC plays hard every night and are led by uber-talented Freshman Lance Stephenson. Stephenson and forward Yancy Gates will be matched up on Lazar Hayward and Jimmy Butler respectfully, creating one of the most intriguing 2 on 2 match-ups MU has seen this season. Hayward and Butler must win these individual battles if MU has any hope of countering the Bearcats rebounding advantage (Cincy comes in 4th in the Big East in team rebounding).
After these three games, the Golden Eagles travel to St. Johns and Seton Hall before closing out at home against Notre Dame and Louisville. All these are important, but this three game stretch against other bubble level teams will really separate MU from the pack; this could be a good or bad thing depending on how they do.

Watching New Orleans completely force the hand of the Colts late in the game last night made me think of one thing… The Packers really were good enough to do the same thing. You could say, “Oh, well Indy would have torn apart Green Bay’s D,” or “The Packers’ offense is good but it’s not dominant like the Saints.” But let’s look at the numbers shall we.

In the regular season the Saints had the 26th ranked passing defense while the Packers ranked fifth. Okay, maybe ranking in the upper 15% was a bit of a flash in the pan for the Pack because of an easy schedule; but had they faced tougher offenses would they have dropped 21 spots to 26? I don’t think so.

How about the run defense? You could tell last night that the Colts felt pretty comfortable running the ball. The reason being is because New Orleans gives up an average of 122 yards on the ground, good for 21st in league. The Packers? Only the top ranked running defense in the NFL, giving up 83 yards per game.

The turnover margin is also in the Packers’ favor with a league best +24, while the Saints –a team that proclaims to rely on turnovers- sits at +11.  So with all these statistics we can agree that the Packers defense is at least up to par with the “Who Dats?”

Now on to the offensive side of the ball. The Saints were outstanding putting up 6,461 total yards this year. This was the number 1 offense, but the Packers were not too far behind at number six, putting up 6,065 yards. Both teams were led by excellent quarterbacks. Drew Brees’ performance over the last few seasons speaks for itself. A-Rodge’s does as well. He actually put very similar statistics with the ex-Boilermaker. He had more yards and less picks, while Brees had 4 more TD’s and a slightly higher passer rating.

While numbers clearly aren’t everything, they provide a good way gauge a team. And if you’re gauging with these numbers, you could say that the only thing holding back the Packers from the Superbowl was a better defensive game plan against the Cardinals . Either way, with a few minor adjustments, these numbers give Packer fans all the more reason to be excited for next year.