Eagles is best possible Super Bowl matchup

[2ndgenz28]

Fan reaction: Pittsburgh Steelers Vs. Philadelphia Eagles is best possible Super Bowl matchup

By Lee Andrew Henderson, Yahoo! Contributor Network
4 hours, 19 minutes ago

http://sports.yahoo.com/nfl/news?slug=ycn-7507436

Before the New England Patriots defeated the Steelers earlier this season and the Eagles laid an egg against the Vikings there was a time when many experts were wondering if there might be an all Pennsylvania Super Bowl matchup between the Pittsburgh Steelers and Philadelphia Eagles. This led to many believing that an Eagles- Steelers matchup would be horrible for the NFL.

The possibility of an all-Pennsylvania Super Bowl was not a popular suggestion for two reasons: 1) Some believe having both Super Bowl teams from the same state will be bad for ratings; 2) Others believe that a Super Bowl with Ben Roethlisberger(notes) and Michael Vick(notes) as the two faces of their teams would be bad publicity for the NFL after both have been through controversies in the last few years. The first reason is ridiculous; the Super Bowl would get ratings if me and 10 other writers fielded a team. The second reason we'll get to later. The truth is that the Eagles-Steelers matchup is the best possible match up for the Super Bowl and there are five reasons why (besides the fact that I'm a Steelers fan).



Offense vs. Defense

The first reason that a Steelers-Eagles matchup would be a great Super Bowl game is because it would feature an exciting offense vs. defense matchup. The Steelers' defense is led by two of the most well known defensive players in the league in Troy Polamalu(notes) and James Harrison(notes) while the Eagles' offense is led by Michael Vick, an MVP candidate.

The Steelers defense currently ranks second in yards allowed while the Eagles offense is first in yards gained. The Steelers gave up the fewest points in the NFL while the Eagles scored the second most in the league. Both the Steelers defense and the Eagles offense specialize in running where the Steelers have given up 400 less rushing yards than any other team and the Eagles, led by their quarterback, are third in the league in rushing.

James Harrison

Normally Troy Polamalu is the one defensive player on the Steelers to watch but in a Eagles-Steelers Super Bowl matchup the player to watch would be James Harrison. As a Steelers fan I'm not sure what to think of Harrison. Harrison has continued to lick players with unsportsmanlike hits. Should I dislike him for being a thug? Or should I like him for not allowing the rules the change the player that he knows he is? One thing is for sure he's entertaining to watch and there is probably nobody in the league he'd like to lay out more than Michael Vick. Michael Vick-James Harrison in the Super Bowl would almost have to end in a Bo Jackson-Brian Bosworth-like scenario where one inevitably gets the best of the other.

Donovan McNabb(notes)

If one of the starting quarterbacks of the Super Bowl is Michael Vick then the media will probably say Donovan McNabb's name as many time as the two quarterbacks playing the Super Bowl. One of the leading stories will be how the Eagles took a chance on trading McNabb and it worked. I don't think it worked how they planned; they seemed to think Kevin Kolb(notes) was the answer instead of Vick, but it worked nonetheless. This story will be even more magnified by the fact that Donovan McNabb has been benched in Washington in favor of Rex Grossman(notes), one of the worst quarterbacks in the NFL. It's unfortunate because McNabb never got the credit he deserved in Philadelphia and making the great story of Vick more about the failures of McNabb than Vick's redemption would be a shame.

Big Ben

If the Super Bowl were on the line, my team was down by less than a touchdown and we had the ball with less than a minute there are only two guys in the NFL that I would trust the ball with and neither one of them is named Manning. The first is Tom Brady(notes) and the second is Ben Roethlisberger. Every child that likes football dreams of leading the team on a game winning drive to win the Super Bowl and these are the two guys that can do it. Just having Brady or Roethlisberger on the field and knowing that outcome is possible makes the entire game more enjoyable. It's no coincidence that the last Steelers Super Bowl and most of the Patriots Super Bowls were a lot of fun while the Super Bowls that Peyton Manning(notes) has played in have been completely boring.

Good Guys vs. Bad Guys

Michael Vick and Ben Roethlesberger have both been through their controversies in the last few years and I'm not positive but I feel like this is probably how most of the NFL fans feel. Michael Vick has redeemed himself. Let's start with the fact that he went to jail and also throw in that he sat on the bench last year as a third string quarterback. When McNabb was traded Vick wasn't given the job, he took it from Kolb. Who knows if Michael Vick has made the changes off the field that he needs to but he has said the right things and acted pleasantly. Roethlisberger on the other hand has not been forgiven. Even though Roethlisberger was not convicted it seems pretty clear that he does not treat women well and what has he done to redeem himself? Sit out four games? That's not going to cut it.

This is just one of the reasons that an Eagles-Steelers Super Bowl matchup would be a good guys vs. bad guys matchup. The Eagles have the redemption of Vick, the high powered offense and even though the city of Philadelphia has won the World Series lately, the Eagles looked like the team that would break the drought for a long time and kept on falling short. The Eagles and McNabb's constant trips to the NFC Championship only to lose was sort of like a mini-Buffalo Bills.

Meanwhile the Steelers have the hated Ben Roethlesberger. The Steelers have a punishing defense and teams that aren't high powered offenses are usually disliked for no reason (see the San Antonio Spurs). During the season Polamalu and Harrsion were complaining about fines to the point where some fans think they were whining. The Steelers have won two Super Bowls already this decade and fans like to hate on the teams that are on top. Plus, the Steelers have the one thing that is always a sign of a bad guy, they were black. An Eagles-Steelers Super Bowl would be fantastic for all of these reasons but mostly because there is a good guy vs. bad guy story and everybody loves that. Unfortunately for the NFL fans, the bad guys will win.

http://news.steelers.com/catalog/product/119196/

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[3 SS's]

the only thing one could hope for in a game between those teams...... would be a tie !!!

[klatterblast]

hope not ! GO SAINTS .

[CJ Man]

Boo! Sick of the steelers and have a huge hatred for all things Philly! Except for the cheesesteaks and the cream cheese.

[PQ]

I can see Pats Eagles. But not Pitt.