There are only three teams in the NFL that have won the Super Bowl five times: the Cowboys, Steelers, and the 49ers. This week, the latter two will square off on Pittsburgh's home field, and both of them come into the game undefeated after two weeks of play.
Pittsburgh still closely resembles the teams that won those Super Bowls (right down to the uni's) back in the 70s, and many of the components that brought them their most recent championship two seasons ago are still there. It's pretty simple, really. When you play the Steelers, you can count on a tough running game that with a dangerous back and an experienced offensive line, and you can count on a punishing defense that suffocates the run with its 3-4 scheme and gets pressure on the quarterback with well-timed blitz packages. In short, the 49ers better buckle their chinstraps and bring their mouthguards, because they're in for one hell of a fight (even the fans aren't always safe). The Steelers had a pretty serious Super Bowl hangover last season. Ben Roethlisberger damn near killed himself and never seemed to get in sync while leading the league in interceptions. The running game had to deal with the loss of Jerome Bettis, their short-yardage specialist and goal-line bowling ball. Willie Parker did step up his game and became a legitimate star in this league, but Bettis' production near the end zone would be tough to replace for any team. Furthermore, it just looked like Bill Cowher had nothing to prove anymore. Some of the intensity was gone, so the execution and attention to detail was gone as well. It seems to me that every year that goes by, it becomes harder and harder to repeat as Super Bowl champs. The Steelers found this out the hard way. This season however, new coach Mike Tomlin (pictured) appears to have a chip on his shoulder, and they have roared out of the gate and pretty much decimated the two teams they've faced so far. Granted it was the Browns and the Bills, which aren't exactly the strongest squads right now. But they aren't the worst, either, and the Steelers made them look absolutely silly — so much so that Cleveland's Week 1 QB got his ass traded to the Seahawks a few days later. Defensively, they've been outstanding. Offensively, they haven't been entirely prolific, but they certainly are taking advantage of the opportunities that their defense is giving them. So far, the Steelers' defense has tallied as many sacks as they've allowed points (10), their turnover ratio is +4, and they're currently ranked third in the NFL in yards allowed. Defensive coordinator Dick Lebeau has remedied the problems of last year so far, as the pass defense has tightened up and the run defense remained strong. One stat that stands out amongst all of them though, is the number of tackles star safety Troy Polamalu has collected thus far: two. Take a moment to absorb that. Two tackles. This low number indicates that, first of all, runners aren't getting to the second level on the Steelers' front seven at all, and enough passes aren't getting completed that Polamalu has to make a whole lot of tackles. Plain and simple, the Steelers' defense is a disruptive force. Hostler and the 49ers' offense will have to devise some new looks to get around this crew. Otherwise, expect a lot of black (or yellow?) helmets crowding the line of scrimmage and an even more pathetic yardage total than the 49ers had the last two weeks. On offense, the Steelers are still sticking to the running game to handle their heavy lifting. "Fast" Willy Parker has elite speed and can break a tackle or two before he gets loose. Wide receivers Hines Ward and Santonio Holmes provide alternatives for the passing game, as Ward can make the tough catches in traffic and Holmes provides the deep threat that keeps the defense honest. Basically, don't look for Walt Harris to man-up on Holmes too often. Heath Miller also provides a nice big target for Roethlisberger at tight end. He's already got six catches and one touchdown this year, so he must be accounted for. Let's hope the 49ers' young but athletic linebacking crew learns quickly about how to deal with respecting the run and guarding against the play-action pass, because I'm sure they'll see it more than once. The Steelers are a much more complete team and further along in the process of building for a championship than the 49ers. As I mentioned before, it's been less than two years since they were hoisting the Lombardi Trophy, and they weren't exactly an old group of veterans at that point. A lot of these players have a lot of gas left in the tank, and if you think they don't listen to all the accolades their AFC rivals are getting, you've got another thing coming. San Francisco is a promising young team, but I think the veteran leadership of Pittsburgh and the home-field advantage will be simply too much to overcome. It'll be a hell of a win if I'm wrong, though. Let's hope for that.
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