quickie wins the super bowl

The Packers' 31-25 victory over the Steelers in Super Bowl XLV was truly a microcosm of their 2010 season:

The team battled through injuries to key players. When Donald Driver limped off the field, my heart sank because Quickie is the man, and he deserves a championship. When Charles Woodson and Sam Shields went out, my heart sank because Jarrett Bush and Pat Lee aren't that good. Bush's excellent play on punt coverage and impressive interception don't change the fact that Hines Ward juked him out of his cleats, then his jock, then pantsed him in the end zone in front of 111 million people, all on the same play.

The defense played great in the first half, intercepting Ben Roethlisberger twice and keeping Rashard Mendenhall in check, but allowed the Steelers to score late in the second quarter and allowed them to make a game of it in the second half. It didn't help that kickoff coverage was weak, giving the Steelers good starting position most of the game. Once again, Clay "Bloodline" Matthews III bailed the defense out by knocking the ball loose from Mendenhall, ending a Steelers' drive that was making Packers' fans nervous. If Woodson is the spiritual leader of the defense, Bloodline is its enforcer.

The running game showed some sparks, but never caught fire. It really only served to keep Troy Polamalu guessing. Thankfully, Aaron Rodgers again played lights out football. If his receivers hold on to a few more of those perfect passes, the babbling heads on ESPN and NFL Network wouldn't be talking about one of the best performances by a quarterback in Super Bowl history. I'm talking 400+ yards and four or five touchdowns; maybe one on foot. They wouldn't have given him the MVP award, they would have named it after him. And he still had to answer stupid questions about the hillbilly from Kiln with the bad judgment. Ridiculous.

This is a team that was favored to win the Super Bowl before the season started, but lost numerous starters to injury, and struggled to find an offensive rhythm without running back Ryan Grant and tight end Jermichael Finley. It got so bad that they couldn't score a touchdown against the lowly Lions in week 14, and had to win their last two games to even make the playoffs (with some help from DeSean Jackson and the Giants' punt coverage team). That's five straight elimination games to get to the Super Bowl. They became the first #6 seed from the NFC to even make it to the Super Bowl, let alone win (the Steelers won it for the AFC in Super Bowl XL).

And while it's nice to bask in this win, Packers fans have reason to be excited for next season (if there is one). This is still the second youngest team in the NFL, and the way the young unkowns stepped in to play when starters went down makes Ted Thompson look clairvoyant. Driver indicated that he's coming back (go Quickie!), and Woodson will be back if he has to put screws in his broken clavicle himself. With Grant back, the backfield should be a little more worrisome for opponents, if not altogether formidable. Most importantly, Finley will be back, giving Rodgers another dangerous weapon in the passing game, and that's frightening. Defensive coordinators on the schedule next season are already having nightmares.