Quarterbacks are usually the focus of attention in the run-up to the Super Bowl and this year has been no different as the Green Bay Packers and the Pittsburgh Steelers prepare for battle in Dallas this Sunday. Aaron Rodgers is attempting to win his first title in Green Bay and emerge once and for all from the shadow of Hall of Fame predecessor Brett Favre, while Pittsburgh’s Ben Roethlisberger will hope to complete his redemption from the off-field indiscretions that saw him suspended for the first month of the season and is bidding to join the elite club of three-time champion signal callers.
But as much as some people would have you believe, the quarterbacks are just part of the story, and it’s only fair to highlight some of the other, perhaps lesser known, players on the two teams that could have a decisive influence on the destination of the Lombardi trophy.
Green Bay Packers
BJ Raji, Nose Tackle
Raji, the 2009 top-10 pick in his second year with the Packers, has really developed into a game-changing force at the line of scrimmage in the second half of the regular season. He is stout against the run while at the same time he has chipped in with five sacks in his last eight games dating back to Week 13. Raji also has pretty good hands for a lineman, as evidenced when he trundled in for a touchdown after picking off a pass in the NFC title game in Chicago. With Pittsburgh’s rookie centre Maurkice Pouncey, who has rapidly become the rock of an injury-riddled Steelers offensive line, also hurt and unlikely to play, Raji has the opportunity to get plenty of pressure on Roethlisberger up the middle.
Donald Driver, Wide Receiver
Driver is the grand old man of the Packers offence, closing out his 12th season with the team in his first Super Bowl. But while Driver has ceded much of the spotlight to younger receivers such as Greg Jennings, he remains a reliable outlet for Rodgers, catching at least three balls in five successive games before making just a single catch in difficult conditions in Chicago last time out. And Football Outsiders’ stat guru Aaron Schatz believes Pittsburgh’s tendency to drop a cornerback back from the line of scrimmage could play into Driver’s hands as it opens up some of the short passes Rodgers likes to throw his way.
Pittsburgh Steelers
Heath Miller, Tight End
Miller is one of Roethlisberger’s most reliable targets and could end up having a bigger influence on the receiving game than former Super Bowl MVP Hines Ward. Green Bay have some top cornerbacks in Charles Woodson and Tramon Williams but are slightly more vulnerable down the seam, especially when defensive coordinator Dom Capers is sending extra blitzers, and Miller could be primed to take advantage. Indeed, when the Steelers faced the Packers last season, Miller ran amok to the tune of seven catches for 118 yards. He has also come up big in the four games since he sat out a couple of weeks with injury, notching up 16 catches for 205 yards and two TDs.
Lawrence Timmons, linebacker
Fellow ‘backers James Harrison, LaMarr Woodley and James Farrior get more headlines for putting big hits on the quarterback, but Timmons makes his presence felt just as much on the field. The fourth-year player was eighth in the NFL in tackles with 135 and is also able to drop back in coverage, picking up two interceptions and breaking up nine pass plays this year, favourable numbers for a linebacker. It’s the confidence in Timmons’ ability to sweep up that gives the likes of Harrison and Woodley the freedom to go after the quarterback.
Finally, a mention must go to the wild-haired defensive duo of Troy Polamalu and Clay Matthews. Slightly different players, safety Polamalu is the quarterback of the Steelers’ D who is never too far from the action, while linebacker Matthews is a physical specimen who racked up 13.5 sacks in just his second year in the league. Polamalu edged out Matthews to be named Defensive Player of the Year and both players will look to have a big impact despite their flowing hairstyles making them easy for offences to spot.
