Oh it’s time. We are talking hours before kickoff and all of the mess with Spy-gate and Deflate-gate will be behind us and we can actually concentrate on what matters, somebody putting both “Big” Ben Roethlisberger and Tom Brady on their ***. In what my boy Fred Alfred has labeled the “Cheater’s bowl”, the New England Patriots face off against the Pittsburgh Steelers.
This is a win-win for football fans all over no matter who wins. Why? Because Ravens Nation hates the Steelers and everyone outside of the northeastern corner of the country including Roger Goodell want the champs to go down.
Look, I don’t like it any more than you, do but let’s face it. They are the champs no matter how they went about it. I blame the NFC East. If they had just let the New York Giants into the playoffs, we would not be looking at another ring for the Patriots due to them being their kryptonite.
So let’s talk about the matchups for the game along with my predictions.
William Gay vs. Julian Edelman
William Gay is in for the night of his life as he faces off against “Mr. Burgertyme” himself. Wes Welker mentored Edelman until he left for Denver a few years back and now he has taken off and outperformed everyone in multiple positions on the roster. If you want this guy to excel on defense, he’s got you. You need him on special teams, no worries, “Jules” will ball out. If there is a water boy spot needing to be filled, I’m sure if Bill needed it, Julian would be the best one in the league. I LOVE LOVE LOVE hard working guys like Edelman.
With that said 3-Ints and 15 Pass-Defenses in 2014 is something Gay should be proud of. But more is needed in order to keep up with the talent of Edelman. This is a matchup I’ll be watching all night. Advantage: Edelman
Rob Gronkowski vs. Jarvis Jones and Shamarko Thomas
The reason I place two guys on Gronk in the matchup is because I expect Mike Tomlin to approach the monster tight end with a smarter approach than one-on-one. I fully expect Shamarko to get physical with Gronk underneath and Thomas to cover overtop on Gronk. I have seen it successful in the past when the Baltimore Ravens used a similar scheme to cover him in the past and have been successful. I doubt it will be enough to shut him down but the Steelers are hoping it will slow him a bit.
Advantage: Gronk
Big Ben vs. New England Defense.
Ben has the best (yes, I said it) receiver in the league in Antonio Brown, however with two of his offensive weapons out due to suspension, it could be a long night for the 12-year veteran. “Big Money” Heath Miller is still there as a reliable target. Another guy to watch is Sammy Coates. Ben is facing a unit that lost both of their starting CBs in the offseason. If Marcus Wheaton can step up and ball in the absence of Martavis Bryant and Cody Wallace can fill his new starting Center role in the absence of Maurkice Pouncy (on temp IR), Ben will be dancing in the pocket making plays as usual. There are a lot of “ifs” there but I stand by my opinion.
Advantage: Big Ben
Tom Brady vs. Pittsburgh Defense
This is a guy who has a healthy Gronk, a healthy Edelman and a chip on his shoulder. All signs point to trouble for the Steelers’ D. If the Steelers can shut down the run and the drags to Edelman while at the same time creating pressure on Brady, they have a chance, however I just don’t see a complete demise of this high-powered offense as they do their job. Brady blew a little smoke as he complimented the Steelers’ D when he according to Pennlive.com said:
“They always had one of the most challenging defenses to prepare for because they have a lot of versatile players.”
It’s not the like Steelers have a menacing pass-rush as of late either. Dick Lebeau is now a Titan. That 33-sack stat from 2014 is not scaring anybody.
Advantage: Brady
This will be a shootout game due to both Offenses clearly better than their Defenses. When it comes to home-field advantage there is no better team in the league, as the Patriots have only lost one game in the last 2 years at home. My final prediction is surprise surprise…
Patriots 37
Steelers 20
Who you got? Comment on Social Media and call your shot!
Jermaine Lockett is a Writer and CEO for Couch Rider Report. Follow us on Facebook or twitter.
