What I’ve got you’ve got to give it to your mamma. What I’ve got you’ve got to give it to your pappa. Give it away, give it away, give it away, give it away now. -Red Hot Chili Peppers
From Pop Warner to the NFL, football coaches everywhere stress turnover avoidance. Nobody wants to have happen what happeneed to Joe Theismann. Theisman floated the ball in the direction of running back Joe Washington. Unfortunately, he didn’t account for unheralded linebacker Jack Squirek. Squirek returned the ball to the hizzy for a touchdown in Super Bowl XVIII. Nobody wants to have happen what happened to Peyton Manning. Faced with a third and five, Manning targeted his favorite receiver, Reggie Wayne. Unfortunatley, Tracy Porter was targeting Manning. At the 26 yard line, Porter returned it to the hizzy for a game-changing touchdown in Super Bowl XLIV. From Pop Warner to the NFL, football coaches everywhere stress turnover avoidance because nobody wants to have happen what done happened to the Steelers yesterday.
Yesterday, the Packers forced three turnovers and turned them into 21 points to fuel a 31-25 victory over the Steelers in Super Bowl XLV. Pittsburgh defensive end Brett Keisel: “Three turnovers to zero. Every time they got a turnover they scored.” Only two other teams made three or more takeaways in a Super Bowl and scored a touchdown after each one: the Steelers against Dallas in 1979 (3-for-3) and the 49ers against the Broncos in 1990 (4-for-4). The Steelers won the Super Bowl in 1979. The 49ers won the Super Bowl in 1990. The Packers won the Super Bowl yesterday.
Ben Roethlisberger, the man I said I wouldn’t bet against, threw two interceptions. Ben Roethlisberger, the man who already has won two Super Bowl championships, threw two interceptions and lost for the first time in a title game. Roethlisberger: “I felt like I let the city of Pittsburgh down, my coaches, and my teammates.” Maybe so, but nobody let anybody down like Rashard Mendenhal done did.
When Rashard Mendenhall took a handoff from Ben Roethlisberger on the first play of the fourth quarter, he was sandwiched by Green Bay linebacker Clay Matthews and defensive end Ryan Pickett. That certainly is a big bun. It’s a very big bun. It’s a big fluffy bun. It’s a very big fluffy bun. 595 punds of very big fluffy bun. That very big fluffy bun gave permanent control of Super Bowl XLV to the Green Bay Packers. Mendenhall fumbled, Green Bay recovered, and three minutes later the Packers scored the game-clinching points in a 31-25 victory. Hooray Green Bay!
The Steelers shoud have known better. Big Ben should have known better. Big Ben and the Steelers have seen this before. In Super Bowl XLIII, Pittsburgh darted out to a 10 point lead against the Cardinals, but a touchdown pass by Kurt Warner narrowed the score at 10-7. Then, a Roethlisberger interception set Arizona up with great field position. But once again, the mighty turnover reared its ugly head. From the shotgun, Warner targeted Anquan Boldin right at the goal line, but he didn’t notice that NFL Defensive Player of the Year James Harrison had dropped into coverage instead of blitzing. Harrison returned the interception a Super Bowl record 100 yards and sent Pittsburgh into the half ahead. Hooray Steelers!
In the end, the Steelers apparenlty learned nothing from that experience. In the end, this is a game that they will forever remember by opportunities squandered. And in the end, the love you take is equal to the love you make.
