 Wysłany: Śro 18:08, 26 Sty 2011 Temat postu: Steelers aren't pretty, but they are Super |
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| Steelers aren't pretty, but they are Super
(Related : www.cheapnfljerseysonsale.com) cheap nfl jerseys And they relish such an identity. Scratch. Claw. Get down and dirty."I think it's been that way since I've been here," said nose tackle Chris Hoke, a ninth-year veteran. "It's not about style points. It's not about how you win. It's just about winning. "It seems like the games are always close, we're always grinding these games out, but we win. It's a testament to the resiliency of this team to focus, so that when things get tough, we don't blink, we don't start losing our confidence. We tend to grind it out." There's one more assignment left this season. And it won't be easy,nfl jerseys Sale, against the super-hot Green Bay Packers and their brilliant quarterback, Aaron Rodgers nfl jerseys wholesale. (Related : www.cheapnfljerseysonsale.com) Yet they might have the Packers right where they want them. The Steelers are 2?-point underdogs. Just like they'd expect to be. Three other things we learned from The Championship Games Weekend: official NFL jerseys Looks like Super Bowl XLV will be a classic. Having two storied franchises meet in the Roman Numeral Game offers a traditional backdrop, yet considering what happened the last time the teams met hints at the possibility of another thriller. The Steelers defeated the Packers at Heinz Field on Dec. 20, 2009, when Mike Wallace's diving, 19-yard reception in the corner of the end zone with no time on the clock clinched a 37-36 result. Wallace's catch capped an 11-play, 86-yard drive and a 35-point fourth quarter. Ben Roethlisberger passed for a career high 503 yards and combined with Aaron Rodgers to heave 94 passes for a combined 886 yards and 6 TDs, with no interceptions. The Jets need to get a home playoff game. Having fallen on the road for a second consecutive year in the AFC title game, Rex Ryan surely wants to try a new formula for getting to the Super Bowl. Like having a home game? It's impressive that under Ryan and with young quarterback Mark Sanchez,nfl jerseys cheap, the Jets are 4-2 in road playoff games �� while yet to earn a home playoff date. Ryan thought his team was a bit worn out on Sunday, despite its valiant comeback (although the task of three consecutive road games didn't prevent the NFC's sixth seed,usnfl jerseys, Green Bay, from reaching the Super Bowl). Then again, the Jets �� who put a lid on their typical trash talk last week �� might have hit their emotional zenith at New England a week earlier. "If you get a bye, you're fresher for these third (round) games," said Ryan. "I mean it's as simple as that. But to get to that, you have to earn that bye week. We didn't earn it. We had to go the long ride again, the long, tough road." (Related : www.cheapnfljerseysonsale.com) Now, on to the awards,Stud of the week: Aaron Rodgers. He's still red-hot. The Packers quarterback took the next step in the NFC title game with another strong performance. The stats: 17-of-30, 244 yards, 0 TD passes,NFL slippers wholesale, 2 INTs, 1 TD run. The interpretation: A-Rod continues to live up to his promise as Brett Favre's successor, and again made the cool-under-pressure plays that define a winner. His fast start �� 4-for-4 on a game-opening, 84-yard drive capped by his sweet 1-yard TD rollout sprint to the left corner �� set the right tone for a team that looked to have plenty of urgency to seize the big-game moment. Starting with the triggerman in the pocket. Offensive player of the week: Rashard Mendenhall. The Steelers rushed 43 times for 166 yards, led by the third-year running back who gained 95 of his 121 yards in the dominating first half. Mendenhall,chicago bears slippers, who also caught two passes for 32 yards and punched in a 1-yard TD run, ran for more yards against the Jets' third-ranked run defense than any back this season. And he did it with a smattering of big plays, including a 35-yard jaunt in the second quarter that set up a field goal. Defensive playmaker of the week: B.J. Raji. The Packers nose tackle, listed at 337 pounds, demonstrated nifty footwork on a fourth-quarter interception and 18-yard touchdown return that proved to be the difference. Raji, who has been impressive as an inside pass rusher,Pittsburgh Steelers jerseys, undoubtedly surprised Bears fill-in quarterback Caleb Hanie by dropping into coverage on a key third down. Hanie's pass was intended for running back Matt Forte, who ran a circle route �� but Raji disrupted that plan in a big way. Special teamer of the week: Tim Masthay. Devin Hester, the Bears' dynamic returner, was never the swing factor that he is capable of against the Packers. Hester �� who had a 62-yard punt return score and a near-score prevented by Masthay's last-gasp tackle when Chicago beat Green Bay in September �� was limited to three returns for 16 yards on Sunday. The punter had a foot in this. Masthay averaged 41.8 yards with a 34.5-yard net, including a 65-yarder, to help keep Hester in check. Rookie of the week: Sam Shields. The Packers nickel back, a Miami (Fla.) product who stuck as an undrafted free agent, had two interceptions, a sack and a key pressure to continue a pattern of making a mark with big plays. Shields' pickoff of Caleb Hanie at the 12-yard line with 47 seconds left put the finishing touch on the victory. And his pressure off a corner blitz earlier in the fourth quarter forced the hurried third-down throw that B.J. Raji intercepted and returned for what was ultimately the deciding score. And did we mention the hit on Jay Cutler, suspected to cause the controversial injury? That Shields was undrafted shows that there were some mistakes made, all across the league. He's playing like a first-rounder. This week's surprise: Caleb Hanie. The third-string quarterback, a third-year pro from Colorado State, tried to save the day for the Bears after Jay Cutler was knocked out of the game. He sure made it interesting, adding the spark that No. 2 quarterback Todd Collins seemed woefully unable to do. Hanie completed 13 of 20 passes for 153 yards,wholesale nfl nba mlb jerseys, with a TD and two interceptions. OK, he had two picks �� one that was returned for a TD and another that ended the game. But Hanie at least did enough to put the Bears in position to win. And nobody burned his jersey NFL Women Jerseys. (Related : www.cheapnfljerseysonsale.com) Jay Cutler doesn't get much benefit of the doubt. Maybe it's his nonchalant demeanor. The Bears quarterback was knocked out of the NFC title game with a left knee injury �� revealed on Monday to be a torn medial collateral ligament �� and drew a barrage of criticism from some unlikely sources. Thanks to the instant magic of Twitter,Sale nfl jerseys, players from around the NFL formed a virtual conga line in pummeling Cutler for not returning to the game before the facts about his injury were clear. The fans who burned Cutler's jersey at Soldier Field crossed the line, too. But they were (presumably) the type of paying customers who paint their faces. Players, even the ex-players-turned TV analysts, should know better. Cutler didn't help himself by looking a bit disinterested as he stood on his damaged leg. No, he didn't provide dramatic TV shots �� like making trainers drag him off the field or getting into coach Lovie Smith's face about returning to the game. Maybe some or all of that fueled the anti-Cutler avalanche, but afterward it was evident that Bears players had the quarterback's back. Brian Urlacher was pretty colorful in his postgame presser, firing back at players he suspected are envious that they weren't playing for a title. Safety Chris Harris also shot back at Jaguars running back Maurice Jones Drew, saying during an ESPN interview on Monday,cheap jerseys, "That's like the pot calling the kettle black for a guy who missed the last two games while his team was trying to make the playoffs." They were on the ropes again, needing one more first down after the two-minute warning to finally put away the New York Jets and escape. It was third-and-6. But when Ben Roethlisberger took the shotgun snap and looked over his left shoulder for his money man, Hines Ward, he saw way too many white Jets jerseys in coverage. So he scrambled, running from danger and the notion that the Pittsburgh Steelers were flirting with one of the biggest playoff collapses ever.Oh snap. Improvise."We expected them to bring the house," Roethlisberger said of the Jets defense. "They dropped everybody, so as soon as I saw them leave, it was a really, really tight window in order to get it to Hines. My thought was, 'Let's try and run it.' "I started running to the sideline and next thing you know, 'A.B.' comes flying across the field. He beat them with speed. I just threw it and he made a heck of a catch." Roethlisberger �� who rolled right and "danced like a ballerina,Chicago bears cheap jerseys," as his onetime agent, Leigh Steinberg, tweeted �� threw the pass low and tight. Perfect. Rookie Antonio Brown, matched on a linebacker, dug it out of the turf as he finished a crossing route that began on the other side of the field with a trips left formation. Then Brown, who eight nights earlier made a clutch, 58-yard catch off the side of his helmet on third-and-19 to help put away Baltimore, sprang to the turf and ran until he was pushed out of bounds with a 14-yard gain. And the Steel City exhaled."You never know how these things will turn out," Steelers linebacker LaMarr Woodley beamed after the 24-19 victory secured the franchise's record eighth Super Bowl appearance. "But Antonio Brown made a big catch for the second week in a row, and the offense kept us off the field." The Steelers, who led 24-0 just before the two-minute warning in the first half, might not have had to sweat out the finish on Sunday night if Roethlisberger hadn't fumbled a snap midway through the fourth quarter. (Related : www.cheapnfljerseysonsale.com) Talk about killing momentum. Pittsburgh's defense had just stuffed LaDainian Tomlinson on fourth-and-goal from the 1-yard line,authentic jerseys, ala Steel Curtain style, but on the next snap the quarterback couldn't handle the exchange. When he fell on the football in the end zone, the Jets had a safety and a free-kick coming. With the short field, New York quickly sliced the margin to five points with 3:06 on the clock. Sale nfl jerseys Game on."That's us," said Roethlisberger, who suddenly has a shot at winning a Tom Brady-like third Super Bowl in six years. "It's not always pretty, but somehow we find a way to get it done." Fittingly, Roethlisberger �� who threw two interceptions and had a season-worst 35.5 passer rating �� managed to straighten himself out Sunday when it mattered most. The Steelers are used to it. They were without Roethlisberger for the first four games this season as he served an NFL suspension stemming from alleged sexual misconduct (for which he was never charged) at a Milledgeville, Ga., nightclub last winter �� the second such allegation aimed at him in as many offseasons. Add assorted injuries, striking the likes of star safety Troy Polamalu to vital, lesser-known players such as defensive end Aaron Smith and tackles Max Starks and Willie Colon, and this gritty,nfl custom jerseys, resilient team has been forced to improvise all along. (Related : www.cheapnfljerseysonsale.com) Source related： Sale nfl jerseys |
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