To The Victor......

The power of the Super Bowl, or at least winning the Super Bowl, is that it seemingly rewrites storybooks. It is as if the confetti that cascades from the ceiling during the postgame celebration is made with some kind of career cleanser.

For Aaron Rodgers, a win in Dallas Sunday would have removed him from the shadow of Brett Favre and moved him into the place where he rightfully belongs: Among the short list of the NFL's great QBs.

For Ben Roethlisberger, a win in Dallas would have put him in elite company as one of only five QBs to win three Super Bowls(Joe Montana, Terry Bradshaw, Troy Aikman, Tom Brady being the others). Most importantly, it would have momentarily made people forget all about Roethlisberger's sexual assault-ridden offseason.

Unfortunately, only one man could have gotten what he wanted, and that man was Aaron Rodgers. Rodgers became the first Packers quarterback to win a Super Bowl MVP since Bart Starr in the Super Bowl II. By winning the MVP, he managed to achieve something his legendary predecessor couldn't and punctuated the epitome of an "Eff You" season from Green Bay to Brett Favre. That being said, and this is not to take anything away from the greatest sporting moment in the Leonardis house in 12 years, the position that Rodgers is in right now, oddly enough, is the same one Roethlisberger was in after his first Super Bowl.

Back in 2005, it was Big Ben who took a scrappy 6-seed Steelers team, conquered three giants on the road and marched into Super Sunday and walked away with a victory. Rodgers' night was spectacular, but it had been done before. Sunday night, however, the tables had turned on Big Ben. Rather than be celebrated(even in a loss) as someone who persevered through a PR nightmare to lead a team with the worst offensive line in Super Bowl history to within a final drive of winning his third ring, Roethlisberger found himself still the comic foil for transgressions that may or may not have occurred in Georgia bathroom stall.

Instead of a great game between two outstanding young QBs, many on the various social media platforms(including myself, who never passes up a chance to take a few shots at...well, anyone) made Rodgers and company's Super Bowl win into a triumph of good over evil. Don't believe me? Here's a sample of some tweets from people with a bit more money and fame than yours truly:

@rosemcgowan: Yes!!! Hooray for the non-raping quarterback!

@thefredsavage: My congratulations to the Packers for showing that Roethlisberger can only score when 3 of his bodyguards block the exit to the men's room.

I'm not saying we should be ashamed for taking shots at Roethlisberger or even saying Savage and McGowan were out of line for saying what they said. However, let the record show that Big Ben was never actually CONVICTED of rape. That's not to say that it didn't actually happen because, Lord knows, that Georgia assault case was handled with the clumsiness of the Keystone cops, but at what point do we let Big Ben off the hook for crimes he was only accused of? Next week? Next year? Next Super Bowl? Never?

Plaxico Burress shot himself in the leg and is doing time for his stupidity. He deserves our ridicule. Donte Stallworth actually killed a man with his car and got slapped on the wrist with a 30-day sentence. He deserves our outrage. If Michael Vick can win Comeback Player of the Year without the overwhelming cacophony of dog-fighting jokes and PETA picketing outside the league office, isn't it time to move on from Roethlisberger's trysts?

Maybe it's not, but it makes you wonder what the world would be saying about Ben had he did to the Packers Sunday night what he did to the Cardinals in 2008 in orchestrating a masterful 4th quarter comeback with less than two minutes to go to win the Super Bowl. You wonder if the storybook ending written for Ben would be different had he emerged from Dallas victorious instead of a couple incompletions short of a comeback. Kobe Bryant's rape allegations seem like a distant memory because, in the time that has elapsed since then and now, he won a few championships and is now billed more as a better "teammate"(even after he threw Andrew Bynum under the bus during a YouTube video taken at the mall and spent weeks demanding to get the hell out of L.A.). Winning seems to always change everything. As the cliche goes, "to the victor, belongs the spoils". Rodgers brought the Lombardi Trophy back to Titletown and he'll spend the next few months of his life riding high. In the meantime, short of Christina Aguilera's O.J.-style butchering of the National Anthem and Fergie's atrocious singing during an equally-horrid Black Eyed Peas halftime show, the biggest tragedy Sunday night was the fact that this mess still found its way into the postgame conversations of a phenomenal football game and that a guy who has done everything he can to turn things around still finds his face on the dart boards of so many.

Look, I'm not telling you how to perceive Ben Roethlisberger, but the fact of the matter is, only two people know what really happened on that fateful night in Milledgeville and, whether you agree with the end result or not, the accused never spent a day in jail for what was believed to have happened. Ben Roethlisberger took the field Sunday with the chance to rewrite his story and he failed.

That makes him the defeated. It doesn't make him guilty.

Super Bowl XLV Preview

Super Bowl XLV kicks off in a few hours. Since hours upon hours have been wasted on various networks on hyperbole for this Packers-Steelers clash, I'll save you all the obligatory preamble stuff.

It's time to touch all bases on what could be the last football game for quite some time:

Over/Unders(Note: I made most of these up)

Number of times Joe Buck and Troy Aikman reference Brett Favre: 4.....bet the over. There's a lot to talk about with these two teams. Both QBs coming full circle, the magnificent play of these two defenses, the Packers bouncing back from 15 players on the IR, Matthews vs. Polamalu, etc. Still, all the talk leading up to this game has been about a guy who won't even be on the field: Brett Favre. Since commentators can't go a Packers game without mentioning Favre, you can expect Aikman and Buck to go the Favre well early and often. Every Rodgers shovel pass will be "Favre-esque". Every lull in action will be filled with the story of how Rodgers became starter and Favre became persona non grata. Every flash back will feature moments from Super Bowls XXXI and XXXII(the two Favre Super Bowls). The only story that has a chance to be talked about more than Favre is Big Ben's tawdry sexual assualt allegations.

Roughing the Passer penalties for Steelers LB James Harrison: 2.....push. I'd like to think that Harrison's impact won't be nearly as big as its been in week's passed because he'll be up against Pro Bowl LT Chad Clifton. That's not to say Harrison won't try to knock A-Rod's head off to give Pittsburgh a better advantage by forcing Green Bay to trot out Matt Flynn. Rodgers does a better job of getting the ball out on time than he did last year, but this offensive line of Green Bay's is still hardly a brick wall. The reason I go push here is because I don't Harrison will be as big a factor as his bookend teammate LaMarr Woodley(who will be up against rookie RT Bryan Bulaga). Still, Harrison has a reputation to keep up and, with refs and league execs not wanting the thrill of this game sapped out by dirty play, expect the whistles to be blown at full force.

300 Yards Passing For Aaron Rodgers.....under: The Packers are going to spread it out and exploit the weaknesses of this Steelers secondary, but Pittsburgh isn't dumb enough to give Rodgers anything deep. I expect there to be a lot of quick slants and screens to start out as McCarthy brainlessly gets conservative early on to avoid turning the ball over. Rodgers is obviously the key to Green Bay's success but he proved last week that he doesn't have to ball out for the Packers to win. With Green Bay wanting to protect Rodgers from this Steelers pass rush, I think we'll see quite a bit of James Starks with Rodgers pulling out a deep bomb or two. Final numbers for A-Rod: 22-30, 2 TD, 1 pick, 268 yards.

300 Yards Passing for Ben Roethlisberger....under: The Packers' secondary is far better than the one Big Ben roasted for 500 yards in their 2009 showdown. On top of that, Ben's offensive line is much worse and Green Bay's pass rush is far more aggressive in Year 2 under Dom Capers. Plus, Pittsburgh would be smart to unleash Rashard Mendenhall on the ground against an average Packer run defense. Roethlisberger can buy time with his quick feet and huge body, so a few bombs to Mike Wallace will happen. Still, the Packers don't want a repeat of last year and I think they'll be a bit more diligent against the pass this time around. Final numbers for Big Ben: 19-27, 257 yards, 1 TD, 1 INT.

2 sacks for Clay Matthews.....Over: I'm looking at 3 sacks here for "The Ultimate Warrior". There's a part of me that thinks he takes losing the Defensive MVP award to Troy Polamalu as a slight and goes on an absolute tear on this terrible Steelers offensive line. If Ben gets free from the initial pass rush, nobody will be better at running down the big fella than #52. Anyone who watched clips of Matthews putting Winston Justice on his ass in the Wild Card game against Philly should expect more of the same in this one. The only thing standing in Clay's way will be a few obligatory trips and holds from Flozell Adams. Needless to say, I like Clay a lot tonight.

4 total turnovers for both teams.....push: I predicted a INT a piece for both QBs, and that may be a bit generous if this game becomes a shootout like it's projected to be. It remains to be seen whether the big stage scares the inexperienced Packers here. They haven't had fumbling issues so far, but if there's a butterfingers candidate, it's WR James Jones. With Donald Driver iffy, Jones is going to see a lot of work opposite Greg Jennings. Jones cost the Packers a win against Chicago early in the regular season with a couple costly fumbles. He also got the hands of stone in the Wild Card game against the Eagles. I don't want to jinx my own team here but if anyone seems primed for the goat horns, it may very well be James Jones(although Mike McCarthy is a good choice as well). With two ballhawking defenses like this, there's going to be a lot of strip attempts and corners jumping routes. 2 turnovers a piece isn't impossible, so that's what I'm riding with.

100 yards rushing for Rashard Mendenhall....over: Mendenhall is the kind of back the Packers don't want to see: a powerful inside runner with speed who can break tackles on a whim. The Packers run D hasn't been as stout as it should be and, even with the Steelers' offensive line missing a crucial piece in C Maurkice Pouncey, I like Mendenhall's chances of having a big day if Mike Tomlin doesn't get tempted to go pass-for-pass with Green Bay. The Packers front three is much better than the Jets, so Mendenhall will have to be a bit more elusive than he was two weeks ago. Regardless, the Steelers need Mendenhall to keep Green Bay's D honest and, if there's an Achilles heel for these Packers, it's stopping the run. Final numbers for Mendy: 18 carries, 109 yards, 1 TD.

100 yards receiving for Greg Jennings.....under: The Packers are going to spread the ball around. Jennings clearly has the speed advantage over Ike Taylor but Rodgers ability to find him deep will depend on the time A-Rod has to throw. Rodgers is going to want to get that ball out fast because Woodley and Harrison will be coming in quick. If there's an 100-yard WR at all in this game, I'd put money on it being Mike Wallace, simply because he's the Steelers best big play guy.

The X-Factors

Pittsburgh: TE Heath Miller - The Packers' secondary is going to have its hands full with Hines Ward and Mike Wallace, and with Ben feeling the constant motor of Clay Matthews breathing down his neck, he's going to need a safety valve. That safety valve will be Miller, who came up with quite a few clutch catches against Baltimore in the divisional round. Green Bay's LBs are going to have to be strong in coverage to keep Miller from busting loose and it's a lot for a defense to account when dealing with two solid WRs and a soft-handed, big-bodied tight end while trying to take down a massive QB who is best when throwing on the move. Miller needs to be Ben's guy to keep the chains moving and wear out this injury depleted Packers defense.

Green Bay: DE Cullen Jenkins - NT B.J. Raji got quite a bit of the press as the extroverted star of this Packers' defensive line but, arguably, Green Bay's 2nd best pass rusher is Jenkins. Jenkins will be playing with a heavy heart after spending most of the week dealing with his missing father(who was inevitably found). While Raji certainly has a good chance of dominating the line of scrimmage with Pouncey on the sidelines, the Steelers would be wise to keep an eye on Jenkins too. Jenkins had 7 sacks in the regular season and, at 6'2, 305 lbs, he's a lot for an undermanned offensive line to handle. With the protection focused on Matthews(and even Raji), I see Jenkins exploiting a one-on-one occasionally and making his presence felt.

Super Bowl Unsung Heros

Pittsburgh: C Doug Legursky - All Legursky has to do is fill in for an All-Pro center who helped anchor one of the best rushing attacks in football and play admirably against one of the best 3-4 defensive lines in the NFL on the biggest stage of his career. Sounds simple enough, right? Again, the Steelers need to establish the run to keep Green Bay guessing and Legursky is going to have his hands full with a beast like Raji who is as quick as he is strong. If Legursky flunks in keeping Raji or any of the other Packers defenders at bay, the Steelers are probably toast. A QB, even one of Roethlisberger's size, can't expect to produce with an inside rush constantly in his face. The Steelers' offensive line has gotten lucky enough given all the patchwork it has utilized all season. Legursky has to be its next big miracle.

Green Bay: LB Erik Walden - While this game has been billed as a showdown between two great young QBs, their success depends on how they handle two great defenses. Walden has emerged as of late in filling in for Frank Zombo(who was filling in for Brad Jones). He's an athletic pass rusher who, like Jenkins, will benefit from attention being paid to the bigger names on this defense. Walden's strong play against Chicago in Week 17 helped get the Packers in the playoffs and a big game here would punctuate a rollercoaster season for this Packers defense. Now, prior to the NFC Championship, Sam Shields would get the call here but his 2-INT day against Chicago has made him less of a secret. The same goes for RB James Starks, who is the postseason's leading rusher but will probably have a tougher time adding to those numbers against a stonewall Steelers run defense. A big game by Starks, though, could make things interesting next season in Green Bay's backfield with Ryan Grant coming back from ankle surgery and Brandon Jackson a free agent.

Finally.....the only paragraph that matters......

Packers (-2.5) vs. Steelers

Pick: Steelers - Look, the reverse jinx has gotten us this far, right? The Packers are the better team but they are also the least experienced. Pessimistic Packers fans like myself have been waiting for Mike McCarthy to crop dust the field with brain farts this entire postseason. Does it happen here? That remains to be seen. Still, the worst thing that could happen to these Packers was the showering of hype they've received over the last two weeks combined with Vegas making them nearly a field goal favorites against a team that won a Super Bowl two years ago and is coming into this game as the 2 seed in a stronger conference. Roethlisberger vs. Rodgers will be one for the ages but the physicality of this Steelers defense worries me some, as does the tendency in these playoffs for the refs to slurp the Steel Curtain. Player safety will be paramount here so expect a few chintzy roughing calls. The same can be said for pass interference. Given the aggressiveness of both defenses, their inability to avoid dumb penalities, and the frequency of passing from both offenses, we could see a lot of non-Terrible Towel related yellow laundry on the field. Game plan will be key. Pittsburgh has a better chance of having success mixing it up on offense given Green Bay's weakness against the run. Green Bay, however, has the better QB and there is nobody in the building who wants to bury the memory of Brett Favre more than Aaron Rodgers. Experience didn't help Indianapolis last year against the "underdog" Saints but lightning doesn't strike the same place twice. I expect a MVP-calibur day from Mendenhall as both QBs trade strikes. Inevitably, McCarthy blows this one down the stretch and the Steelers win by a field goal.

Final: Pittsburgh 24, Green Bay 21.......Dave Leonardis obscenities: 167.

MVP: Ben Roethlisberger - QBs always have the edge in the MVP voting and Big Ben has missed out on two MVPs in his previous two Super Bowls. I like Mendenhall as the dark horse here but something tells me Tomlin will ratchet up the passing game to try to blow for blow with Green Bay(as opposed to running it down the Packers' throats, wearing down the D and keeping A-Rod off the field). That may be at Tomlin's demise but, from a storyline standpoint, I can see Big Ben going from pariah to Super Bowl MVP. Obviously, as a Packers fan waiting 12 years for another Super Bowl and as someone who wants to see Aaron Rodgers get that monkey off his back, I'm hoping I'm dead wrong with these last two paragraphs......but you never know. That's why we play the games.