A sports blog by and for Midwest Sports Fans
Happy Saturday to all!
Below are our NFL Week 4 Games to Watch, so make sure that your remote has a fresh set of batteries and the sofa has an empty seat available because these three games can’t be missed!
Also, let’s see how I do this week, especially since I currently am above .500 this season with a [6-3] record!
The first week of football was a gift to football fans. We saw many exciting and close games. This week we might have another game with just as much as drama and excitement.
The Pittsburgh Steelers will play the Chicago Bears in Chicago, and what makes this one a must watch is to see how both teams’ defenses play without their defensive captains. The Bears are going to have to play without middle linebacker Brian Urlacher, and the Steelers are without Troy Polamalu.
With both teams not having their main man on defense, the QBs could have big games this Sunday.
Here are the particulars for this Sunday’s matchup:
Pittsburgh Steelers (1-0) at Chicago Bears (0-1)
The Bears are coming off a very tough loss to the Packers, in which Jay Cutler threw four interceptions, but I see Cutler rebounding against this now weaker Steelers defense.
Despite the plethora of picks, Cutler’s day wasn’t all bad. He did connect with Hester for a touchdown, and he also connected with Johnny Knox. The throw to Knox was just beautiful, and it’s the Cutler I would like to see more of moving forward. The Bears have their work cut out for them again as they go against, arguably, the best defense in the NFL.
But are the Steelers that good without Polamalu?
My guess is yes.
This is still the dominant Steelers defense we saw last year win the Super Bowl. They will be very tough, but that doesn’t mean they are invincible.
The Bears’ defense can help the offense by playing well and making sure the Steelers defense doesn’t get much rest. Every defense needs rest, and one way to upset a good defense is to limit their rest time. The defense will be slower and that’s exactly what the Bears hope happens because that means Hester will be able to run all over the defense.
The Steelers, in the opener last Thursday, didn’t have much of a running game going on. They might not have to do much running this weekend if they can exploit the Bears pass defense. The Bears’ pass defense didn’t look bad last Sunday, but it still their weakest point. Nathan Vasher still gets beat every time he gets the ball thrown his way. I think he is a bust, but the coaches haven’t seen that yet.
My overall thought about this game is that the Steelers have the advantage, and for obvious reasons. They are the returning champions, they have a better defense, better coaching, better play calling, and a more consistent QB. With all these factors adding up, I don’t see the Bears winning this game.
But hey, prove me wrong Bears. I hope you do.
As part of our week-long project to educate you on Super Bowl history and get you ready for Super Bowl 43 this weekend, yesterday we offered up the Super Bowl winners and losers by year, as well as the list of teams who have won and lost the most Super Bowls.
Today, we are breaking down the history of the Super Bowl MVP award, as well as offering up a prediction as to who will be the MVP of Super Bowl 43.
Before we get into any predictions, let’s get a historical perspective by looking at the Super Bowl MVP winners by year, as presented to you in the table below:
| SB# | Year | Player | Team | Opponent | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Super Bowl 1 | 1967 | QB - Bart Starr | Packers | Chiefs | 35-10 |
| Super Bowl 2 | 1968 | QB - Bart Starr | Packers | Raiders | 33-14 |
| Super Bowl 3 | 1969 | QB - Joe Namath | Jets | Colts | 16-7 |
| Super Bowl 4 | 1970 | QB - Len Dawson | Chiefs | Vikings | 23-7 |
| Super Bowl 5 | 1971 | LB - Chuck Howley | Cowboys | Colts | 13-16* |
| Super Bowl 6 | 1972 | QB - Roger Staubach | Cowboys | Dolphins | 24-3 |
| Super Bowl 7 | 1973 | S - Jake Scott | Dolphins | Redskins | 14-7 |
| Super Bowl 8 | 1974 | RB - Larry Csonka | Dolphins | Vikings | 24-7 |
| Super Bowl 9 | 1975 | RB - Franco Harris | Steelers | Vikings | 16-6 |
| Super Bowl 10 | 1976 | WR - Lynn Swann | Steelers | Cowboys | 21-17 |
| Super Bowl 11 | 1977 | WR - Fred Biletnikoff | Raiders | Vikings | 32-14 |
| Super Bowl 12 | 1978 | DE - Harvey Martin, DT - Randy White | Cowboys | Broncos | 27-10 |
| Super Bowl 13 | 1979 | QB - Terry Bradshaw | Steelers | Cowboys | 35-31 |
| Super Bowl 14 | 1980 | QB - Terry Bradshaw | Steelers | Rams | 31-19 |
| Super Bowl 15 | 1981 | QB - Jim Plunkett | Raiders | Eagles | 27-10 |
| Super Bowl 16 | 1982 | QB - Joe Montana | 49ers | Bengals | 26-21 |
| Super Bowl 17 | 1983 | RB - John Riggins | Redskins | Dolphins | 27-17 |
| Super Bowl 18 | 1984 | RB - Marcus Allen | Raiders | Redskins | 38-9 |
| Super Bowl 19 | 1985 | QB - Joe Montana | 49ers | Dolphins | 38-16 |
| Super Bowl 20 | 1986 | DE - Richard Dent | Bears | Patriots | 46-10 |
| Super Bowl 21 | 1987 | QB - Phil Simms | Giants | Broncos | 39-20 |
| Super Bowl 22 | 1988 | QB - Doug Williams | Redskins | Broncos | 42-10 |
| Super Bowl 23 | 1989 | WR - Jerry Rice | 49ers | Bengals | 20-16 |
| Super Bowl 24 | 1990 | QB - Joe Montana | 49ers | Broncos | 55-10 |
| Super Bowl 25 | 1991 | RB - Ottis Anderson | Giants | Bills | 20-19 |
| Super Bowl 26 | 1992 | QB - Mark Rypien | Redskins | Bills | 37-24 |
| Super Bowl 27 | 1993 | QB - Troy Aikman | Cowboys | Bills | 52-17 |
| Super Bowl 28 | 1994 | RB - Emmitt Smith | Cowboys | Bills | 30-13 |
| Super Bowl 29 | 1995 | QB - Steve Young | 49ers | Chargers | 49-26 |
| Super Bowl 30 | 1996 | CB - Larry Brown | Cowboys | Steelers | 27-17 |
| Super Bowl 31 | 1997 | KR/PR - Desmond Howard | Packers | Patriots | 25-21 |
| Super Bowl 32 | 1998 | RB - Terrell Davis | Broncos | Packers | 31-24 |
| Super Bowl 33 | 1999 | QB - John Elway | Broncos | Falcons | 34-19 |
| Super Bowl 34 | 2000 | QB - Kurt Warner | Rams | Titans | 23-16 |
| Super Bowl 35 | 2001 | LB - Ray Lewis | Ravens | Giants | 34-7 |
| Super Bowl 36 | 2002 | QB - Tom Brady | Patriots | Rams | 20-17 |
| Super Bowl 37 | 2003 | S - Dexter Jackson | Buccaneers | Raiders | 48-21 |
| Super Bowl 38 | 2004 | QB - Tom Brady | Patriots | Panthers | 32-29 |
| Super Bowl 39 | 2005 | WR - Deion Branch | Patriots | Eagles | 24-21 |
| Super Bowl 40 | 2006 | WR - Hines Ward | Steelers | Seahawks | 21-10 |
| Super Bowl 41 | 2007 | QB - Peyton Manning | Colts | Bears | 29-17 |
| Super Bowl 42 | 2008 | QB - Eli Manning | Giants | Patriots | 17-14 |
| Super Bowl 43 | 2009 | WR - Santonio Holmes | Steelers | Cardinals | 27-23 |
| Super Bowl 44 | 2010 | QB - Drew Brees | Saints | Colts | 31-17 |
* – Chuck Howley, the 1971 winner, is the only Super Bowl MVP from a losing team. The Cowboys were defeated by the Baltimore Colts in Super Bowl V.
* – The Cowboys are also the only team to have Co-MVPS, when Harvey Martin and Randy White split the award in 1978.
* – The Super Bowl MVP breakdown by team goes as follows:
* – The Super Bowl MVP breakdown by position goes as follows:
Based on history, there are a few things that we can reasonably anticipate about who will be the MVP in Super Bowl 43:
With that being said, if I was forced to bet on whO the Super Bowl 43 MVP will be, my money would be on Ben Roethlisberger. I think that the Steelers are going to win the game, and after Big Ben’s putrid performance in Super Bowl 40, I think he will play well Sunday. Plus, while Arizona’s defense has been solid, they are not great by any stretch of the imagination. Roethlisberger should have a chance to put up pretty good numbers.
However, I would not be surprised to see either James Harrison or Troy Polamalu come away with the trophy. Kurt Warner, while he has been spectacular for most of his career and for most of this season, can be prone to turnovers. Additionally, the Steelers do have a historically great defense. Defensive players from the ’85 Bears and ’01 Ravens won the MVP trophy, and I could see one of the Steelers players getting the award too. Polamalu and Harrison would actually be my #2 and #3 choices for Super Bowl 43 MVP.
Assuming that the Steelers win, and assuming the percentages play out, an offensive player will be the MVP. I know that Hines Ward won the trophy in Super Bowl 40, but Big Ben was just a young pup then. He is absolutely the catalyst of the Steelers offense this year. If he does not play well, Arizona has a chance to win. If he does play well, he will get the requisite numbers to win the award. I don’t see another Steelers offensive player trumping him, unless something fluky happens.
Should the Cardinals somehow with the game, either Kurt Warner or Larry Fitzgerald will come away with the award. I think Fitzgerald would have to just be phenomenal to overcome the whole “storybook” aspect of Warner taking home another MVP trophy. Fitzgerald is certainly capable, but any numbers he gets would also go to Warner. My prediction, if Arizona wins, is that Kurt Warner takes home the trophy.
So, if I was handicapping the race, my Top 5 Players Most Likely to win the Super Bowl 43 MVP list would go something like this:
What do you think?
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