Super Bowl 2011: The Packers Will Run on the Steelers

January 28, 2011   ·   Eric Ball   ·   Jump to comments

Super Bowl 2011: The Packers Will Run on the Steelers

The easy thing to do is look at the Steelers 62.8 rushing yards allowed per game and notice that it's almost 28 yards less than the next best rush defense. Then they look at the Packers 24th rated rush offense and assume it's an unfair match up.
When you get a closer at the numbers you find that the Packers actually averaged just a shade under four yards per carry, a very respectable output. Green Bay fell in love with the pass for most of the season after Ryan Grant went down and the Pack ended up 20th in rushing attempts.
The Steelers only had to defend the rush 333 times this season—33 less carries than the next fewest attempts by a team.
So clearly teams were scared away down the stretch and relied on the pass. The Steelers run defense is not use to teams rushing the ball 20-25 times on them. Can they handle it?
If the Packers stick with James Starks and don't fall in love with the passing game, I ...

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