Sports betting fantasy? What if the Super Bowl could be played again today?
This is a Sports bets fancy. What if Super Bowl XL were played again today, before the 2006 season begins, but after the off-season moves? Could the Steelers repeat their dominating defensive performance, as they did in their 21-10 victory last February? Or would the Seattle Seahawks show the world that they just had a bad game and got beaten on any given Sunday?
Let’s take a look at each team’s off-season personnel changes. For the Steelers, 3 starters were lost in free agency (Chris Hope, Kimo von Oelhoffen and Antwaan Randle El). Plus, Jerome “The Bus” Bettis made his last Super Bowl stop in his hometown of Detroit. Although Bettis didn’t make much of an impact on the field, Randle El threw a 43-yard touchdown pass on a reverse trick play to Hines Ward for the fourth-quarter knockout blow. Hope and von Oelhoffen were key components of a “bend but don’t break” defense that allowed nearly 400 yards in the game but held the Seahawks to 5-17 on third down. Replacing these deceased players this season will be first-round pick Santonio Holmes (WR for Randle El), Washington free agent Ryan Clark (FS for Hope) and 2005 backup Travis Kirschke (DE for von Oelhoffen). Overall, the players the Steelers lost were much better than the ones they were replaced with. Bettis’ emotional impact as team leader cannot be measured either.
The Seahawks lost three major players from the Super Bowl team: Steve Hutchinson (G), Andre Dyson (CB) and Marquand Manuel (FS). However, the players brought in to replace them aren’t a significant downgrade at every position. Seattle used their first-round draft pick at Univ of Miami CB, Kelly Jennings. Jennings will likely split his time with veteran Kelly Herndon. Veteran Erict Pruitt will duly replace Manuel and Floyd Womack should live up to the expectations placed on him several years ago by replacing Hutchinson. Perhaps the most significant offseason move could be the acquisition of Niners free-agent linebacker Julian Peterson. Once a dominant force who had to be reckoned with on every play, Peterson has been slowed by injuries and attitude issues. If Peterson can get back to his old form, he can practically give Seattle a ticket back to Super Bowl XLI.
So if they released it today, how would it come out? I like the moves the Seahawks made in the offseason to improve an already great team. In this era of free agency, a team can always expect to lose a couple of key players. However, at least on paper, it looks like the Steelers lost a bit more than the Seahawks. I also don’t think you can underestimate the impact of losing Bettis. I felt like the Steelers got a little lucky catching the Seahawks on a bad day in Super Bowl XL, and I don’t think it will happen twice. My prediction would be 31-14, with Seattle moving up and down the field with little difficulty.
