Sports

Sports betting fantasy? What if the Super Bowl could be played again today?

This is a Sports bets fantasy. What if Super Bowl XL was replayed today, before the 2006 season begins, but after the off-season moves? Would the Steelers manage to repeat their dominant defensive performance, as they did in their 21-10 win last February? Or would the Seattle Seahawks show the world that they just had one bad game and were beaten on any given Sunday?

Let’s take a look at each team’s personnel changes in the offseason. For the Steelers, 3 starters were lost to free agency (Chris Hope, Kimo von Oelhoffen and Antwaan Randle El). Also, Jerome “The Bus” Bettis made his last stop at the Super Bowl 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 knockout in the fourth quarter of the game. Hope and von Oelhoffen were key components of a “bend but not break” defense that allowed nearly 400 yards in the game, but held the Seahawks to 5-17 at third down. Replacing these departed 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). Still, the players the Steelers lost were far better than those they replaced them 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 are not a significant demotion at every position. Seattle used its first draft pick at the University of Miami CB, Kelly Jennings. Jennings will likely split time with veteran Kelly Herndon. Veteran Erict Pruitt will diligently replace Manuel and Floyd Womack should live up to the expectations placed on him several years ago by replacing Hutchinson. Perhaps the biggest offseason move could be the acquisition of Niners free agent linebacker Julian Peterson. Peterson, once a dominant force to be reckoned with on every play, has been held back by injuries and attitude issues. If Peterson can revert to his former form, he can practically score Seattle’s return ticket to Super Bowl XLI.

So if you started it today, how would it turn 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 components. However, on paper at least, it appears the Steelers lost a bit more than the Seahawks. I also don’t think the impact of losing Bettis can be underestimated. I felt like the Steelers had a bit of luck catching the Seahawks on a bad day at Super Bowl XL, and I don’t think it will happen twice. My prediction would be 31-14, with Seattle marching up and down the field with little difficulty.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *