By The Numbers - You Can XL Now

It’s time for a look at the numbers for the Super Bowl. As in some past SBs, no QB stepped forward to distinguish himself, so they gave the MVP to a receiver (as predicted by me in another space). Nothing to see here folks, just move along …

Tale of Two Steelers

To paraphrase Charles Dickens on the fantasy performances of two Steelers: “it was the best of times, it was the worst of times” for Hines Ward and Ben Roethlisberger. Hines showed the age of wisdom and was the spring of hope for Pittsburgh. Big Ben showed the foolishness of his age, and Ward’s MVP performance saved Steeler fans everywhere from a winter of despair.

As I predicted elsewhere, Hines earned the MVP as the lone beacon of consistency and played like a man on a mission. His 123 receiving yards and TD catch earned his owners 12 fantasy points. Ben, on the other hand, threw two picks and had a meager 123 passing yards. Only a blatant zebra gaffe saved him from a total of negative 1 fantasy point.

It’s a mark of a team of destiny when they can survive their own mistakes and sub-par performances to win out over their foes, and the king with a large jaw (that would be Bill Cowher) is a bridesmaid no more.

Seattle Slew Itself

Jerramy Stevens should learn to shut his mouth and focus on his business. He was the man with the most opportunities, fantasy and otherwise, to make losers out of the Steelers, but drop after drop left him with a meager 25 receiving yards and one TD (7 fantasy points). Some may say that Shaun Alexander played well, and that’s true enough, but on the big stage, 95 rushing yards and 4 fantasy points doesn’t cut it.

Matt Hasselbeck played as well as could be expected, he just didn’t get the support he needed. With totals of 273 passing yards, 35 rushing yards, a pick and a TD, his total of 10 fantasy points was so low only because players like Darrell Jackson flamed out after one great quarter. Imagine if Stevens, Jackson or Joe Jurevicius had really showed up to play? You can’t be standing on a guy’s neck and then give him a chance to get up. Like many teams, the Seahawks will be active in the free agent market for a top tier WR – they must strike while the iron is hot and the NFC East is busy devouring itself …

What’s Next

Well, this is the end of the road for BTN for this NFL season. Next week, I’ll shift my attention to the NBA and tell you about your best hope for roundball's second half fantasy sleepers …