Tonight's game boils down to which team's offense
can find early success.

By TOM WILLIAMS

VINDICATOR SPORTS STAFF

DETROIT — Can a 23-year-old quarterback from Ohio who was passed over by major college programs lead his team to an NFL Championship?

Or will a 28-year-old running back from Kentucky in the prime of his career find a way to gain significant yardage and control the clock against one of the NFL's best defenses?

Essentially, tonight's Super Bowl XL boils down to which team's offense — the Pittsburgh Steelers, led by quarterback Ben Roethlisberger's arm, or the Seattle Seahawks' powered by Shaun Alexander's legs — can find early success.

"On offense, they are a Bill Cowher-type of football team in the fact that they want to pound you running the ball and they want to be physical in the line of scrimmage," said Seahawks (15-3) coach Mike Holmgren.

Even though the Steelers are built to run, it's Roethlisberger's early success in playoff games at Indianapolis and Denver that has the franchise playing in its sixth Super Bowl.

"People thought we were one dimensional," wide receiver Hines Ward said. "They thought if they put eight guys in the box, you could beat the Steelers. Well, we've proven that if you put eight guys in the box, we can make plays in the passing game.

Early approach

The mystery for the opening of tonight's game is whether the Steelers rely on running backs Jerome Bettis and Willie Parker, or if Roethlisberger comes out throwing.

Because of the faith offensive coordinator Ken Whisenhunt has in his second-year quarterback, no one will be surprised if the ball starts flying.

"When you have a rookie quarterback like Ben, you might be hesitant to give him too many things because you don't want to overload him," Whisenhunt said. "If you want to advance and you want to get better offensively, you have to expose him to some things.

"Really where that started for us was this year in training camp. We threw as much at him as we could. He was seeing a lot of things he hadn't seen and he was struggling. He has gotten a lot better because he has seen those things. Our timing was off, but we are benefiting from that now."

Versatility

Roethlisberger's postseason success has grown as his faith in multiple targets increased.

Against the Colts in the AFC Division playoff, tight end Heath Miller pulled in a 36-yard reception in the first quarter that opened up the passing routes.

In the AFC Championship game at Denver, receiver Cedric Wilson caught five passes for 92 yards, including the Steelers' first touchdown.

"Ken has done a phenomenal job of distributing the ball," Ward said. "Every week, it's a different guy stepping up and making plays."

Of the Seahawks secondary, Roethlisberger said, "They are opportunistic like the Bengals were. They are always around the ball. The ball bounces their way and they pick it off. They are fast, very, very fast."

Still, Seahawks safety Michael Boulware said his defense must make stopping Parker and Bettis the top priority.

"First [we must] stop the run, make it one dimensional and the secondary is going to have to step up and focus in because they will pass," he said.

Defensive challenge

When the Steelers don't have the ball, the challenge for the defense will be to contain Alexander so defensive coordinator Dick LeBeau can unleash his array of blitz schemes.

"Whether it's been a 3-4 or 4-3 or whatever kind of defense people are playing, running the football is something we've felt we have to do to be successful," Seahawks fullback Mack Strong said.

Holmgren said the Steelers "have great speed on defense. They tackle well and they are physical.

"When they blitz a linebacker, that linebacker is really good at blitzing," he said. "We've all seen teams that blitz and the blitzer runs right into the blocker and it's an awesome collision but he never gets home.

"Pittsburgh has the type of players that are physical so you've got to take a particular stance against them to block them.

"But they also have enough wiggle room and speed to make it very, very difficult," Holmgren said. "They have the right athletes to go with the scheme they run."

Steelers' strength

But the strength of the Seahawks is their offensive line, triggered by All-Pro left tackle Walter Jones and left guard Steve Hutchison.

"They're one of the best tandems I've ever seen," Steelers defensive end Aaron Smith said. "Their offensive line is great and wonderful. They don't have any weaknesses.

"Our job is to just occupy their front to free up our linebackers so they can scrape to the ball and make plays."

Jones' assignment is to prevent Steelers outside linebacker Joey Porter from creating havoc in the backfield.

"I'd love them to run to my side — I live for the challenge," Porter said. "I'm not going to dictate my game on one person or one scheme. I'm going to play my game."

Jones, perhaps the NFL's best left tackle, said, "If my job is to block him, that's what I'm going to do. That's all I can do. Hopefully, I can contain him and keep him from making plays."

If Alexander gets going, that's when quarterback Matt Hasselbeck excels with an up-tempo offense.

"They spread the field and they make you defend the whole field," LeBeau said. "Generally, they don't hold the ball very long. The ball is out of there quick.

"They can react rather quickly and their quarterback gets the ball to the right spot. That's the challenge that we have. I think it will be very difficult to surprise them."

Surprising skill

Of his counterpart, Roethlisberger said, "Matt is a phenomenal quarterback. A lot of people don't realize how athletic he is. He is very good at throwing on the run."

Linebacker Clark Haggans said, "Our goal is to disrupt his rhythm. He's a very accurate passer. He is very mobile. He looks like he just tries to float through the pocket.

"He doesn't really look to run. He really just tries to buy time for his receivers when he scrambles around so he can hit that one open guy for a big play."

Alexander said the Steelers "do a great job of hiding blitzes, run blitzing, slanting and moving guys around. They bring [Polamalu] into the box. They have a great scheme."

Strong sees a game for the ages.

"It will probably be one of the most physical football games that has ever been played," Strong said. "Pittsburgh's reputation speaks for itself and people seemingly still don't know a whole lot about us, but we're a pretty physical team as well.

"They're not going to back down, we're not going to back down and it's going to be a great game."

williams@vindy.com