The journey toward Super Bowl LII ended far too prematurely for the Pittsburgh Steelers, sending them into offseason mode before we were ready for it. But we are in it now, and are ready to move on, through the Combine, through free agency, through the draft, into OTAs, and beyond.
We have asked and answered a lot of questions over the years and will continue to do so, and at the moment, there seem to be a ton of questions that need answering. A surprise early exit in the postseason will do that to you though, especially when it happens in the way it did.
You can rest assured that we have the questions, and we will be monitoring developments all throughout the offseason process, all the way down to Latrobe. Pending free agents, possible veteran roster cuts, contract extensions, pre-draft visits, pro days, all of it will have its place when the time arises.
Question: Who will win Super Bowl LII?
By the time the day is over, there will not be another meaningful NFL game played until September. While the NFL has done an excellent job of turning its product into one that can be digested year-round (and us blahgers have more than done our part in filling the void between now and then), the ultimate reality is that we are about to hit ‘the offseason’.
Sure, there are some big moments in the offseason, starting with the Combine, with the NFL Network broadcasts. Then we have the initial wave of free agency, and the days leading up to that, where high-profile players draw major headlines and dollars. Then there is the draft, which is a huge event.
But all of that sort of stuff is just the build-up to the real thing, the games, and as we sit here, we have just one game left, the Super Bowl, Super Bowl LII, and just two teams remaining: the New England Patriots and the Philadelphia Eagles.
For as much as people have tried to write off the Eagles after losing Carson Wentz, Philadelphia has been able to rebound under Nick Foles, who has played well during the postseason. While he is clearly overmatched against Tom Brady and his one hand (or so the legend will be a decade from now), this is a winnable game for either side.
Still, I’m sure that the consensus selection will be to favor the Patriots winning. After all, they have already won two of the past three Super Bowls, and are pretty good in general at winning these things. They have basically had two separate dynasties and are looking to put the exclamation point on their legacy with Tom Brady and Bill Belichick.
The Eagles are a ferocious team, however, with the superior defense and the ability to run the football with power when necessary. They seem to have figured out how to conduct the offense with Foles in place, and have had a lot of pressure taken off of them. They also have some Super Bowl veterans in Chris Long and LeGarrette Blount.
