A big part of any football game is the advantage that a team has on the perimeter, in person of their receivers. Super Bowl XLV will be no different as both teams have very talented, but also contrasting receiving corps.
The Green Bay Packers are led by a pair of wily veterans in Donald Driver and Greg Jennings. Driver caught 51 passes for 564 yards on the season, while scoring four touchdowns. Jennings was Green Bay quarterback Aaron Rodgers' main man as he hauled in 76 balls for 1,265 yards and scored 12 times.
Both Driver and Jennings will need to huge on the grandest stage of them all as Green Bay will be without their talented, young tight end Jermichael Finley, who was lost early in the year with a season-ending knee injury.
The Packers last hoisted the Lombardi Trophy in 1996, when Brett Favre led them over the New England Patriots. That team was built very much like this one... a talented, young quarterback with veteran receivers, decent running back and tough offensive and defensive lines.
On Pittsburgh's side of things, they are just two years removed from their last Super Bowl victory, but the receiving corps couldn't be any more different. Gone are the stars like Santonio Holmes, and here are the young speedsters like Mike Wallace.
Wallace is Pittsburgh's leading pass-catcher with 60 catches for 1,257 yards and 10 scores. Wallace is quarterback Ben Roethlisberger's favorite target due to his down-the-field speed and ability to get loose on the edge.
Pittsburgh has also added another young speedster in the slot, rookie Emmanuel Sanders. Sanders, out of SMU caught 28 balls for 376 yards and two touchdowns.
Both receiving corps are talented but I give a slight overall edge to Green Bay. Though Wallace, Sanders, and grisly veteran Hines Ward are impressive, I just think that Driver, Jennings, James Jones and Jordy Nelson are just a smidge better.
Green Bay gets the edge in receivers, but the Steelers have a huge advantage at the tight end position with veteran Heath Miller. Miller is a bailout plan for Roethlisberger and seemingly makes huge catches week after week.
I firmly believe that whoever wins the receiving battle will probably win the Super Bowl and the guys in green and yellow will definitely not be blinded by the bright lights.
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