Marquand Manuel, arguably the most key player in SBXL, is now on the Seahawks coaching staff.
Yes, the refs were a huge factor in SBXL, with the bogus DJack OPI call, the phantom holding call, but the Ruskell/Holmgren front office and coaching teamwork, or lack thereof, was a huge factor as well.
Name the one player, besides Russell Wilson, who if that player went down, the 'Hawks would be screwed in this game. In SBXL, Marquand Manuel went down in the 2nd quarter, and Ruskell and Holmgren's response was a man-off-the-street, Etric Pruitt, who had never played safety for Seattle before, and didn't really know how.
Can you imagine Earl Thomas going down in the Super Bowl and having Carroll/Schneider throw in an UDFA *cornerback* at Free Safety, a corner who couldn't make ANY NFL team's roster, has never practiced at either safety spot, and has practiced with the team for a total of 3 weeks or so? No, they have guys like Jeremy Lane and DeShawn Shead, who know the position, and are legit NFL players, who they can put in. DeShawn Shead played a series or two while Earl was out vs. the Packers, and the Packers offense didn't exactly go wild. This Coaching Staff and FO are much, much better prepared than Holmgren/Ruskell were.
The Stealers coaches saw the weakness, and decided to test it. The refs didn't let Willie Parker go 76 yards for a TD. Some say that was on SS Michael Boulware, but Boulware was probably trying to compensate and play his SS spot and Pruitt's FS spot too, since Pruitt didn't know what he was doing. Then the Stealers drew up the trick play that Pruitt bit on and scored another TD off that. So 2 of Pittsburghs TD's, 14 of their 21 points in SBXL, from one extremely weak spot in the Seahawk armor.
Just because the Stealers suck and the OP is clearly a troll, let's not dismiss the self-inflicted wounds in that game. Mostly, let's appreciate Carroll and Schneider, for showing us how to have a competitive, prepared, ready-to-play roster from the first man to the last man.
In the NFCCG vs the Packers....
* Garry Gilliam was ready when his number was called. He knew what to do. Seahawks coaches noticed a GB weakness on FG team, and went after it with a trick play, and won.
* Jon Ryan was ready and calmly made the pivot, made the run/pass read and then made a good throw, all with perfect timing, when his chance came.
* Chris Matthews was more than ready when his opportunity came up, and snagged the loose ball that sent Seattle to the Super Bowl.
* UDFA MLB Brock Coyle was ready when he went in on goal line defense and helped make a huge stop that was one of the differences in the game.
* Alvin Bailey has been ready and done his thing early and often all year, and filled in well for Britt at RT. IIRC, Bailey was inactive for the Super Bowl last year.
Up and down the roster, Pete and John and the staff have players coached up and ready to go and play at an NFL level, from the first man to the very last man. Let's appreciate a Coaching/GM-FO team that shows us how it's supposed to be done. Yeah, it would suck to lose key guys in the SB game, like Marquand Manuel in SBXL. But no matter who we lose, Pete can put in a guy who is a credible NFL player and who knows his position in the Seahawks scheme.
Anyway, yes, the OP is a troll, and there are few things more satisfying than seeing the Stealers lose, especially in the playoffs. (Having them NOT MAKE the playoffs is a little more satisfying). Let's not get so distracted with Stealer hate that we lose sight of how awesome this current team is. Let's briefly enjoy the irrelevance of the Stealers the last few years, and then get back to teams that matter this year. Teams like the Seahawks, Patriots, and Ravens. Yes, the Ravens, because their playoff game vs. the Patriots will be useful for deciding how to attack them.
OK, just this once, let's enjoy a brief moment of smug silence at the utter irrelevance of the Stealers. But, no more than, maybe 5 or 10 seconds.
Then let's get back to enjoying the awesomeness of the Carroll/Scheider/Wilson/Lynch/Thomas/Sherman/Kam/Bennett/Wagner/KJ Seahawks of the last few years,