The Green Bay Packers Super Bowl XLV win over the Pittsburgh Steelers is tied as one of the two highest-rated Super Bowls. Last year’s Super Bowl XLVI won by the New York Giants over the New England Patriots also attracted 111 million viewers. Super Bowl XLVII brought in 108 million viewers. Pictured above is Packers WR James Jones with the Lombardi Trophy. Matthew Emmons-USA TODAY Sports

The Green Bay Packers are still tops – well, at least they are among three other teams that have the distinction of playing in the most watched events in television history.

The Packers defeated the Pittsburgh Steelers in Super Bowl XLV, which tied Super Bowl XLVI featuring the New York Giants and New England Patriots for the highest number of viewers for a single television event – 111 million.

Sunday night’s Super Bowl XLVII won by the Baltimore Ravens over the San Francisco 49ers rang up 108 million viewers. Not bad, but those numbers place that event third place overall.

Baltimore Ravens quarterback Joe Flacco poses with the game MVP trophy.
Jerry Lai-USA TODAY Sports

While football viewership declined overall this season, I don’t think National Football League officials are too concerned. This was the fourth year that the Super Bowl game has crested the 100 million threshold. What’s more concerning is that NFL officials have publicly declared that the game is seeing fewer stadium sellouts because the television experience has improved so greatly. With the decline in total television viewership, does that signal a lessening of the league’s stranglehold on overall popularity? Those will be interesting numbers to follow in the coming years.

The poor quality of the streamed image from the Super Bowl is evident in this photograph, as well as the cluttered screen.

Like the New England Patriots’ receivers on that final drive of Super Bowl XVLI, the effort to stream the Super Bowl for the first time was good effort but fell well short of perfection – at least that’s according to those who attempted to watch the broadcast on their computer.

Not only was the quality of the stream poor for three quarters of the contest, but there were many other glitches that annoyed and eventually forced many who attempted to watch the game over that platform to simply turn it off and seek other more traditional means – such as an actual television.

In a post-Super Bowl story published by www.streamingmedia.com, the reasons for the failed effort are laid out with supporting photographs that clearly support the authors’ points.

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New England Patriots tight end Rob Gronkowski (87) and New York Giants strong safety Kenny Phillips (21) and strong safety Deon Grant (34) go up for a hail mary pass as time expires in Super Bowl XLVI at Lucas Oil Stadium. Richard Mackson

Can the Super Bowl get any better?

This year’s edition played up to all of the hype with both teams’ defenses showing up when they had to … and the offenses making just enough plays to send the game right down to the last play.

But it was the New York Giants who held the Super Bowl XLVI Lombardi Trophy aloft after Tom Brady’s last-second heave into the end zone fell harmlessly to the Lucas Oil Stadium turf just beyond the outstretched arms of Patriots tight end Rob Gronkowski.

In a game filled with huge plays, it was Mario Manninham’s sideline-tip-toeing catch on the Giants final offensive drive of the game that was the Patriot-killer. On first down from inside their own 10-yard line, Giants’ quarterback Eli Manning lofted a sideline pass to Manningham who was triple-c0vered but somehow caught the pass that set the Giants up at the 50-yard line on their way to a final touchdown that gave them a 21-17 win.

From there, the Giants moved the ball down the field to a first and goal. Despite running back Ahmad Bradshaw’s attempt to sit down at the one yard line failed, he fell into the end zone with just under one minute left, which unwisely gave Tom Brady and the Patriots time to take the ball down for the winning score.

The attempt by Brady at the end was valiant, but fell short when his Hail Mary fell incomplete.

When the Giants jumped out to a 9-0 lead in the first quarter on the arm of Eli Manning and the unusual safety caused by Tom Brady’s heave to nobody down the  middle of the field it looked like it could be a runaway Giants train.

Not to be … not with Tom Brady on the field.

Starting at his own four yard line – then being pushed back to the two yard line on a penalty – Brady manufactured a 98-yard drive at the end of the first half to take a 10-9 halftime lead. Ironically, it was the Giants that had dominated the game up to that point, only to fall behind because of Brady.

In the second half, the defenses again dominated the field as Brady and Manning were both harassed and field position came to the forefront.

Heading into the fourth quarter nursing a 17-15 lead, Brady started with the ball inside his own 10 when he hit Danny Woodhead on a huge third down play for a first down as the clock wound down under eight minutes.

Wes Welker took an end around for 11 yards to move the ball to the 46 yard line which was followed by a run for 1 yard on first down, and a pass for six to Gronkowski. On third and three, Brady hit Aaron Herndandez for a first down to extend the drive with under five minutes left.

With the Patriots attempting to milk the play clock, Chris Canty stuffed the run on first down for a loss of one. On second downBrady missed a wide open Welker down the left seam and then on third down and 11 Brady, with all kinds of time, threw incomplete to Deon Branch to force a punt that was fair caught by Will Blackmon at the 13 yard line.

That’s when Manning and the Giants took the field with 3:46 left … and on the first play of their possession, Manning hit Manningham for 38 yards that was challenged by Patriots’ head coach Bill Belichick. The replay showed Manningham taking the hit, but maintaining control of the ball and getting both feet down before being pushed out of bounds.

With 3:38 left, Manning threw incomplete on first down from the 50, but on second and 10, he hit Manningham again down to the 34 yard line for another first down.

With the ball within field goal range, Manning threw complete for two yards on first down, and  then hit Hakeem Nicks on a quick slant down to the 18 as the clock wound down to the two-minute warning.

A big run for nine by Ahmad Bradshaw and a first down pass to Hakeem Nicks set the Giants up inside the 10-yard line with a  first and goal.

The Patriots then let Bradshaw run through a huge hole up the middle for the score, but  just as he got to the one yard line Bradshaw attempted to sit down without scoring, but couldn’t and fell into the end zone with 57 seconds left in the game.

The Giants two point attempt failed and they held what was to be their game-winning four point lead

Brady did all he could with the clock inside one minute. His first down pass to a wide open Branch was tipped and the receiver couldn’t hang on. On second down, Hernandez just couldn’t hang on to a Brady pass to set up third down when  Justin Tuck rushed up the middle for a huge sack on Brady.

The Patriots face fourth and 16 with no timeouts.

Brady, escaping the Giants fierce rush threw 18 yards to Branch who was able to get out of bounds for the first down.

Another first down pass we t to Hernandez to the 44 and a penalty on the Giants for 12 men on the field moved the ball to midfield.

However, there were only nine seconds left and when Brady threw incomplete to Branch there were just five seconds left.

On the last play of the game, Brady again avoided the rush and got of the Hail Mary pass that was tipped and nearly caught by Gronkowki. After the ball hit the turf, the Giants’ celebration began.

When it comes to championship games, it always comes down to the team that plays the best defense – even in this day and age of the quarterback. Just ask Aaron Rodgers and the Packers.

That’s why I have to go with the New York Giants over the New England Patriots in Super Bowl XVLI.

Final score: Giants 33 Patriots 28

Here’s why: Though the Patriots are the sexier pick as Belichick and Brady go for their fourth ring together and the team is trying to play off the emotion surrounding Robert Kraft losing his wife, the Giants are the better team all-around. They have a running game, dynamite receivers, a top 5 quarterback AND a defense. Matchups make the difference is championship games and the Giants clearly have the upper hand in all categories.

Don’t get me wrong, the Patriots will make a game of it and it could come down to the final two possessions, but the Giants will come up with enough pressure on Brady to turn the tables. Throw in the fact that tight end Rob Gronkowski’s injury will put a dent in the Patriots’ offense and you have enough to give the Giants the edge in this one.

It should be a great game. That’s why everyone is split pretty much down the middle on predicting its outcome.

In fact, here’s the best prediction I could find:

Greg Easterbrook on ESPN.com has this prediction – Confusion about the new playoff overtime format reigns when the Giants onside kick to start overtime and the Patriots recover but run the wrong way. Final score: Giants 2 Patriots 0

After the jump, take a look at some of the picks by the experts … and take the time for a click over to Lombardiave.com on Facebook, and don’t forget to follow us on Twitter.

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Kevin "It is Time" Greene has been named a finalist for the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Here he encourages linebackers Clay Matthews and Frank Zombo. Raymond T. Rivard photograph

Mike Spofford of Packers.com posted the story below about Kevin Greene and the fact that for the first time he has made the cut as a finalist for the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

The Green Bay Packers’ linebackers coach who has brought enthusiasm and a player’s attitude to the coaching ranks for the Packers, has been in Green Bay for the past three years and is probably most well known among the general public for his comments in last year’s Super Bowl that were caught on tape when he told linebacker Clay Matthews that “It is time…” Matthews consequently went out and forced the game-changing fumble by the Steelers’ Rashard Mendenhall.

Spofford’s story spells out the full field of finalists and gives us a look at the personal bio of Greene’s.

Greene named Pro Football Hall of Fame finalist

Posted by Mike Spofford on January 7, 2012 – 3:27 pm 

A semifinalist three times previously, Packers Outside Linebackers Coach Kevin Greene for the first time has advanced to the finalist stage for potential induction into the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

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