Super Bowl Capsules: Packers, Steelers conjure agony for Cowboys fans

DALLAS (AP) — Jethro Pugh has some advice for folks who consider it a cruel twist of fate that the first Super Bowl hosted by the Dallas Cowboys features the Green Bay Packers and the Pittsburgh Steelers.

Get over it. He has, and if anyone deserves to hold a grudge, it’s him.

Big-game losses to the Packers and Steelers were agonizing bookends to Pugh’s career as a defensive tackle on the Cowboys. There were losses to Green Bay in the 1966 and ‘67 NFL championship games, with trips to the first two Super Bowls on the line, and to the Steelers in the Super Bowls following the 1975 and ‘78 seasons. He was the only Dallas player in uniform for all four of those games.

Those losses were excruciating for many reasons, from the high stakes to how close they all were — each decided in the final minutes, all by a touchdown or less. The most famous finish was in the "Ice Bowl," the ‘67 NFL championship, when Bart Starr scored on a fourth-down quarterback sneak in the final minute. It was especially tough on Pugh because he was the guy knocked out of the way to clear Starr’s path into the end zone.

The fallout was so harsh that Pugh asked coach Tom Landry for help.

Pugh wanted Landry to remind reporters and fans that other plays factored into the outcome, too. He also wanted it known that there was more to Starr’s touchdown than what was captured in still pictures, from his contention that Packers guard Jerry Kramer moved before the snap to how tough it was to get any traction on the frozen field.

"I said, ‘Coach, they won’t listen to me, but they’ll listen to you,"’ Pugh said. "He told me, ‘Jethro, this play is going to be part of NFL history. You just need to sort of put it behind you."’

Pugh eventually did. Whenever it pops up now, "I don’t think nothing about it."

But in the late 1960s and early ‘70s, the Packers represented a hurdle the Cowboys couldn’t clear. A sign in the locker room read, "The Packers owe us blood, sweat, tears and money." Folks around Dallas were so anti-Packers that former Green Bay star Herb Adderley stopped wearing his Super Bowl ring when he played for the Cowboys.

The feelings eased once Dallas broke through with its own Super Bowl title following the 1971 season. A few years later, the Steelers became public enemy No. 1 in Dallas.

It started in January 1976, when a "Dirty Dozen" of rookie contributors — including Randy White and Thomas "Hollywood" Henderson — and a "Hail Mary" got the Cowboys back to the Super Bowl, facing the reigning champion Steelers.

Dallas had an early lead when Lynn Swann turned things around with a diving, juggling catch over cornerback Mark Washington. The play remains among the greatest in NFL history, leaving Washington with the same helpless feeling Pugh had following the "Ice Bowl." Pugh tried comforting his teammate with the same words of wisdom Landry had given him.

Three seasons later, the Cowboys were reigning Super Bowl champions when they met the Steelers again in a Super Bowl dripping with great story lines. It was a matchup of two-time champions battling to become the first three-time winner, spiced by Henderson claiming "Terry Bradshaw is so dumb he couldn’t spell cat if you spotted him the ‘c’ and the ‘a"’ and layered by the mutual dislike among fans that lingered from the first matchup.

Dallas trailed by a touchdown when tight end Jackie Smith dropped a wide-open pass in the end zone. Although Roger Staubach still blames himself for throwing the ball behind Smith, the ball hit him between the 8 and the 1 on his jersey. The Cowboys settled for a field goal — and wound up losing by four points.

It was the final game of Pugh’s career, and another chance to pass along Landry’s lesson.

"I told Jackie, ‘Look, I know the way you feel. And let me tell you something, it’s just the way it is,"’ Pugh said.

The Cowboys wouldn’t make it back to the Super Bowl until the 1990s. Led by Troy Aikman, Emmitt Smith and Michael Irvin, Dallas settled some old scores on their way to winning three championships in four years. They turned away Brett Favre and Packers in the playoffs in 1993, ‘94 and ‘95, and their Super Bowl title following the ‘95 season came against Pittsburgh; it’s still the only time the Steelers have lost a Super Bowl.

Staubach went 2-2 in Super Bowls, with both losses to Pittsburgh, each by four points. So he really savors that Super Bowl title.

"When people say I never beat the Steelers in the Super Bowl, I always say ‘we’ did — I wasn’t the quarterback, it was Aikman, but I’m still a Cowboy and we beat the Steelers," Staubach said last week, laughing.

As long ago as it was that the Packers and Steelers tormented the Cowboys, the bitterness of those big-game losses lingers. The Dallas Morning News referenced it in a front-page headline Monday atop the story about these teams advancing to this game: "Nemesis Bowl," it read.

Pugh actually is thrilled the Packers and Steelers made it because they have such large, loyal followings. He’s rooting for every flight into Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport next week to be filled with people wearing Cheeseheads and waving Terrible Towels.

Why? Because as the owner of five DFW Airport gift shops, he hopes to sell them plenty of souvenirs on their way in and out of town.

It’s not as good as a Super Bowl ring, but it’s certainly a nice form of payback.

In a sports-crazed town, Steelers are kings

PITTSBURGH (AP) — The Steel City can make a strong case for a new nickname.

The Steelers have won more Super Bowls than any team in the NFL, and are one victory away from hoisting the Vince Lombardi Trophy a seventh time. The Penguins have reached the Stanley Cup finals twice in the last three seasons. Pitt has developed into a Top 5 college basketball program.

They have beautiful new stadiums, state-of-the-art practice facilities, and a supportive fan base, too. Perhaps the City of Champions is a more fitting moniker for this blue-collar, gritty town.

"It’s a great label," Steelers wide receiver Antwaan Randle El said. "I would have to say it’s accurate to a certain degree because of Steelers football, Pitt basketball and you can’t discount hockey. They’ve always had big-time players and all of those players always come back."

Bostonians have a legit argument. The Patriots, Red Sox and Celtics have combined to win six championships since 2002. That’s wicked good. But in this what-have-you-done-for-me-lately society, Pittsburgh is the hot city and the ‘Stillers’ are the hot team.

Ben Roethlisberger and the Steelers are on the verge of winning their third Super Bowl in six seasons. They’ll face the Green Bay Packers in Dallas on Feb. 6.

Sidney Crosby and the Penguins could make it two Stanley Cup titles in three years later this spring.

If the woeful Pirates could only go back to the days of Clemente or Stargell or Bonds, then Pittsburgh would be the clear-cut choice.

Then again, baseball is irrelevant here these days. Football is No. 1 among the sports-crazed folks, and the Steelers — as Jay-Z would say — run this town.

"The fans here don’t just love football, they understand football," nose tackle Chris Hoke said. "They know the game, so it’s great. You’ll be out in the town and they’ll come up and want to talk about the game. ... It’s exciting to be here. They love the Penguins, but it’s Steelers football 365 days a year."

Fans rooting for other teams don’t even think about coming to Heinz Field wearing their colors. They may be a little more laid-back in western Pennsylvania, but the die-hards here are similar to those notorious Eagles fans in Philadelphia when it comes to defending their turf.

"You’d be in Washington and the Dallas Cowboys come to town, the stands are filled with Cowboys jerseys and Cowboys fans walking the streets, or New York Giants fans," safety Ryan Clark said. "Here, it’s Pittsburgh or you may get jumped. That’s what I think is amazing about this place. People are born fans. Kids, I can meet kids, they have no choice. Like if they want to like somebody else, they may lose parents. I think that’s amazing."

Rooting for the Steelers is a birthright for fans, and winning championships is an expectation for every player that puts on a black and gold uniform.

"Since I’ve been here, we feel like we’re always going to be in the hunt for the Super Bowl," injured tackle Max Starks said.

Terry Bradshaw, Franco Harris, Lynn Swann and Co. set the standard when they won four Super Bowl titles in a six-year span in the late 1970s. There were some down times in the 80s and 90s, though Neil O’Donnell led the Steelers to the 1996 Super Bowl — a loss to Dallas.

After a 26-year drought, Roethlisberger helped the Steelers earn one for the thumb in February 2006. The Steelers added a record sixth title to their trophy case two years ago. Now, they’re going for No. 7.

"Expectations are sky high in this city dating back to the 70s when those guys won four Super Bowls," cornerback Ike Taylor said. "We got Pitt basketball playing good ball and I jumped on the Penguins bandwagon a few years ago. Hopefully we can get the Pirates going sooner or later."

That’s not likely.

The Pirates are coming off a record-setting 18th consecutive losing, and their chances of contending wouldn’t be any worse if Taylor and eight Steelers were penciled into the lineup every day.

Good thing fans here have the Steelers, Penguins and Panthers to cheer. About a dozen people lined up outside the Steelers practice facility Thursday, braving the cold, snowy weather in hopes that a player or two would sign an autograph.

"We love our Steelers," said Arlene Hopson, a student at Pitt. "The Packers don’t stand a chance next week."

Hoke signed with the Steelers as an undrafted free agent out of Brigham Young in 2001. He grew up in California, but was familiar with the Steelers tradition before he joined the team. Then he got a dose of their fans.

"I knew the history, but once I got here and spent more time here, you start to realize how important this organization is to this area and how much you are loved and what kind of responsibility that brings," Hoke said.

-- Rob Maaddi

Masthay provides stability at punter for Packers

GREEN BAY, Wis. (AP) — A few months ago, Tim Masthay looked like he might be the latest in a series of shaky Green Bay Packers punters. If he didn’t pick up his performance, the team might not have been far from replacing him.

Now Masthay might be the Packers’ most improved player, turning what has been one of the team’s biggest weaknesses in recent seasons into a solid strength going into the Packers’ Feb. 6 Super Bowl matchup with Pittsburgh.

The Packers’ first-year punter had one of his best games of the season in Sunday’s NFC championship game victory at Chicago, bottling up Bears returner Devin Hester by placing five of his eight punts inside the 20-yard line.

Hester had only three punt returns for 16 yards, meaning Masthay and the Packers’ punt coverage unit essentially took away the Bears’ most formidable big-play threat.

"He may be the most improved player on our team, if you want to look (back to) the beginning of the season, just from a pure production standpoint," Packers coach Mike McCarthy said. "Tim was huge in the Chicago game."

A standout punter at Kentucky, Masthay signed with Indianapolis in 2009 but was cut during training camp.

When the Packers signed him to a reserve/future contract in January 2010, Masthay was working as a part-time tutor and hoping he’d get another shot.

"I was just thinking about that," Masthay said. "Technically I was under contract with the Packers at this time (last year), but I hadn’t been up here yet. I was still tutoring 20 hours a week at the university and going to the gym by myself. It’s kind of surreal. I’m sure when the season’s over, I’ll really reflect a lot. But I’m just excited to be going to Dallas for the Super Bowl."

Masthay won a training camp battle with Chris Bryan, a former Australian rules football player who was trying to make the transition to American football; Bryan ended up spending a few weeks with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

"We go back to when he got here last spring, and he was in great competition, and he went through a real growth process there," Packers special teams coordinator Shawn Slocum said of Masthay. "I think competition brings the best out of players. And then we got into training camp, he won the job. We start the season and he had to learn how to be an NFL punter."

But Masthay didn’t get off to a great start, and it wasn’t so long ago that his spot on the team seemed anything but secure. After Masthay struggled in an Oct. 17 loss to Miami, McCarthy made it clear that he needed to get better soon.

"The punting was not good yesterday," McCarthy said the next day. "I think that’s obvious. Tim has been inconsistent."

There was speculation about Masthay’s future with the team, but Slocum said he was more focused on helping Masthay improve than trying to find a replacement at the time.

"It’s my job as the coach to get the player to perform," Slocum said. "Tim and I worked hard to continue to improve. He did it, and I think it’s a non-story now."

Masthay typically had been good in practice during the week but sometimes struggled to carry it over to games. He continued to work with Slocum on his footwork.

"Tim is fundamentally sound in that his mechanics are really in a straight line," Slocum said. "That’s an excellent starting point. One of the things we did is to compact his footwork into the kick, and that, in my opinion, helps a guy stay most consistent."

Inconsistency at punter was nothing new for the Packers, who had used a total of five punters in games from 2005 to 2009. One of the players the Packers used during that time, Jeremy Kapinos, now punts for the Packers’ Super Bowl opponent, the Pittsburgh Steelers.

"I’m not surprised at all," Slocum said of Kapinos. "Jeremy was always really diligent in his work. He’s a young guy, and I think he was learning. Watching him on tape with the Steelers the latter part of the season, I think he’s improved. I’m not surprised at all."

The Packers finally seem to have found a solution in Masthay, whose improvement has helped the confidence of the Packers’ punt coverage unit.

"I think there’s a karma that’s been built," Slocum said. "I think part of it is Tim’s effectiveness as a punter. He’s continued to get better with his placement and his hang times and ball positions. I think our players have gained confidence in being able to go to a specific point on the field. We’ve added some guys throughout the season that have come in and been impactful with us on special teams. As a group, it’s just grown. And success has a tendency to breed success."

-- Chris Jenkins

Notes

McCarthy calls photo complaints a ‘poor decision’

GREEN BAY, Wis. (AP) — Green Bay Packers coach Mike McCarthy isn’t thrilled with the way a couple of his injured players chose to express their disappointment about potentially being left out of the Super Bowl team photo, saying they made a "poor decision" when they complained about it in public.

Still, the coach says it’s no big deal for the team to take the photo late next week so those players can be included.

"If that’s the biggest issue that we have in our preparation, we are going to have a hell of a week," McCarthy said Thursday. "So it’s not that big of a deal."

Earlier this week, linebacker Nick Barnett and tight end Jermichael Finley complained on their Twitter accounts that they weren’t going to be in the team photo. The photo typically would be taken at media day next Tuesday, and injured players are not scheduled to join the team in the Dallas area until next Thursday.

McCarthy says cornerback Charles Woodson and quarterback Aaron Rodgers brought the issue to his attention. McCarthy then decided to schedule the photo for next Friday instead.

The Packers list 16 players on injured reserve.

"It’s not that they are not part of the team," McCarthy said. "They are in the photo. You want them in the photo and that’s important."

McCarthy called the attention paid to the issue this week a "total overreaction," but says other coaches have advised him to expect such distractions when a team is preparing to play in the Super Bowl.

"We’ll be as organized as we possibly can," McCarthy said. "Something is going to be screwed up. I’ve been told that by a number of coaches. So you have to be able to let it roll off your back, and somebody else is going to get their feelings hurt. We’re going to continue to make sure that we do everything that’s in the best interests of getting our football team ready to win this game."

Steelers’ Pouncey, McFadden don’t practice again

PITTSBURGH (AP) — Pittsburgh Steelers center Maurkice Pouncey did not practice again Thursday because of the left ankle injury he sustained during Sunday's AFC championship game victory over the New York Jets Sunday.

Pouncey said after the game Sunday that he intended on playing in the Super Bowl, and was seen in a cast and on crutches Wednesday. Teammate Chris Kemoeatu had told reporters Wednesday that Pouncey was not going to play in the Super Bowl, but he backed off those comments Thursday.

Later Thursday, the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reported, citing unidentified sources, that Pouncey had a broken bone in his left ankle to go with a sprain. The team has not ruled Pouncey out of the Feb. 6 game against the Green Bay Packers.

Also not practicing for the Steelers was starting cornerback Bryant McFadden, who has a strained abdomen. McFadden also did not practice early last week, but he returned to practice Friday and played Sunday — albeit with a somewhat reduced workload. William Gay assumed McFadden's role as the team's No. 2 cornerback, and Doug Legursky replaced Pouncey.

There was no change in the Steelers' injury status from Wednesday to Thursday: All Pro safety Troy Polamalu (Achilles), wide receiver Emmanuel Sanders (foot), left tackle Jonathan Scott ribs) and special teamer Will Allen (knee) all did not practice again, but Allen is the only one with an injury expected to be serious enough to put his status for the Super Bowl in question.

Defensive end Aaron Smith continues to be limited in practice participation, as he has been for the past three weeks. He has not played since tearing a triceps Oct. 24 and is not expected to be ready face the Green Bay Packers in the Super Bowl.

NFL expects record crowd for Super Bowl in Texas

ARLINGTON (AP) — The NFL is expecting a record crowd for the first Super Bowl at $1.3 billion Cowboys Stadium. League spokesman Brian McCarthy said Thursday an estimated total of 105,000 will attend the Feb. 6 game in Arlington.

McCarthy said about 95,000 fans will be in the seats and suites inside the stadium, along with about 5,000 media members and staff. Approximately 5,000 people also paid $200 apiece to be in an area outside the stadium watching on big-screen TVs.

The record of 103,985 was set in the 1980 Super Bowl at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, Calif., when the Pittsburgh Steelers beat the Los Angeles Rams. This time, the Steelers are playing the Green Bay Packers.

A record could exceed the population of Green Bay, which is about 104,000.