Super Bowl XLV: Can Pittsburgh Steelers Beat Packers Without Maurkice Pouncey?

A report earlier this week from Pro Football Talk said that Pittsburgh Steelers center Maurkice Pouncey was questionable for Sunday's game against the Green Bay Packers. Really, though, PFT said he was out.

When asked about the status of his center on Monday, Steelers coach Mike Tomlin refused to rule Pouncey out of the game. "We're comfortable if we have to go that direction," Tomlin said, asked how he felt about starting backup center Doug Legursky in Pouncey's place.

Just how comfortable can he be, though?

Legursky is the same guy that botched a snap to Ben Roethlisberger in their own end zone in the AFC Championship Game that gave up a safety and put the Jets in striking range to take the lead.

Even if he hadn't made that egregious mistake, it would be hard for him to earn my confidence. After all, he'll be going up against B.J. Raji on a consistent basis on Sunday.

With that, the Steelers' chances to develop any offensive rhythm just diminished. Greatly.

Raji, one of the most disruptive forces at nose tackle in the NFL, tallied 6.5 sacks in the regular season and grabbed another one against the Falcons in the playoffs.

Then, there's his obvious impact in the running game, holding down blockers and clogging up lanes up the middle.

Pouncey isn't the only interior lineman for the Steelers who will be missing from Sunday's game. The depth of Pittsburgh's offensive line has been tested all season long up to this point. Adding Pouncey's injury to the list, the Steelers offensive line could start to feel the ripple effect.

The Green Bay Packers feature two stud defensive ends in Ryan Pickett and Cullen Jenkins on either side. Giving Legursky any extra help jeopardizes whichever side of the line has to forfeit a blocker. Pickett only tallied one sack in 2010, but Jenkins reached the quarterback seven times in the regular season.

And then, of course, there's that guy Clay Matthews. You know, the game-changing outside linebacker who narrowly missed out on the 2010 Defensive Player of the Year award? The guy who registered 13.5 sacks in the regular season?

Yeah, that guy.

Any slip-ups in pass protection could mean a devastating hit from Matthews.

Of course, Ben Roethlisberger is an "escape artist" of sorts, and can get out of a sack in even the most dire situations, but give Matthews, Jenkins, Pickett and Raji enough chances and some of those big men are bound to take Big Ben down.

It's hard to believe that one injury could so greatly impact the entire game, but when you're talking about the backbone of the offensive line, a group that has broken down throughout the 2010 season, it's not that hard to comprehend anymore.

Roethlisberger loves to stand in the pocket and isn't afraid to take a hit because he knows he has the ability to shake a defender if need be. That's self-evident in the 175 total sacks he's taken in the past four seasons.

With pressure coming at him a little bit faster, though, he may have to change up his style a little bit to make up for the loss of Pouncey. He may only have to release the ball a split-second sooner than he wants to, but that split second could be the difference between the Lombardi Trophy and second place.