The 2011 football season has no doubt been the year of the quarterback. A number of record-breaking seasons by a number of different passers around the league has shown the importance that a quarterback can have on a team.
The two teams facing off this weekend in Super Bowl XLVI have two of the best gunslingers in the game today in Tom Brady and Eli Manning.
Yet, this late in the season, it is often how the defense performs in crunch time that ends up being the most important factor to postseason success.
The Giants’ defensive line has been the talk of the season in New York. Justin Tuck, Osi Umenyiora, Jason Pierre-Paul and Mathias Kiwanuka have been giving offenses problems all year long. These defensive linemen hassled Aaron Rodgers all game as the Giants upset the Packers in the second round of the playoffs.
Had it not been for their superb play, the Giants would more than likely be back home at this point in the postseason. The defensive line was the key reason the Giants were able to upset the unbeaten Patriots in the 2008 Super Bowl and it will have to play a big role again if they want to pull off another upset this time around.
The New York defensive line has been excellent as of late, but not to be outdone is New England defensive front, led by Vince Wilfork. The Patriots have been abysmal on the defensive side of the ball at times during the regular season, and Tom Brady and the rest of the New England offense have had to put up big points to win games.
However, during the playoffs, their defense has drastically improved and helped keep it close when Brady was struggling against the Ravens. Wilfork has been the x-factor on the defensive side of the ball.
In the divisional round, Wilfork was critical in the game plan to stop Tim Tebow and the Broncos rushing attack. The Broncos struggled to get their signature run plays going all game, and Tebow’s magical late-season run finally came to an end.
In the AFC championship game the following week against Baltimore, running back Ray Rice, the catalyst of the Ravens’ offense all season, was held to just 67 yards rushing.
Wilfork played a tremendous role in this containment, tallying three tackles for loss while also recording a sack. The key to the 2012 Super Bowl will be the question of which team is able to neutralize the other’s defensive line.
New England has been able to deal with blitzes by dumping off quick short passes to their two star tight ends, Aaron Hernandez and Rob Gronkowski, and to wide receiver Wes Welker.
However, the biggest question mark going into the big game is surrounding Gronkowski’s health. He suffered a high ankle sprain during the game against Baltimore, but would return later in the game. With Patriots coach Bill Belichick not shedding much light on the extent of the injury, no one really knows just how bad it actually is.
He is listed as questionable, but it is hard to believe that after such a stellar season he will miss this game. The Patriots also have not been the most trustworthy team, having been known to fiddle with the injury report to hinder the other team’s preparation.
New York, on the other hand, relies more on a downfield passing attack, which takes a bit more time to develop. In their regular season matchup versus the Patriots, the Giants did not provide great protection, and New England’s defense was able to knock Manning down 8 times. That was when the Patriots had arguably the worst defense in the league. Since then, they have only gotten better and will cause even more havoc in this rematch.
The Patriots just might be better equipped, both from a style and personnel standpoint, to neutralize the opposing pass rush. So whether or not New York can contain Wilfork & Co. to give Eli Manning sufficient time to throw could be the deciding factor in Sunday’s game.
In a game offering so much offensive firepower, this year’s Super Bowl will be won or lost in the trenches based on the play of these two defensive lines.
