The Stark Truth

Here’s four reasons why the Pittsburgh Steelers, Baltimore Ravens, Arizona Cardinals and Philadelphia Eagles are the only four still playing in the NFL:

1)    Defense

2)    Defense

3)    Defense

4)    Defense

      Sure, an occasional pass-happy franchise will find a way to get it done, but defense pays the rent in championship games.

      The Steelers have Big Ben and found their ground game again, but Pittsburgh were 12-4 and got to the playoffs because of its championship-calibre defense. The Steelers offense averaged just 13.9 points a game this season. Because of its top-ranked defense, which held San Diego’s explosive Darren Sproles to 15 rushing yards on Sunday, the Steelers are just a win away from its seventh Super Bowl appearance. You remember the last one in 2005? Steelers 21, Seahawks 10.

Quarterback Matt Hasselbeck and running back Shaun Alexander got most of the pub that season for Seattle, but the key statistic as far I’m concerned: The Hawks’ defense record 50 sacks, leading the NFL in that category. Getting some pressure on the opposing quarterback remains the single most important factor in deciding NFL games. If you don’t do it, chances are you’re going to lose.

           With linebacker Ray Lewis and safety Ed Reed leading the way, the Baltimore Ravens are all about defense. Have been for years. Some say they’re boring to watch. I think they’re the best show in football.

        When it comes to the Eagles, everybody talks about quarterback Donovan McNabb and running back Brian Westbrook, who is the most underrated offensive player in the league. Westbrook, however, hasn’t been able to get untracked running the ball lately. No problem. The Eagles’ defense, led by perhaps the best coordinator in the NFL in Jim Johnson, has allowed 14 points or less in their last six games.

        Arizona’s won the NFC’s Mild Mild West, mostly because of an offense that includes quarterback Kurt Warner and the best receiving tandem in the league — Larry Fitzgerald and Anquan Boldin. With Boldin out against Carolina, Fitzgerald had a monster game. But the Arizona defense was a bigger monster, intercepting five passes and allowing just 75 rushing yards in a surprising 33-13 win over the Panthers. Arizona’s defense was also the difference in a wild-card win over Atlanta.

      So who’s going to Super Bowl XLIII.

      I think it’ll be an all-Pennsylvania finale: Pittsburgh vs. Philadelphia. The Ravens are a little beat up and I think Pittsburgh will grind out a low-scoring win, say 19-13. And Philadelphia, I think, will find a way to put some heat on Kurt Warner. And as good as Arizona’s defense has been the past two weeks, I’m not sure they can keep it up. Philadelphia 31, Arizona 18.

 

 

 

This entry was posted on Monday, January 12th, 2009 at 8:54 pm by cstark and is filed under Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.