One local television station has dubbed this Sunday's Super Bowl as "the Lone Star Showdown." While this title refers to the location of the game, Houston, Texas, it can also be used to categorize the number of stars on the New England Patriots and Carolina Panthers rosters.
Billed as two stud defenses going at one another, New England Patriots' quarterback Tom Brady may be the "lone star" on either roster. Still, that doesn't mean the game won't be enjoyable to watch and be one for the history books.
During week one of the season, few would have expected these two teams to be in the playoffs, much less the Super Bowl. However, both teams proved that a good offense sells tickets, but defense wins championships.
On the lines of defense, the big question of the Super Bowl is whether or not the stifling Patriots defense can hold the now two-headed Carolina Panthers rushing attack in check.
This season, the Patriots ranked third in the AFC in rushing yards allowed per game (89.6) while playing games each against tough in-conference running back likes Ricky Williams, Curtis Martin, and Travis Henry, all 1,000 yard rushers on the year. New England's defining moment was when it stuffed the Indianapolis Colts potent offense on a game-winning goal line stand at Indy during week 13. On top of that, the defense once again rose to the challenge to defeat the same offense in the AFC Championship game.
There is no doubt that the Patriots run defense is battled tested, but their pass defense is almost equally impressive. Although not ranked highly in passing yards given up per game, the defensive unit led the AFC in interceptions en route to giving the team the second highest giveaway to takeaway differential (+17).
The Panthers offense has been uncharacteristically efficient in the playoffs, however, with Carolina alternating between Stephen Davis' power and DeShaun Foster's finesse in the backfield.
New England's opponent, Carolina, is no slouch on defense either. The Panthers held opponents to an average of 295.3 yards per game this season, which places them third in the NFC.
The source of Carolina's dominance comes in the form of three of their four down linemen. Defensive ends Julius Peppers and Mike Rucker, and defensive tackle Kris Jenkins accounted for 24 sacks on the season. Against the run, Jenkins and Brentson Buckner's presence should make it tough for Patriots running back Antowain Smith to rush up the middle.
The Panthers defensive backs are relatively underrated because they do not have any name brand players. Emerging as their leader is Ricky Manning, Jr., rookie cornerback from UCLA. Overall, the Panthers secondary has been playing out of their minds in the playoffs.
Trying to overcome the Carolina secondary will be Brady. The third year starter has been mediocre in the postseason with a 74.6 passing rating. However Carolina will have to be on top of its game to force turnovers because Brady has only thrown one interception in the post-season.
On paper the two teams stack up similarly across the board with one big exception -- the kicking game. Panthers' kicker John Kasay has been solid all year, including hitting eight of ten kicks in the playoffs with a long of 52 yards. Kasay is almost automatic from short distance, but definitely can struggle from 50 yards and longer.
On the other side of the ball, Adam Vinatieri is a seasoned veteran. Although the kicker has struggled some this season, he is a fan favorite and has been known to win games with his foot. With the two defenses going at each other this Sunday, it wouldn't be surprising if the game came down to Vinatieri or Casey's foot to win the game.
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