| I have seen the future, and it is purple. Purple
sky, purple water, purple grass, purple people. The color that’s the most fun to say
will be king for a day in Tampa.
Gee, that was cute.
Seriously, though, I’m not picking the Ravens and Vikings to meet in Super Bowl
XXXV because of their similar team colors. Far from it. I actually have come to my
conclusions by breaking down each team’s strengths and weaknesses.
OK … I played the games on PlayStation.
Seriously, though, the Vikings can pretty much do whatever they want on offense, so the
Giants have quite a task on their hands in slowing the Vikes down. Granted, RB Robert
Smith has struggled badly of late, but he ran all over the G-men in the teams’ last
meeting (in 1999) to the tune of 146 yards on 16 carries. And like the NFC championship,
that game was played at Giants Stadium.
Take nothing away from New York’s defense, which has some playmakers. DE Michael
Strahan rendered Eagles ORT Jon Runyan irrelevant in the divisional round. DT Cornelius
Griffin did a great job spying on QB Donovan McNabb. DT Keith Hamilton is very disruptive,
and LB Jessie Armstead is a tackle machine.
But the Giants will have to win the toss and score touchdowns on their first two
possessions just to be able to keep up with the Vikings. Realistically, New York will need
its defense to score once, or at least set up its offense with favorable field position on
more than one occasion.
I don’t see this happening because the Vikings have been one of the better teams
at protecting the ball. Though their defense forced a league-low 18 turnovers, at least
their offense isn’t careless. Minnesota’s 10 fumbles are third-fewest in the
league.
In the end, though, it will be the Vikings’ explosiveness on offense that will
decide this game, as well as the Giants’ inability to respond consistently. Final
score: Vikings 31, Giants 21.
On the other coast, I like the Ravens’ defense to prevail over the Raiders’
offense. I know it’s not the most popular choice, but Baltimore’s defensive
prowess is like nothing I’ve seen since the Bears of the mid-’80s. In other
words, once a Raven defender has you in his sights, nine times out of 10, you're down.
That doesn’t bode well for the Raiders’ running game, ranked No. 1 in the
league in the regular season. I foresee a big day for Ravens MLB Ray Lewis, who has played
the best football of his life in these playoffs.
But the unsung heroes of Baltimore’s defense are up front, where DTs Tony Siragusa
and Sam Adams have been very disruptive. They have allowed Lewis to run free to the ball.
OLBs Peter Boulware and Jamie Sharper aren’t exactly chopped liver either.
There are those who believe the one way to beat the Ravens is through the air because
of their susceptible cornerbacks, Chris McAlister and Duane Starks. To that, I argue this:
If Lewis and Co. can make the Raiders one-dimensional (read: shut down the run), the odds
of success are much better for the pass defense.
I’ll grant you, like the Giants, the Ravens probably need a
defensive/special-teams score, but the Raiders’ defense isn’t great shakes, and
RB Jamal Lewis has shown the ability to take over a game. I’m not saying the Ravens
run away and hide in this game, but I do think they win a nail-biter. Final score: Ravens
20, Raiders 16. |
