First of all, Defense wins Championships. Period. It has been proven time and time again. Ray Lewis’ Ravens and the 1985 Bears won it all with the best defenses EVER in 2000 and ’85 respectively. Have you ever heard of the Steel Curtain, sure you have, because they won four, that’s right, FOUR Superbowls – 1974, ’75, ’78, ’79. Do we need anymore proof?
Enough about the past, let’s talk about the future. Before the Niners have a chance to hoist the Lombardi Trophy, they have to get past the New York Giants and their surprisingly stout defense. The Giants squeaked into the playoffs with a 9-7 record, but have bested the reining champions, the team with the best record in the regular season, the Green Bay Packers. The Giants have also shut down the Atlanta Falcons in the first round of the playoffs 24-2. This will be a tough for the Niners because the New York offense is full of weapons. With the likes of Nicks, a surprising rookie Victor Cruz, Manningham, Ahmad Bradshaw, and Brandon Jacobs this is no easy win for any team. Not to mention Eli Manning is playing the best football of his life.
Make no mistake, there is a way to shut down the Giants. Stop their run game, simple as that. In each Giants loss this season, they have been held under 100 yrds rushing, excluding only the G-men’s loss to the Packers in week 13, when the Packers ran for exactly 100 yards. The equation is simple - stop the run and make Eli Manning beat you through the air. There is no team better suited to do this than the Niners. They had the best run defense in the league, allowing only 77.3 yards a game in the regular season. Also, the San Francisco defense had the most takeaways this season. We saw the tenacious defense of the Niners take the ball away from Drew Brees and the best offense in the league five times (3 fumbles, 2 Passes) in the second round of the playoffs.
His entire NFL career, Alex Smith has been criticized and blamed for subpar performances and seasons. Finally the 49ers have put together a defense good enough to keep Smith confortable and confident. This is his season to silence the critics and prove he can be an elite quarterback and lead his team to victory against the Giants and in the Superbowl.
