At the beginning of this season, football experts looked at the San Francisco 49ers and New York Giants and immediately wrote both off as pretenders, saying that no one in the right mind would pick either to win their division or capture a Wild Card spot. And honestly, who could blame those experts?
The 49ers were just coming off a 6-10 season with a quarterback, Alex Smith, who looked horrendous in the process. Sadly enough, that only put the team one game out of the division lead in the horrendous NFC West, but nonetheless, few predicted that they would make any noise a season later. After all, Smith was still under center and a new, unproven college coach was in charge.
On the other side of the country, Giants fans’ last football memory was DeSean Jackson’s punt return in the last game of the season, which ended Big Blue’s season and catapulted the Eagles into the playoffs. Despite finishing 10-6, the same record as eventual Super Bowl champion Green Bay, the Giants had a significant amount of work to do. Eli Manning had one of his worst seasons as a quarterback, Osi Umenyiora was holding out, and the team let go of some key offensive weapons. To think they could beat the Eagles’ self-proclaimed “Dream Team” was preposterous, especially given Philadelphia’s offseason spending rampage.
But despite the lack of preseason media hype, the teams are set to face off this weekend for the NFC title and a spot in the Super Bowl. Both the Giants and the 49ers found motivation in their locker rooms, among players and, more importantly, their coaches. Numerous 49ers have come out vouching for Coach Jim Harbaugh, noting that he is perceived as “one of the guys,” which allows players to buy into his motivational, heart-on-his-sleeve coaching techniques. He expressed his belief within his locker room, rather than spouting guarantees and placing unnecessary expectations on his team through the media like other coaches.
Tom Coughlin, the Giants’ coach, has a disposition that is quite the opposite of Harbaugh’s. His stoic nature, however, is highly effective, as players sense that their unwavering coach truly believes in his team’s ability to win with the players they have. Although he has lightened up in years past, he never made excuses over the losses of Kevin Boss and Steve Smith to free agency and virtually half of the team’s defensive unit to injury. Instead, he simply pointed to the next man on the bench to step up—and the players complied. For both Harbaugh and Coughlin, belief in their personnel fueled them, and led them to this Sunday’s showdown.
In a season which promised a final gun-slinging battle involving the Eagles, Saints, or Packers, the tables seem to have turned entirely. In reality, however, San Francisco and New York serve as prime examples of how the formula for winning the Super Bowl never changes. Both of these teams play smash-mouth defense that dictates the pace of their games. The 49ers have done it all season, while the Giants are just now hitting their stride, as all of their key defensive weapons are back and healthy for the first time all season.
Of course, for all the hype surrounding their defenses, all Super Bowl winners have a steady hand at quarterback. This season, Smith has established himself as that type of quarterback, all too reminiscent of a fledgling Manning during the Giants’ magical run in 2007. This season, Manning has elevated his game, establishing himself as one of the game’s elite quarterbacks. Both are able to balance their passing skills with their teams’ tremendous running attacks.
Over in the AFC, the Patriots have elite quarterback play, but one of the worst defenses in football. Conversely, the Ravens come in with their signature, vaunted defense, but questionable play from quarterback Joe Flacco. With this in mind, it’s hard to fault a hopeful Giants fan for believing that the winner of a matchup between Coughlin and the younger, less-established Harbaugh will signal the ultimate winner of Super Bowl XLVI.
