The sports world is dominated by star power. LeBron James and friends define the NBA, Albert Pujols and Roy Halladay help represent hardball, and Tom Brady, Drew Brees, and Aaron Rodgers are amongst the faces of the NFL. It's no surprise that the biggest stars get the best television ratings and the most interest on social media.
Tim Tebow was the most popular player in college and is now making a run for the most popular player in the NFL. His match-up against Tom Brady drew great interest this past weekend. The same can be said for the Giants led by Eli Manning against the defending champions. Naturally, Drew Brees and the Saints also garnered a lot of attention in their showdown with the 49ers. Then there was that other game: The Ravens against the Texans.
There is very little excitement about the Ravens and Texans these days. The Texans have some star power, as Andre Johnson and Arian Foster are two of the best playmakers in the NFL. However, this is just their first time in the playoffs, and they made their debut with a third-string quarterback who could not handle the pressure.
TJ Yates tossed three picks, which undercut Foster's sensational performance with 132 rushing yards. The Texans are an exciting team on the rise, and are in great shape to contend next season with the return of defensive end Mario Williams along with quarterback Matt Schaub.
While the Texans have to wait until next season to return to the field, the Ravens are amongst the final four with hopes of a Super Bowl appearance. Though the goal for the team has been to improve on offence, its backbone is its defence.
Running back Ray Rice had a fine season with 2070 total yards of offence and 15 touchdowns, but his role often diminished when the Ravens suffered an early deficit. Quarterback Joe Flacco is a former first round pick who has offered some promise, but has yet to offer the consistency needed for a Super Bowl contender.
Flacco has averaged just 146 passing yards over the last three weeks; however, his five touchdowns compared to just one interception had the Ravens pick up wins in all three contests. Nonetheless, this team is looking too similar offensively to the 2000 season when the Ravens took home a championship in spite of its offence.
This weekend the defensive-minded Ravens visit the Tom Brady-led Patriots. After three picks off a rookie quarterback, the Ravens likely won't have as many opportunities for turnovers against Brady.
The good news for Joe Flacco is that the Patriots are vulnerable to the pass; they allow 294 passing yards per game and surrendered a total of 26 passing touchdowns.
That does not suggest this will be easy for the Ravens. While the Patriots surrender plenty of yards and touchdowns, they also force a lot of turnovers, ranking second with 23 interceptions in the NFL this season.
By all accounts, Flacco underperformed this season. However, all will be forgiven with a big performance this weekend. While most NFL fans are expecting star power to reign supreme, the Ravens are hoping that the combination of a balanced offence and veteran defence will be enough to bring them to Indianapolis.
