We've entered the third week of The Spectrum's 16-man (and woman) Sharpest Point tournament, and things are bound to get even spicier from here on out.
Nick Mendola and Ben Cady have advanced, and now it's up to the rest of the competitors to escape the perils of the first round and survive to see another day.
Being the Super Bowl week, this week's question is who will win, by what score, and who, or what, will be the "X factor."
Michael Monahan (Creative Director): This Super Bowl has all the ear-markings of a classic defensive struggle. Both teams excel at shutting down opposing offenses and doing just enough to stay ahead. Despite this defensive mindset, I think both scores will easily reach 20.
Stephen Davis is listed as 100 percent for the game - a big problem for the Patriots. The offensive line of the Panthers utilizes trickery and intelligence as well as any Belichick defense does, and should have little trouble creating holes for Davis to pound through. Add to that the speed of Steve Smith and the heads-up play of Jake Delhomme, and you have a formula for points against a scheming defense that can be caught out of position.
For the Patriots, the lack of a running game will be very difficult to overcome. The front four of the Panthers are the best in the NFL at getting pressure all on their own. This allows three linebackers and the entire secondary to concentrate on shutting down those short routes Charlie Weis loves to utilize. Tom Brady will have to be more accurate than ever and his receivers will have to run their routes perfectly if they're to overcome the pass rush.
The team that can win the field position battle will win this super bowl, making special teams the x factor. The edge has to go to Carolina with Steve Smith and Rod 'He Hate Me' Smart as return men. With better field position, the Panthers will be putting up six more often than the Patriots, meaning a super bowl victory for John Fox and Carolina by a score of 27-23.
Jackie O'Brien (Sports Writer): If you plan on tuning into Super Bowl XXXVIII this Sunday with the hopes of seeing a high-scoring, crowd-pleasing, ultimate touchdown scoring bonanza complete with infinite amounts of post-touchdown break dancing, you will be sadly disappointed this Sunday.
What you will get, however, is a classic low-scoring defensive battle between two very even teams that have established themselves as two of the best in professional football.
The New England Patriots and the Carolina Panthers both boast exceptional defensive lines that have caused problems for their respective opponents all season long. Also, each team features efficient and scrappy quarterbacks in Tom Brady and Jake Delhomme that don't put up exceptional numbers, but get continuously get the job done under pressure with their strategic prowess.
What Super Bowl XXXVIII will come down to is experience and coaching - two areas in which the Patriots clearly have the advantage. The Patriots have been to the Super Bowl, and Brady has the Super Bowl experience of which Delhomme is void.
Patriots head coach Bill Belichick is practically a Super Bowl regular, in terms of coaching appearances. Belichick guided the injury-plagued Patriots through a successful regular season and he will be the x-factor in guiding the Patriots to the title in Super Bowl XXXVIII, winning it 17-14.
JN: Style has been the difference maker throughout the first two rounds, but here it's pretty even, I give Jackie a 7 and Mike a 5. She gets the edge because of the break dancing comment, which in turn made me think of In Living Color, which in turn made me think of Fire Marshal Bill. In the factual evidence category, Mike has a clear knowledge of what he's talking about and gets an 8 to Jackie's 5. As strength of argument goes, both once again make a strong point. But I can't take any team with "He Hate Me" serious. That and the fact that I think Jackie is right about Belichick being the X-factor in defensive battle. So she takes the strength of argument 8-5.
JB: Like Normile said, the style coming from this argument was not high-octane - you could say both of the competitors ran a Patriot-like efficient offense - but O'Brien threw in that trick play earning her a 6 to Monahan's 5. Both presented strong factual evidence for their respective points, but Monahan was so in depth that he receives a 9 to O'Brien's 8. Although I disagree with Monahan's choice of the Panthers, his argument was well worked out, and I think he deserves an 8. I loved O'Brien's view of experience being the key, and her x-factor of Belichick was dead on, in my opinion at least. She gets an 8 for strength of argument.
Final Score: "Jumpin'" Jackie O'Brien 42, "Maniacal" Mike Monahan 40
