Tom Brady vs. Ray Lewis With a Trip To Super Bowl 46 On The Line

When the AFC Championship kicks off this Sunday on Route 1 in Foxborough it will feature a matchup of the 2 preeminent offensive and defensive players of this generation, we are of course speaking of Tom Brady & Ray Lewis. Sunday’s Conference Championship resembles something of a ‘last stand’ for 2 of the most revered players in the history of the National Football League.

It may sound absurd to refer to Sunday as a last stand for Brady, who at 34 is playing as well as he ever has. But for a player whose career has been defined by winning, and by winning Super Bowls, this may be Brady’s best (final?) chance to add that elusive 4^th ring to his jewelry box, tying him with his boyhood hero Joe Montana. Both the Boston Globe & the Boston Herald have ran stories in recent days discussing the good fortune that has been bestowed on the Patriots this season.

New England’s defense has been a work in progress all season, and that’s putting it mildly. Back in the dog days of summer we heard stories of a more aggressive Patriots defense, a unit that would transform from the Belichick standard 3-4 into an attacking 4-3. New Kids In Town Albert Haynesworth & Shaun Ellis were supposed to be at the forefront of this new scheme. Flash forward to January and Haynesworth is gone and Ellis is making a relatively small impact (although he did play well against Denver last week). The secondary has redefined the term ‘patchwork’ and features a player in Devin McCourty who has gone from All-Pro rookie to sophomore liability. For the first time in his illustrious career Bill Belichick’s defense was one of the worst in the league.

Defensive shortcomings such as these would have been tough to combat against Ben Roethlisberger, Aaron Rodgers, or Drew Brees. But courtesy of some divine intervention all 3 heavyweight QB’s have been eliminated from the tournament. All of this brings us back to Sunday’s and New England’s showdown against Joe Flacco. While it’s true that Flacco has played relatively well in big games throughout his career, including a playoff win in Foxborough 2 years ago, his prowess is nothing like the afore mentioned great passers, and should be a quarterback that the Patriots defense won’t get overwhelmed by.

Shifting the focus to Ray Lewis, he may be in the final leg of perhaps the most brilliant middle line backing career in NFL history. While it’s true that Lewis already has a Super Bowl ring to his credit, and a legacy that is etched in stone, Lewis craves another title as much as Brady does, and 2 more wins beginning with a victory in Foxborough on Sunday would be a wonderful way to cap off an incredible career.

Much in the same way that the path to a title seems clear for Brady; the road for Ray Lewis is open as well. In January of 2010 the Ravens came to Foxborough and crushed the Patriots in the Wild Card round of the playoffs, and have routinely given Brady and company all that they can handle. Baltimore plays New England as tough as anyone and has lost 2 bitterly close games at Gillette in each of the last 2 regular seasons.

Joe Flacco has not made anyone in Maryland forget about Johnny Unitas, but he can beat New England on Sunday and most certainly can beat either Eli Manning or Alex Smith. Flacco may have to get into a shootout on Sunday, one that he has all the tools to win, but asking Baltimore Joe to outscore Brady, and either Aaron Rodgers or Drew Brees in consecutive weeks would have been a tall task.

Winning a Championship is never easy, even when the road opens up for you the way it has for Baltimore & New England. Both Tom Brady & Ray Lewis still have plenty of good Football left on their odometers, and both players know the joy of winning and the pain of losing in the second season. Sunday represents perhaps the final chance for both men to get back to the big game and win it one more time. Patriots vs. Ravens, Tom Brady vs. Ray Lewis, with a trip to Indianapolis on the line. Is it Sunday yet?