Central Oregonian

Conference championships feature defense

Harbaughs one win away from becoming the first brothers to coach against each other in Super Bowl

Lon Austin

There is an old axiom that says that offense sells tickets, but defense wins championships.

After watching the first two rounds of the NFL?playoffs, it looks once again like that may be true.

New England is the only team among the league leaders in scoring that is still alive in the playoffs, while two of the top three defenses in the league are still playing.

Of special interest this year is the possibility that brothers could coach against each other in the Super Bowl for the first time ever.

John Harbaugh, who is in his fourth year as an NFL head coach, led the Baltimore Ravens to a 13-3 regular season record. The Ravens, a perennial defensive powerhouse, have given up just 16.6 points per game this year, and are ranked third in the league in total defense.

Meanwhile, Jim Harbaugh has led the San Francisco ers to their best record in several years. In his first year as an NFL head coach, Harbaugh has guided the 49ers to a 14-3 record, including a thrilling last-second 36-32 victory over the New Orleans Saints last weekend.

The 49ers are second in the NFL in total defense, and have given up an average of 14.3 points per game. Although they led most of the game, it took a last second touchdown pass for the 49ers to get past the offensive oriented New Orleans Saints last weekend.

Of the two Harbaughs, the rookie seems to have the easiest route to the Super Bowl. The 49ers play the New York Giants, who were the last team to make it into the playoffs, after struggling to a 9-7 regular season record. However, the Giants looked strong last weekend while knocking off Green Bay who led the NFL in scoring with 35 points a game while compiling a 51-1 regular season record.

Meanwhile, the Baltimore Ravens and John Harbaugh will have to go on the road to face New England, who are scoring 32.1 points per game. New England appears to be nearly unbeatable at home, and presents matchup problems for most defensive teams with their gigantic and fast tight ends.

It will be interesting to see if Baltimore and San Francisco can survive and reach the Super Bowl. The two brothers reportedly speak to each other frequently, including giving each other information about upcoming opponents. It would be fascinating to see how they would approach facing each other given that there seem to be no secrets between the two.

I, for one, hope that the two teams can win their next games and reach the Super Bowl. I think it would lead to one of the most interesting matchups in years.