Regardless of which teams win this year's NFL conference championship games -- barring a major injury -- one thing is certain. There will be a savvy veteran quarterback facing off against a youngster in the Super Bowl.
The AFC championship game features Tom Brady of the New England Patriots against Peyton Manning of the Denver Broncos. Between them, they've already won 4 Super Bowls, have a closet full of MVP awards, have established themselves as two of the greatest all-time quarterbacks, and will both certainly be unanimous choices for the NFL Hall of Fame, as soon as they're eligible.
On the other hand, the NFC championship game will feature Colin Kaepernick of the San Fran 49ers against Russell Wilson of the Seattle Seahawks. Neither one has won a Super Bowl, and there's nary an MVP between them.
Yes, Kaepernick and the Niners got to the Big Dance last year, but they were defeated by the Baltimore Ravens. Runner-up doesn't count. Ask the people in Minnesota or Buffalo about that. They know a lot about such things from years past. Don't ask the people in Detroit. They're still oblivious. Like the old song goes -- the Lions continue to sleep tonight. Shhhh.
In a way, it seems a shame that Brady and Manning never could, and never will face off in the Super Bowl for all the marbles. That's because they've both always played in the same conference. The best they could ever do was/is meet in the semi-finals. But wouldn't that have been fun to watch?
Thing is, one of them is going to another Super Bowl, while the other slithers away into the off-season. Somebody's gotta lose.
Same thing with Kaepernick and Wilson. There can only be one winning QB when they meet next Sunday. After the game, one of them will be triumphantly giving interviews to the media, while the other hunkers down in the losing locker room. It's just the way it goes.
Which QBs will meet in the Super Bowl is anybody's guess (I think there's 4 different possible combinations). But regardless of how those lottery numbers pop out, it's going to be an old pro squaring off against a young upstart.
Both Kaepernick and Wilson are quite capable of turning a broken play into a big gainer with their feet. Between Manning and Brady -- they have the escapability and foot-speed of a convict running away from prison in double leg irons. Not exactly a threat to get far before they're caught.
But when it comes to the Big Dance, with all the hoopla and pressure that goes along with it -- I'm betting on whichever geezer makes it there to outfox the kid.
At least this year.
Then again, I thought the 49ers would easily defeat the Ravens last year, and we know how that worked out.
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