Welcome to Starting 5 – a weekly column by Operation Sports!
Each week, Senior Game Editor Clay Shaver and Managing Editor Shawn Drotar will tackle the world of sports and sports gaming in a rapid-fire discussion.

Is there a question on your mind? Find out below how to submit your question for next week’s column!

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Starting 5 – Five hot-button topics in the world of Sports and Sports Gaming

This week: The “Starting 5” Super Bowl Edition!

1) Super Bowl XXXVIII is this Sunday from Houston. However, the Super Bowl itself has almost become an afterthought to all the hype, parties, commercials, and overall commercialism. Does the Super Bowl mean more to football or to Madison Avenue and the NFL’s bottom line?

Clay: Starting us off with a softball, huh? The Super Bowl is 99.99% about the almighty dollar! The game stopped being about football sometime in the early 80’s. The pre-game hype has become less about the actual game every year. I’ve heard more stories this year about the fact that Bud Light will not be running any “Leon” commercials then I have about whether or not Stephen Davis will be running the ball for the Panthers. Don’t get me wrong, the cash cow that the Super Bowl has become is good for the NFL and, really, it’s good for guys who want to watch the all day event that it has become. Even non-football watching wives (which thankfully I do not have – my wife loves football) will watch the Super Bowl to see the commercials. The relationship is forever married. The football itself is lost in the shuffle. Real football fans know that. Luckily, we’ve had a great playoff season this year. That cushions the blow of an over-produced entertainment event that is sold to us as football.

Shawn: Well, it’s certainly a cash cow, but it’s also a fascinating confluence of American culture. Almost everything that’s uniquely American is wedged into Super Bowl Sunday. Whether that’s good or bad is another story – but when a football game has been essentially transformed into a national holiday, you know you’re struck a chord with the populace.

2) Thirty-seven Super Bowls have been decorated with amazing individual performances from superstars and journeymen. What is the greatest individual performance in Super Bowl history?

Shawn: Well, it’s admittedly cliché, but I’m going with Joe Namath in Super Bowl III. Not so much for his performance in the game, but for his actions surrounding it. “Broadway Joe” was flash and style personified, and his brash Jets upended the staid Colts in the greatest Super Bowl upset ever. Without the win, it’s entirely possible that the NFL and AFL would have never merged, and we wouldn’t be discussing this today. The Super Bowl didn’t become important until that win – and everything we’ll see this weekend – from the league, to the game, to the hype; draws it’s roots directly from Namath. “Broadway Joe” made the Super Bowl… super.

Clay: Well, to be fair, I have to make my decision based on the Super Bowls that I can actually remember watching. I’ll be 31 years old this year and my earliest Super Bowl memories (at least vivid ones) are from Super Bowl XV between Oakland and Philadelphia in 1981. I can honestly say that I have seen all 37 Super Bowls, but I want to make my pick based on my NFL watching years.

My first instinct was to go with John Riggins’ 38 carry, 166-yard performance in Super Bowl XVII. Then I thought of Doug Williams’ amazing game in Super Bowl XXII. I even considered Desmond Howard’s MVP performance against the Pats in Super Bowl XXXI. But, my winner has to go to the MVP of Super Bowl XXIV, Joe Montana.

Montana, arguably the greatest Super Bowl performer ever, lit up the Broncos (sorry, Shawn) en route to a 55-10 Niners victory. Joe’s final line: 22 of 29 for 297 yards and 5 TD’s (0 interceptions). Simply an amazing performance!

3) The Steelers in the 70’s. The 49ers in the 80’s. The Cowboys in the 90’s. Will we ever see another great NFL dynasty?

Clay: No, not with the parity in the current NFL. That is, unless you change the definition or lower the expectations of what a dynasty is. This is the Patriots’ second Super Bowl in three years with almost the same group of players. Dynasty? In today’s NFL it could be considered one, but it doesn’t compare to the Steelers or Niners. Salary caps, franchise tags, injuries, and simple parity will not allow a franchise to keep a team together long enough to be considered a true dynasty. And, in my opinion, that’s a shame. Dynasties are good for football. As much as I don’t care for the Cowboys, the idea of knocking off this great team was so much more appealing during their heyday because of their dominance. That’s what the NFL should be.

Shawn: I disagree. I like the idea of someone new winning. The salary cap era has ushered in the most competitive and exciting NFL football ever. “Any given Sunday” is no longer an axiom – it’s the real thing. As far as dynasties go? Well, the Patriots won’t be one – even if they win. The Denver Broncos are one of only five teams to win back-to-back Super Bowls, and the only team to do it within the salary cap era. It may be a long time until we see something like that again – if ever – and I’m completely fine with that.

4) With the Carolina Panthers’ entrance into this year’s big show, there are only seven NFL teams that have never been to the Super Bowl; the Arizona Cardinals, Cleveland Browns (new version), Detroit Lions, Houston Texans, Jacksonville Jaguars, New Orleans Saints, and the Seattle Seahawks. Who’s next to break the seal?

Clay: Hmmmm…great question. It needs some analyzing.

Arizona Cardinals – Dennis Green is a great hire, but even with Eli Manning at the helm, they’re a decade plus away from even contending. They don’t stand a chance until they get a new owner.

Cleveland Browns – I’m thinking that they might be the next team to get over the hump. However, they have “forever mediocre” written all over them. They just strike me as the kind of franchise that will spend most of the next decade hovering between 6-10 and 9-7. Plus, they’re not even the best team in Ohio.

Detroit Lions – Being a Lions fan, I want to say the Lions. But, being an NFL fan, I just can’t. I think the Lions are moving in the right direction and they’ll eventually get there. However, one playoff win in the last 40 years is a hard stat to overlook.

Houston Texans – I like the foundation that they are building on the offense in Houston. If they can parlay Drew Henson’s rights into an extra draft pick or two to start really building the defensive side of the ball, I think we might be seeing something.

Jacksonville Jaguars – I like the Jags. I think Byron Leftwich is the real deal, and has the potential to move this team in the next three years. Fred Taylor’s groin will very likely be the determining factor for this team’s chances of getting to the dance.

New Orleans Saints – Unless you start getting points for fumbles, the current Saints’ roster will not see the Super Bowl, unless it’s from the luxury boxes at the SuperDome.

Seattle Seahawks – If the Super Bowl were played in the Pacific Northwest, I would bet the mortgage payment. But, until that happens, the ‘Hawks need to learn to win on the road before they can be a serious playoff threat.

All that being said, what is the answer to the question? Believe it or not, I am going with the Houston Texans. I like Carr, Johnson and Davis on ‘O’ and I think Capers is one of the most underrated coaches in the NFL. Build that ‘D’ through the draft and free agency and you have a contender. Sorry, Lions!

Shawn: Who are you, and what did you do with “Mr. One-Liner” Clay? I like where Cleveland’s going. Butch Davis is an excellent coach, and he’s got a talented roster to build on. They need to address some weaknesses, and decide what to do with quarterback Tim Couch – but out of all the teams listed above – I still think the Browns are the closest of this crop.

5) Recent Super Bowls have shown that defense really does win championships. Why does it and why do offensive Players continue to dominate the early draft picks?

Clay: I hate the phrase that I am about to use, but the offensive players are the “sexy pick”. It takes a certain type of fan to really get into the defensive side of the ball. Sure, we all love to see a big hit or fantastic bull rush, but only the most diehard fans watch a play and go, “Wow…that was fantastic coverage! Did you see the way they ran that strong side bracket?” Appreciating a great defensive gameplan is like enjoying a great pitching performance in baseball. And it is just like baseball where pitching and defense win championships and homeruns don’t!

Why does it work? My theory is that there are less skilled defensive players in the league, so when a team gets a higher concentration of solid players, they shine. I also think that the size and speed on the defensive side of the ball has grown exponentially higher then it has on offense. Defensive ends are faster. Defensive tackles are bigger. Safeties are linebacker-sized. And the linebackers have 4.4 speed. It’s a remarkable trend that I personally really, really enjoy watching.

Shawn: You make good points regarding the increased affect that defenses are having in the last few years. But there’s another factor that may be more important – scouting. The NFL is a coaches’ league, and technology has grown exponentially; to the point where the league’s top defensive coaches can stop an offense with schemes before the game begins. Talent is not as much of a factor as it used to be – discipline and intelligence are more valued than ever – and you’ve seen that in the last few Super Bowl champs. Superstar-laden teams are getting knocked off by teams like…well, the Panthers. The scheme’s the thing.

Conversely, the only thing that renders a scheme useless is a stellar offensive talent. Players like Michael Vick, Peyton Manning, Randy Moss, Clinton Portis and LaDainian Tomlinson are simply impossible to scheme against due to their talent and ability – they can do too many things to reliably predict. As a result, the offensive gamebreakers are harder to find, and dominate the early picks of a draft. Teams need to find a home-run hitter to win consistently, and they’re willing to skimp on the defensive side to try and find one. What happened to the Falcons this year was no accident. With Vick, they’re a team to be reckoned with – but without his unique skills, they’re just another team that can be beaten with a solid defensive scheme.

Welcome to the NFL of the 21st century.

6th Man – A little help off the bench

6) You knew it was coming, so we saved it ‘till last. The New England Patriots are going for their second Super Bowl championship in three years against the NFC’s Carolina Panthers. Who ya got!?!?!

Clay: I don’t know if I should even be able to make a prediction; considering that in this very column during our preseason edition, I chose the Oakland Raiders to return to the Super Bowl. I did pick the Eagles from the NFC, so I was at least closer on one side.

I’ve got to take the Patriots. They’re better on offense. Only slightly weaker on defense. Their kicker is automatic. And they have the best coach in the NFL. Yeah, I said it – the best coach in the NFL! You give a coaching mind like that two weeks to prepare for a team that is, basically, one-dimensional and I think this Super Bowl could get downright ugly. The line is at 6.5 right now. I say the Pats by at least two touchdowns.

Shawn: Really going out on a limb there with that Belichick statement, eh? There’s no question that Belichick’s the best in the business, but this time - he’ll be coaching against the Patriots of two years ago. The Panthers are following the same script as the 2001 Pats, and I think the story ends the same way – the Panthers are a bunch of no-names; underappreciated, underrated, and underdogs – with absolutely nothing to lose. I think they’ll shock the world. Carolina 27, New England 23.

24 Second Clock – Get one more off in 24 words or less

Clay: You can argue the arrogance of the University of Michigan, but they produce players - like Brady and Law - that simply know how to win.