4 players who could decide this year’s Super Bowl matchup

Danny Kelly: This weekend’s conference championship games between the Panthers and Cardinals and the Patriots and Broncos are really interesting, both from the point of view that these are the NFL’s top four seeds, and from the point of view that schematically these teams all seem to match up well with each other, big picture-wise.

There are also a few interesting under-the-radar players that could really make big impacts in this game matchup-wise, and turn the tide for their respective teams.

For the Broncos, I’m very interested in how they matchup with Rob Gronkowski -- it’s an obvious dilemma that not many teams have been able to solve over the years -- but how Wade Phillips and the Denver defense ends up trying to limit Gronk could be the difference in the game.

Gronk’s a first down machine and a touchdown maker, so do they double-team him? Do they bracket him on every play? I think that Aqib Talib could end up being a very important player to watch on Sunday when Gronk is lined up outside, and the way in which the Broncos defend this could be a huge key.

I’m guessing they’ll look to play physically on the outside -- press him and disrupt timing so he can’t get downfield too quickly -- and they’ll do that with Talib or Bradley Roby. They’ll probably then bring one of their safeties in over the top to make sure he doesn’t break a tackle and get loose. Tackling will be the absolute key, and there’s a reason that Broncos players have been talking so much about taking out Gronk below the knees. He’s absurdly difficult to bring down if you aim high and Denver’s guys on the outside will have major issues this week whenever Gronk gets flexed out.

In that Denver-New England game, is there a matchup or under-the-radar player that you’ll be focused on for Sunday?

Stephen White: With two all-time great quarterbacks (insert obvious caveat about Peyton Manning’s play this season for fan/guy who simply refuses to let you mention anything positive about him at all without said caveat) facing off in this game, it kind of makes sense that we are both looking at under-the-radar defensive players to make an impact on Sunday. For me that guy is Jabaal Sheard.

What a tremendous free agent pick up this guy has been! As a rookie second-round pick with Cleveland in 2011 he burst on the scene with 8.5 sacks his first year, but his numbers had seen a rather steady decline over the next three seasons and in 2014 he notched just two sacks the whole year. The Browns let him walk and he ended up signing a two-year deal with NE this offseason for decent, but certainly not top-of-the-market money, and he has been worth every cent and then some.

Despite starting only one game and missing three others, Sheard was able to come home with eight sacks this season, which is the second-highest output of his career and really that doesn’t even begin to tell the whole story of how impactful he has been for the Patriots. He has lined up all over the place and he always seems to find a way to get to the passer in every single spot. You can also just tell that the dude is a savvy vet when you watch his film. Rarely gets fooled, always seems to get himself in good positions to make plays.

With Patriots starting defensive end Chandler Jones having left the game last week against the Chiefs with an injury, there is also a chance that Sheard’s role will expand even further this Sunday against the Broncos. Even those who are currently dumping dirt on Manning’s career would likely admit that a Peyton who isn’t pressured is still a dangerous dude. Sheard’s ability to rush the passer gives him the perfect opportunity to make some real game-deciding plays on Sunday, so I would definitely keep a close eye on him whenever he is out there.

Now, we both admitted on the podcast that the NFC Championship was the harder game to decide on a winner. The Cardinals and Panthers are just so evenly matched while also being such a contrast in styles, particularly on offense, it’s just hard to give either team a clear edge heading into Sunday. Is there an under-the-radar guy on either of those teams that you think may step up and play above their abilities so to speak to help get their team the win?

Danny: I wrote about Greg Olsen this week and how he’s kind of the focal point of the Panthers offense, but one guy who I’ll be watching pretty closely this week is rookie receiver Devin Funchess. Carolina will feed Olsen all over the place and will likely take a few shots downfield to Ted Ginn, but in third-down situations and in the red zone, it would be huge if the 6’5, 225-pound receiver could make a few plays for them.

He wasn’t a big factor for the Panthers vs. Seattle -- just one catch for 12 yards -- but going back to around midseason, he’d quietly come on pretty strong in that offense. From Week 9 on, he recorded 24 catches for 383 yards and five touchdowns while averaging 15.3 yards per catch, and he showed signs that he was developing into the type of player the Panthers envisioned him being when they drafted him 41st overall. Newton is starting to trust him more, and he’s made some tough catches in traffic.

Stephen, you saw Funchess’ potential when the Panthers played the Buccaneers in Week 17, and he caught seven passes for 120 yards and a touchdown in that one. With the way the Panthers run the football, it might mitigate some of the heavy blitzing that the Cardinals utilize, and when Arizona does show blitz, I could see Carolina go to a heavy play-action game where they look to get the ball out quickly. Newton could use the big receiving target on slant routes and quick hitches where Funchess can use his size and frame to box out defenders away from the pass. Same goes for in the red zone and end zone. We saw last year what Newton could do with a big receiving target like Kelvin Benjamin, and Benjamin had a huge touchdown for them in the Divisional round on a simple slant route near the goal line. I could see them try something like that on Sunday if they get into that situation.

Is there any under-the-radar player that you’ve got in mind that could tilt the balance in this game?

Stephen: Once again, great minds think alike as I was also thinking of an under-the radar wide receiver who could end up being the star of the NFC Championship on Sunday, but for me that guy is Cardinals’ second-year wideout John Brown.

With all the injury issues the Panthers had late in the season, their secondary isn’t nearly as strong as it was to start year. Yeah you have an All-Pro corner in Josh Norman who has been playing some phenomenal football all season, but as we pointed out on the podcast, the guy starting opposite him is Robert McClain who is only 5’9 and the nickel back is now Cortland Finnegan. Neither of those guys inspire a whole lot of confidence heading into this matchup, especially when it comes to defending the deep ball.

Now, everyone is rightly focused on grizzled veteran Cardinals wide receiver Larry Fitzgerald after his ridiculous performance last week against the Packers as well as the impressive numbers he put up over the course of this season. For a guy supposedly on the downside of his career who was also being thrown inside to the slot position for the first time where some questioned how effective he could be, Fitz damn sure looked like he was still in his prime to me whenever I watched his film this year. I expect that the Panthers will find ways to show Fitzgerald extra attention on Sunday. However, to limit his impact could present an opening for one of Arizona’s other receivers to really expose McClain on the outside.

I know some folks would be quick to throw out Michael Floyd’s name as the person who might pull that off, but I actually expect him to be matched up with Norman a lot, so I’m very skeptical of that. Besides that, quiet as it’s kept, it was Brown, not Floyd, who was second on the team this season in receptions, receiving yards, receiving touchdowns and yards per reception. Of course, Floyd’s season got off to a slow start after he broke several fingers during camp, but that still doesn’t diminish how well Brown played.

This is a dude who had over 1,000 receiving in the regular season after all. He also had the quietest five-catch, 82-yard receiving day in the playoffs maybe in recorded history last week all because Fitz’s big day so overshadowed his.

Conversely, last week in the second half the Seahawks seemed to target McClain an awful lot and he didn’t look all that great on several of those plays, including a touchdown where Jermaine Kearse just physically embarrassed him on a red zone fade route. Right now, Brown has to be watching film thinking all he has to do is bring the butter and the jam because that guy McClain is looking like some fluffy, golden brown toast. If the Cardinals can actually block the Panthers’ pass rush long enough for their quarterback Carson Palmer to push the ball down the field, Brown may well have a career day and, consequently, it might get ugly real fast for Carolina.

Not saying they will be able to, after all I picked the Panthers to win, but if they do there will be trouble, trouble. *Bernie Mac voice*