Defense Wins What? Final Four Quarterbacks Challenge the Classic NFL Myth

Defense wins championships—it's one of the NFL's longest running credos.

Converse with any NFL fan long enough and you're sure to hear those words muttered. It's a popular phrase.

And then the confusion begins. Wasn't the quarterback supposed to be the most important position on the field? He is the first person every one watches, isn't he?

What happens when clichés collide?

All four teams playing for a chance at the Lombardi trophy this Sunday have the distinct pleasure of boasting two things: stifling, game-changing defenses, and difference-making quarterback play.

The Arizona Cardinals have been a completely different team in the playoffs, adding a defensive dynamic that was absent throughout the regular season. They're stopping the run, forcing turnovers, and applying pressure before the pass.

The Philadelphia Eagles have also honed in on the run while free agent Asante Samuel is picking up where he left off in New England.

The Pittsburgh Steelers and Baltimore Ravens require no introductions.

With such strong defenses in place, this means it's going to be up to the quarterback to bring his game up a notch and transcend the popular NFL notion.

Defense can help win championships. But a dependable quarterback can find ways to overcome the strongest defenders. Look for the intangibles these quarterbacks possess to be factors against the NFL's best defenses. 

Hunger Wins Championships?

Four NFC championship games and one Super Bowl appearance combine for multiple heart-breaking losses experienced by Donovan McNabb.

It's those losses that have defined him. And it's exactly what makes McNabb the most dangerous player on the NFL's most dangerous team. How long can one man tolerate defeat?

Finally returned to full health, McNabb had a season worthy of Comeback Player of the Year honors, but no one noticed. After his well-documented benching, McNabb has returned to the field with the kind of tenacity seen only in men possessed.

He's leading his Eagles to familiar territory in a familiar fashion—with no star wide receivers. The Eagles are a versatile squad. It's only natural for such an identity to be reflected in their quarterback.

A strong offensive line keeps him well-protected, an elusive Brian Westbrook gives him an escape strategy, and a reputation for winning games while including everyone precedes him.

There has to be a sense of entitlement with McNabb and the Eagles. They deserve to win—to bounce back after being written off—and no one should want it more than Donovan.

Great Wide Receivers Win Championships?

Kurt Warner had an MVP-caliber season in 2008, but skeptics have to wonder a little bit. How much of his success is due to the wide receivers the Arizona Cardinals boast?

He may have been the best quarterback for the job in Arizona, but he's still a quarterback who was benched halfway through his stint with the New York Giants.

Warner is certainly one of the NFL's most talented players, but in all of his great years, he's never been without exceptional receiving targets.

From Isaac Bruce and Torry Holt to Larry Fitzgerald and Anquan Boldin, Warner could be experiencing some two-time MVP déjà vu.

Through two playoff games, the Warner-Fitzgerald connection looks good enough to have won the Super Bowl twice. Against Carolina, Warner found Fitzgerald eight times for over 160 yards and a phenomenal touchdown run. 

It's not like anyone can be plugged in and accomplish the same things Warner has been able to do with those receivers. Or would Matt Leinart have been just as successful?

The answer should be an unequivocal "no"—but the question should then rest upon whether or not Warner would have been as successful without Boldin and Fitzgerald.

Inexperience Wins Championships?

Being the first rookie to win two playoff games on the road has catapulted Joe Flacco to the forefront of history books and every NFL conversation. People are expecting his downfall, but no one has pondered the significance of his inexperience.

In an NFL season where everything everyone knew has flipped completely upside down, is being a rookie working to Flacco's benefit? Is his inexperience bliss for the Baltimore Ravens?

His arm strength, accuracy, and naïveté to the sheer magnitude of the playoff environment which has engulfed so many young quarterbacks before him allow Flacco to be the leader he is.

Certainly he understands the magnitude of the games he's playing, and the significance a victory holds for his teammates. But it's his unshaken approach to football that has everyone wondering if he's really in his first season.

It's that inexperience—that unknown feeling of losing a big game for his team that so many quarterbacks are familiar with—that makes Flacco dangerous. There's no hesitation on his part.

All he sees is a game that needs to be won, and he's looking for the means to accomplish that goal. Precision passing, fearless deep-routes, and great decision-making all point to a man who's not afraid of his surroundings.

It's the unprecedented quality of Flacco's that makes him one of the most significant wild cards on the field. He's still building a body of work during a time where most quarterbacks repertoires and capabilities are already known.

Clutch Performances Win Championships?

We're battling clichés here, but Big Ben Roethlisberger has managed to become one of his own. All he does is win.

Gone are the days of a Steelers quarterback only having to exist between the snap of the football and the hand-off to his running back. Pittsburgh is still a run-first team, but Roethlisberger makes it so that it doesn't always have to be that way.

Big Ben has continued to grow since leading the Steelers to their last Super Bowl win. And that growth has been evident in everything he's done since that victory. 

When the game needs to be placed on his shoulders, Roethlisberger has displayed his resilience, toughness, and mental fortitude under various forms of pressure. He quickly became the kind of player whose hands you want to see the ball in when something needs to be done.

Evading pressure and making great decisions, Roethlisberger normally finds an open receiver, and he does it quickly.

Being the spark plug for countless come-from-behind victories in the Steel City, Big Ben has earned a reputation as one of the NFL's elite quarterbacks. 

As far as the other three quarterbacks are concerned, he's got a little bit of all of them. Roethlisberger has great receivers, the toughness to put a team on his shoulders, and the coolness to remain effective despite pressure.

Angel Navedo is the Jets-Examiner" target="_blank">Examiner for the New York Jets, and the Head Writer at  NYJetsFan.com. Some of his work can also be found on MyGridironSpace.com—a premier social networking site built exclusively for NFL fans.

He can be reached here.