Well, my record isn't perfect anymore, but I still got 3 out of 4 games correct last week making my record 7-1 for the playoffs. Not too shabby. Although, if it was against the spread, my record probably wouldn't be so good. Anyway, I learned an interesting fact today. The Patriots have been in (and won) 3 of the last 6 Super Bowls. During that time, not one other team has been there twice. That's 9 different teams (bonus points if you can name all 9) and the Pats 3 times. Adding to that, the three other teams left in the playoffs besides the Patriots (Packers, Giants and Chargers) have also not been to the Super Bowl in the last 6 years. So, the trend will continue for another year. Amazing! Onto my picks for the Conference Championships:
San Diego Chargers at New England Patriots - What happened? This was supposed to be Colts vs. Patriots. Manning vs. Brady. Defending Champs vs. Undefeated. The two best teams in the NFL duking it out. The Chargers had to go and ruin that by beating the Colts at home. Not only that, but they did it with their three biggest offensive weapons injured (Rivers, Gates and LDT) and with the refs giving just about every call in the Colts favor. Wow! What does this mean? Are the Chargers really that good? Will they be the ones to defeat the Patriot Machine? Um...no. Sure, the Chargers are good, but the Pats are on a whole other level than the Colts. Not to mention they are still undefeated giving them extra motivation to win...and they have home-field advantage, which is huge when you play a warm weather team in below freezing temperatures (high of 24 tomorrow). I'm not going to say it will be a blowout like their Week 2 meeting when the Pats beat the Chargers 38-14. I think the Chargers are a better team now than they were then, not to mention they are on an eight game winning streak (even though the eight teams, except for the Colts, aren't that impressive). The Chargers actually have a chance to win this game if LDT is healthy. They need to run...a lot...but they also need to be able to stop the Pats offense once or twice. Possible...but not likely. If the Pats can get an early lead, they may just run away with this game and straight to Phoenix. Score - New England: 31 San Diego: 21.
New York Giants at Green Bay Packers - How happy are the Packers? Instead of going to Dallas to play a Cowboys team that beat them 37-27 in Week 13, they get to play at home against a Giants team that they spanked in Week 2, 35-13. You could just picture Brett Favre and the rest of the team breathing a sigh of relief as the Giants intercepted Tony Romo on their own 5-yard line to ensure their victory. Good for the Giants, but now they have to go to Green Bay and play in ridiculously cold weather (high of 6 tomorrow) against "America's Sweetheart", Brett Favre. Good luck with that. Like the Chargers, the Giants can win their game tomorrow, but it won't be easy. They have to hope that the extreme temperatures will affect the Packers as much as it affects them. After a certain point, I would think that it gets to be too cold, even for a cold-weather team. Both teams' passing games could be hurt by the cold, so this game may come down to the running backs. If that becomes the case, I still give the advantage to Green Bay. Ryan Grant rushed for over 200 yards last week against the Seahawks. Yes...200 yards...that is not a typo. The Giants, on the other hand, have been depending on a two-headed rushing attack with Brandon Jacobs and Ahmad Bradshaw. They combined for 88 yards last week against the Cowboys. Again, like the Chargers, for the Giants to win, they will need to run the ball...a lot...and they need to keep the mistakes to a minimum. Possible...but not likely. Green Bay has too much firepower and should be able to get a lead and keep it. Score - Green Bay: 21 New York: 20.
So, there you go. Super Bowl XLII will be New England and Green Bay. Favre and Brady. I'm already excited. It's gonna be awesome...as long as San Diego and/or the Giants don't screw it up!
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