NFL Conference Championships-Who Will Move On To Superbowl XLVI?

Two of the top offensive powerhouses were eliminated from the post season. Lesson learned, you can have the most potent offense in football, but if it has a bad day or gets shut down by the other team's superior defense and you don't have a defense of your own, you are finished. That is what happened to New Orleans and Green Bay. The New Orleans at San Fran game was probably the best post season game ever. Not a dull moment from beginning to end. Just when you thought New Orleans had sealed the victory, the 49ers came roaring back. Green Bay had problems with the ball period. They couldn't hold onto it and they couldn't catch it. Now, all eyes are on Baltimore at New England, the last offensive juggernaut left. Will defense beat offense?

New England just flat out dominated Denver. The Patriots defense boxed Tebow in so he had nowhere to run and nowhere to throw, all adding up to nowhere to hide. Bill Bellichick is a master at defense and he will devise a winning game plan for each team New England faces. Plan one against Baltimore, stop Ray Rice. Plan two will be a tiny bit more difficult, how to score against one of the top rated defenses. Baltimore's big challenge will evolve around how to cover Gronkowski, something nobody has been able to figure out. And if that isn't difficult enough, there is also Wes Welker to contend with. Baltimore's defense will have to move Tom Brady out the pocket or else he is just going to pick them apart.

It has been said, timing is everything. The New York Giants are peaking at the right time. Unfortunately Green Bay was on the wane and New York's defense took advantage of it. Just about all Rodgers could do was run with the ball. It will be different against San Fran. San Fran is peaking also, both offensively and defensively. The advantage that separates the two teams, home field. I guess you can make the argument the Giants handled it well in Green Bay. Eli Manning will be facing a defense that forces turnovers. Alex Smith's challenge, to silence critics once and for all, will be to put a defining exclamation point on this championship game with a win. Quick releases up the middle to Frank Gore along with screen passes will keep the Giant's quarterback hawking defensive line at bay.

This is football. There are no secrets. Every team knows its own weaknesses and generally has an idea of what the opposing team will be looking to exploit. The coup d'etat is execution with alittle 'hope the ball bouces your way.' Everything has been said that needs to be said. So let the games begin.

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SUN, JAN 22                    TIME (ET)    TV      LOCATION
Baltimore at New England        3:00 PM     CBS     Gillette Stadium
NY Giants at San Francisco      6:30 PM     FOX     Candlestick Park

Divisional Playoffs-Will It Be The Brady Bunch And TeBye-Bye

I got Tebowed this past weekend. My picks got hammered. Only one of the games out of the four was even close. New Orleans did their thing, Houston rose to the occasion, New York would be likened to a sleeping giant awoken, and Denver just plain and simple outsmarted Pittsburgh. My prediction about Tebow getting slaughtered by the Pittsburgh defense was way off. They couldn't even touch him. The Steelers had zero sacks and zero quarterback hits. Denver's play calling had Pittsburgh tripping over their own feet. Hats off to Tebow and the Broncos.

I don't even know what to say about the Denver at New England game this coming Saturday evening. One thing for sure, Bill Belichick is a master on defensive schemes and will have a plan conjoured up to deal with the Tebow Express. He isn't going to let Denver get away with that little stunt they pulled in overttime against wool-pulled-over-eyes Steelers. On top of it, Denver will be facing an offense that protects its quarterback and has an array of weapons at wide receiver, not leaving out their one-two punch at tight end, Rob Gronkowski. The defense has been New Englands only weakness all year, but the offense fills in the gaps.

New Orleans and San Francisco ended the season with identical records. This will be their first meeting of the year. It's no big secret that you have to take advantage of mistakes when they are handed to you on a silver platter. There has been talk about Brees short stature and being prone to throwing errant passes from time to time because he can't see over the linemen. I think the Saints record speaks for itself. When you throw the ball as much as Brees does the inevitable mistake is bound to creep in, after all, he is still human. He had a record setting year with 46 touchdowns and in the San Fran game it will be more of the same. The 49ers, if they are to win, must win it on defense. Their challenge will be to close off the middle and restrict Brees from moving up from the deep drop in the pocket. Lest we not forget, the Saints have a decent running attack.

Houston and Baltimore is a no brainer, if the Ravens offense shows up. There have been times when Baltimore's offense has struggled to score points. If Ray Rice does his thing, the passing game will follow, because the heat will be off Flacco to win the game on his arm alone. If Houston's defense stuffs the run, then Flacco will be hard pressed by a strong pass rush. The same can be said about Houston's offense with Arian Foster. If Foster does his thing, it will take the heat off of T.J. Yates, but here in lies the difference. Flacco will win over Yates.

The NY Giants and Green Bay Packers will be the game to watch. The Giants are at the top of their game. They had a huge victory against an Atlanta that gambled away their season. A Giants defense that struggled all season stepped up and stuffed their opponent. Ely Manning has been finding his favorite targets for big plays and when things are on the line, seems to come through to keep the game close down to the final minutes. Green Bay's success is attributed to their offense plain and simple. Aaron Rodgers, if he wouldn't have sat out that one game, would have surpassed Brees in touchdowns, easily. Rodgers spreads the ball out nicely, but his big play maker is Jordy Nelson. The Packers defense will have to be wary of the Giants bruising running game and at the same time keep Manning off balance in the passing game.

Which would you rather see-New Orleans verses Green Bay or NY Giants verses San Francisco or a Green Bay verses San Francisco or a NY Giants verses New Orleans NFC Championship? The first shall be last.

SAT, JAN 14                         TIME (ET)      TV       LOCATION
New Orleans at San Francisco 4:30 PM       FOX      Candlestick Park
Denver at New England           8:00 PM       CBS      Gillette Stadium
SUN, JAN 15                        TIME (ET)      TV       LOCATION
Houston at Baltimore               1:00 PM       CBS      M&T Bank Stadium
NY Giants at Green Bay          4:30 PM       FOX      Lambeau Field