NFL Conference Championships-Who Will Go To The Big Show?

This Sunday it will be decided who will go to the "Big Show" February 6 at Cowboys Stadium. New England and Atlanta, both the top seeded teams, have been eliminated by Wild Card teams NY Jets and Green Bay Packers. What happened? The old adage, "Anything thing can happen on any given Sunday in the NFL", rings true. You have one shot and one shot only when it comes to the playoffs. Lose and you are out. The Patriots had all the advantages going in, but the Jets disrupted Brady and Company just enough to edge them out. The Packers, they outright annihilated the Falcons, but with the way Rodgers has been playing of late, you kind of expected it. The Steelers, they plain and simple know how to win playoff games. The Bears, they will be facing an old rival.

Steelers showed once again in their game with the Ravens there is no quit in them. They will just keep coming at you until you buckle under the pressure. Mark Sanchez better be on his toes this Sunday because the Steelers defense is going to be attacking at every opportunity. If Sanchez sits in the pocket for any length of time he is going to get stuffed and the potential for a game breaking turnover will increase. The Steelers defense is number one against the run. If they succeed at doing what they do best, they will be zeroing in on Sanchez. Ben Roethlisberger and his receivers can burn you at any given moment as was seen in this past Sunday's game. Wallace is Roethlisberger's deep threat, but new comers Brown and Sanders are now on his radar. Hines Ward, he will grin at you like Davy Crockett grinned at the bear and proceed to knock out your lights with a big play.

The Jets have an all around good defense and they are going to need it against Big Ben, who has an uncanny way of eluding sacks and leveraging his way out of tight situations. If the Steelers get anywhere close to the goal line, the Jets will have to contend with the straight ahead power of Mendenhall. I have already mentioned the Steelers will be attacking with an array of blitzes, so the Jets will need to keep Sanchez moving, looking for the quick dump off to the backs and releases to the wide receivers on quick slant patterns. Any kind of mistakes by the Jets will prove to be their undoing with an opportunistic Steeler team.

Aaron Rodgers appears unstoppable. He is passing with accuracy and running for touchdowns when the openings present themselves. He will be facing a tougher Bears defense in this one. It will be difficult for the Packers to establish a run game because the Bears are ranked number two against the run. The Packers will need to come out shooting in the beginning to throw the Bears into confusion and soften up their linebackers, then test the waters for the running game. The Packer defense will be putting pressure on Cutler to raddle him with hopes of forcing a mistake, but will have to be careful of the Bears superior running game.

Jay Cutler is coming off one of his best performances. Like Rodgers, he is passing and running well. Greg Olsen appears to be his main target along with Matt Forte. Cutler will be doing much the same as he did last week, screen passes and quick hits, but will have to watch out for Clay Matthews. Forte will need to play a huge part if the Bears are to succeed, especially in establishing a running attack to assist Cutler. The Bears defense is tough on the run, but unfortunately are weak in the one area they need toughness, the passing game. All I got to say is good luck with that Bears.

In conclusion, every week I have said the Jets have used up their nine lives and are living on borrowed time. Well, this week they will be paying the Piper. When it comes to making mistakes, I see the Jets and Bears as being more proned. It's looking like a Steelers-Packers Superbowl, but in the Bizzaro World of NFL it will be Jets-Bears.

 

Playoffs - Conference Championships

SUN, JAN 23 TIME (ET)

Green Bay 24 at Chicago 20 3:00 PM FOX

Soldier Field

NY Jets 21 at Pittsburgh 27 6:30 PM CBS

Heinz Field

Divisional Playoffs-Couldn't Have Been Scripted Any Better

Is it fate or destiny that is quietly, pretentiously manipulating the way the ball is bouncing? Take for example the closing drive of the Jets against the Colts. Braylon Edwards caught the pass from Sanchez over the middle at which time the defender slapped the ball out of his hands onto the ground. When you look at the replay the Colt defenders didn't even see the loose ball because if they did it would have ended the Jets drive and the game. Did something for that crucial moment cast a shadow over their vision? It was as if a Colt victory was not meant to be. Some mysterious force wanted the Jets to win and dare I suggest it's because a Jets-Patriots confrontation appears more interesting than a Colts-Patriots game when considering their regular season matchups. And Kansas City, the ball just flat out eluded them.

The Jets and Patriots were even in regular season matchups, but that's not saying they are evenly matched. The Patriots had two seasons, the Randy Moss Season and then the rest of the Season. The Jets won their game in the Randy Moss Season. Plus, the loss to the Browns woke up the sleeping giant and since then the Patriots have been unstoppable. True, the Jets defense ranks better in all categories, but weather is the great equalizer. Added to that, they are playing on the Patriots home turf. Brady is nearly invincible at home, especially in the playoffs. The Jets have been living on borrowed time all season. The only thing that can save the Jets in this one is the ball needs to mysteriously bounce their way.

The Ravens and Steelers game to me is the game of the week. When these two teams come together it's like the splitting of an atom. The two times they faced off in regular season were very low scoring and decided by the count of a field goal. Pittsburgh took the division even though their records were identical. Baltimore has a grudge to settle. They are tired of being on the short end of the stick when it comes to the Steelers. It will be a hard-hitting defensive battle with alot of blitzing, but if Roethlisberger and Wallace get the opportunity to hook up, watch out. Baltimore will need a stable run game to give Flacco room to work.

Atlanta had a good season this year. Green Bay has been on and off, suffering five of their six losses on the road. Green Bay is tough against the pass, but weak against the run. Atlanta will attempt to take advantage of that fact with Michael Turner. If they are able to establish the run game, Matt Ryan will have the opportunity to pick and choose his targets at his liesure. Still, that will be difficult with a Clay Matthews and Charles Woodson led defense. Atlanta will be vulnerable when it comes to Aaron Rodgers, so Green Bay will be relying heavily on his talents and uncanny ability to find the end zone, whether throwing or running. The Packers have been lacking a consistent run game all season, but it mysteriously showed up with Starks last weekend. The Georgia Dome will be hostile.

It was reported a tremor was registered when Marshawn Lynch ran for his 67 yard fourth quarter  touchdown. Was it the cheering and pounding of the fans or the Saints defensive players hitting the ground that caused it? A different Seattle showed up at Qwest Field last weekend and gave their hometown a show. Despite their losing record, the Seahawks are determined to show they are worthy of being in the playoffs. Lynch will be facing a field of more sure-handed tacklers in the Chicago Bears. Matt Hasselbeck had a revival of past glory. He was deadly accurate with his four touchdowns. Chicago will not be underestimating the enthusiasm of the Seahawks. The Bears have a tough defense with Urlacher leading the way, especially agaist the run. Seattle will be coming after Jay Cutler, so he will have to rely on his ability to move around to find the open receiver and avoid hasty decisions.
 
Playoffs - Divisional Playoffs
SAT, JAN 15 TIME (ET) TV RESOURCES LOCATION

Baltimore 18 at Pittsburgh 20 4:30 PM CBS

Heinz Field

26*

Green Bay 24 at Atlanta 27 8:00 PM FOX

Georgia Dome

SUN, JAN 16 TIME (ET) TV RESOURCES LOCATION

Seattle 23 at Chicago 21 1:00 PM FOX 

Soldier Field

21*

NY Jets 17 at New England 30 4:30 PM CBS

Gillette

19*

Week 14 NFL Picks-Things Are Beginning To Take Shape

The Patriots dominated and handed the Jets, who were playing on borrowed time, a reality check. Ben Roethlisberger showed some nifty moves and sent the Ravens packin' after a brutal divisional confrontation. Dallas continued their revival defeating the Colts, while Peyton Manning imploded again. Oakland Raiders ravaged the inconsistent Chargers with a relentless running attack. Minnesota is a different team with Sidney Rice back on the field as demonstrated in the Vikings butt-kicken on the Bills. Chicago survived a scare from the continue-to-find-ways-to-lose Lions.

I was 12-4 for Week 13, my best week yet. As I looked the schedule over for Week 14 there could be some surprises on hand, especially in this bizzaro season of the NFL. Green Bay is playing Detroit and shouldn't take it lightly because sometime, some game everything will fall in place for the Lions, for once. Aaron Rodgers continues with the hot hand and Donald Driver showed he still plays with the enthusiasm of a young bull. Brady looks comfortable behind his offensive line and has a potent arsenol to draw on, add to that the running of Green-Ellis and the addition of Woodhead. The Patriots will be tested by the Chicago defense and if they prevail, there will be no stopping them. Baltimore will be breathing fire after their loss to the Steelers, so watch out Houston, there is hell to pay. Opportunity knocks for the Colts this weekend. They are playing the discombobulated Tennessee Titans. Totally frustrated Peyton Manning will be looking for redemption after 8 interceptions in two weeks.

Games of interest this week are Miami at NY Jets, NY Giants at Minnesota, Oakland at Jacksonville, and Cleveland at Buffalo. Miami is coming off a horrendous loss to Cleveland. Both Henne and Sanchez made some bad decisions in their previous outings, but that can happen to the best of them. Miami needs to go back to the wildcat or use Ricky Williams more. The winner of this game will be decided by the run and defense. The Giants offense has been plagued by mistakes, but somehow finds a way to win through their pass rushing defense. The Giants and Vikings are matched in the running game. It has not yet been decided whether Favre will be playing. If he does play they may be carrying the Iron Man out on a stretcher this time, maybe. Protection will be key for both quarterbacks. Jacksonville is now in control of the AFC South. Maurice Jones-Drew continues to steamroll opponents, which is Oakland's weak spot on defense. Oakland has a running attack of its own, but the edge goes to Jacksonville at quarterback and defensive takeaways.

Heavy snow has hit the Buffalo area this week and the weather for Sunday looks like a mix of rain and snow. Good ole football weather, got to love it, wouldn't have it any other way. The Bills and the Browns are teams that play in the elements, always have. The Bills have lost some tough games. Their record is not the true reflection of  their efforts. Buffalo is weak on the run, so that fact and the weather may play into the Browns strength, Peyton Hillis and Ben Watson. The Browns have been living off the short game with Jake Delhomme and it seems to work. The Browns defense has been opportunistic in crucial moments with picks, but will need to pay attention to Fred Jackson.

Mangini, get Joshua Cribbs more involved any way you can. Go for the long ball a few times, an aspect sorely missing. A winning team must be able to go vertical. You may catch Buffalo off guard since they will be loooking for the run or the quick hit. It's the perfect set up and the Bills won't be expecting it.
 
THU, DEC 9 TIME (ET)
Indianapolis 34 at Tennessee 15 8:20 PM NFL W
LP Field
SUN, DEC 12 TIME (ET) TV
Cleveland 24 at Buffalo 20 1:00 PM CBS L
Ralph Wilson Stadium
Cincinnati 23 at Pittsburgh 27 1:00 PM CBS W
Heinz Field
Green Bay 26 at Detroit 24 1:00 PM FOX L 
Ford Field
NY Giants 23 at Minnesota 24 1:00 PM FOX L
Mall of America Field
Tampa Bay 20 at Washington 23 1:00 PM FOX L
FedEx Field
Atlanta 30 at Carolina 17 1:00 PM FOX W
Bank of America Stadium
Oakland 22 at Jacksonville 24 1:00 PM CBS W
EverBank Field
Seattle 20 at San Francisco 17 4:05 PM FOX L
Candlestick Park
St. Louis 20 at New Orleans 28 4:05 PM FOX W
Superdome
Miami 23 at NY Jets 21 4:15 PM CBS W
New Meadowlands Stadium
Denver 18 at Arizona 24 4:15 PM CBS W
TU of Phoenix Stadium
Kansas City 24 at San Diego 27 4:15 PM CBS W
Qualcomm Stadium
New England 30 at Chicago 23 4:15 PM CBS W
Soldier Field
Philadelphia 28 at Dallas 20 8:20 PM NBC W
Cowboys Stadium
MON, DEC 13 TIME (ET)
Baltimore 20 at Houston 13 8:30 PM W
Reliant Stadium

The NFL Conference Championships-Who Will Be Victorious

It is Conference Chamionships weekend. The final act just before the climax. The stage is set, Indianapolis and Minnesota are the backdrop. The performers are the Colts, Jets, Saints, and Vikings. It's anybody's guess who will be the scene stealer and earn the rights to advance to the big show February 7, but based on previous performances, there are some obvious choices.

The Jets have surprised everybody, at least me. In the beginning of the year you never would have guessed the Jets are where they are now. This weekend it is going to end for the Jets. They have been winning on the run game and defense. That can only last so long, especially against a powerhouse like Indy. Stuff the run and the Jets are done. If they have to rely on the arm of Mark Sanchez alone, lights out in New York. Past teams have won strictly on defense, but Peyton Manning and company will find a way to cross the goal line.

The Colts are my choice in the American Football Conference Championship. They are playing at home and have an offense that scores at will. Peyton Manning is at the top of his game with a powerful arsenal at his disposal. The Jets challenge will be to disrupt Manning and force him out of the pocket and then, find a way to cover the Colt's receivers. Throw Joseph Addai into the mix and it's game over. The Colts have a defense that can handle what the Jets may throw at them.

The Saints in the Superdome, home crowd noise, explosive offense, and a strong defense makes for a formidable foe. Another offense who can score at will. Drew Brees will shred a defense to pieces and his receivers can go up for the ball and snatch it out of the air better than any other receiving core. The Saints also have a strong running game in Reggie Bush and Pierre Thomas and an aggressive defense proficient at frustrating an offense. They seem to have ascended out of their slump and are ready to take on their opponent, the Minnesota Vikings.

The Vikings definately are not a push over and can match point for point when it becomes necessary. After the Dallas game, it has become obvious they will show no mercy. Brett Favre is pumped up and playing like a man half his age equipped with the many years experience he has acquired over his long career. Favre has the perfect complement in Adrian Peterson who runs like a mad man and is a threat to bust loose at any given moment.

The Vikings and Saints are a perfect match for opponents. It couldn't have been scripted any better. A game with high expectations on being both entertaining and that edge-of-your-seat potential. The Indianapolis and New York game is a wait and see what happens. Indianapolis has the playoff experience and the home crowd to rile them up. The Jets are playing with an attitude. They're the little dog who doesn't know he is little and that is dangerous. Are you ready? Bring it on.

SUN, JAN 24 TIME (ET)
NY Jets 15 at Indianapolis 27 3:00 PM CBS Tickets W
Lucas Oil Stadium
Minnesota 28 at New Orleans 30 6:40 PM FOX Tickets W
Superdome

Vikings and Jets Move on to the Championships

Brett Favre proved you are only as old as you feel and right now he's got to be feeling pretty youthful. Favre threw four touchdowns and the Minnesota Vikings destroyed the Dallas Cowboys 34-3. The Viking defense took the ball away and the offense put it away. Near the end of the game the Cowboys were incensed about the Vikings running up the score. The whole idea of playing is to score when you have the ball and that is what the Vikings did, they played the game. The game is played for 60 minutes and you give it all you got until the final second. Someone give the Cowboys a "Tearable Towel".

Brett Favre was magnificent and played one of his best games of the year. He didn't rack up the yards, he didn't need to because the defense gave him great field position and he was pinpoint perfect in taking advantage of it. Sidney Rice was Favre's prime target and had a career day scoring three touchdowns with a total of 141 yds. Adrian Peterson had 63 yds on 26 carries.

No mercy was shown. The Vikings defense ripped the offensive line of Dallas apart and frustrated Tony Romo. They forced Romo to fumble two times and picked off one of his passes. The defense also had six sacks and ten quarterback hits. Romo was only permitted 198 yds total and the running attack of Dallas was controlled.

A somewhat uneventful game between the Jets and the Chargers ended with the Jets winning by the score of 17-14. The backbreaker for the Chargers was Shonn Greene's 53 yd run for a touchdown in the fourth quarter. Nate Kaeding shot them in the foot missing three field goal attempts. The Chargers just could not excecute in a game they should have won. What topped the game off was the decision by Turner to onside kick when there was enough time left to stop the Jets and force a punt in their own half of the field if the Chargers had kicked it down field. You can't say with certainty what might have happened, but it would have been the smarter thing to do.

NY Jets play Indianapolis for the American Football Conference Championship. Minnesota will be playing New Orleans for the National Football Conference Championship. One more weekend of Conference Championships and the Superbowl will be set with its opponents identified.

NY Jets Outplayed Cincinnati Bengals

The Bengal's Bernard Scott took the opening kickoff from Jay Feely 56 yards to the Jets 36 yard line. It looked like it was going to be the Bengal's game. Three plays later Carson Palmer passed to Laveranues Coles for 4 yards who then fumbled the ball and Shaun Ellis recovered the fumble for the Jets. It was all down hill from there. The Jets defeated the Bengals 24-14.

The Bengals could not recover from the numerous mistakes that plagued their game. Cedric Benson was the only Bengal who had a good game. Benson had 169 yds on 21 carries and one touchdown. Carson Palmer on the other hand had a horrendous day. In the beginning of the game all his passes sailed too high for his receivers to haul in. Palmer was harassed by the Jet's defense in key situations and just wouldn't let him get into a rythmn. Palmer had 18 completions out 36 attempts and one touchdown. Chad Ochocinco was dogged by cornerback Darrelle Revis and ended the game with only 28 yds. Near the end Ochocinco had a chance to make it a game when he came close to hauling in a pass in the corner of the end zone, but lost it when he hit the ground. Shayne Graham missed two field goals, which really hurt their cause.

The Jets played a well rounded game on both sides of the ball. Mark Sanchez quarterbacked an excellent game. He made clutch passes in key situations. Sanchez had 12 completions out of 15 attempts for 182 yds and was mistake free. Dustin Keller had two big pass plays and scored one touchdown on a 39 yd catch and run. Shonn Green pounded out 135 yds on 21 carries and one touchdown. The Jet's defense showed why it is number one in the NFL taking it to the Bengal's offense with their blitzing shemes. It was a complete team effort.

The Jets move on to the next level. Their full of confidence and seem to be peaking at the right time. They now have to wait for the outcome of tomorrow's game between Baltimore and New England to see who their next opponent will be. A good start to the Playoffs. Just a side note: The Cowboys took it to the Eagles big time by the score of 34-14 and will be moving on in the Playoffs. My picks this week have already been shattered.