Dallas Cowboys And New York Giants Start The NFL Season-To The Winner Goes The Spoils, Like The NFC East Title

Regular season NFL football has finally arrived, and it is only Wednesday. Does it have something to do with with the DNC, I wonder? Usually, Thursday is the day NFL football games are scheduled. Oh well, not important. The question is only rhetorical and a day early is just fine with me. I now have something to look forward to on those other Sundays and Monday nights other than the endless, repetitious parade of repeat movies on AMC and FX. I just can not get into the preseason games.

We will now get answers to some of these looming questions. Will Peyton Manning take the Denver Broncos to the playoffs and ultimately the Super Bowl. Who will end up being the permanent starting quarterback for the New York Jets. Will the Cleveland Browns finally put together a winning team? Will the New Orlean Saints be able to rise above all the controversy of the past off season? Will the Indianapolis Colts overcome the stigma that one player doesn't make a team? I am sure you the reader have questions of your own. At least now we will be able to get the answers.

All eyes will be on Eli Manning and Tony Romo in the season opener tonight. Who will emerge on top? This first game could set the tone for both quarterbacks and their season. They will be playing at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, N.J. The Cowboy's have a bone to pick, no offense Brown's fans, with the Giants for the loss that was handed them in last year's regular season finale in which the Giants clinched the NFC East title. I am picking the New York Giants to win this one and my decision is not based on any player superiority because I just don't see any, but simply on the fact the Giants are playing at home.

No major insights today. Let the games begin.  

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.

Play NFL 2-Minute Trivia.

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

Wild Card Weekend-It's All About Quarterbacks

I finished out the regular season 182-74 on my picks. Now, it's playoff time and the craziness continues. How the heck did it come to be that Pittsburgh(12-4) has to go to Denver(8-8) for the Wild Card? Well, that's just the way the rules bounce it. Denver just continues to defy the odds despite losing their last three games and finishing the season with more points scored against them than they scored against opponents. The only other team in the playoffs with that similar distinction is the New York Giants, and they took their division also.

It is going to be cold and snow on Sunday in Denver. Nothing the Steelers can't handle, except the air is thinner in Denver than Pittsburgh. With the colder air chilling the ball somewhat, maybe we will see some kickoffs returned instead of the ball sailing into the stands. Of course, touchdowns have to be scored or field goals kicked for that to happen. So, Denver's kicker is going to get quite cold standing idle on the sidelines. Defense is the only way I see Denver winning this game because the Steelers are going to be all over Tim Tebologny sandwiched between two linemen. Tebow will be doing the Tebow not in thankfulness, but to pick himself up off the turf. Roethlisberger has been there, done it. Nothing more needs to be said.

Cincinnati will be at Houston. Cincinnati has risen from the ashes of last season on the arm of a rookie, Andy Dalton. It is always helpful to have a go to guy, and Dalton had A.J. Green. The Bengals have also succeeded with good defense. Dalton and company will be facing a tough defense in the Texans, who have been strong both against the run and the pass. Houston will be looking to stuff the run, thus forcing the Bengals to rely on rookie Dalton's arm with hopes he will make a crucial mistake in the process. Houston has been struggling on offense as of late with T.J. Yates at the helm, even with a strong running attack in Arian Foster. The Bengals obvious objective, stop Foster. Do that, job won.

Atlanta at New York Giants will be a bruising game. Atlanta closed out the season with a blowout against Tampa Bay. Turner ran wild and the defense picked off three passes. It will be a tougher go this week against the Giants. This game is probably the most evenly matched that can go either way. Eli manning had an on again, off again season, showing brilliance one moment and total frustration the next. Last week, against Dallas, he was on. We will have to wait to see which Manning shows up on Sunday.

Detroit at New Orleans, and all that needs to be said is Drew Brees. Too many weapons for Detroit to handle, unless they can get a handle on Brees. It is a bit strange two of the Saints three losses in regular season were against two of the worst teams, Tampa Bay and St. Louis. They are playing in the Superdome where such meltdowns don't occur. New Orleans defense needs only to do one thing, shutdown Calvin Johnson.

SAT, JAN 7                 TIME (ET)      TV       LOCATION
Cincinnati at Houston      4:30 PM       NBC      Reliant Stadium
Detroit at New Orleans    8:00 PM       NBC      Mercedes-Benz Superdome
SUN, JAN 8                 TIME (ET)      TV       LOCATION
Atlanta at NY Giants      1:00 PM       FOX      MetLife Stadium
Pittsburgh at Denver       4:30 PM       CBS      Sports Authority Field at Mile High