Championship Weekend Predictions

Here they are, my picks for the AFC and NFC Championship games. I went 1-4 in Week 1, and 2-2 last week. These seem to be toss up games, so I will break down what each team has to do to win. Here we go:

AFC Championship- Ravens at Patriots

- The Patriots will win if Tom Brady is Tom Brady. As much as I love the Ravens, they simply do not have the fire power to keep up with the Golden Boy's arm. If Brady is able to find his weapons and carve up the secondary, he will be able to beat Baltimore easily. Gronk and Hernandez have proven to be more useful and versatile than all of their receivers not named Welker, and will cause matchup problems all day for the likes of Ed Reed and Jameel McClain.

- The Ravens will win if they are able to get to Tom Brady, win the turnover battle, and FEED THE BEAST. If you hit him in the mouth early, it affects his game. If Suggs or Ngata is able to plant Brady in the first quarter hard, he will be rushing his throws for the rest of the afternoon. Next, they need to make sure they protect the ball and Joe Flacco. A cheap sack/fumble could change the game. If the O-line gives Flacco time in the pocket, he will avoid throwing a bad INT. Finally, the stats don't like. When Ray Rice gets 20+ carries, the Ravens win. Feed the beast. Dominate the ground game. As long as they run away from Wilfork in the middle, Rice should be able to carve up that questionable Patriots defense.

- Who Wins? I picked the Ravens to go to the Super Bowl before the season. It was a homer pick. But I am not going to abandon it now. Would I be surprised if they lose? Of course not. But I think they have the mean streak in them to take down the Pats in Foxboro. Give me the Ravens, 24-21.


NFC Championship- Giants at 49ers

- The Giants will win if they can get to Alex Smith, get big plays from their receivers, and control Vernon Davis. Alex Smith showed everyone a ton of guts last week, instantly creating a San Fran playoff legend. But he could still get rattled if he got sacked. The Giants' d-line is explosive, and would be able to dominate the game if they shut down Smith's passing. Likewise, if Eli Manning is able to find his big play threats Victor Cruz and Hakeem Nicks for big plays, the 49ers would have to play from behind, something their offense is not built to do. Finally, the Giants need to learn from the Saints' mistake. Cover Vernon Davis with a zone. Eric Mangini did a great job on SportsCenter explaining how the Giants shut him down by playing a 3 Deep zone, using the free safety over top while subbing a saftey for the second nickle linebacker. It makes sense, and makes the D faster and more athletic.

- The 49ers will win if they can dominate the clock and force turnovers. Eli Manning is an elite QB. But he still has moments as his alter ego "Aww Shucks". If he makes mistakes early, the 49ers can jump out to a lead and try to run out the clock with Frank Gore. Another way to dominate the clock? Don't let the Giants establish the run. Brandon Jacobs and Ahmad Bradshaw are a great combo, and could take over the game. Stop them, you force Eli to throw. Force Eli to throw, he could make a mistake. Take advantage of that mistake, you win the game.

Who will win? This is a very difficult call for me. Here are two reasons why I am going to take the Giants: First, I don't think the Harbaugh Bowl 2.0 is going to happen, nor do I want it to. I want the game to be about the players, not the coaches. Second, I think the 49ers win last week was so epic and exciting that they are due for a big letdown. While winning on the road is hard, I like the Giants, somewhat comfortably, 21-10.


Enjoy the games!