Championship Weekend Picks

This is often the best weekend in NFL games -- if history is any predictor, at least one of them will be a barnburner and if you are like me, you have some hunches but are not absolutely certain about any of these games. I am a lot more thrilled about today than I thought I would be in light of the Pat's flameout last weekend. This is probably because I have not seen football since early December. (Although that is not entirely true -- I was able to see the 4th quarter of the Rose Bowl last night, as we have friends who are huge Texas fans. What a game. Vince Young really was a man among boys that game. And I think Sportsguy is a bit harsh on Pete Carroll, who has been a great college coach. the fact is, one guy took that game over. And if you think that it was a mortal sin to take Bush out on that 4th and 2 then you have to say that the USC gameplan, which did the exact same thing every single time they faced such a situation this seaosn was wrong, despite how often it worked. I came around to this view last night when talking to Brian, the Texas fan.)

In any case, here is my take on these games:

AFC:

I do not like the Steelers. For the last few years the Pats have knocked them out of the playoffs and each time after the game Steelers players have insisted they were the better team. The Patriots won three Super Bowls in that timeframe. The Steelers have won fuckall since 1980. It seems p[atently stupid for them to have talked that noinsense, so I have developed a helthy dislike for them, which is actually too bad, because I do really like Jerome Bettis. Meanwhile the Broncos beat the Pats, albeit with help of the guys in stripes, and are at home. If the Pats were still alive, I would expect them to manhandle to Steelers. denver beat the Pats. They will manhandle the Steelers. Everyone waits for Jake Plummer to implode, but Big Ben's big game record is far from established, and with Manning and Brady out, none of these games will be won or lost solely as a result of the guy behind center. The Steelers will start off strong, but will discover that denver does not get ground down and they can play a similar style of smashmouth ball. Denver 31 Pittsburgh 23

NFC

Everyone loves Carolina. maybe I should too. After all, I saw what they did two years ago when they made their run and scared the crap out of New England until, ho hum, Brady and Vinatieri got to do their jobs. but even if they did so in the NFC, Seattle ran up the second best record in football this year, and they hade the best regular season of any of the remaining teams. They have the best player on the field in Shawn Alexander (yes, I think he is a better player than Steve Smith, though I am not adamant about that, but more importantly, Alexander's performance really is not going to be reliant on another player's as much as Smith's is) and they have a quarterback who, while not flashy, has been incredibly productive, more so than Delhomme. The Seahawks will have a rabid and hungry Seattle crowd behind them. Oh -- and the idea of the bandwagon umping fans of the Charlotte area having a team in the Super Bowl makes me queasy. Nonetheless, this will be the game to see, as there must be a reason why everyone in America outside of the SeaTac area is picking Carolina. Seattle 24 Carolina 23