AFC Championship

Balt @ Pitt
Sun 630pm
Pitt -5.5

- #1 and #2 D; both teams can stop the run
- simple analysis; neither team will be able to run the ball at all...all on the shoulders of the QB
- two teams extremely tight and can go either way
- should come down to a FG; take the points and Ravens

NFC Championship

Phil @ Ariz
Sun 3pm
Phil -3.5

- battle of birds that not many expected in the NFC Champ
- Uggles 5th NFC Champ in 8 years but 1-3 in previous 4 champ games
- Ariz found a running game and a defense in playoff time; looks a lot like the Indy Colts SB team from a few years back
- Phil tough D will have a lot of trouble with two of the best physical receivers in Fitzgerald and Boldin
- Warner is a winner and McNabb is not; simple math take Ariz at home

Sun Div games

perfect Sat; keep it going with Sun games

Phil @ NYG
Sun 1pm
NYG -4

- 3rd time for these div foes this year; Uggles come in as the hot team
- G-Men needed the week off to rest and get healthy; Jacobs in practice this week looks the best he has been for months
- SB Champs at home in cold climate grind it out game
- Giants will rush the ball all day long; even if they are stopped early they will keep pounding the ball and keep the Eagles D on the field
- game will be of field position and like y'day team that makes the less mistakes will win
- this should be tight game with no surprises
- take Giants at home


SD @ Pitt
Sun 445pm
Pitt -6

- freezing cold in Pitt
- Pitt is 6-1 last 7 vs SD but is 0-2 playoffs vs the Bolts
- SD won't move the ball on that awful field and in the cold
- Pitt will try to pass the ball against the #31 ranked pass D but Indy tried that and the Chargers were able to contain Peyton in that WC game
- Roth coming off concussion; how effective will he be when he will be on his ass all game long
- bad feeling about this game that SD will find a way to get it done
- take the points and the Super-Chargers

Sat Div games

Balt @ Tenn
430pm Sat
Tenn -3

- teams mirror each other; big time D with a pounding running game
- there is 1 huge concern and that is Kevin Mawae is out and 2nd yr center Leroy Harris is in at center for the Titans
- Ravens D is organized chaos and the center is responsible for the blocking schemes and this sets up Ravens D to have huge day against the Titans OL
- Haynesworth and Vandenbosch are back but how healthy and how long will they be able to last against a Ravens no-huddle offense that keeps you on your toes
- last win by Tenn was before Flacco's maturation
- better team is the Ravens and this game sets up perfectly in the matchups
- like last week the best player on the field is Ed Reed; look for at least 1 big play from him again against old Kerry Collins
- Ravens outright


Ariz @ Car
815pm Sat
Car -9.5

- Ariz 0-5 coming east this year but their best game was the 27-23 loss at Car; in that game Cards botche an XP and missed on fake FG; if they make those two kicks then this game was even
- Car 8-0 at home; only unbeaten team in NFL at home this year
- Ariz found the Edge last week; were they hiding him all season long
- Car will not be able to stop the pass of Warner and if Cards can get a quick lead then it takes out the Car running game
- wild matchup of two distinctly different teams
- let's take the points and take the Cards

Balt (11-5) @ Mia (11-5)
Sun 1pm
Balt -3.5

- Ravens D dominated the Wildcat formation in Balt-Mia earlier meeting this year
- game is on Pennington's shoulders; Balt D is too tough to run or pass against
- the playmakers in this game are on the Balt D side with Lewis and best safety in football Reed
- Flacco will not need to win this game; they will grind it out and kick FG relying on their D to take care of the game
- Fins are happy just to go from 1-15 to 11-5 and div winner
- take Ravens to dominate this game

Phil (9-6-1) @ Minn (10-6)
Sun 430pm
Phil -3

- interesting matchup as Philly will not be able to run the ball against #1 rush D
- Vikes #25 pass O will not be able to pass against #3 pass D of Eagles
- AP is tough to stop as his runs are 50/50 on left/right side of the line
- Eagles blitz to stop the run but if they choose the wrong side and AP gets to the 2nd layer he can burn them for huge runs
- expect Vikes to come out and let the Eagles blitz and throw some screens over them to get AP into space
- McNabb will throw about 70% of the time in this game and Westbrook will be used more in passing game than running in between those big Vikes tackles
- interesting matchup to see which offense can move the ball
- take Vikes at home

Onto Wild Card Saturday

Recap
Week 17 6-9-1
Overall 126-124-6

Atla (11-5) @ Ariz (9-7)
Sat 430pm
Line: Ariz -1
- Atla coming in as a hot team at 8-1 in their last 9 games
- game is going to come down to who can do the most with the least
- Ariz will be able to throw the ball against Atla young corners and #21 pass D
- Atla will be able to rush the ball against Ariz #16 rush D
- if Ariz can run the ball or Atla can pass the ball will determine this game
- young vs experience; big edge to Ariz with Warner and Edge come playoff time
- Ariz will try to jump the Falcons and get up early forcing Atla into a pass first mentality; Atla does not do well coming from behind
- Atla will try to grind it out and keep Ariz D on the field for long stretches
- Abraham will be double-teamed by Ariz and expect Warner to have big day in the air throwing to 3 1000+ yard receivers
- Ryan has had a great rookie season but has only passed for 300+ yards twice this year
- if Ariz can contain Turner with 8/9 man fronts then Cards can take this game at home
- take experience over youth; Cards to win a shootout

Indy (12-4) @ SD (8-8)
Sat 8pm
Line: SD -1
- two of the hottest teams in football going in; Indy won 9 straight; SD 5 straight to take the div from Den
- LT and Gates are questionable going into the game
- Peyton has carried this team on his own with a make shift OL most of the season and absolutely zero rushing attack
- to beat Indy you need to get pressure on Peyton; this is a huge weakness of SD D...no pass rush
- Bob Sanders healthy makes the Indy D a different package; forget the numbers of the regular season when Sanders is healthy this is a great unit
- Indy wins easily