Sat (2-2 in the Wild Card Round, 2-2 in the Divisional Round, 4-4 Overall), writer of the High Road/Low Road, which should be up sometime Friday.
Ian Smart (3-1 in the Wild Card Round, 1-3 in the Divisional Round, 4-4 Overall), writer of High and In Tight
January 20, 2008
No. 3 Chargers (13-5) at No. 1 Patriots (17-0)
John Meehan: Pats - Many people will say that the San Diego Chargers have been on a roll over the past two months, coming off of an abysmal start only to win a staggering EIGHT GAMES IN A ROW. And in saying that, they'd be 100% correct. By the numbers, eight wins in eight games is a pretty impressive stat... that is, of course, only until you consider the fact that the New England Patriots have DOUBLED that figure. Regardless, Chargers fans will argue that the Pats' luck is bound to run out one of these days, and so there's every reason to believe that San Diego can still pull off the upset (if they play well). Again, fair enough. But when you throw in the 'Bolts physically exhausting contest this past weekend in Indy, plus at least two key San Diego starters that are still likely to be tender by Sunday (Rivers and L.T.), the "x" factor of an unfriendly crowd *AND* some sure-to-be-chilly weather in Foxboro (which can be an absolute bitch if you're trying to play through a sore knee)-- and luck, it would seem, remains squarely in the corner of the opposition. And with how good New England has been all season long, an extra helping of luck in their favor is the absolute *last* thing an opponent needs when making the long, snowy trip up to Gillette. The Chargers are a good team, no doubt, and I'm not saying we're in for a blowout... but when all's said and done, I've gotta stick with my boys and say the smart money is on New England.
Ken Schmidt: Patriots - How happy were the Pats when a banged up Chargers team came up with enough turnovers and just enough offense to take out the Colts this week. During the game LT hyper extended his knee but plans to play. Let me tell you something, I have hyper extended my knee before, I couldn't walk up a flight of stairs for a month yet alone play RUNNING BACK and make cuts and try to beat a solid linebacking core. Than there is Phillip Rivers who has played incredibly above his potential during this playoff run but his knees are buckling under him from to much strain. This team is to injured. Add to this that Brady is a league ahead of Peyton that he won't throw the interceptions, he just won't. The Chargers need another three turnovers to have a PRAYER of winning and that won't happen. This is a no-brainer.
Larry Csonka: The New England Patriots - First of all, you have to give the Chargers a ton of credit. They have pulled off eight wins in a row, including last week's game. Many people wrote them off last week, but not only did they win the game, but they won the game with Gates hobbled and Rivers and LT on the bench down the stretch. Who they had left stepped up, the Defense stepped up the whole game and to me that was an impressive victory. Unfortunately for them they are heading to New England to face the Juggernaut that is the Patriots. Early in the season the Patriots defeated the Chargers when they were at full strength, but if things were square I would be willing to go with the Chargers. But I think having your three top offensive guys hobbled and doubtful doesn't give me the confidence to pick them, and I hate the Patriots.
Nick Wallander: New England Patriots - Here we are in the championship round and both games are eerie rematches of week two match-ups where one team was underachieving at the time. In the case of the AFC, that team was the San Diego Chargers. It really is impressive how the Chargers pulled their crap together and have won two playoff games against tough teams. Hell, they won with a backup quarterback/running back combination against the defending champions, so their feat is double impressive. With that I have to admit that the second time around I believe these two teams have a much closer battle. However, I don't think that San Diego has the defense to keep up with the New England wide receivers. Antonio Cromartie is a damn good corner back, but he can't cover Moss, Stallworth, and Welker all by himself. San Diego does however have a chance if they show Brady the turf a few times. Hell, that is all any team had to do. If San Diego studied up on the Baltimore game, they might be able to pull something out of their asses. Ultimately I have to give the home field advantage to the Patriots in this one. Pats win 45-33 in a fourth quarter shootout.
Derek Robbins New England Patriots Ah, we come to the matchup which involves the two hottest teams in football. One has won their last eight games, the other has won their last sixteen. ONE STREAK MUST END. As much as I'm sure a lot of you would LOVE for the Patriots to drop this game, I just don't see it happening. The Patriots have been the best team in football all year long, and honestly...they have a chance to become the best team of all time. I don't see this team suddenly messing it up in the conference championship game. Offensively speaking, I probably don't even have to comment. New England averaged eight more points per game than the SECOND highest scoring team in the league (Dallas) and was the only team to average 30+ points per game. San Diego was 5th in the league in scoring with 25.8 pp/g. The Chargers were 20th in total yardage (Though they did run the ball better than New England. I figure this is because New England doesn't really need to run the ball as much), but I don't think that matters as much...seeing as SCORING points is more important than wracking yardage up. Defensively speaking, the Patriots have the edge in points scored per game by less than half of a point...but as far as yardage goes, the Pats have a slightly greater than 30 yard advantage (288.3 to 320.3). Again, it doesn't matter (in my opinion) as long as the other team doesn't score, and since the PPG difference is practically negligible...I think the defense is practically a wash. I think this game comes down to the offenses and I'd EASILY take Tom Brady over Phillip Rivers. The Patriots were the best team all year, and I honestly see that continuing. They've played with a chip on their shoulders all year long, and with the smack talk the Chargers are talking...they'll be amped to play this game, and their march towards history will continue.
Sat: New England Patriots - The Chargers have really been a surprise because nobody expected them to come this far with the things that we saw in the regular season. The Chargers really struggled in the beginning of the year, but they picked it up to win their last eight games. I would have loved to have seen the Colts and the Patriots, but what can I say. Really, I can't see anybody picking the Chargers here. The Chargers are all banged up and they are going against the undefeated Patriots. The only way I see the Patriots losing this game is that the Patriots' linebacking crew is very old and they should be tired at this point in the season. Still, I see the Patriots winning this game by at least 14 points.
Ian Smart: New England Patriots - Once again, how do you pick against a team that has yet to lose this year? The Patriots match up well with the Chargers, especially with the lingering Charger injuries (Antonio Gates (Hyperextended Big Toe, Phillip Rivers and LaDainian Tomlinson (Strained MCL's). Regardless of who stands under center for the Chargers on Sunday, the Patriots will come at them hard and fast to see either:
a) How mobile Rivers is or
b) To get inside Billy Vole's head.
Offensively the Patriots have all the tools to dismantle the Chargers, who will likely use Antonio Cromartie and another guy in the secondary to double up on Moss. This will leave one of Jabar Gaffney, Donte Stallworth, and Wes Welker open for Tom Brady to hit - speaking of Brady, he is coming off of a game against the Jaguars where he completed all but two passes. The Chargers have difficulty covering the slot receiver(s) - see Dallas Clark (6 rec, 97 Yards) and Anthony Gonzalez (4 rec, 79 Yards) last week. The Patriots have even better third and fourth receivers, plus a better and healthier number one, which means that the Chargers secondary will need to play out of their skin in order to contain the Patriots air attack. The Patriots have likely been strategizing all week with as to how to limit the effects of the pass rush, which while formidable, is quite predictable. The Chargers setup in a 3-4 defense and bring all of their pressure from the outside linebackers, which means Brady only has to look for the Blitz from those guys. Granted Shawne Merriman and Shaun Phillips are two of the fiercest pass rushers in the NFL, but the Patriots have had a week to work on how to mitigate them as a threat, so their impact will likely be lessened substantially. And it's unlikely that Norv Turner is going to change his defensive philosophy before the biggest game of the season, and against the league's best offence. The way I see it, this is the Patriots game to lose, which I don't see them doing.
The 411: Patriots 7 Chargers 0
January 20, 2008
No. 5 Giants (12-6) at No. 2 Packers (14-3)
John Meehan: Giants - This one is tough, as it's a classic battle of "heart" versus "head." Being a Jersey boy (in spite of the fact that I'm a lifelong Pats fan), I've always had something of a soft spot for the G-Men, so my heart is telling me to pick New York. Eli's been playing well, the defensive front is as good as I've ever seen them, and the past three weeks of play in away games has been nothing short of outstanding. Unfortunately for these road warriors, my "head" says to pick Green Bay. Brett Favre is having a career year, the Giants secondary is severely banged-up, and a trip to Lambeau this late in the season has historically spelled disaster for visiting teams. HOWEVER -- the rest of the Packers squad is younger than many, which could prove troublesome as they square off against an older and more experienced Giants team. So who wins? In the end, it might just boil down to who makes the bigger mistake and when. It's a coin-flip, but I'll say the Pack loses a close one in a heartbreaker -- though it should be a great game regardless of the outcome, and I'd be more than happy to see it go either way.
Ken Schmidt: Packers - I have bet against the Giants every week so far and they keep kicking my butt. Well I was wrong last week, I should have known betting on Tony Romo in the playoffs is like sticking my head in a vice, it just gets more and more painful. The Pack have a lot going for them right now, since the loss to Dallas they have won every game they played by 10+ points, they are on a mission right now. Also, the game is in Lambeau Field in January. Nobody wins in Wisconsin in January that isn't named Brett. Finally, the officiating is going to be one-sided. No ref is going to make that questionable call that pulls Brett Favre away from the team of destiny. It might not be fair, but I love the Pack in this one.
Larry Csonka: The Green Bay Packers - I didn't have a lot of faith in the Giants, mainly due to not having much faith in Eli as a QB. They took a big loss to the Redskins and then the hard fought loss to the Patriots, where they looked great. They then pulled off two wins over Tampa Bay and then Dallas, games I didn't think they would win. The Giants have impressed me in the last two weeks. While the packers suffered a bad loss to the Bears, they rebounded well to put the Seahawks in their place, but last week was what impressed me beyond all belief. Down 14 after 6-minutes, the running back fumbles twice, this was a recipe for disaster. I think everyone expected Favre to go into Superman mode and throw 12-interceptions en route to a loss. But they came back, Favre played well, Grant came back from those fumbles with 200+ yards and the Packers looked amazing. I am officially on the Bret Favre bandwagon, GO FOR IT OLD MAN!
Nick Wallander: The Green Bay Packers - Back in week two I was very skeptical of what my hometown Packers were capable of. They had a match-up with the Giants that made me very wary, especially since the Packers barely beat the Eagles the week before. The game was too close for comfort going into the fourth quarter when the Packers did something they would do to many teams in 2007. They had a late game explosion of scoring from the offense and defense. Several weeks later we finally had confirmation that the Packers were the real deal. It would take until the post season for America to get the same impression about the New York Giants. This, my friends, will be the better game of the two. There are great storylines from the Ryan Grant trade to Eli Manning getting a chance to do what his brother did just a year ago. Regardless of who wins, I predict they will go into the Super Bowl and beat the New England Patriots. However my heart and brain are on the same page this week and want me to go with my Green Bay Packers. Why? Well because last week Marion Barber ran over the Giants and seemingly all by himself. Ryan Grant is another physical back who will push right by the New York defensive line more than a few times in this ball game. If Mike McCarthy can pull some more brilliance like the two fullback T-bone, the Packers might not even look back. I see the Packers focusing on the run, with Favre getting necessary yards in the air at the expense of a depleted secondary. If Jeremy Shockey were playing on Sunday, then the Giants would be looking a whole lot better because the Packers give the opponents tight ends catches like Randy Moss gives women black eyes. Packers 33-24. 42-13 if it snows again.
Derek Robbins Green Bay Packers First of all, kudos to the Giants for making it this far. Nobody even CONSIDERED them as a Super Bowl threat, and yet...here they are as one of the final four teams in the league. Even if their win last week was a bit aided by the refs, that is still impressive. That being said, I don't really think they can win this game. Right now, to me at least, the Packers feel like a team of destiny. Now I don't know if they are destined to win it all, but it feels like they'e at least destined to make the big game. Defensively speaking, the Giants allow fewer yards per game, but allow more POINTS per game. (21.9 for the Giants, 18.2 for Green Bay) Due to that fact, I'm giving Green Bay's tough young defense the edge. When it comes to the passing game, again...I'm going with Green Bay. Obviously, I like Brett Favre at Lambeau field. It's quite hard to bet against him. As good as Eli has been over the past couple of weeks, he's just...not quite ready to go one on one with the great one. On the flipside, the Giants running game is much better than the Packers. Outside of last week's game where the Packers ran for 200+ yards, they averaged 99.8 YPG during the regular season while the Giants averaged 134.3 (Good for fourth in the league). Seeing as though the Packers have the advantage in most of the matchups, and the fact that the Packers have home field advantage...it'd be really hard for me to see the Giants winning. With the way they've been playing in the playoffs, anything can happen, but...I gotta go with the Packers here. If the Super Bowl does turn out to be New England and Green Bay...I think that'd be really interesting. It'd be almost like a passing of the torch game. (Favre to Brady) If that happens, I'm really looking forward to it.
Sat: Green Bay Packers - I had the New York Giants out in the first round, then the second round, and here they are the conference finals. Now, they are going to face the Packers and this is where they get knocked off. The Green Bay Packers really showed me something last week as they struggled early on and then they just went on an amazing scoring streak. The Packers have shown that they are a good team and they are definitely going to the Super Bowl. The Giants have surprised me. I thought that Eli Manning was going to have problems and that Tom Coughlin was a lame duck coach. Now, they have to go to 4 degree weather and try to beat the Packers. I see the Packers winning this game by at least twenty.
Ian Smart: Green Bay Packers
I agonized over this pick for awhile, primarily because I have an irrational fear of jinxing my team in any sport, which I think weighed on my judgement a little too much last week. In case you were wondering, after the second Ryan Grant fumble, I got the shakes and started contemplating how best to drink myself into unconsciousness, but fortunately the Packers appeared not be phased by the early troubles and simply walked through the Seahawks from that point on. It was interesting to hear after the game how the Seahawks defensive ends (Kerney and Tapp) couldn't get any drive off the field as the snow came down, which limited their ability to rush effectively. If we look at Sunday's weather report for Green Bay – game will be played at night FYI- the HIGH will be -15 Celsius (5 Fahrenheit) and flurries are in the forecast, so the Giants pass rush may experience similar problems to what the Seahawks faced last Saturday. The Packers were the best team in the NFL in terms of sacks per. pass play (controlled for opponents), which is partly due to the play of Mark Tauscher and Chad Clifton- who will have their hands full on Sunday-, but mostly as a result of the quick hits routes that the Packers use, and Favre's ability to get out of trouble and find open receivers. The Packers' offensive line is playing at its very best right now, as shown against Seattle, where they opened up big holes for Ryan Grant enabling him to run for 201 yards. The Giants are also a little banged up in the secondary, with Kevin Dockery (Hip Flexor) not practicing Wednesday or Thursday, Sam Madison (stomach) not practicing Wednesday and being limited on Thursday and Aaron Ross (shoulder) being limited both days. If these players are not at a hundred percent, then Favre and the Packer receivers may be able to pick up a lot of ground through the air. On the other side, the Giants will be coming at the Packers with two good passing weapons in Plaxico Burress and Amani Toomer who both have big-play potential, but the Packers have two physical All-Pro Corners in Al Harris and Charles Woodson, who are capable of playing them man-to-man and will be given a little more leeway in terms of bumping the receivers in the playoffs. Not to understate the play of Atari Bigby, normally a liability at safety, who was outstanding as both a run stopper and a coverage man last Saturday; another performance of that calibre will go a long way to helping the Packers marginalize the Giants passing game. On the ground, the Giants have been very successful with their point-of-attack rushing, which could pose problems for the Green Bay defence, but the extra man on the line for the Packers' 4-3 defence vs. the 3-4 defence of the Cowboys could prove to be enough. Additionally, the Packers have a solid group of linebackers capable of stifling the run in Nick Barnett, AJ Hawk and Brady Popinga. The biggest question mark for this game will be what Giants team shows up? Throughout the season, the G-Men were inconsistent and had a number of poor performances- even last week in Dallas, the Giants only accumulated 57 total yards from scrimmage in the second half. Thus far this postseason, Eli Manning has been stellar [no picks!]; will he be able to keep it up? He is already on record as saying that he does not like playing in the cold, and it really doesn't get much colder than a night game in Wisconsin in January. The game truly could go either way, because both teams are capable of making a litany of mistakes, but both teams have also shown that they can execute flawlessly; I have to give the edge to the Packers, who showed a great deal of composure last week against Seattle after the two Grant fumbles, rallying back for a decisive win. It's that type of character that could be the deciding factor in a big game such as this one.
