NFC Championship: New Orleans Saints @ Chicago Bears

Saints +2
One of the biggest disappointments of my life is that when the Buccaneers finally made it to a Super Bowl they had changed their uniforms. The Orange and Yellow swashbuckling Buccaneer was without a doubt my favorite NFL uniform. That statement reflects that I have not had any major disappointments in my life, that is true, but still, I loved those uniforms. Tomorrow presents an opportunity for a team that has never been to the Super Bowl to make it. While that is exciting in and of itself, that we may get to see the Saints gold and black on Super Sunday has me fired up. I want the Saints to win. I will be cheering for them. I would be pulling for them regardless of the disaster that struck New Orleans and continued to plague the people there. I like them because I love the city of New Orleans. It is a city that I long for at times. Aside from that, their unis are cool and here they are after being such a bad football organization for so long, poised to go to the Super Bowl. Throw in everything else and of course they are America’s team tomorrow.

In regards to the action on the field, here is a stat that reflects just how bad the NFC was this year. The Bears and the Saints are 1 and 2 in the NFC. The Bears opponents had a combined record of 110-146 while the Saints opponents were 118-138. The Bears played in a division where the other teams combined records were 17-31; the Saints’ division went 19-29. The Bears 13 victims this year were 84-124, while the Saints’ 10 wins were 68-92. The Bears defeats came to teams with a combined record of 26-22, while the Saints’ losses were to teams that went 50-46. Lastly, 2 of the Bears 3 losses were to AFC East teams (Patriots and Dolphins) and half of the Saints losses were to AFC North teams (Steelers, Bengals and Ravens). Each lost their season finale and the Saints lost to the Panthers twice and the Redskins once. (The second Panther loss was the Saints’ season finale).

What all these stats add up to is an absolute toss up. The line can be had anywhere from 1 point to 3 points. The weather may be a factor, but Brees played at Purdue and he won’t be fazed by it. Grossman is bad and as long as the Saints don’t let receivers run untouched down the field the Bears offense should be contained. The Bears stout defense has shown some vulnerability of late and the Saints have enough of a mix to cause them trouble. My advice is to take whoever you want to root for and play this game at a low star. The Dean will be decked in Gold and Black and taking the Saints plus whatever points are available and playing it for 2-stars.

AFC Championship: New England Patriots @ Indianapolis Colts

Colts -3
These two teams doing battle is special. It is special because the same key people on both teams are still in place. This isn’t just about the Colt’s revenge; it’s about Manning and Dungy’s revenge. It’s about Brady and Belichick doing it again to those guys. The Kicker position for both these teams has been more high-profile than any other team’s in recent history; the Colts former K for all the wrong reasons and their current kicker, New England’s former kicker, for all the right reasons.

The Patriots have become the Yankees of the NFL. It was only a few years ago that another Boston team was attempting to overcome mystique, the Beantown football team is trying to hold on to it. The Pats won last week due to a play within a play, some mystique you might say. That is not to knock them, but they didn’t line up and beat the Chargers, they mystiqued them. Troy Brown saved Brady and created the opportunity for Brady to redeem himself. Without Brown’s strip Brady’s reputation as a clutch playoff QB would have taken a pretty big hit. But it didn’t, and he is, and they are, so there you have it.

The big question I have with about the Colts is, are they really playing better defense or have the played two mediocre offenses the first two rounds of the playoffs? Herm Edwards and Brian Billick combined to look like the worst two offensive minds this side of General Custer. Indianapolis is allowing an average of 12 pts per game over their last 3 games, but it has been against the Ravens, Chiefs and Dolphins.

Since 1999 the Colts have only missed one post-season (2001), the Patriots have failed to qualify for the playoffs 3 times (1999, 2000 and 2002). But before last year, they won the Super Bowl every time they did get in the playoffs. What was the difference last year? They played on the road against someone other than Pittsburgh. Prior to their loss at Denver the only road wins they had in the playoffs were at Pittsburgh, who was notorious for losing Conference Championship games at home.

The Colts were always done in by the weather, no defense or their inability to pick up for Peyton when he struggled. This year is different. The Colts now have the clutch kicker; the Colts now get the playoff game at their place and the Colts are finding ways to win without scoring 30+ points. New England has gotten this far yet again and it’s tough to go against them. However, the Colts seem to have found the Patriots number and the dome should work in their favor. I am playing the Colts minus the 3 and playing it at 2-stars.