Philadelphia Eagles @ Arizona Cardinals
The Eagles sure are playing well, but the Cardinals may actually be playing better. These two teams met on Thanksgiving night and it was a one-sided Eagle win, but things sure have changed. The Cardinal defense has changed its persona since that game and has a defense that is being vastly underrated by many. In addition, the Cardinals were unable to run the football on Thanksgiving, but they played that game without Edgerrin James. Both QBs have been in this spot before, but only the Cardinals have Larry Fitzgerald. Look for Larry to have a big game and for the Cardinals to pull out a win.

Baltimore Ravens @ Pittsburgh Steelers
This is the third consecutive road game for the Baltimore Ravens and they are also short-handed. These two teams have played hyper-competitive games, of which the Steelers have won both. The line has moved in the direction of making the Ravens more attractive, starting at the Steelers -5 and has moved to Steelers -6, but the money is going to the Ravens. When there is Reverse Line Movement, it is a great indicator for who to place your money with. I will be taking the Steelers and give the points.

By GODZILLA

It’s 27 degrees and snowing here in NJ, so why not sit for a few minutes and cap some NFL playoff games. While looking at these teams, I try to identify strengths and weaknesses along with the actual matchups. I must say that I prefer teams with character and physicality, so I will comment on that as well as the straight statistics.
 
Baltimore @ Tennessee – 3, 4:30PM
 
This should be quite a physical match-up here, of two very similar teams. Similar in a sense that they rely on their great defenses and efficient offenses. Their offensive and defensive numbers are nearly identical, with Baltimore’s total yardage numbers looking a tad bit better on both sides of the ball. First thing that strikes me is the line is consistent with the betting public- staying at -3 points for the Titans, due to the 50/50 split in bettors’ choices.
 
When I first looked at this game, my first instinct was to pick the Titans. But now, after a bit more thought, I like the Ravens. I think the strongest unit for both teams is the Ravens defense. Despite their awful game against the NY Giants, they were solid all year long. Ray Lewis and Ed Reed (the U baby!!!) are playmakers and leaders who will make it their personal challenges to shut down the Titans offense. Then you have the Ravens offense, led by Joe Flacco. True he’s a rookie with a rookie head coach. But unless the Titans shut down the run, Flacco can feed off the McGahey and McClain runs with a little playaction and make some easy throws to Heap and Mason- two tremendous possession receivers. Of course, it doesn’t help that Kyle Van den Bosch and Albert Haynseworth are not 100% for this game, meaning that the Ravens should run it between the tackles over and over again. Also, the Titans’ offense has Kevin Mawae out, and he’s their center.
 
Other thoughts- both played tough schedules this year, but I’m a little more impressed with the Ravens, as they lost to tougher teams. The Titans got beat badly by the Jets and Texans. The Jets game proved that the Titans can lose at home and the Ravens have the type of team that can win on the road.
 
I predict the Baltimore ground game will take over, with Joe Flacco making some key throws and the Ravens defense forcing a couple of turnovers and creating good field position the entire game. Baltimore will out-muscle Tennessee (especially w/ injuries) and win a hard-fought contest in an old-fashioned football game.
 
3 points is too many here… The Titans may be overrated due to all the hype when they were undefeated. Also, if 3 points is for home field advantage, it doesn’t necessarily apply to the Ravens, as they beat Dallas and Miami in must-win games, away.
 
Ravens 17, Titans 10
 
 
Arizona @ Carolina -10, 8:15PM
 
I know that 10 points is a lot to give, especially in an NFL playoff game of this magnitude, but I really dislike the Cardinals. To me, they were overrated when I heard some asshole on ESPN claim that they were an elite team (before the slide). The Cardinals are a gutless, overrated bunch. Lok who they beat: Seattle twice, St. Louis twice, San Francisco twice. So, they’re 6-0 against crap teams! Their other two wins come against Miami and Buffalo- both at home. I am not impressed.
 
A key matchup here is the Panthers Run offense vs. the Cards’ run defense. I see the Cards are solid, allowing only 107 yards rushing p/g., but struggled against good running teams like the Giants, Vikings, New England, and the Redskins, but were able to shut down Michael Turner last weekend. I’ll take the odds that they won’t be able to shut down the Panthers’ dual threat.
 
Now… Kurt Warner… Great QB. Possibly Hall of Fame material… I like this guy and am glad he had a big year. However… (and I actually did this research, didn’t read this anywhere) his QB Rating at home is 105.5, but only 88.8 on the road. He also got sacked 6 more times on the road than at home.
And the Cards’ pathetic rushing offense cannot make up for any slack if Warner doesn’t have a monster game.
 
The Cards are a sucky team on the road, but even worse when they travel to the East Coast, being 0-5 this year. They also score less points but allow more points on the road. Carolina, on the other hand is a GREAT home team, being undefeated at home. As a matter of fact, they score 29 points and give up 13 at home, while the Cards score 23 and give up 31.
 
But DAMN, 10 points??? Yeah, why not. The Cards have no heart…
 
Cardinals 14, Panthers 27

I am not referring to this as the National Championship game as my effort toward non-violent protest. Now that the politics are out of the way, here is how I see tonight’s game gong down.

Oklahoma comes in scoring 60+ points per game their last 5 games. Pretty impressive, and even more impressive if you buy into the Big XII being an elite conference. Well, here is some news for you, the Big XII is not the SEC, and it isn’t even close.

I too was fooled this year into thinking that the Big XII and the SEC were on somewhat even ground. This Bowl Season has shown me that I was wrong. All the hoopla about Texas Tech, Texas, and Missouri was shown to be all hot air as the Red Raiders were embarrassed by Ole Miss (SEC) and Texas and Missouri were very unimpressive against very unimpressive Big X opponents. The clincher to me was watching #21 Blake Gideon for Texas try to play Safety. That kid wouldn’t sniff the field at an SEC school, NONE OF THEM, yet he is the starting safety for the Texas Longhorns. That is the difference in tonight’s game. There is no weakness for the Sooners to exploit, and all the weaknesses the Gators need to have a big night.

Too much speed at every position will prove to be too much for the Sooners and the Gators will win this game by at least 2 touchdowns.

By GODZILLA

Sugar Bowl, Louisiana Superdome, New Orleans, LA – 8PM
Utah vs. Alabama -9

How appropriate, Sweet Home Alabama playing in the Sugar bowl! As soon as I saw this game on the board, I thought the opening line would be close to -10, and right I was, because it opened at -11. Now, it’s at -9. I have a big problem with this, because most of the action is on Alabama, yet the line actually went down, as if most bettors are on Utah, which is not the case. To me, at least, this draws a red flag when handicapping this game. That said, I will continue with my analysis of the matchup.

Utah, although undefeated, was never considered an “elite” team. This is due to the fact that they don’t play in a BCS conference, though they have a history of playing like a BCS team. Their biggest wins are respectable (TCU, BYU, Oregon State), but I wouldn’t consider them to be Juggernauts just yet. Their toughest opponent, TCU, gave them hell, even if Andy Dalton had a bad game for TCU- uncharacteristically throwing 2 INT’s and completing less than 50% of his passes. TCU had more first downs, 150+ more total yards, and 4.9 yards per carry!!! Isn’t that some shit??? This was also AT Utah. The rest of their schedule was “cupcake city” as Dick Vitale would put it.

The level of competition that Alabama faced this year is a couple of light years ahead. They played the best teams in the SEC, their only loss being to a red hot UF team. The Tide showed their character throughout the season by blowing out teams like Arkansas, Clemson, Georgia, Auburn- and those are very tough teams, teams that I doubt Utah could compete with. THese teams are incredibly talented, though they are young and inconsistent. Alabama still put them away, and did so early in the ball game, relying on their defense to strike the will of the teams and force them into submission. Going undefeated shows resiliency and mental toughness, but to me, Alabama is a bit more tested, as they beat Georgia, LSU, and Tennessee AWAY, and AT NIGHT in incredibly hostile environments. Meanwhile, Utah played all their tough games (BYU, TCU, OSU) at the comfort of their home stadium.

The numbers Utah put up are just awesome. On offense, they are definitely well-balanced, scoring 37ppg, averaging 236 passing ypg and 136 rushing ypg. But feasting on weak prey, such as Utah State and Weber State should yield even greater results. Their offense is definitely not athletic and explosive like some of the other Top 25 teams, but they have guts, they make few bad plays, and they simply get it done in the clutch. The Utes’ defense is pretty solid, allowing 17ppg, 191pass ypg, 107 rush ypg. Pretty decent, but not jaw-dropping numbers. Their defense isn’t as quick, physical, or downright nasty as say USC, Penn State, Ohio State, or TCU’s. But they get the job done.

Alabama, after all these years, is still very much a running team. Their running game sets up Parker Wilson to start picking apart defenses and fall into a balanced attack. Their not very potent, nor are they as productive as Oklahoma, UF, or TT, but they know how to manage the clock and gain the tough yards when it counts. Alabama’s defense is what’s most impressive. They’re 2nd to USC’s defense, and I think USC’s defense is one of the best EVER. They have a ton of aggression and pride on that defense, applying pressure, tackling the right way, covering well, and just making plays.

Why Alabama will win: Physicality, competitiveness, athleticism, coaching experience

Why Utah will win: They have upset history, and the reverse line movement phenomenon

Conclusion: I see Alabama’s offensive and defensive lines controlling this game- pushing back their opponents at the line of scrimmage, and using their athleticism at the skill and sub-skill positions to make bigger plays. Utah is a smaller, slower team that’s not as tested… Alabama’s missing their best O lineman, but they had a chance to prepare the substituting talent to fill the void, and these SEC teams are always 2-3 deep in every position anyway. I see Alabama scoring 2-3 touchdowns on offense, perhaps a pick 6 or fumble return for a TD… and Utah struggling to consistently gain yards against this rabid defense. Remember: The reverse line movement scares the crap out of me. It happened to Oklahoma State, just happened to texas Tech, and this could be the Vegas Trifecta.

Alabama is like TCU on steroids, and Utah shouldn’t have beaten TCU in the first place. The Superdome will have 80% of the fans on the TIDE and their superior speed will shine of the turf.

But, all things being equal… Alabama linemen will blow the Utes off the ball, run by defenders with speed and athleticism, and show poise down the stretch. Look for the Defense to choke the Utes Offense, while the Bama Offense slowly chips away and wears down the smaller Utah defense…

Score: Utah 13, Alabama 27

Roll TIDE, roll!!!

Who is Godzilla?