Lame Sports

Conference Championship Predictions

By Jason Levy

Enjoy it football-freaks.  Sunday is the last day until September we can watch two football games on the same day.  Conference Championship Sunday is the best football day of the year, surpassing the drawn-out hype and pageantry of the Super Bowl, plus it’s twice the football, often with teams that have a history together.  This Sunday’s games are no different.  Before the picks, let’s look at the hype for the potential Super Bowl match ups:

Patriots vs.  Packers

Brady vs.  Favre, what else do you need to hear? These may be two of the top five QB’s in NFL history (or at least the most popular), and two of the top teams from 2007.  Plus Favre has his lone ring by beating the Pats in Super Bowl XXXI.  Everyone outside of New England will be rooting for the Packers.  It’ll be the most hyped Super Bowl of all time. 

Patriots vs.  Giants

A rematch of the week 17 shootout that gave the Pats the undefeated regular season.  Every New Yorker will be certain the Giants will win.  The media will be all over Eli Manning, and another Brady-Manning match up.  It won’t be Sox-Yanks, but this Boston-New York showdown will have everyone talking. 

Chargers vs.  Packers

The upstarts vs.  The legend.  There is no real history between these franchises, but it’ll be interesting to see LaDanian Tomlinson on the grand stage.  If the Chargers made it this far, beating the two best teams in the NFL to get here, people will want to know a lot more about them. 

Chargers vs.  Giants

Eli Manning vs.  Phillip Rivers.  The winner of the 2004 Draft can be declared.  Remember how Eli didn’t want to go to San Diego, but the Chargers picked him #1 anyway.  Then the Giants, who coveted Eli, drafted Rivers at #4, leading to an eventual swap which also netted San Diego Nate Kaeding and Shawne Merriman.  If this is the Super Bowl, expect two weeks of draft highlights.

But let’s not get to ahead of ourselves.  On to the games:

San Diego Chargers vs.  New England Patriots

A rematch of last years AFC Divisional game, (The Pats won 24-21 despite being outplayed by the Chargers, including the luckiest play I’ve ever seen: With the score 21-13 in favor of San Diego, Chargers safety Marlon McRee intercepts Tom Brady, and fumbles the ball during the run back, and its recovered by the Pats, so an interception turns into a first down), and a rematch of a week two 38-14 blowout win by the Pats in Foxboro.  All logic points to an easy Pats victory, but this is the same logic that saw the Colts advancing.  The Pats have a better quarterback, offensive line, pass-defense, kicker, and coach, and have the home-field advantage in frigid New England. 

The Chargers may have given their all in beating Indy, if not emotionally and psychologically then physically.  Phillip Rivers and LaDanian Tomlinson both sat out the 4^th quarter, but they would need to be healthy for the Chargers to have a shot.  Antonio Gates is more of a decoy now; he lacks the speed necessary to separate from defenders.  If the Chargers are going to win this game they have to force Brady and the Pats offense to make the same mistakes the Colts did, but that’s like expecting to get the same number twice in a row in roulette. 

This game may not have the juice of Pats-Colts, but these two teams truly hate each other.  In the week two game, the Pats took out their angst on the Chargers fresh off the heels of Spy-Gate.  The Chargers took offense after last season’s playoff loss when the Pats players mimicked Shawne Merriman’s dance at midfield, calling the Pats classless.  And in 2005 it was the Chargers that ended the Pats 21-game home winning streak in a 41-17 romp.  As much as I want the Pats to lose, I’ll have to wait two weeks to see it happen.

Patriots 35 - Chargers 16

New York Giants vs.  Green Bay Packers

The Frozen Tundra of Lambeau Field.  Temperature in the teens (before the wind-chill) and a chance of snow.  Sound like the ingredients for a classic NFC Championship game? If the Giants can keep up their magical run of forcing their opponents to play their worst and Eli Manning remains mistake free, this could be a game for the ages.  Was it just a coincidence that both the Buccaneers and Cowboys offense’s faltered against the Giants pass rush, or is the Giants D-line a force of nature?

But the key to the Giants recent run has been Eli.  He has yet to fumble or throw a pick in the playoffs.  He has never gone three games in a row without a turnover.  While he may be more comfortable on the road, Lambeau Field during a Wisconsin January is a whole other beast, especially when Eli has admitted he doesn’t like playing in the cold. 

The weather won’t bother the Packers QB, or anyone else in green and gold.  This may be Favre’s last chance at going to the Super Bowl (he has hinted he’ll be back next season, but who knows if the Packers will be this good again, and host the NFC title game?), and the Green Bay fans can will him to the next level.  Ryan Grant started the season as the Giants 5^th running back, and he could show them what they’re missing. 

Like the AFC game, this is a rematch of a week two blowout, a 35-13 Packers win at the Meadowlands.  No one thought it would be a preview of the NFC Championship.  But these are different teams from back in September.  The Giants will play a good, solid game, and it’ll be close to the end.  But the Favre and the Lambeau faithful will not be denied when they are so close, and might not get back for a long time.  Only two times have the Packers lost a home playoff game (in 2003 to Atlanta and a pre-hype Mike Vick and in 2005 to Minnesota when the Pack really wasn’t that good), and the Giants will see why it’s so hard to do. 

Packers 20 - Giants 14

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