NFL Conference Championship Predictions

This Sunday's conference championships are absolutely packed with storylines and excitement, as these matchups are really the best that the playoffs could have offered. The legendary veterans battle it out in the AFC, while the NFC is ruled by young QBs and powerhouse defenses. After going an amazing 4-0 in my divisional round predictions, I aim to continue my streak in tomorrow's matchups. 

AFC: Broncos v Patriots

Broncos with the ball: The Pat's gave up twenty-eight first half points against Denver in their meeting this season, and then held them to seven in the second as Tom Brady came roaring back (literally) to win in overtime and improve to 10-4 all time against Peyton Manning. Which New England defense will we see tomorrow?

The lethal combination of Wes Welker, Eric Decker and both Demaryius and Julius Thomas has proved insurmountable to most NFL defenses. Manning had an outrageous offensive year, but he has struggled against a strong pass rush. The Patriots will do everything they can to disrupt Manning and try to get as many hits on him as possible. Whatever schemes they have dialed up, it's doubtful that they will be able to contain this offense entirely.

Manning is on a mission and he has the tools around him to get where he wants to go. If New England is going to win, they need some help from Brady.

Patriots with the ball: Bill Belichick seems to have an endless capacity for reinventing his offense, and between Denver's depleted secondary and the absence of leading pass rusher Von Miller, the focus will likely shift to Brady and the passing attack.

New England is sorely missing TE Rob Gronkowski who is out with and ACL injury. It's worth noting the Gronkowski was a significant part of the comeback earlier in the season.

Whatever Brady can do with the receivers he has will have to be enough to outpace Manning's attack. The New England defense is the better of the two, but they have to go against an offense with many more weapons.

Special Teams & Coaching: This is really a push. Belichick and Fox are ready for the spotlight, though that Pat's have more experience. Both kickers have had great success and get the benefit of altitude. Special teams lost the game for Denver last time, but they won't let it happen again.

Pick: The Broncos will be tested by the Patriots team, but things have changed. Manning's motivation, home field and an MIA Gronkowski all point to a Denver victory. They have something to prove after their collapse in Foxborough .

DENVER 37, NEW ENGLAND 31

NFC: Seahawks v 49ers

Seahawks with the ball: Russell Wilson has been uncharacteristically poor as of late. Particularly on third down. Fortunately for Seattle, Marshawn Lynch has carried more than his share and stabilized the offense when Wilson disappears. They need to look better than they did against New Orleans to win this game. 

Particularly against a 49ers defense that absolutely outmuscled Cam Newton last week. The linebacking corps sets the tone for that defense and brings a physicality that has been so far unmatched in the playoffs. The loss of Percy Harvin doesn't help Seattle, but he's only played 39 snaps this season, so the Seahawks have had success without him. The offense doesn't have to dominate, but it has to give the D some breathing room.

49ers with the ball: This is going to be a fun one. Colin Kaepernick has plenty of confidence after excellent games in the previous two rounds and he has let everyone hear it. Anquan Boldin may just be the cockiest player in the NFL right now. I don't think there was a single down where he didn't talk smack. The whole offense is remarkable for it's lack of modesty. 

And how fitting it is that they will be opposite the only squad that might be even louder. The "Legion of Boom" is the best defense in the NFL, and as the Niners draw from their linebackers, the tone of this team is set by Seahawks uber talented secondary. 

These guys never shut up. In high school, Richard Sherman was ordered not to talk smack and had the worst game of his career. This is just what Seattle does, and their swagger is more than justified by the way they have dominated this season.

If Sherman is covering Boldin, be ready for a truly epic battle of gargantuan egos.

Like I said, this is going to be a fun one.

Coaching: Pete Carroll and Jim Harbaugh hate each other about as much a two coaches can. They have radically different styles and personalities, which adds yet another exciting aspect to a game already dripping with juicy storylines. 

Pick: This is a battle between the league's best defenses, two young quarterbacks, and the two loudest teams in the NFL. This matchup may have the most pure hatred of any rivalry in pro football. The edge goes to Seattle though, which has the benefit of rest, home field advantage and the deafening twelfth man.

SEATTLE 17, SAN FRANCISCO 13 

NFL Playoffs: Saturday's Divisional Predictions

As we enter the depths of the NFL playoffs, I thought it would be fun to return to my blogging ways and make a few predictions, immortalizing on the internet either my tremendous foresight, or as is more likely, my horrible misconceptions.

I should start with a disclaimer: I have been seriously bad at anticipating the NFL playoffs in the past two years. Prior to the wild card round last year, I declared Baltimore to be by far the worst team in the playoffs and predicted an ignominious and early exit. We all know how that turned out.

Last weekend I decided to mix things up and pick against my best judgement in every game. The result? 3-1. Nonetheless, I will put my two cents in this week and hope for more favorable results.

Let's start with Saturday. (home teams in caps)

SEAHAWKS vs Saints

Everyone saw what happened the first time Drew Brees stepped onto CenturyLink Field to face a fierce Seattle team and the deafening, world recording holding "Twelfth Man". It was, in short, a disaster.

Brees was stymied by a Seahawks defense that held him to 147 yards and one touchdown, which might have gotten the job done if the Saints hadn't rushed for a grand total of 44 yards. The high flying New Orleans attack put up only seven points.

And, oh yeah, Russel Wilson, Marshawn Lynch and Co put up 34. The Saints had no answer for Wilson, who threw for over 300 yards and rushed for another 47 while accounting for three touchdowns.

It was an absolute rout. The Saints looked dazed and confused and far from home. The Saints failures on the road have almost defined their season.

So will anything change this time?

Wilson hasn't played his best football as of late. He looked out of sync in the loss to Arizona, the first home loss of his career. His interception with the clock winding down in San Francisco destroyed all hope of a comeback. But the Saints don't have a defense of the same caliber as San Francisco or Arizona, and Wilson seems like a very sharp kid who can put a bye week to good use. I have faith in him to be as sharp as ever in the playoffs.

The Saints in the meantime have picked up their first playoff win in franchise history with a victory over the Eagles in Philadelphia. That might bolster their confidence, but it won't be enough.

Brees snuck by with another so-so performance, throwing for 250, and the whole team snuck by with a two point margin of victory. And this was against Philly, a far cry from the top seeded Seattle. That's not to mention the Saint's recent underachievement that saw them fall from the 2nd to the 5th seed.

A hungry defense led by the best secondary in football will once again eat up Nola's offense, Jimmy Graham and all. And Wilson will do enough--probably more than enough--to lead his team to victory.

PREDICTION: Seattle 27, New Orleans 13

PATRIOTS vs Colts

This matchup features two teams that have mastered the late game comeback this season, and probably caused their fans more heart problems than any other two teams in the league. I take a risk in picking against the Colt's, uh, good fortune, but I don't think they are a consistent enough team to go deep into the playoffs. In fact, had the Chiefs had Jamaal Charles, Andrew Luck would probably be watching this round at home. 

The Colts have been streaky this year, coming up with marquee victories against the Broncos, Seahawks and 49ers, but also getting blown out by Arizona and losing to St. Louis. 

Luck may have lived up to his name by catching a ricocheting fumble, but he didn't look as stellar when he threw any of his three interceptions. TY Hilton had a fantastic game and should prove to be a weapon, but on the other side of the ball, the Colts gave up 44 points over 500 yards to the KC offense.

It makes one worry about how they might hold up against Tom Brady, who is at his best in the playoffs, though they are at a significant disadvantage playing without Rob Gronkowski. 

But as this season--in which the Pats secured a first round bye with a shortage of offensive weapons--has shown, Bill Belichick and Brady know how to win. Even a Gronk-less New England will still have an excellent game plan and players ready for the moment. They'll also have the 10th best defense in the league by points allowed.  

This will probably come back to bite me, but neither of these teams look championship caliber to me. They both seem to be missing too many pieces to make it all the way.

I have to defer to the experience of Belichick against the streaky Colts. If the game comes down to the line, which knowing these two teams it very well could, I trust Brady over Luck to hold onto the ball and win the game. 

Of course now the universe will conspire against me, and Luck will make some rediculous play in overtime to win the game. 

PREDICTION: New England 31, Indianapolis 30

Keys to the Game: Western Conference Finals, Game 6

Here we are in game six an tension builds. Here are the keys to winning this game.

Suns: This is do or die time, they have to outplay the Lakers with sheer effort as well as performance. A strong bench performance is beneficial. The Suns can't afford to make mistakes at this point. Shutting the Lakers down in the paint is a must. When the Lakers get Odom, Gasol and Bynum scoring in the paint, Kobe turns on and it's all over. If the Suns can contain the Lakers big men, Kobe and Co. have to do it from outside; and the Lakers don't win from downtown. The Suns also have to work home court advantage in their favor. Their home crowd is a huge momentum builder.

Lakers: The Lakers have to penetrate, and often. Points in the paint are what will drive this team. They have to contain well defensively as well. The Lakers have to respect the Phoenix bench. Kobe underestimated the Grant Hill several times in game 3 and Hill made him pay. If not, the momentum turns and they will have to worry about game seven. If Gasol has 15 plus points and Kobe can get above 25 they can win this game.

Real Sport? Try Baseball

Everybody says: "Baseball isn't a real sport" and it really bugs me. I've got news for all you who think that it doesn't count as a sport if you're not running at full speed impaling people, there is one sport that people with a decent IQ actually watch - and that's Baseball. And if you think any old loser can play Baseball, get this, I know for a fact that you would look like a total fool if you tried to handle a 89 mph four-seamer and that's not even a challenging thing to hit.

If you want to be one of those meatheads who think boxing and football are the only real sports (they also are the bottom two sports in average IQ of spectators) because they are constantly pounding each others faces in - fine by me. But just know you wouldn't last a second playing the best sport in history.

Playoffs

Well, now that the Conference finals are here,  we know how things are going to turn out. Lebron leaves Cleveland for better things. Rondo and Pierce can't beat Howard and Jameer Nelson. Steve Nash isn't what he used to be and this result in a repeat of last years finals and another ring for Kobe.

If you don't agree, tell me the finals matchup and where Lebron will be next year. The comments section is right below.

Change of Plans

I know, I know, I said the Cavs would go all the way. But I'm going to go with my gut reaction - the Celtics are going to win in the semis. They will do their home crowd proud. Too bad they're to old to win it all...

NBA Playoff Predictions

The semifinals are upon us and my predictions are in.

SEMIFINALS

Western Conference

Lakers vs. Jazz: Lakers in 5

Suns vs. Spurs: Suns in 4

Eastern Conference


Cavs vs. Celtics: Cavaliers in 6

Magic vs. Hawks: Magic in 5

CONFERENCE FINALS

Eastern Conference

Magic vs. Cavs: The Cavs avenge their conference final woes of last year, take this series in 6.

Western Conference

Lakers vs. Suns: The Suns give L.A. a run for their money. But in the end, nobody can stop Kobe in the conference finals. Lakers in 7.

FINAL

Lakers vs. Cavs: It seems that I have come to the same conclusion that too many have come to: Kobe vs. Lebron. The Lakers are good, but the Cavs are better. Now Lebron has some friends (Antwan Jamison, Shaq) and nobody is going to get in the way - not even Kobe. Cavs take the series in 5 and Cleveland finally brings home the bacon.