Well, I figured since this weeks games determine the who goes to the Super Bowl it’s worth starting the thread a couple days in advance to soak up the hype and make some predictions.
Philadelphia at Arizona (Eagles by 2) - 3:00 PM on FOX
The early game is probably the least compelling of two, but the story lines are still good. Everyone remembers the previous game on Thanksgiving Night in Philly where Arizona got embarrassed but with the way the Cards have been playing over the last two weeks pretty much invalidates everything we thought about them. The Cards have been flaunting a stout run defense and Larry Fitz has been neigh on unstoppable, but the Eagles play a completely different style than what the Cards faced in the Falcons and Panthers. The Eagles spread offense that distributes the ball and just attacks you with screens and overloads is not the type that you can overplay the way the Cards did with Steve Smith and with stacking the line to stop the run. Also the Eagles will blitz more than any team they’ve played recently and that looks like a issue on paper for Kurt Warner’s statuesque nature. The Cards will have to find a way to move the ball on the ground in order to slow the blitz and even in the games they’ve won they weren’t excellent at that. If Fitz and Boldin man up and go off, they could win this one on their own with the home crowd behind them. If Philly struggles to move the ball, which they have several times this season, they are in deep trouble, but they are feeling really good about themselves right now.
I predict that the wheels will come off for Philly in this one. All that confidence they have built up is precarious and all it’ll take is for a few frustrating offensive possessions and one or two McNabb mistakes before the weight of expectations starts to take them down. I can picture the Eagles offense struggling and the Cards offense breaking one or two big plays in the face of the Eagles blitzes. There’ll be strife on the sidelines and Andy Reid will make a couple big mistakes in crunch time.
The Pick: Cardinals 30 - Eagles 23
Baltimore at Pittsburgh (Steelers by 1.5) - 6:30 PM on CBS
Well, with the previous game in hand and the possibility of a all Pennsylvania Super Bowl gone we turn our attention to the game everyone fired up for. The 3rd game between these two teams this season should be a classic, hard hitting one. The home crowd will be nuts and these teams have been trash talking in the media already. You can expect a ton of barking and extra-curriculars between plays here. It’ll make you fired up and want both teams to lose at the same time.
Most people seem to think that both of these teams would dominate their NFC counter parts but I don’t entirely buy that. Each of these team has flaws, serious ones. The Ravens got flat out beaten last week versus the Titans and minus a few back breaking mistakes they would be sitting at home right now. The Ravens offense was essentially shut down and minus a couple blown coverages that left Derrick Mason and Mark Clayton wide open last week. The Steelers offense has been inconsistent all season and Roethlisberger is coming off a pretty serious injury to end the season and he wasn’t exactly sharp last week. He got great efforts from his WRs as usual, but it will be interesting to see how he responds to pressure and a few hits. Willie Parker is stoppable and if he isn’t moving the ball the Steelers don’t have much else. Last week Chris Johnson looked like he was really making the Ravens D look bad. He had them whiffing on tackles and was the most effective player on the field. Willie has similar speed and elusiveness and perhaps he’ll be just as effective. All in all, the Steelers and the Titans are very similar teams, but the Steelers play with fewer mistakes. That makes the pick easy.
Cardinals will beat the Eagles. Warner is a very hot and cold quarterback and he’s as hot now as he was during the Greatest Show on Turf days. Home field advantage is huge. The blowout from Thanksgiving isn’t relevant as I still think that was some pretty lousy scheduling with the Cards having to play the defending Super Bowl champs on Sunday and then fly to the East Coast on a short week for a Thursday night game.
Steelers will beat the Ravens. Sorry, I’m not believing a rookie quarterback will go to the Super Bowl. Home field advantage hasn’t meant much during the playoffs this year, but I think it does this week. Most teams don’t win 3 games in a row on the road.
This is a nightmare AFC championship for me since one of my two most hated teams have to advance to the superbowl.
So, as disgusted as it makes me, I’ll be rooting for the Steelers. I come from a long line of Steeler hate. Even my great-great-great-great-great grandpa in 1875 had the sense to hate the Steelers.
But it’s a respectful hatred. There’s a lot of history, even though the asskickings have been one sided for a decade now. It’s more like the brother that you always give all your effort to beat even though you don’t wish serious ill on him. I’ve had drinks with Steeler fans without it resulting in breaking bottles over each other’s heads. They run their franchise the way it should be and their ownership seems classy, even if their fanbase is made up of the cross section of bandwagoners and sister-humping hilljacks.
However, the illegitimate entity from crackmore deserves no respect. It’s not any rivalry, it’s just hatred. I’d like to see the city of Baltimore nuked from orbit and the land salted, just to be sure.
I wish them both failure, but it’s a little conflicted in that I feel a slight bit of pride when the AFC North stomps the shit out of other teams.
I will have to go with Cardinals over Philly 24-17
And I gotta stick up for my first ever love in Football- the team that got me watching this whole she-bang in the first place: The Ravens over the Steelers 20-17
Omni, your point spreads are way off. Outliers excepted, Philly is a 4 point favorite, Pittsburgh a 6 point favorite.
Anyway, if I were a betting man (and, what do you know, I am!), I would hit the Pittsburgh and Philly money lines (-255, -191 respectively) pretty hard. I just don’t see Flacco playing in the Super Bowl as a rookie, and I especially don’t see how Arizona is going to win (though of course I didn’t see how they could beat Carolina, either).
Yeah, I see now that I misunderstood ESPN’s “InLine” thing. Apparently the lines I posted are the average margin predicted by ESPN.com users. Fucking ESPN.
Think a Mod can edit that for me so I don’t look like a dumbass?
Cards/Ravens SuperBowl. I always want to see the NFL and their advertisers get stuck with the smallest market/least popular teams possible. I’d like to see the Cards win, just because they never have.
What we’re going to see:
Cards/Steelers Super Bowl Cards will luck out and win the championship game on a big play; Steelers will beat the Ravens. Super Bowl Story Line: Cinderella Meets The Terrible Towels. Lots of hair guys. Pittsburgh will win the Super Bowl, and even more Steelers fans will suddenly appear in your neighborhood.
Next year, the Cards will go sub-.500 and miss the playoffs, with Warner retiring in tears.
I’ve been a loyal Steeler fan my entire life (which isn’t long…), and if there’s one thing I’ve come to expect from them in the last 10 years, it’s to spend all season dominating opponents, get to the AFC Championship game, than violently implode. See also: The Eagles.
But, with that said, I have never seen the utter domination that was last Sunday. It took them the entire first half to figure out where they were and what they were doing, but after that, they just crushed San Diego. Have you ever seen a team with only 2 possessions in an entire quarter? I’ve also rarely seen Big Ben in such great form, he was rocketing them perfectly to Ward. There were a couple times where Ward seemed genuinely surprised that the ball fell right into his hands with no work on his part.
The Ravens are going to make it a lot closer than I would like, so I guess we’ll see.
As a strong prognosticator of this year’s Colts v. Panthers Super Bowl, I will be accepting any bribes to select the team you want to lose, to be the winner. Me picking a team to win is as a good as a guarantee that they will lose as you’re likely to find.
I’m sort of the opposite of all the bird fans I suppose, I REALLY want to see the Ravens win, but if the Steelers win, I’d root for them in the Superbowl actually. Only reason is the Coach of the Steelers graduated from the College of W&M, so I can share some Tribe Pride for my alma mater with him…
So i guess I’ll be happy if whoever of that matchup wins the superbowl, but I’d personally REALLY love to the see Ravens win again, and I’d love to see Flacco become a consistent QB for the Ravens to try to build on, and I’d love a Ford Mustang and a million dollars while we’re dreaming here…
I loathe both the Eagles and the Cleveland Browns 1.0. So, I’m hoping for a Cards / Steelers game.
If we end up with an all Pennsylvania Superbowl™, I’ll watch and cheer for the Eagles violent dismemberment.
If we get a Ravens / Eagles game, I’m not fucking watching it. Not only will I not watch it, I will host an official Superbowl Boycott party at my house, where the game will not be televised in any part. Y’all are invited.
I grew up in Pittsburgh, so it’s a no-brainer. I get to root for the best franchise in the NFL. In my lifetime, the Steelers have been in 13 AFC Championship Games. Sunday will make it 14. That’s 14 out of 43. That’s amazing. What’s even more amazing is that they have a losing record at home. They are 4-5 at home, 2-2 on the road. If they just held serve at home, the Steelers could have been in 11 Super Bowls! (I’ll leave them 2-2 on the road to get to 11). Instead, they choke like dogs… I’ve been to two of the losses, so I’m not going this year. I am less than thrilled they are playing at home, but Tomlin showed last week that he is playing to win instead of the Cowher-playing not to lose approach. Even though the Steelers missed the fake punt and 4th & 1 at the goal, Tomlin still went for the kill. The Steelers should pull away from the Ravens in the second half, and even their AFC Championship record at home and overall. (5-5, 7-7).
I’m rooting for the Cardinals for two reasons. I hate the Eagles, the whiney McNabb and his bestest buddy, doofus Andy Reid. I also have a friend who is a coach on the Cardinals. I’m not rooting because I’ll get Super Bowl tickets… I really want the Cards to win!
Of course, my perfect world has the Steelers winning their 6th championship, the first team with 6 Lombardi trophies!
For those of you that hate Steeler fans, realize that I am a Pirate fan too. My summers are as painful as my winters are enjoyable.
I was just about to say - that Larry Fitzgerald chap is kind of useful, isn’t he…
If the Eagles lose, it is punishment for my friend the Philadelphian, who was so insufferable after the Phillies won. I’ve also not forgotten/forgiven the abusive email he sent me after the Cubs got knocked out of the playoff.