The Bolts, G-Men, Pack Attack and the Pats each go to battle this Sunday in pursuit of a trip to Phoenix for Super Bowl XLII. New England will look to keep up their march at perfection vs the red-hot Chargers, while it is expected to be another instant classic at Lambeau Field when the road warrior Giants roll into town.
The Weekly Forecast will preview each Conference Championship game this upcoming Sunday. It’s win-and-go-to-the-big-dance, or lose-and-go-home time.
This will also be my final column for CREATiVESPORTS.com. After three years of contributing to football, baseball, basketball and minor league baseball coverage, I have accepted a position at ESPN to start a new chapter in my life. It’s been a fun ride and I hope my writing has inspired, informed and entertained my readers.
Conference Championships
Sunday, Jan. 20 3pm ET
#3 San Diego @ #1 New England
Aired on CBS
TV announcers: Jim Nantz, Phil Simms
The Patriots (17) and Chargers (eight) have won a combined 25 consecutive games. New England knocked off the Jaguars last week, extending their home win streak to 13 straight, and the Bolts upset the defending Super Bowl champion Colts.
San Diego is very banged up though; Philip Rivers is listed as questionable with a MCL strain in his right knee and an MCL sprain in his left knee. He was forced out of last week’s upset to Indy, as Billy Volek took over in the fourth quarter. You can expect Rivers to play though – he’s managed a 106.3 rating over his past five games and is a vital weapon if the Chargers have any chance.
The league’s leading rusher, LaDainian Tomlinson, was also forced to sit out the second half due to a hyperextended knee. On Monday, the former MVP said the injury is nothing serious and that he planned to get extensive treatment throughout the week and not practice much. If he’s unable to be 100%, the Chargers have two of the top RB backups in the game. Michael Turner, who had 17 rushes for 71 yards, is capable of picking up the slack if needed. Darren Sproles is also a threat, especially on the return teams and as a receiving threat out of the backfield – he exploded for a 56-yard catch-and-run on a screen pass vs Indianapolis.
All-Pro TE Antonio Gates (toe) was not expected to suit up last week, but shocked the world when he was able to lace ‘me up. He should be ready for the Conference Championship and isn’t planning on practicing most of the week. He was held to two catches for 28 yards and is clearly lacking that explosive burst that made him the premiere tight end in football the past few years. In his stead, WRs Chris Chambers and Vincent Jackson will need to continue to pick up their games. The duo has combined for 21 catches for 395 yards in the playoffs so far, and the 6’5”, 240 pound Jackson could present a physical mismatch to the mighty Patriots defense.
Coach Bill Belichick has a career record of 13-2 in the postseason and a victory will put him on game away from his forth Super Bowl with New England and a win away from the league’s second perfect season (19-0). They’re lead, of course, by MVP Tom Brady who was nearly perfect against a stingy Jacksonville defense last week. He posted a stellar 26-for-28 performance, a 92.6 completion percentage – a postseason record.
And one of the most ironic parts of that game was that Pro Bowler Randy Moss only had one catch in the 31-20 victory. I wouldn’t exactly be going out on a limb by saying you can expect bigger numbers from him this weekend. Brady and Moss hooked up for two TDs when the two teams played in Week 2. The sudden emergence of the running game will open things up for the passing game; Laurence Maroney, who is as fresh as any back in the playoffs, rambled for an impressive 122 yards against the Jags. He has now scored in four straight games, with three 100-yard efforts in that span.
With 17 straight victories and the luck of avoiding the defending champion Colts, New England should roll over the Chargers this week. An upset and the end of the Pat’s perfect season is possible, but I just can’t comprehend it going down. Look for New England to jump out big early and roll San Diego en route to Super Bowl XLII.
Prediction: New England 41, San Diego 17
Sunday, Jan. 20 6:30pm ET
#5 N.Y. Giants @ #2 Green Bay
Aired on FOX
TV announcers: Joe Buck, Troy Aikman, Pam Oliver, Chris Myers
It was quite a scene at Lambeau Field last week. It was truly the frozen tundra as the snowflakes became falling so hard as the game progressed that you could barely see the field at the end of the game. That weather didn’t stop the Packers though.
Green Bay found themselves down 14-0 just four minutes in the game. Ryan Grant fumbled on two of the first three times he touched the ball and the Seahawks exploited the Cheese Heads by stealing the momentum and putting the Pack Attack behind the eight-ball. The home team didn’t panic though, rolling off 42 of the final 48 points en route to a rout.
Grant rebounded from a disappointing start and rushed for a franchise-playoff record 201 yards and three TDs. Perhaps trying to make amends from early rough start, Grant ran like a man possessed. After being stuck on the Giants bench in 2005 and 2006 behind Tiki Barber, Grant was traded to the Packers in September, and finally got his chance to shine midway through the season. He has not looked back since. There’s no doubt he’ll be one of the biggest story lines this week with his ties to the G-Men and amazing performance last week. '”Trust me, I'm upset Ryan Grant is not with us,” DE Michael Strahan said. “He's a bull and we have our work cut out to stop him.”
After getting beat by the Cowboys twice during the regular season, New York got their revenge last weekend in Dallas. They held on to a 21-17 victory and escaped with an improbable road victory. The Giants were destroyed by the time of possession and didn’t exactly post lofty offensive numbers, but Eli Manning managed a spectacular game, highlighted by two end zone strikes to veteran WR Amani Toomer.
He’s played within himself the past few weeks, hasn’t forced much, hasn’t turned the ball over and has gotten a nice compliment with a strong running game. The combination of Brandon Jacobs and Ahmad Bradshaw has truly been a thunder-and-lightening combination. With Jacobs’ physical, pound-it-out style of brute strength running and sudden emergence of Bradshaw’s fresh, quick legs, New York has some serious weapons in their backfield.
The secondaries of each team will definitely play a very prominent role in this Conference Championship. Green Bay has two of the best cover-men in football in Al Harris and Charles Woodson, while New York has been ravaged with injuries. Cornerbacks Sam Madison and Aaron Ross both departed with injuries last week so the Packers pass attack under the legend of Favre has a distinct advantage for the matchup. However if N.Y. gets the same type of pressure from their front-four, Favre will likely be hurried heavily all day.
Game temperatures are expected to be well below freezing so we could have another classic snow storm/frozen tundra of Lambeau Field battle. As long as Eli plays within himself, I can see the G-Men pulling off an upset here. They’ve won an impressive nine straight games on the road, and that streak will continue. The weather could take away the threat of the deep ball, so the team that plays more mistake-free, ball-control football is going to come out on top.
Prediction: New York 24, Green Bay 20