I’ve gone a mediocre 4-4 in the playoff games this season, so the odds of a 1-1 record today are very good. My belief that the best passing teams will prevail is hurting my record; damn you Jets! So will I learn from my mistakes? Of course not! Do you have more respect for the Jets now? Yes, yes I do Mr. or Mrs. Jets fan, but I also haven’t lost my respect for Peyton Manning. The only way to stop Manning is to get to him, but to get to him the Jets will have to blitz and blitzing Peyton Manning is like Christmas morning at the Manning’s. Yes, if the Jets can run effectively they can hang with the Mannings, but the Colts, even though they can be soft up the middle, have a good record against tough rushing offenses. The Manning’s defense did well against both Ray Rice and Chris Johnson this season. I see Manning playing conservatively and not testing Revis that often, but that’s how they’ll win. If he tries too hard to force the deep passes he’ll get picked and that’s what the Jets want. He won’t give them what they want, but if they try sometimes they might find they get what they need.
The second game pits two very good offenses against each other. I underestimated the Viking front seven’s ability to get to Tony Romo last week, but I feel a little better about the Saints’ offensive line at home where they can hear themselves think. It won’t be an easy task, protecting Brees, but it will be much more manageable in the Superdome. It’s almost impossible to say who will come through for the Saints, but that’s one of the biggest reasons I like them this week. Marques Colston, Lance Moore, Reggie Bush, Devery Henderson, Lynell Hamilton, Mike Bell, founder of Wendy’s Dave Thomas, Pierre Thomas, Jeremy Shockey, Robert Meachem, anyone of them could do something to put them over the top. From top to bottom I believe the Vikings probably have a better team, but in the dome, and as long as Brees has time, I believe the Vikings pass defense is weak and Brees can beat guys with his deep balls.
All the NFL news that’s fit to link:
The Sporting News’ Vinnie Eyer gives us his Viewer’s Guide to Championship Sunday.
Scout.com does a great job of breaking down the games for this weekend.
Brian Burke from Advanced NFL Stats takes a look at the win probability for each team in today’s games at The Fifth Down. People do not like stats, especially when they say your team is going to lose. Yes, stats aren’t infallible, but they can tell you what has happened in the past, giving you at least a window into how a team performs in certain situations.
NFL Fanhouse gives us their start/sits for the championship games. I think we need to streamline “start/sit.”Maybe “starsit” or “stit” or “sitart”?
NBC and Rotoworld give us their X-Factors for today’s games. I love Rotoworld’s content, but I rather just have the text than all the photos. Yes, you have the rights to Getty images, but that doesn’t mean you have to give more space to pics than words! But, yes, I’m linking to them, because I like the brains behind and under the photos.
Squidbilly Early Cuyler gives us his Stone Cold Lock of the Century.
The Red Zone Report takes a look at the championship games.
Despite Percy Harvin’s troubles with migraines on Thursday and Friday he participated in practice and meetings on Saturday.
Cold Hard Football Facts presents their Real and Spectacular AFC and NFC championship game picks.
Matt Bowen of the National Football Post poses 10 questions for championship Sunday.
Eric Edholm of Pro Football Weekly looks at the possible Super Bowl matchups and their annoyance factors. I personally would be annoyed the most by the Jets and the Vikings.
It’s been 17 years since two #1 seeds have faced each other in the Super Bowl and Pro Football Reference takes a look at the probabilities for all you stat geeks.
