Championship Game Picks: Pittsburgh beats Baltimore, Arizona beats Philly.
I just don't see how the Ravens pull it out here. The Steelers have a quarterback that allows them to be aggressive, and the Ravens don't. They can turn the ball over three times and still score enough points to win the game. That pretty much makes the difference for me. The Titans did not have that last week, so the three turnovers they did were a death knell. For all the good work the Ravens put in, their offense still only managed to get 13 points. That won't cut it this time around. You don't need a prolific passing attack to win, with lots of yards and all, but you do need an aggressive one, one that can and will go downfield with some degree of consistent success. The Ravens do not have that with Joe Flacco at quarterback; they may get there in a year or two, but that doesn't help them much now. Until they can consistently hit the 15 to 20 yard pass against any kind of defense, they will be shut down by any good defense, like the Steelers. I don't see them getting more than 14 points without any defensive or special teams touchdowns. As long as the Steelers don't give up a cheap TD, they should win.
The NFC game is a tossup to me. If Brian Westbrook can't go or is limited, the Eagles are done. McNabb will throw 40 passes, his receivers will drop 10 of them, and the ones they catch won't go for more than 10 yards downfield. We've seen that movie a dozen times already. If Westbrook goes and goes well, it's anybody's game. A multifacted Eagles attack has always been good enough to beat anyone they face. As for the Cardinals? They need to keep Warner upright, wear down the Eagles front seven with the run, and score early so that the Eagles go into 'must throw every time' mode as they are prone to do. Is all that doable? Yes. If Warner isn't getting rocked all game long, they can win. From the sounds of things, Westbrook will be limited so I go with the Cardinals to win.
So far I'm 3-5 this year, so don't be surprised if I go 0 for 2 this weekend.
Pete Carrol was rude as hell, but he was right
I think Sanchez should have stayed another year. He didn't even play a full season this year, so his body of work in terms of preparation is not what it should be. Yes, he's apparently done enough to get drafted high. But that doesn't mean he's ready to play. Carroll is right in that the success rate for underclassmen turning pro at the quarterback position isn't very high. Seriously, how many of the top quarterbacks in the league left school early? Let's see. Peyton? No. Brady? No. Brees? No. Rivers, McNabb, Big Ben? No, no, and no. No to Jay Cutler, Carson Palmer, Aaron Rodgers, Tony Romo, Kurt Warner, Matt Hasselbeck, Favre, or Pennington. The most recent high profile guys to leave early are Vince Young, Jamarcus Russell, and Michael Vick; not a particularly elite list. So far current vintage USC quarterbacks are 2 for 3 in terms of NFL success; Palmer has done well and Matt Cassel looks to at least have a career that will go on for several years. Matt Leinart has the talent but apparently prefers hot tubs filled with hot coeds to NFL film study. So recent history suggests that he'd be good as a pro. But losing a year of preparation on the field in games, in practice, in the film room, etc. will hurt him.
Hall of Fame voting stinks!
So let me get this straight..Jim Rice wasn't a Hall of Famer for all these years, but now he suddenly is? And there is actually someone who covers baseball that believes Rickey Henderson was not worthy of his Hall of Fame vote? Come on people, what kind of logic is that? No one, I repeat, no one has gotten a unanimous vote into the baseball Hall of Fame. Not even no brainers like Babe Ruth, Hank Aaron, Ted Williams, or Willie Mays. What kind of stupidity is that? Are you people really desperate for some kind of press that you do have to do something like that every year? I swear, one day they're not going to coordinate things right and someone who should get in on the first ballot won't make it because too many people thought it was their turn to vote no. Morons, I tell you...
I got:
Ravens over Steelers. This is my underdog pick of the year. Defensively these teams are nearly identical. But i respect the Ravens front 7 more because Ray Lewis is the kind of guy who would cut his own hand off it meant winning. Offensively it boils down to which Qb is tougher. Know this: Big Ben will get hit ALOT and Joe Flacco will get hit ALOT. So the real question is who is tougher? I give the edge to the young Joe over the older and bruised Big Ben.
Cards and Eagles:
I got Cards over Eagles. But barely. The Cards can dominate them with several IFs.
IF- the cards defense shows up and plays at a consistent level..
IF- Westbrook cant play or he does play but he looks weak.
IF- The Cards can protect Kurt which means they gotta get that running game going.
Lets not forget where both of these Qbs are coming from. Remember Warner was the ringmaster of "the greatest show on turf" so he knows what playing in the superbowl atmosphere is all about. Conversely, McNabb was able to get a taste of the superbowl atmosphere but he only got a sniff of what superbowl glory must taste like; this makes him all the more hungier.