Championship Round -- NFL

Here we go with only 3 football games left in the year (I don't count all-star games like the All-pro game or East-West game). Good news is that both of these games are easy winners:

Pitt v. Den
This game is going to be a battle of the trenches...and Pitt, not Denver will prevail. This Pitt team is very physical (as they always are) and they run a 3-4 defense. Remember that it is the 3-4 defense that gives the Denver running game problems. Denver could not run against the Patriots last week going up against the Pats 3-4 and trust me, the Pats don't play the 3-4 nearly as effective as Pitt does. They will be able to string out the Broncos "stretch" play and make Plummer beat them. I don't know about you, but am I the only one who is not convinced that Jake has changed his game so that now it is "mistake free?" He is due one of those games where he throws 2-3 horrible picks and costs his team the game. Against a Pitt team that should nuetralize the run game, this could be it. If Pitt can completely abuse the golden boy Manning last week and make him look like a rookie, why wouldn't they be able to do the same to Jake?

Also, how about Big Ben. All anyone remembers is his horrible game against New England last year in the AFC Championship game, but keep in mind that the Patriots have made a lot more experienced QB's look bad. Big Ben was a rookie...and he got owned. BUT, Big Ben is 13-1 on the road in his career (including postseason) and he now has the experience to lead the Steelers to victory. This Steelers team is going to get it done today as they have the edge on defense and the quarterback position...the two biggest factors in the playoffs.

Wrong team favored in this one...Take the Steelers +3 1/2 points STRAIGHT UP!!!


Panthers v. Seahawks
I see a lot of good things about the Panthers in this one. They have completely dismantled their two playoff opponents by abusing their greatest strength. First, they shutout the Giants and their high powered offense as they rolled to victory. Then they scored at will on the best defense in the NFL in Chicago. Steve Smith once again went off, as he does every week and Delhomme became the third quarterback in the history of the NFL (along with Len Dawson and Roger Staubach) to win 4 playoff road games. Look for Delhomme to make it 5 today. Yes, Foster is out, but Goings hasn't been a step back at all the past two years...remember it was Goings who was starting last season as the Panthers won 8 straight games to make a run for the playoffs. And I hear that the Seahawks have spent most of practice this week figuring out a plan on how to shut down Steve Smith...like every other team the Panthers play don't do the exact same thing...and Smith still goes off. And, even if they do hold Smith down today, keep in mind that the Panthers are 5-1 this season when Smith is held under 70 yards recieving. Alexander is coming off a concussion and has never been a good postseason running back anyway. Hasselbeck isn't exactly Mr. Clutch as we all remember his "We'll take the ball and we're going to score" speech before he threw a pick to the house against the Packers last year that ended the Seahawks season. And, the coaching matchup is a brutal...Fox is by far the better coach and he will show it today.

It's not like this is foreign territory for the Panthers as two years ago they went into Phillidelphia (in the cold) and pounded the favored Eagles 14-3 in the NFC Championship game. This is how I see this one playing out...low scoring with the Panthers prevailing. Never done this before in the Championship round, but...

Wrong team favored...Take the Panthers +3 1/2 STRAIGHT UP!!!