There Can Be Only One

Less than an hour away from kickoff in Super Bowl XLV. A game between two of the most stories franchises in NFL history. The winner of the first two Super Bowls (and later a third) against a team with an NFL record six Lombardi trophies.

Vince Lombardi was the face of the Green Packers franchise when he coached and he still is today. He led the Packers to three NFL titles in addition to the two SB's, including three straight titles (1965-1967). It makes any Giants fan sick to their stomach to realize he could have easily been coaching the Giants instead of the Packers. There was Bart Starr, Paul Hornung, Max McGee, Jim Taylor, and on and on it went.

The Packers would go to the SB twice more, defeating New England and losing to Denver with Brett Favre leading the way.

Pittsburgh struggled at the bottom of the league for years, but then the 1970's came along. Coach Chuck Noll and a fearsome squad- the "Steel Curtain" defense led by Mean Joe Greene, Jack Lambert, and Jack Ham. A ferocious set of running backs in Franco Harris and Rocky Bleier, the divine Lynn Swann at wide receiver, and of course, the field general Terry Bradshaw. Four SB championships over the best the NFC had to offer- Minnesota, the LA Rams, and Dallas, not once, but twice.

Ben Rothliesberger, Hines Ward, Santonio Holmes, and Troy Polamalu would come along in this decade to help lead Pittsburgh to two more SB rings. In between there was a tough loss to Dallas, but the Steelers remain football's version of the Yankees when it comes to winning the Super Bowl.

But, there can be only one. And I say that one will be the Green Bay Packers. I was happy to see Pburg win their last two, but that's before Big Ben and his little willy started acting like an idiot. Aaron Rodgers may not be a choir boy, but he's easy to root for today. But this isn't just about that. Both teams have solid/stellar defenses that can make big plays. But for Green Bay to win they need James Starks to have a good game rushing the ball and the Packers must also contain Rashard Mendenhall on the defensive side of the ball.

Final score - Green Bay 27 Pittsburgh 21

NFL Championship Weekend

We're down to the AFC and NFC title games. Before getting to the specifics, a big middle finger to the NFL and TV. 3 pm and 6:30 pm EST starts? In a word, or two words.."that sucks". Seriously, 1 and 4. Neither of these games are on the west coast and we don't care if it helps to keep people tuned into your crappy prime time lineups. Okay, back to civility.

Packers vs. Bears

Two of the oldest and most historical teams out of the black and blue division. The two met twice during the regular season. The Bears won at Soldier Field, site of today's game in week 3, 20-17. Rob Gould's 19 yard FG was the game winner. Aaron Rodgers threw the ball 45 times (34 comp.) that day for 316 yards, 1 score and 1 pick. The Pack had no running game with big fullback John Kuhn leading the team with a mere 31 yards. Jay Cutler was 16-27, 221, with 1 TD and 1 INT. He also led the team in rushing with 37 yards after Matt Forte was held to 29 yards on 11 carries.

The teams met again in week 17 (on the frozen tundra of Lambeau Field) with the Packers needing a win to reach the playoffs. The Bears had nothing to play for, but coach Lovie Smith played his regulars to be fair to the other teams vying for a playoff spot.

A defensive battle ensued with Cutler displaying what frustrates Bears fans at times. He was 21-39, 168 and threw two very bad interceptions. On the bright side, Forte rushed for 91 yards and the Bears had a 3-0 lead at halftime. Aaron Rodgers was 19-28, 229 with a pick, and possibly the biggest TD pass he threw all year. His 4th quarter one yard pass to Donald Lee snapped a 3-3 tie and put the Pack into the post-season. Still no running game for the Packers though, with Rodgers having a team high 21 yards.

Today - Game time temperature will be 19, but with a wind chill of just 8 degrees. Winds will be from the SSE at 9 mph. Weather is no factor for these two teams. To put it simply, they're used to freezing their asses off.

The bigger problem is the lack of a Packers running game. Yes, James Starks had a huge wildcard game with 23 carries for 123 yards. But against the Eagles, Starks managed just 66 yards on 25 carries - a poor 2.6 average. And the Bears aren't the team to run against. So this should be another Aaron Rodgers-centric game. Scrambling, running, throwing.

Forte had 25 carries for 80 yards in last week's divisional game against Seattle and will be looking to repeat his second game success against the Pack. Green Bay's defense stepped up down the stretch and will be a key today. So will the play of Cutler. He was very good against the 'Hawks, throwing for 274 yards and 2 TDs, and put up a passer rating of 111.8.

The two teams combined for 83 points last week, but that's not happening this week. Black and blue indeed. With a late Mason Crosby field goal the difference, Packers 19 Bears 17

Jets vs. Steelers

The Jets have had two huge road wins already, beating Peyton Manning and the Colts and Tom Brady and the Patriots. Now they go up against Ben Rothliesberger, who has won two Super Bowl titles with the Steelers.

Last week's game plan by Rex Ryan was arguably the best he has ever laid out in his two years with the Jets. He'll need it again today as he goes into a tough place to play. It's especially tough on kickers and the Jets kicker, Nick Folk, has had a tough year (despite nailing the game winner in Indy).

The Steelers had a bye in round one then went up against their divisional hated rivals the Ravens. Baltimore dominated the first half and the Steelers looked dead in the water. But the second half was a new game and Pittsburgh dominated it completely, making Joe Flacco look like a junior high quarterback.

These two teams played in week on the very same spot in week 15. Down 17-10 in the 3rd qtr, Mark Sanchez ran for a score to tie it up and then Folk, who was 2-2 in FGs on the day, put the Jets ahead for good in the 4th with a 3-pointer. The Jets defense then put things away with a safety with just 2:38 left in regulation.

Sanchez has been a winner in the post-season, going 4-1 in two years. He looked very good against the Pats last week and has a compliment of talented receivers. Santonio Holmes, acquired from the Steelers will be especially revved up for this one. The Jets need to get some production from LaDainian Tomlinson and Shonn Greene to help set up the passing game.

The Steelers will be trying to pound the ball with Rashard Mendenhall and Rothliesberger will be mixing things up to a host of receivers. The Steelers defense needs to step it up too; they've not been consistently shut down since the latter part of the season.

Today - Game time temperature will be 15, but with a wind chill of just 5 degrees. Winds will be from the WNW at 5 mph.

Okay Jets fans you won't like this. I picked the Colts and Pats the last two weeks and the Jets won. This week? Jets 24 Steelers 20

As I always say, do NOT bet based on my picks

NFL Divisional Round Picks - Saturday

This is going to be a great weekend of football. Some tremendous physical match ups, some general real hatred between opponents, and the beginning of a coming out party (not that kind) for Matt Ryan (IMHO). Today I am just going to focus on today's games.


Things kick off with a bruising battle between the Steelers and Ravens. There's going to be a lot of pain killers taken after this one and that's just from the fans watching at home. The teams split the season series, each winning on the road.

Baltimore started things out in week four with a 17-14 win at Heinz Field on October 3. Pittsburgh came from behind late in week 13 for 13-10 win at M & T Bank Stadium.

Low scoring, physical games are the mantra when these two teams get together and today should be no different. The Steelers come in as three point favorites with the over/under at 37. I'm going with the Ravens in this one- I saw them as as the AFC champ early in the season before the Pats went on their tremendous run and still believe they could beat the winner of tomorrow's Pats-Jets battle. And I'm going to just squeak under the over/under with a Ravens 19-17 win.

I'm looking forward to this evening's game even more. Packers-Falcons. The Packers were impressive, esp. on the defensive side of the ball last week and made everyone outside of Philly smile for ending Michael Vick's (and DeSean Jackson's) season.

But this Falcons team is not talked about it at all. They are the clear favorite to emerge from the NFC and reach their second Super Bowl. (It shouldn't take a Gary Anderson miss to do it this time either). The Falcons are solid on both sides of the ball and their defense is vastly underrated.

When the two teams met on Nov. 28 it came down to a last minute drive by Matt Ryan and the Falcons that culminated in a Matt Bryant game winning FG with just 13 ticks of the clock left. The 20-17 win pushed the Falcons record to 9-2 at the time.

Ryan should get a chance to show a national TV audience just what he can do (and unfortunately that means hearing that stupid "Matty Ice" nickname several times over). The Falcons are 1.5 pt favorites with an over under of 43.5. If you haven't figured it out by now the pick here is clearly the Falcons and again a close one on the over/under, this time over. Falcons 27 Packers 17

Favre and Away

We'll watch the start of tonight's game and check in here and there, and be sure to turn back when Mariano Rivera better pitch the 9th inning. But this game is a borefest and the players think that it's ludicrous to have it determine home field advantage in the World Series.

So we're going to take a time out from MLB for a moment to comment on this Brett Favre nonsense.

Was anyone shocked that Favre came out of retirement? Was anyone not shocked when Favre ripped the Packers in an odd interview Greta Van Sustern over on the Weasel network. Favre feels unloved and unwanted by the organization that he gave his heart and soul to. Nice try Brett.

Favre clearing knew what he was doing with his pseudo-retirement after last season. It was a clear ploy to get out of Green Bay without making himself look like the bad guy. Instead of demanding a trade, he retired, thereby allowing his old team to move on. Then hecome out of retirement when there was no longer room for him and asked that team that he had been so loyal to, to release him so he could play anywhere, including against maybe one of their rivals like the Vikings.

Big time lack of class there Brett.

Favre and Away

We'll watch the start of tonight's game and check in here and there, and be sure to turn back when Mariano Rivera better pitch the 9th inning. But this game is a borefest and the players think that it's ludicrous to have it determine home field advantage in the World Series.

So we're going to take a time out from MLB for a moment to comment on this Brett Favre nonsense.

Was anyone shocked that Favre came out of retirement? Was anyone not shocked when Favre ripped the Packers in an odd interview Greta Van Sustern over on the Weasel network. Favre feels unloved and unwanted by the organization that he gave his heart and soul to. Nice try Brett.

Favre clearing knew what he was doing with his pseudo-retirement after last season. It was a clear ploy to get out of Green Bay without making himself look like the bad guy. Instead of demanding a trade, he retired, thereby allowing his old team to move on. Then hecome out of retirement when there was no longer room for him and asked that team that he had been so loyal to, to release him so he could play anywhere, including against maybe one of their rivals like the Vikings.

Big time lack of class there Brett.