NFL Conference Championship Picks

Welp this is it, the last football weekend before the endless hype of the Super Bowl. Personally I find the conference championships to be much more enjoyable to watch than the actuall Super Bowl. They are played at a team's homefield, in front of their fans, often in difficult weather conditions. The Super Bowl on the other hand is more like an exhibition game. It's a neutral site, usually in a dome and the real fans of the teams playing are most often stuck up in the 300s. Sure, the Super Bowl gets all the glory, but the conference championships are for the real fans. And, as it's been for most of this decade, the AFC Championship has been the real Super Bowl anyway. On to my picks...

New York Giants at Green Bay Packers
A couple of great story lines for this game. First and foremost is Brett Favre. I have to admit prior to this season I was in the crowd who just wanted him to retire. But watching him play this season has been an absolute joy. He's surrounded with a young team that has rallied around him. They showed the poise of a veteran team by bouncing back last week after getting down 14-0 to the Seattle Seahawks. Ryan Grant looks like a legit keeper for fantasy football players and the Packers passing attack might even be able to stick with the Pats should they both advance.

The Giants have faced the same issues they've always faced since Eli Manning and Tom Coughlin took over. But this year Eli has finally delivered in a few big games, and has all the media pundits asking if he's finally "turned a corner". I don't know about that. He still kind of looks like a deer in headlights to me. Nothing about him screams leader of men. But right now he's getting the job done. Kudos Coughlin for playing his starters against the Pats. They earned the respect of the league and set the tone for the playoffs and their upset of the Dallas Cowboys.
Weather will be factor this weekend, that can level the playing field but I think the Packers at home will be too much for the Giants to topple. It comes back to the fact that the Giants have already made their season. They don't need to beat the Packers for them to consider 2007 to be a step forward for both the organization and Eli. Packers 28, Giants 14

San Diego Chargers at New England Patriots
This will be the third time these teams have met in the past year and clearly there's no love lost between them. In last years playoffs the Chargers were the favorites that were shocked by the underdog Patriots. Earlier this year, in game two, the Pats thumped the Chargers in the aftermath of Spygate. This time the undefeated Pats are heavily favored and the Chargers are facing injuries to three of their top stars. All indicators point to a Pats win but the Chargers Defense can make plays.

This one probably just comes down to the simple factor of turnovers. The Pats have the fewest giveaways, the Chargers have the most takeaways. Pressure on Tom Brady will be a factor as well, but he has been blitzed more than any other QB in the NFL this year and still managed to throw 50 TDs. Of course on any given Sunday anything can happen, but after the season New England has had I can't see them coming out flat in this one. And that would probably be the only way the Chargers would have a chance. Like the Giants, the Chargers' season has already been made by virtue of their upset of the Colts. Even if they lose this weekend they can feel like they actually did build on last years 14-2 season. It will be close early, but the Pats will pull away in the second half. New England 38, San Diego 14