The road to the Super Bowl
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- January
- 18
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After picking the score of the Giants game exactly last week, the pressure on this week’s NFL picks is incredible. Fortunately, I’m doped up on codeine cough syrup and feel no pressure. So here are the selections:
AFC: The Mighty Patriots didn’t get this far to lose now. Their running game has emerged in the last month and insane genius Bill Belichick actually has his players believing they Chargers are a better team. San Diego is banged up and won their Super Bowl last week. I’m somewhat concerned about LaDanian Tomlinson going wild on the team he hates. But Norv Turner is no match for the Hoodie and Tom Brady. Patriots 34, Chargers 14.
NFC: Four of us went to Green Bay to see the Pats plays there last season. The Packers were awful and Brett Favre looked finished. It has been shocking to see their rise this season and I still don’t believe in them. Yes, I know it’s going to be cold. I know it seems like destiny for Favre to meet Brady in the Super Bowl. I know everybody outside of the tri-state area is rooting for the Packers. But the Giants are a cold-weather team. They can run the ball, play defense and Eli Manning is suited for a short-passing game. It’s all turnovers in a game like this. Giants 17, Packers 16.
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on Friday, January 18th, 2008 at 10:22 am by Peter Abraham.
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Chad Jennings
Sam Borden
The hood is nothing without Tom Brady. All you have to do is look at his record before Mo Lewis knocked out Bledsoe.
The hood is nothing without Brady. All you have to look at is his winning % before Mo Lewis knocked out Bledsoe.
Sorry for the double post.
Who was the moron on the Bolts running is mouth? The one that said they (the Pats) are scared of them. Right now it isn’t looking good for Rivers to play, and Lt just started to practice again. I don’t think the Chargers stand a snowballs chance in hell in winning.
Don’t get me wrong I’d love for the Chargers to beat the living *** out of the Pats, I’m picking the lesser of two evils, (can’t stand the Chargers), but I hate the Pats more.
Please, no one pick the Giants.
The Packers rose this season? I guess you must have missed last season’s finish when the Packers barely missed a playoff spot finishing with a 4 game winning streak. And they probably would have done a lot of damage in the playoffs back then.
And of course a team looks awful when both the starting QB and his backup get knocked out of the game…
Guys, think about how awesome a Favre-Brady Superbowl would be…
especially when Favre knocks the socks off Brady
So Pete, that was you that commented “Mighty Patriots 34-14. Sorry Phil.” on philhuges’ blog yesterday
when you say “Bill Belichick actually has his players believing they Chargers are a better team.” do you mean better than the Patriots or better than the last time they saw the Chargers?
Wow, thanks Peter, for picking the Giants. I like your thought process on them. I mean I think if the Giants play as well as they played in Dallas with a good enough offense, no turnovers and a great defense, that could be enough to beat Green Bay.
It’s not like Green Bay is some returning champion or dynasty type powerhouse. They are a team that was 8-8 last year due to a strong finish. Oh and they are young, the youngest team in the league from what I’ve heard, the Giants are 3rd youngest.
Although the Giants are 9-1 on the road this year having won 9 in a row, the home field is still a factor. Put it this way, if this game was on a neutral field in ideal weather, I believe the Giants would most likely win.
My prediction, Giants 24, Packers 20.
The Packers run the ball better than the Giants, they play defense better than the Giants, and Green Bay’s short passing game is better than the Giants’.
I think your argument is specious.
“I know it seems like destiny for Favre to meet Brady in the Super Bowl. ”
you can say this about any of the potential matchups, except maybe if the packers play the chargers.
“I know everybody outside of the tri-state area is rooting for the Packers. ”
ya think?
i think the Pats are going to walk all over the Chargers… dont really need to elaborate there, because it’s already been said.
if I were a betting man, I would take the Giants and the points in a hearbeat… no matter who wins this game, its going to be a close one…
putting my Giants bias aside, i like the ability of this defensive line to step up and get constant pressure on Farve to make up for the shortcomings in the secondary. As long as Eli can stay away from the big INT, and the defense can stay away from allowing the big play, i like the Giants, 24-21.
It’s amazing how quickly a coach becomes a “genius” when he gets one of the leagues all time great QB’s on his team.
Packers 35-13
GO PACK GO
GOOOO G-MEN!!!
don’t you remember? He was a genius in Cleveland too! That is why he got fired with a losing record!
I’m hoping the Pats lose on a terrible call in the Super Bowl. (Out of bounds call, missed field that was actually good, etc.)Just losing isn’t enough, I’d like to have it sting a little bit.—And yes, I’m a bitter Jets fan.
Picking playoff football winners is pretty hard unless one of the teams involved is the Pats. They’re going to kill the Chargers.
G-Unit v. Packers should be a fun game. Let’s just hope the Jersey Boys keep their no turnover mojo rolling. If they don’t turn the ball over, they win.
Pete, late thirties, career year after looking finished, smells fishy to me, smells kind of like performance enhancing drugs. It just looks out of place. I don’t want to jump to conclusions, but I was in the bathroom in Arbys the other day and I saw Roger injecting Brett with a needle while they both chanted STEROIDS! STEROIDS!
Rebecca, I just like you more and more!
I love how some people just keep thinking about the packers as lucky underdogs. Pete, Jeff, Pack D# is very very good and their running game as well.
let’s talk monday
Go Pack Go!!!!!!
The weather is supposed to be -15 with the windchill factored in. Eli has stepped up his game of late, but Favre has played many games in the cold weather, Eli- not. That will be a big factor of the game.
I think its going to be a good game, tight for the first half, but then the Packers are going to pull ahead and stay ahead for the rest of the game.
Chargers probably won’t beat the Pats, but it sure would be nice to see the Pats go down in defeat. I was listening to the radio and a guy said that in all the playoff games of the last decade the wide receivers don’t factor into the wins. Heck, last week Moss was a non-factor. That creates some challenges for the Pats. I think this is going to be a close game overall, but unfortunately the Pats will win by a field goal.
Favre hasn’t been surrounded by teams with a lot of talent. Sometimes teams just gel, this year’s Packers seem to have done that.
GO GMEN!!!!!!!!!!!!! Pete your like the only writer who predicts the gmen to beat the packers. I wish more of the country had faith in the giants : / I salute you Pete
Felipe, well I agree the Packers are good, but do you agree the Giants are good or just lucky? Guess we’ll just have to see how the game plays out, but it’s been a great ride for both teams.
Pete,
You and I have had the same picks throughout the postseason, but I’m going to take a left turn here.
The Patriots over the Bolts. Everyone wants an upset, they want it close. But it won’t be. Patriots are on a mission, they’ve got fresh bulletin board material (doesn’t matter that Igor Olshansky was probably kidding), the Chargers stars are beat up, o.k. I’ll stop there.
I know there are lots of Giants fans here, so no hate please! I’m picking the Packers. It’ll be close, but the edge has to go to them especially with home field advantage (I know, the Giants have a crazy road record).
Personally, I don’t want to face the Packers or the Giants. What a crazy season it’s been.
East Coast Bias! Don’t let your love for the Giants and Pats get in the way Pete, no way the Giants win this one
JeffNJ,
Do you think that the Giants played well against the Cowboys in the second half last week? They had a whopping 57 total yards after the half! That is not going to cut it this week against the Pack. Here is some info for you: the Pack allowed the fewest sacks per pass attempt in the NFL this year, a fact that does not bode well for the vaunted Giants pass rush. Factor in their resurgent running game, their cold weather prowess with Favre and their shutdown corners, it is going to be a long day for Eli and company. We will be seeing quite a bit of his hangdog face after he throws the clinching pick this Sunday.
Espn did a graph showing Eli Manning’s quarterback rating based on temperature. As it got colder his rating became drastically worse. Now the Giants may be a cold weather team. But this is Lambeau Field 4 degrees -30 wind chills. Giants may be cold weather, but Eli Manning is not.
Packers 34 Giants 20
STOP HATING ON MY BOLTS! You called them out last week, too, and look at the show they put on, sans Gates, LT, AND Rivers (goooo VOLEK…?). Granted that wasn’t against the Pats – I agree that Sunday’s game is going to be even more difficult than last week’s – but they’re riding momentum baby!
Brett Favre has a love for throwing interceptions… he’s due to throw 4, just like he did in the 2004 playoffs v. Minnesota.
Also, in Favre’s last seven playoff games, he’s thrown 16 interceptions and just 11 touchdowns. In three of those games, Favre’s quarterback rating has been below 56.0.
Anyone who states stats in regards to Eli is just not believing he has turned the corner in his career. I choose to believe it based on these facts:
1. He has stopped relying on a go to receiver with Shockey gone and Plaxico hurting, he is spreading it out.
2. He doesn’t gamble as much with the long throws, instead takes the underneath safe routes.
As for RB’s comment, the Giant offense was not great in the 2nd half, no question. However, it did outscore Dallas 7-3 while playing outstanding on defense and special teams. Nothing to be ashamed of there.
3. He is using the pump fake to free his receivers.
4. The ball is coming out of his hand as well as ever. Granted, the weather has been great over the last 3 weeks, but his big problem is wind not temperature.
rbizzler
January 18th, 2008 at 1:54 pm
“JeffNJ,
the Pack allowed the fewest sacks per pass attempt in the NFL this year, a fact that does not bode well for the vaunted Giants pass rush. ”
rbizzler,
Actually, that’s wrong. The Pack was 2nd in the NFC. (.033 sacks per pass attempt) New Orleans was 1st (.025)
Anyway, you’re splitting hairs here… Dallas was 4th in the NFC (.047) and we had no trouble rattling Romo.
Pats 50
Bolts 10
Pack 21
Giants 20
Chargers 17
Pats 38
Pack 14
Giants 17
Pete (and others) I think you’re really underestimating the Chargers with your score predictions. And I am as far from a Chargers fan as you can find here. I hope Phil Rivers never takes a snap again in 2008.
God I hate the “mad dog”. He just picked GB. He really dislikes the G-Men. He hates the Yanks. Go G-Men. They win by 16 points. Bet-on-it!
even “fatso” picked the pak. He’s a loser, too! Go Gints!!!!!
My predictions:
Pats – 31-17
Packers – 20-13
I just love the bs spewed from the media about Eli is managing the game and only throwing short. He didn’t only throw short against the Pats. In fact, the second play of the game was a deep pass to Burress. Against, Dallas he averaged over 9 yards per attempt. The only thing that kept his yardage down, were the limited attempts because the defense couldn’t get off the field the first three quarters.
I think people are overvaluing the cold as a big factor. It certainly will affect the players to some degree but the Giants played in 5 cold weather games in the month of December:
12/2 at Chicago
12/9 at Philadelphia
12/16 Washington
12/23 at Buffalo
12/29 New England
They’ve also been practising at Giants Stadium (instead of in that stupid bubble like they did before they played the Skins in week 14) where it’s been chilly this week.
Yes it’s not Green Bay cold, but once you get to a certain point it doesn’t matter it’s just COLD.
Prediction: Giants 20-17
GO GIANTS!