gpikeConference Championship Picks
January 21st 2011 00:40
Final three games of the season, with two coming Sunday. Both are rematches keeping up with the trend that begun last weekend that saw all four games as rematches from earlier on in the season.
New York Jets at Pittsburgh: The Jets won December 19th in Heinz Field, 22-17 over the Pittsburgh. I picked the Jets to lose versus Indianapolis, and New England, so them still being in the playoffs is a bit of a surprise. A record of 13-5 is certainly one to admire. Pittsburgh is 13-4 on the season after a hard fought victory over Baltimore last week. This game will be no easier as the Jets are a hard nosed team to deal with. The December game saw two very equal teams fight it out. Pittsburgh quarterback Ben Roethlisberger threw for 264 yards and one touchdown. The Steelers outrushed the Jets by forty yards and out-gained them, 377 to 276. Running back Rashard Mendenhall out rushed Jets running back Shonn Greene, 99 to 41. Yet, New York was able to shut the door when needed in winning the game. Roethlisberger fumbled the ball twice, only to have them both recovered by his teammates.
No matter how badly Jets coach Rex Ryan wants this to be a game between him and Steelers coach Mike Timlin, the actual game is played on the field. Surely he settled a couple of earlier heartbreaks by beating Peyton Manning and Tom Brady. Now a new heart-breaker Roethlisberger takes form. The key in this game will be for Jets quarterback Mark Sanchez to stay from turning over the ball. He is on quite a roll in playoff games, now 4-1 overall, his only loss coming in last years AFC title game to Indianapolis. Sanchez threw for three touchdowns versus a weak New England defense last week. The running game with Green and Ladainlian Tomlinson was at full strength with the duo rushing for 119 yards combined. Sanchez and the running backs will not have this type of output versus the Steelers defense. Winning twice at Heinz Field in one season is almost impossible, look at Baltimore's effort last week only to fall apart in the second half. This game will go exactly the same way, with the Jets gaining the upper hand early. Though Roethlisberger will have the last laugh as the Steelers go to the Super Bowl, again.
Green Bay at Chicago: These two teams as part of NFC North competition faced off twice this season. September 27th was the first meeting, which saw the Bears win 20-17. January 2nd meeting with a playoff berth on the line, the Packers rose to the occasion with a 10-3 victory over the Bears who already clinched the second seed. Chicago coach Lovie Smith opted to play the starters even with the playoff berth already sealed, wanting the team to keep getting better. Green Bay quarterback Aaron Rodgers has been on a tear here in the playoffs lighting up the Atlanta and Philadelphia secondaries. In the two games versus Chicago this season, he threw for 316 yards in the loss and 219 in the victory. My guess for Sunday he will be somewhere in between these two figures. 18 team penalties did the Packers in the first game versus Chicago.
Being able to cut down on these mistakes earned the Packers the right to face Chicago one more time. Green Bay running backs James Starks and Bobby Jackson need help Rodgers out. Though the tough Bears defense is one of the best versus the run, so cancel that out. Thus, Green Bay will once again ask Rodgers to make plays with his feet, which he is more then capable of doing. Chicago quarterback Jay Cutler looked great last week versus a weak Seattle defense. The Packers defense is a big upgrade over Seattle's. Cutler threw three interceptions in the two games versus Chicago this season. He threw for 221, and 168 yards in the games. Running back Matt Forte showed up for the week 17 clash going for 91 yards in the loss. Only 21 yards in the first battle, as Cutler led the team in rushing with 37. The team who has the least amount of penalties and turnovers wins here. Green Bay is on a roll, while the Bears at 12-5 are very inconsistent offensively. Nobody knows which Cutler will show up or if Forte will be around gaining any yards. Green Bay has all the intangibles going for them, the Packers win in a slug-fest.
New York Jets at Pittsburgh: The Jets won December 19th in Heinz Field, 22-17 over the Pittsburgh. I picked the Jets to lose versus Indianapolis, and New England, so them still being in the playoffs is a bit of a surprise. A record of 13-5 is certainly one to admire. Pittsburgh is 13-4 on the season after a hard fought victory over Baltimore last week. This game will be no easier as the Jets are a hard nosed team to deal with. The December game saw two very equal teams fight it out. Pittsburgh quarterback Ben Roethlisberger threw for 264 yards and one touchdown. The Steelers outrushed the Jets by forty yards and out-gained them, 377 to 276. Running back Rashard Mendenhall out rushed Jets running back Shonn Greene, 99 to 41. Yet, New York was able to shut the door when needed in winning the game. Roethlisberger fumbled the ball twice, only to have them both recovered by his teammates.
No matter how badly Jets coach Rex Ryan wants this to be a game between him and Steelers coach Mike Timlin, the actual game is played on the field. Surely he settled a couple of earlier heartbreaks by beating Peyton Manning and Tom Brady. Now a new heart-breaker Roethlisberger takes form. The key in this game will be for Jets quarterback Mark Sanchez to stay from turning over the ball. He is on quite a roll in playoff games, now 4-1 overall, his only loss coming in last years AFC title game to Indianapolis. Sanchez threw for three touchdowns versus a weak New England defense last week. The running game with Green and Ladainlian Tomlinson was at full strength with the duo rushing for 119 yards combined. Sanchez and the running backs will not have this type of output versus the Steelers defense. Winning twice at Heinz Field in one season is almost impossible, look at Baltimore's effort last week only to fall apart in the second half. This game will go exactly the same way, with the Jets gaining the upper hand early. Though Roethlisberger will have the last laugh as the Steelers go to the Super Bowl, again.
Green Bay at Chicago: These two teams as part of NFC North competition faced off twice this season. September 27th was the first meeting, which saw the Bears win 20-17. January 2nd meeting with a playoff berth on the line, the Packers rose to the occasion with a 10-3 victory over the Bears who already clinched the second seed. Chicago coach Lovie Smith opted to play the starters even with the playoff berth already sealed, wanting the team to keep getting better. Green Bay quarterback Aaron Rodgers has been on a tear here in the playoffs lighting up the Atlanta and Philadelphia secondaries. In the two games versus Chicago this season, he threw for 316 yards in the loss and 219 in the victory. My guess for Sunday he will be somewhere in between these two figures. 18 team penalties did the Packers in the first game versus Chicago.
Being able to cut down on these mistakes earned the Packers the right to face Chicago one more time. Green Bay running backs James Starks and Bobby Jackson need help Rodgers out. Though the tough Bears defense is one of the best versus the run, so cancel that out. Thus, Green Bay will once again ask Rodgers to make plays with his feet, which he is more then capable of doing. Chicago quarterback Jay Cutler looked great last week versus a weak Seattle defense. The Packers defense is a big upgrade over Seattle's. Cutler threw three interceptions in the two games versus Chicago this season. He threw for 221, and 168 yards in the games. Running back Matt Forte showed up for the week 17 clash going for 91 yards in the loss. Only 21 yards in the first battle, as Cutler led the team in rushing with 37. The team who has the least amount of penalties and turnovers wins here. Green Bay is on a roll, while the Bears at 12-5 are very inconsistent offensively. Nobody knows which Cutler will show up or if Forte will be around gaining any yards. Green Bay has all the intangibles going for them, the Packers win in a slug-fest.
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Comment by Gabe Lock
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