NFL Conference Championships

AFC Championship Game
Broncos vs. Steelers
Much has been made of the fact that the Steelers could be the first sixth seed to advance to the Super Bowl. Well, they aren't you're normal sixth seed. For one, they had a better record than the fourth seed Patriots. They had the same record as the the third seed Bengals. If not for Ben Roethlisberger missing four games, they probably don't lose those two overtime games and win the AFC North making them the third seed. This is obviously not the same team that had a mid-year three game losing streak. The question is whether they can go to Denver and win in a stadium the Broncos haven't lost at all year. Of course, the Broncos best win at home was over the Patriots who were going through their alternating win/loss stretch. They only beat Baltimore 12-10 in December, so I'm not all that concerned with their home field. The Steelers need to be more concerned with their blitzes not getting to Plummer. Their corners could struggle with Rod Smith and Ashley Lelie in single coverage, so getting to Plummer is a must. Both teams like to run the ball, and both are good at stopping it. So, it could come down to quarterbacks which is why the Steelers will win. Come on. I don't care how mistake free Jake Plummer has played this year. He's still Jake Plummer. It's not like the Broncos offense really lit it up against New England. Of their five scoring drives, four started in New England territory. Three went for fewer than 15 yards. Actually, you could make the argument that all four were less than 15 yards since the other was 40, but the ball went from the 40 to the 1 yard line on a rather iffy pass interference call. Even a couple of the Patriot turnovers were somewhat fluky. Punter Todd Sauerbrun forcing a fumble? I don't care if he was accused of using steroids, that's fluky. So, while Denver was winning while getting every break, the Steelers were winning while the Colts were getting every break. In the clutch, don't take Jake.

NFC Championship
Seahawks vs. Panthers
Everything seems set up for the Seahawks. They've got homefield where they always play well. Even if Julius Peppers plays, he's going to be playing with a bum shoulder. No DeShaun Foster at all. Nothing against Nick Goings who has played well in relief before, but he doesn't have breakaway speed, and more importantly, who spells him? Sure, Shaun Alexander suffered a concussion last week, but I really don't think it was a bad one. I've seen guys with concussions still look loopy in post-game interviews. Alexander looked fine on the sideline before the half. Besides, it just showed that Matt Hasselbeck can step it up and win without Alexander. So, Seattle should be the easy winner, right? Wrong. I have to look at what these teams did last week. I don't think for a second that Seattle could have played like they did last week and beaten Chicago. Yet, Carolina did, and made the Chicago defense look silly. And at this point, I wouldn't pick against Jake Delhomme and Steve Smith in any playoff game short of the Super Bowl.