With the Giants and the Patriots playing in Sunday's NFC and AFC Championship games respectively, the outcomes promise to be extra sweet (or sour) for area fans. HamletHub Norwalk editor and self-professed sports nut Andrew Dominick breaks down the games.
Editor's Note: He's not a Giants fan, but we like him anyway.
By Andrew Dominick
NFC Championship: Giants at 49ers
Has there ever been a team that fed off hate as much as the Giants? These guys seem to get their motivation from all the naysayers out there and it is clear they are playing their best football of the season. At the almost end of the season, the Giants looked to be dead in the water, then they started their resurgence with big wins over the Jets and the Cowboys in consecutive weeks. They continued their tear in these playoffs with a dominating 24-2 win over the Falcons where the Giants defense came to life in a big way. They have a nearly unblockable pass rush, with Jason Pierre-Paul, Justin Tuck, and Osi Umenyiora, and Eli Manning is playing at a high level. Manning’s receivers, Cruz, Manningham, and Nicks, have been tough to cover, just ask the Packers.
The 49ers, wow, it has been a while since we’ve seen you here. Can this team make it to the Super Bowl without Joe Montana or Steve Young QBing this team? Alex Smith, yes, the many times written off Alex Smith, will attempt to get them there. Many are shocked that this guy is still in the league after surviving benchings for the likes of guys like Shaun Hill and Troy Smith. Who? Yeah, where are they now? One this Smith has is backbone. He proved critics wrong all year leading his team to a 13-3 record including a 27-20 win over the Giants in Week 10. The Niners have the second best D in the league, and are the best at creating turnovers.
Keys to a Giants win…
Eli, just keep doing what you’re doing, hitting open receivers and staying clutch. The Giants are the best team in the playoffs right now since they have essentially been playing in big games since Week 14 after a four-game losing streak (Weeks 10-13). It will be tough to run on the Niners’ stout defense but the Ahmad Bradshaw/Brandon Jacobs combo will have to find a way to get some yards. That pass rush will also be huge and expect the Giants to get to Alex Smith regularly.
Keys to a 49ers win…
Alex Smith. It’s that simple. Smith will have to win this game with his mobility, finding open receivers while out of the pocket, and with his legs. The Giants pass rush will get to him, but hey, the kid can move, as he proved with a 28 yard TD run late in the game against the Saints. He will heavily rely on TE Vernon Davis, who also torched the Saints last week. Frank Gore will look for a better game than he had against the Giants in Week 10 when he ran for just 40 yards on six carries. On the defensive side, keep hitting hard, keep forcing turnovers, and if you’re the Giants, you had better know where Patrick Willis is at all times.
Prediction: As much as I hate the Giants and betting against them is never a wise choice, Alex Smith and the Niners get the job done and ride the momentum of that shootout win over the Saints. I like that defense too much.
AFC Championship: Ravens at Patriots
Defense wins championships but will this be the case where a prolific offense overcomes a good D? Well, if Tom Brady has anything to say about it, that will be the case. Brady, Rob Gronkowski, Aaron Hernandez, and 122 catch man Wes Welker have been awesome all year. Gronkowski has been uncoverable all year and broke NFL records for receiving yards by a TE. He cannot be covered by a corner or safety because he’s too big and strong, and he’s faster than most linebackers. Gronk lit up the Broncos defense last week with 10 grabs for 145 yards and three touchdowns. Yikes. We won’t even discuss the final score in that game, it was a flat-out beatdown. The Pats are weak on defense however and ranked 31st out of 32 teams this season. Their X factor might be evil genius coach, Bill Belechick, that guy always has a plan for world domination.
When you talk about the Ravens, you talk about defense. And Ray Lewis. Ray Ray will have his boys ready to go and they will be a test for Brady and the Pats. Ed Reed will be lurking to lay a mean hit on a Patriots’ receivers or snatch one of Brady’s passes out of the air. The biggest obstacle for the Ravens is QB Joe Flacco. Flacco has lots of doubters out there, sometimes he looks good, others, not so good, terrible actually. Flacco needs to find RB Ray Rice, coming off a season where he rushed for 1364 yards and 12 TDs and had 76 receptions for 704 with three more TDs. The Ravens’ QB should be able to find Anquan Boldin at times but needs to take advantage of it.
Keys to a Patriots win…
Brady. Gronkowski. Welker. All day. Brady is great at hitting open receivers and will look for Welker on 3rd down. If by chance the passing game gets shut down, which is doubtful, they need to run the ball. The Pats tend to get one dimensional by airing the ball out too much. Defensively, they have to just be good enough. Flacco isn’t exactly an elite QB out there. But they need to zero in on Ray Rice.
Keys to a Ravens win…
Defense. They need to find a way to cover the big Patriots’ TEs. If they can’t do that, Brady will light them up. The Ravens need to pressure Tom Brady, get to him, but actually bring him down, cause a fumble or two. Flacco needs to get ahead of the Patriots somehow, some way. If the Ravens fall behind by two or three scores, this one might be over early. The Ravens need to call plays for Ray Rice and in heavy doses. Controlling time of possession means keep Tom Brady off the field. If Flacco has a bad game, fans will be calling for a change. He doesn’t have to throw up video game numbers, he just has to not screw it up.
Prediction: Too much offense, too much Gronk, Brady all day. Brady wins big games, always has come up big, probably always will. I like the Ravens defense, their toughness, their trash talking, but I don’t see how the Pats can be stopped on offense.
NEW ENGLAND PATRIOTS
SUPER BOWL MATCH-UP: Yep, you got it, 49ers vs. Patriots
Who do you want to see in the Super Bowl? Who do you expect to see in the Super Bowl? Tell us in the comments!