| Wellington's NFL Division Championship Picks |
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| Fri, Jan 20, 2012 > 3:41pm |
Pick Six Division ChampionshipsBaltimore Ravens @ New England Patriots You know it’s an exciting football weekend when the number two overall offense (New England) goes up against the number three overall defense (Baltimore) in the NFL. We all know that New England has a plethora of offensive weapons. Last week it was tight end Rob Gronkowski who lit it up on the receiving end. Next week you have several more choices in Aaron Hernandez, Dion Branch, Wes Welker and even Chad (once Johnson) now Ochocinco. New England’s passing attack opens up their running game. There is no doubt that Baltimore has a defense that is more than capable of handling New England’s offense. The question is now that it has been made public (only because Baltimore’s safety Ed Reed said it publicly) that Joe “Skinny” Flacco is easily rattled by pressure will he step up to the plate and be the starter he is expected to be. Expect New England to blitz most of the game to try to place some pressure and throw off Joe Flacco’s timing. New England cannot penetrate without utilizing varying situational blitz packages. Flacco has to prove to his critics mainly his teammates that he can develop some ice in his veins along with some backbone in the biggest games. If Baltimore stops neglecting the use of arguably the best back up running back in the league, Ricky Williams it can be the best one, two punch combination. Keeping New England’s defense on their heels will give Anquan Boldin an opportunity to make big plays. Baltimore’s defense will have to make their statement early and make it their job to stomp a consistent mud hole in New England. This game will either be a one possession win or a total blow out with New England on the winning end of the blow out. I believe the nation wants New England but I am going for the upset with Baltimore winning 31-27. New York Giants @ San Francisco 49’ers The New York football Giants are in the NFC championship game?! That is not an accident, chance or luck. The G-men were banged up in the middle of the season and as the end of the season rolled around they became one of the healthiest teams. They are playing with a sense of purpose and urgency. This is the Giants defense that we expected to see throughout the season. Their timing and confidence has returned. On defense they are a team that does not need to blitz to pressure the quarterback and that is a major problem for any offense. This places seven to eight people out in the secondary, in and out of the box. Home field advantage is the only reason why San Francisco is favored and quiet as kept the Giants might be the best team in the playoffs but you didn’t hear it from me. The San Francisco 49’ers are not a sexy pick to most and for some reason I find that people are finding it hard to embrace them (maybe it’s just the east coast). They are a bit old school in their style of football. San Fran has a ball hawking stingy defense. They protect the football and methodically matriculate the ball down the field (in the words of Hank Stram). San Fran had quite a few close games because they do not always score a lot of points. Frank Gore is still a better running back than Ahmad Bradshaw and Brandon Jacobs combined. Make sure you take the under (50) in this game. Mark my words the G-Men will lose the turnover game and you know what that means? It means that a team led by the best linebacker in the NFL Patrick Lewis and he will kick some buttocks. Stand up Ronnie Lott, Roger Craig, Tom Rathman, Jerry Rice, Dwight Clark, John Taylor and you too Joe Namath with your Shape-Ups, the 49’ers are back 23-17 over the G-Men! I secretly don’t mind seeing the Giant win though. |