NFL 2008 Conference Title Picks

I’m not smart enough to pick these playoff games.

Sure, three out of four road teams winning in the divisional round kicked EVERYONE’S ass, but I have to say, my predictions (1-3 week, 4-4 playoffs) were particularly —

Hell, I’m not even smart enough to come up with the right word to describe how disastrously wrong they were. (Let’s just go with “my predictions were particularly HIDEOUS.”) Especially bad were my bold predictions (DeAngelo Williams scoring 4 TDs — not so much.)

Of course, I’m not going to let the fact that I was spectacularly wrong stop me from making more picks and sure-to-be-wrong (semi)bold predictions. At the very least, you can check these out on Monday morning and have a good laugh.

PHILADELPHIA @ ARIZONA
I find this game to be incredibly fascinating. Philadelphia is, arguably, the hottest team in the NFL, but Arizona will be back at home, where they’re so comfortable and they’ll have the crowd noise to back them up. If Kurt Warner or Donovan McNabb (pictured, right) advance to the Super Bowl and win, they can pretty much punch their ticket to Canton. The Eagles have been absolutely fierce stopping the run, but, though the Cardinals have realized that they DO have a running game the past two weeks, I get the feeling that Warner won’t have a problem slinging the ball 50 times if they have to. Anquan Boldin should be back for the Cards, while Brian Westbrook is hurting for the Eagles (what else is new, right?)

Most importantly, both of these teams (especially the Cardinals) have been playing incredibly loose the past couple of weeks because few people have expected anything out of them. Now, you could make a case for each team being favored and each team being an underdog, so who’s going to be able to play the “disrespect” card. I’m guessing that’ll be Arizona, since people STILL can’t quite believe they’re this good, because there’s still the faint whiff of 60 years of Cardinals stinkiness, and because sportscasters seem to have visions of an all-Pennsylvania (did you know Philly AND Pittsburgh are both in Pennsylvania?!) Super Bowl already dancing in their head.

So why am I going with the Eagles? Because I believe their defense and their quarterback are good enough to overcome the pressure of being favorites for the first time in weeks. The Eagles have been to 5 of the last 8 conference championship games, and McNabb was injured for a significant portion of the season when they didn’t make it. Despite the very clear “choke” potential, it still feels like this is the Eagles’ time. (Semi)bold prediction: DeSean Jackson will run a kick back for a TD.

BALTIMORE @ PITTSBURGH
Pittsburgh just LOOKED like a Super Bowl team when they laid the smackdown on San Diego, especially in that third quarter when the Chargers only ran one play. Baltimore didn’t look too bad themselves against top-seeded Tennessee. Yes, the Titans killed themselves by turning the ball over, but I don’t exactly remember the ball slipping out of LenDale White or Alge Crumpler’s hands, so kudos to the Ravens for forcing those turnovers. (Ok, so Crumpler’s fumble was particularly awful.)

Both of the regular season Ravens/Steelers meeting were incredibly close, but I still kind of feel like the Steelers are currently the superior team. They certainly have the superior offense. I’m sorry, but the Ravens can’t do ANYTHING on offense. Their best offensive weapon is their defense, which gets them into good field position to make field goals or score touchdowns on short drives. Although Steelers QB Ben Roethlisberger certainly has the sort of potential to throw four INTs in a championship game, I’m going to go ahead and predict that he’ll take care of the ball. I’m also going to assume that the Ravens won’t be able to force an obscene amount of timely turnovers like they have the last two weeks.

That’s not necessarily a dis on the Ravens, who HAVE to be worn out. If you remember, they were forced to take their bye all the way back in week 2 because their game against Houston was postponed due to a hurricane. That means they’ve played their physical style of football for 17 straight weeks without a break. Meanwhile, Pittsburgh just had a first-round bye and a semi blow out over the Chargers.

I’m betting those sportscaster ARE going to get that all-Pennsylvania Super Bowl. (Semi)bold prediction: The Ravens won’t score a touchdown.