As if last weekends playoff games weren’t exciting enough (276 combined points, Peyton Manning\u00a0going all Peyton Manning, “Gonk” busting his forearm, again [bro, don’t be scared to mix in a glass of milk every once in a while] and the incredible finish to the Seahawks-Falcons game) we had one of the most bizarre sporting “news” weeks in recent memory.<\/p>\n
For most weeks, the LieStrong\u00a0Story would be more than enough fodder to keep radio talking heads and Sportcenter\u00a0happily busy.\u00a0 But this wasn’t exactly your “typical” week.\u00a0 Enter Manti\u00a0Te’o\u00a0and his dead girlfriend that didn’t exist.\u00a0 Or wait, maybe she faked her own death because she was alluding drug dealers?\u00a0 And how exactly did this Tuiasosopo\u00a0character (are we even sure he exists? Seriously) apologize via twitter last week when his account was closed two weeks ago?!\u00a0 Blah.\u00a0 The Machine (while we are enjoying every twist and turn\u00a0to this “real” life WWE\u00a0story) are in some\u00a0desperate need of ACTUAL, REAL football.\u00a0\u00a0How refreshing.<\/p>\n
There are only 3 games left on the schedule (until our undivided attention goes into Draft-mode), and Championship Sunday\u00a0promises to live up to\u00a0its billing, as any of the four remaining teams could win it all.\u00a0 We’ve studied the tape, waded through the storylines, and dissected the stats to bring you todays winners.\u00a0 Let’s get into it:<\/p>\n
San Francisco (-4.5)\u00a0@ Atlanta<\/strong><\/p>\n Do you know the last time a Number 1 seed, hosting the Conference Championship was a 4-point underdog?!\u00a0 You have to go back to the 1978 Dallas Cowboys, who were 4-point dogs and went on to beat the Rams (then of Los Angeles) 28-0….the ‘boys also won the Superbowl that year for what its worth.\u00a0 Is The Machine saying that the Falcons are going to win the Superbowl this year?!\u00a0 Ehhh, not so fast.\u00a0 We actually love the Niners\u00a0in this one, but have to be very cautious\u00a0with this\u00a0line.\u00a0 The Falcons have struggled mightily against QBs running the spread option this year (yielding a whopping 700 combined yards to Cam Newton in two games this year and barely hanging on against Russ\u00a0Wilson last week).\u00a0 Mike Nolan’s defense will play games pre-snap to try to confuse (and predetermine) Kaepernicks\u00a0reads.\u00a0 However, handling his athleticism\u00a0after the snap is a different story.\u00a0 Even if the falcons can limit Kaepernick\u00a0on the ground, they have to contend with SF’s beastly offensive line (featuring 3 former first round draft picks) and their stable of running backs.\u00a0 Kaepernick\u00a0also has just enough weapons in the passing game (Crabtree, Moss, Davis, Walker) to keep the defense honest.\u00a0 We just don’t think Atlanta’s defense matches up well against the Niners.<\/p>\n Atlanta’s strength is their offense, particularly their passing attack.\u00a0 They can stretch a defense vertically with Julio Jones, beat them on intermediate routes with Roddy White and kill them in the redzone\u00a0with Tony Gonzalez.\u00a0 They usually get enough production from Michael Turner (on\u00a01st and\u00a02nd down) and JacQuizz\u00a0Rodgers (on 3rd) to maintain a rushing attack.\u00a0 If the offense can protect Matt Ryan, Julio Jones could have a big day.\u00a0 He presents that matchup problems for SFs\u00a0secondary.\u00a0 However, they will have their hands full with the Niners front seven.<\/p>\n The Falcons wore down against a Seahawks\u00a0team that plays a similar style of football to the Niners.\u00a0 The Niners will impose their will late in the game and Kyle Williams won’t muff any punts (guaranteed! – hell, I like his chances of taking one to the house!).<\/p>\n The 49ers\u00a0will be Kapernicking their way to New Orleans: SF 34 ATL 28<\/strong><\/p>\n Baltimore @ New England (-8)<\/strong><\/p>\n Rematch!\u00a0 We are looking forward to a very chippy encounter between these two teams that have some bad blood between them.\u00a0 Last year Joe Flacco\u00a0outplayed Tom Brady outright.\u00a0 Flacco\u00a0was orchestrating a game winning drive when he hit Lee Evans in the corner of the endzone…..only to have the ball dropped.\u00a0 If Evans makes that catch the Ravens probably lose the Super Bowl to the\u00a0Giants last year.\u00a0 Regardless,\u00a0the Ravens trotted out Billy Cundiff\u00a0(pronounced ‘CUNT-iff’ in the greater Baltimore area) for a chip shot 32-yard field goal to send the game into overtime.\u00a0 Yeah, they missed that too.\u00a0 Their season ended in Foxboro on a bullshit dropped pass and an ugly field goal attempt.\u00a0\u00a0It should come\u00a0as no\u00a0surprise that Lee Evans and Billy Cundiff were cut in the offseason.\u00a0 The Ravens have pieced together another solid run\u00a0 this year, and find themselves travelling back\u00a0to Foxboro, one win away from the Super Bowl, again.<\/p>\n Bill Belichick\u00a0always seems to be one-step ahead of the rest of the league.\u00a0 While most teams roll out some no-huddle series and packages, the Patriots feature it.\u00a0 They have run more offense snaps than any other team this year and average the least amount time between snaps.\u00a0 Their no-huddle hurry-up offense is ridiculously effective in the redzone\u00a0(defense winded\u00a0near tail end of drives\u00a0+\u00a0hardest place on the field to substitute\u00a0+ hardest place on the field to communicate)\u00a0and on short yardage situations.\u00a0 Tom Brady quick snaps on a QB keeper\u00a0on 3rd-and-1 and 4th-and-1 more than any other QB in the league and he is more effective than 70% of the “short yardage” running backs.\u00a0 Their tempo is going to be very difficult on an aging Baltimore defense that hasn’t really been themselves this year.\u00a0 Look up their defensive numbers, it’s not pretty.<\/p>\n Ray-Ray will surely have his squad fired-up for this afternoons affair, but the\u00a0it won’t matter, the Patriots will pass, run and score at will.\u00a0 However, Flacco and Rice will be able to do enough to keep them in this game.\u00a0<\/p>\n NE 38, Baltimore 37<\/strong><\/p>\n There you have it folks, The Machine is calling for a NE vs. SF Super Bowl!<\/p>\n Bonus predictions: Ray Lewis comes out of “retirement” around the third week of Training Camp, citing unfinished business.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" As if last weekends playoff games weren’t exciting enough (276 combined points, Peyton Manning\u00a0going all Peyton Manning, “Gonk” busting his forearm, again [bro, don’t be scared to mix in a glass of milk every once in a while] and the … Continue reading