SAN DIEGO (13-5) AT NEW ENGLAND (17-0)
WHEN: Sunday, 1 p.m. MST
WHERE: Gillette Stadium, Foxborough, Mass.
TV: CBS
Philip Rivers is resolute and defiant. Those two characteristics have made him seem a tad possessed in recent weeks — particularly in his rapport with Colts fans last Sunday at the RCA Dome — but are often to his credit, and in a different manifestation helped him become the No. 4 overall pick in the draft after a fairly phenomenal matriculation at North Carolina State.
But with the San Diego Union-Tribune reporting that he suffered a partial tear of his right anterior cruciate ligament, one wonders if his defiance might get the better of him.
What is more significant than Rivers’ official “doubtful” status is the fact that he was limited in practice. It’s tough enough to go against the Patriots with a full week of preparatory work. Can one really expect to be ready when that work is truncated?
San Diego’s best bet might be to go with Billy Volek, who led them to the game-winning score in the fourth quarter last week and played with a crispness that kept the Chargers’ offense at its typically productive pace in spite of the absences of LaDainian Tomlinson and Antonio Gates.
Volek can pile up some numbers; in three games as a starter leading up to a Christmas Night loss to the Broncos in 2004, he averaged 30.0 completions in 46.0 attempts, 395.7 yards and 3.7 touchdowns per game. If the Chargers need him to throw, he can be a mad bomber indeed.
I haven’t written much about New England. But why should I? Dennis Green might say the Patriots “are what we thought they were.” They kept a stellar Jaguars team at arm’s length last week; the game was competitive but the New Englanders never gave Jacksonville ample reason to believe it could pull the upset.
New England’s second playoff verse will be the same as the first. (Henry the VIIIth I am I am, Hen-uh-ree the VIIIth I am.)
MASON’S PICK: New England, 31-23. San Diego’s backups are good enough to ensure there’ll be little drop-off. The quality of Volek and Turner give the Chargers a chance, and Turner and Darren Sproles are quick enough to exploit the lone, slight weakness of New England’s defense — lateral speed from a savvy yet aging linebacking corps. But how can one pick against the Patriots now?
OTHER PICKS FROM THE BLOGOSPHERE:
MIKE RICE, NEWSRADIO 850 KOA: New England, 31-16.
KYLE MONTGOMERY, BRONCOTALK: As much as you hate to say it, these really are the two most talented teams in the NFL. The Chargers defense that is firing on all cylinders now may be the best the Patriots have faced all year. But 26 completions in 28 attempts last week for Tom Brady … it’s obvious this team is so focused that they won’t let themselves lose this game. Patriots 24, Chargers 14.
JOHN BENA, MILE HIGH REPORT:: New England, 34-17.
JONATHAN DOUGLAS, BRONCOTALK: I can’t believe I’m pulling for the Patriots … but I just want the Chargers to loose soooo bad, I’m willing to sell my soul and rout for New England this weekend, which is also the pick.
N.Y. GIANTS (12-6) AT GREEN BAY (14-3)
WHEN: Sunday, 4:30 p.m. MST
WHERE: Lambeau Field, Green Bay, Wis.
TV: FOX
It seems there’s been as much talk about the weather for the NFC Championship as about the game itself.
Sunday’s high temperature in Green Bay is forecast to be two degrees above zero. Anytime that the temperature must be suffixed with “above” or “below,” you’ve got problems. By kickoff, the mercury is expected to rest at zero, plunging into negative integers as the evening progresses.
Yes, this is Packers weather, although even this kind of chill is away from the norm. The average high for this time of year in Green Bay is 24 degrees; the average low seven (above, by the way). It’s slightly chillier in Minneapolis than in northeastern Wisconsin, which benefits slightly from the presence of a body of water — the one for which the Packers’ home city is named.
But it can get pretty frigid in New York, too. It’d be one thing if the football Giants had followed their baseball brethren and relocated to the San Francisco Bay Area a few decades ago; then the climatological conditions would be as foreign as Malagasy currency.
When factoring in the winds that buffet Giants Stadium and the team’s nearby training facility, the Giants often practice in conditions that feel as raw as the ones they’ll face at Lambeau Field Sunday night.
Besides, the Giants actually won one of the more notable cold-weather games in NFL annals — the 1934 NFL Championship Game in which the New Yorkers donned sneakers to compensate for the slick, icy footing afforded by the Polo Grounds field.
The Giants had traction; the Bronko Nagurski-led Bears didn’t. The result was a 30-13 rout for the home team.
Of greater significance Sunday night is the fact that the Packers aren’t a great matchup for Big Blue. That bore itself out in New York’s 35-13 home defeat back in Week 2. The Packers’ running game was in flux back then; Ryan Grant has since not only stablilized it, but made it flourish.
Oh, and were I Giants quarterback Eli Manning, I wouldn’t be rankled by the decision to preempt Seinfeld. That’s what laptop computers and DVD sets are for. Watch any episode — free of both commercials and syndication edits — whenever you want. If I can afford to own all seasons of Seinfeld, Eli, so can you. Then you can truly be master of your domain.
But being master of the Packers’ home domain? That might be a little tougher. The Packers are unbeaten at home in five championship games dating back to 1939, when they won 27-0 at Wisconsin State Fair Park in West Allis, just outside of Milwaukee (and home to the famed Milwaukee Mile racetrack).
The opponent that day? The Giants.
MASON’S PICK: Green Bay, 24-20. I think Brett Favre has at least one more great playoff moment left in him.
OTHER PICKS FROM THE BLOGOSPHERE:
MIKE RICE, NEWSRADIO 850 KOA: Green Bay, 34-17.
KYLE MONTGOMERY, BRONCOTALK: This remarkable streak the Giants are enjoying comes to a halt in the freezing Green Bay weather. The icy terrain will make it hard for their defense to pressure Brett Favre, and their bright young cornerback Ross probably won’t be 100%. I think the Giants running attack can keep it interesting, but in the end the Packers will win decisively. Packers 31, Giants 17.
JOHN BENA, MILE HIGH REPORT:: Packers, 23-13.
JONATHAN DOUGLAS, BRONCOTALK: Another repeat of Week 2. Green Bay wins.
Vaya con dios, and I’ll talk to you again from near Mobile as we get set for Senior Bowl week.
Tags: Green Bay Packers, New England Patriots, New York Giants, Playoffs, San Diego Chargers
Thanks Mason.
I’m pulling for the Patriots only because I want the Chargers to get killed just because I can’t stand them. I would love nothing more than to see them fall tomorrow so I can sit back and just laugh… HA HA HA!!!!! And also just for fun I hope Rivers can’t play, such a whiner. I still want to see the Patriots and Packers in the Superbowl. I like the Giants but I don’t think they’ll beat Green Bay and well I think I’d die if I ever saw the Chargers in the Superbowl… they have whiney QB and such a lack of professionalism, they’re not good enough.
GO BRONCOS!!!!!!!
[...] Conference Championship Preview …crispness that kept the Chargers’ offense at its typically productive pace in spite of the absences of LaDainian Tomlinson and Antonio Gates. [...]
I hate Rivers, but I hate the Pats even more. Regardless, I’ll bet the Packers win the Lombardi ultimately.
I think that if the chargers win the giants are goin to win two.
Charers 30 Patriots 23 Brady gets intercepted in the last drive.
Giants 38 Packers 24 Brett get injured
I SIMPLY HATE THE CHARGERS N I HATE THE PATS BUT I WOULD LOVE TO C THE PATRIOTS DEMOLISH THE CHARGERS AND PACCERS GO ON AND WIN THE SUPERBOWL…I WOULD LOVE THAT…I HATE RIVERS BKUZ HE’S NOT GOOD AT ALL TO BE TRASH TALKING THE WAY HE DOES LT IS A HIPOCRIT CUZ HE FELT DISRESPECTED WHEN THE PATS JUMPED ON THE FIELD N CELEBRATED BUT THOUGHT IT WAS OK FOR PHILIPS N ALL THEM TO DO CUTLER THE WAY THEY DID…I CANT WAIT TO C THE CHARGERS LOSE…NEXT YEAR BRONCOS ALL THE WAY NO DOUBT…
07elway you are my hero, man. I live in Southern California and I have been saying what you have said about the chargers for the past few seasons, but nodoby wants to hear any of it. They say I’m too biased because I’m a Broncos fan, but the truth is that they don’t know that much about the game because nobody out here has been following football for more than 2-3 years, when the chargers started winning coincidentally. I could go on about why this team is not goodfor the NFL, but I already wrote something about it. Check out my blog about them and some of my other articles and if you like what you read, please invite others to do the same (I write as COsportsfan1290): http://to2h.blogspot.com/
I never thought I would be going for the Patriots! My brother-in-law is from New Bedford. He is a die-hard Red Sox and Patriots fan. I’m never going to hear the end it about of the World Series against the Rockies and that might be trumped by the perfect season by the Patriots. The Celtics aren’t doing too bad either. It’s a tough year in sports in my house. I didn’t mind the Chargers so much until Rivers mouthed off to Cutler durng thier last game. He officially went on my cold list when he was mouthing off to the Colts crowd. He is classless! He is the reason I’m going for the Patriots along with their early season whining & blaming. What a buch of 12 year olds. The Patriots are going to show them who thier daddy is and give em a spanking to remember! Patriots, 42-21
well, in the afc we have the battle of the teams with no class,rivers mouthing off,merrimen steroid suspension, LT the whiner…..i’m sure you can think up some more.For the Pats we have mr. personality coach bill cheating, running up the score on badly beaten opponents,randy moss disrespecting jerry rice…….etc. well, like most of you i don’t like either of them! i don’t like norv turner …but i’m rooting for him! why, because nothing is worse than having a name slapped on you as a loser. he has already overcome some of that stigma with his performance in the playoffs. i hate cheaters , who knows what other cheating he’s been doing? I’d love to see that Pats get deflated! go chargers!
the score? pats 35 chargers 10
Brett Farve is a legend in his own time ,rightly so. he’s a great guy……when he’s winning. i still remember all the back stagging remarks he made a couple of years ago when the pack wasn’t too good. Eli Manning take a lot of crap and i’d love to see him win this game to quiet the press and the new york crowd. if his name wasn’t manning he wouldn’t have to put up with half the crap everyone lays on him. i picked the giants last week and i’m picking them again.
giants 13 pak 10
apk? wish i’d pay attention…….
I remember the Broncos were here couple years ago…..that said
I choose Patriots 34-20
I remember the Broncos were here couple years ago…..that said
I choose Patriots 34-20 over Chargers
AND
I choose Packers 27-21 over Giants
Don’t really care who wins the AFC………..HATE both teams……….I’ll pick the Patties, though………….Favre and the Pack are too much for Eli and the Giants on the frozen tundra……..Green Bay 20 New York 13…………………….GO BRONCOS………Can’t wait ’till the Broncos kick the crap out of the Chargers next year!
Half time of the AFC championship game……..the Chargers would have a chance is Phill-Suck Rivers wasn’t their QB…….I wonder how the Chargers fans feel about him now??? What a punk……
LMAO. I HATE THE CHARGERS!!! its a shame they have all that talent. its a waste of talent down there. maybe they should relocate somewhere.
At least we shouldn’t have to hear Chargers fans talking about how awesome Rivers is for the rest of this season……..wait, what am I talking about? We probably WILL still have to listen to that garbage. In my opinion if they had a decent QB the Chargers would have won that game.
WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
HOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
Patriots beat the Chargers, na na na na na na… so I remember I’d sit back and just laugh if the Chokers lost so… HA HA HA!!!!!!!!! I unfortunately didn’t see the game but all I care about is that they lost and they 1 million percent got what they deserved. Bet Rivers is whining like a baby like he always does. Now I just want the Pats to lose to whoever they play in the Superbowl. I’m leaning towards the Packers, my dad was such a huge fan and I like Favre… he deserves to go out on top like Elway did.
And Broncosdynasty24, great minds think alike!! I’ve never been called someone’s hero before… its kinda fun. Anyhoo, at least now everyone in Broncos Country can have the last laugh now. Haven’t gotten to read your blog yet but I will. I’m no fan of the Pats but I definitely can’t stand those Chokers, they give me the heebie geebies. They totally did not deserve to be anywhere near a fighting chance for the Superbowl… they’re so classless its sick and Rivers is the #1 person to blame. Such bad leadership, he doesn’t even know the meaning of the word… probably hasn’t even heard of the word leadership. At least that game is over, the best is yet to come. I’d really love it if the Pats lost after now being 18-0 and they would lose the final game, which would be the Superbowl. Then I’d really have a good laugh, I think I’d die laughing at that one!!! Alright, I’m done with my novel for now, just had to let out my excitment… okay one more laugh at the Chokers… HA HA!!!
GO BRONCOS!!!!!!
Heh, ya know the more I watch Domenik Hixon, the more I wish Shanahan would realize that it’s not the returners that aren’t producing, its the guys we have blocking on special teams.
I never understood why return guys get all the credit/blame. Like Devin Hester, sure the guy is a great athlete, but the Bears open up holes the size of alleys for the guy to run through.
Way to give up on a talent. Some genius.
It’s playoff time and I can’t believe that I’m rooting for the Green Bay Packers. I have seen the AFC Championship game and the NFC game is in the 3rd quarter. As for the AFC game, the ending came as no surprise. What was a surprise was the absence of LT. This game proved several things. One, it proved that when sacked, hurried, and generally hassled, Tom Brady is an average quarterback that makes mistakes (3 int’s and 0 TD’s). Denver has known this for years and it is why they have beaten them all but one time over the last nine years. When you frustrate Tom Brady he starts staring down his receivers on the field and yells at his offensive linemen off of it. Al Wilson was one of the first people to detect this flaw. One of the favorite clips that is inserted by production crews that are airing games between New England and Denver is Al Wilson walking to the side lines telling the defensive players around him ” He stares down his receivers…Especially when he’s in trouble. All you have to do is watch his eye’s…” I am disappointed that the Broncos had a loosing season. I am disappointed that we failed to produce a 1,000 yard rusher but the greatest disappointment is that Denver did not get to play the Patriots this year. Mike Shanahan could field a team comprised of boy scouts and beat the Patriots. So long to an unbeaten season, and so long to the continued bull#@!* argument that Tom Brady is the best QB of all time. The Chargers had the defensive scheme to win that game but the offense let them down horribly. You can’t leave a defense on the field that has been schemed to play the pass first, for that amount of time.
Hixon has just returned a kickoff 40 yards for the Giants. Lets not get into that one just now.
Antonio Cromartie may be the best cornerback in the league behind Champ Baily. He shut down Brady’s go to guy’s all day. The biggest surprise though was the disappearance of LT. He was supposed to be 100%. He said it, the Doctors said it, even Norv Turner said it. The shot that pushed him out of bounds didn’t look that devastating so what gives. When you think of Andre Hall playing an entire game on a high ankle sprain that he received on the first offensive play of the game and compare that to LT simply plopping down on the bench for the remaining 3 quarters of play one has to wonder what was going on. This is the promised land. A Denver running back went onto the field to act as a decoy in the waining minutes of the first half of Super Bowl 32. Suffering from a migraine that had literally blinded him Terrell Davis put his helmet on, cowboyed up, and hit the field like nothing was wrong. When teams reach this stage of the season there is no tomorrow. You loose, you go home. It’s that simple. At the end of the game you didn’t see LT carted off the field on a stretcher. You didn’t see him holbling off on crutches with a tear in his eye. You didn’t even see him limp onto the field to congratulate the winners. He walked with an unhindered gate almost as if he were walking onto the field to warm up. I know I may sound like a conspiratorial fool but if you have watched LT during the playoffs he’s always had the negative look on his face. I think there is friction there between LT, the coaching staff, and Phillip Rivers. Don’t be surprised if LT shocks Charger fans sometime during the off season with an announcement of retirement. If not he may request a trade. I know that he’s in the middle of a contract but things don’t look right.
Green Bay has got to stop throwing into the flat. If they keep that up it will turn into a pick six. As for the Packers the reason I’m rooting for them is the fact that they look like the ’97 Broncos. They don’t run the ball as well but the passing game and the running game look like the Broncos of old. When you think of Favre being the last of the gunslingers (Elway, Marino, Kelly) then you find yourself rooting for the old man. When he leaves the game an era will have officially died. Cutler may very well be the phoenix that is reborn of those ashes but I feel that a part of the game that I grew up with will have died when Favre rides off into the sunset.
I can’t wait to see the Broncos play next year. When I see the caliber of players that are in the playoffs this season I know that we can compete with any of them. The Broncos have to become a team though. It is something they use to excel at. If they capture that again the sky is the limit.
Mike in San Diego
OH MY WORD!!!!!!!!
I’m somewhat glad that the Giants lost and somewhat in shock. I honestly can’t believe what I just saw. I think I’m more shocked that the Packers lost than the Giants winning. I still think the Packers had a better chance of beating the Pats in the Superbowl than the Giants but if the Giants can beat the Cowboys and Packers than God only knows what’s going to happen in the big game. This sport officially became unpredictable tonight with the Giants winning… I was sure the Packers were going to win but then again a part of me wanted the Giants to win. So very, very interesting. I’m completely fascinated by this sport… I LOVE IT!!!
GO BRONCOS!!!!!!!!!
Sorry, had an error at the beginning
I’m somewhat glad the Giants won…
Okay I know we are all pretty much against the chargers, but hey, you have to give philip rivers some credit. He is still unprofessional and all, and still plays bad games, but look at what tomlinson did, nothing at all. It was the performance of rivers that got san diego to where they were, so for that we have to give him some props, no matter how much of a baby he is. tomlinson flaked, he has never been hurt to this point in his career, and he probably could have played. Personally, I think he foresaw defeat and gave himself and the team an out by sitting.
And I like that the Giants won because nobody gave Eli Manning much credit or respect in his first few years. The rest of the team made enough mistakes to lose it, but Manning kept a calm demeanor and went out and won the game. It would be nice as a Southern Californian who hates the chargers to see Manning win the Super Bowl, because then he would back up his decision not to play for them by winning the big game, while the chargers are still 0 for the Super Bowl.
Should be one heck of a Super Bowl
And now Mr. Rivers gets to take the tour next year through the AFC via a tougher schedule. He mouthed off in Denver and Indy and he also mouthed off in other towns as well. The bill comes due next season. We’ll see if he can back it up next year after coming back from knee surgery. I think he cost his team today playing hurt. And I wouldn’t bet the farm on the Patriots to win the Super Bowl just yet.
[...] Andrew wrote a fantastic post today on “Conference Championship Preview”Here’s ONLY a quick extract… who led them to the game-winning score in the fourth quarter last week and played with a crispness that kept the Chargers’ offense at its typically productive pace in spite of the absences of LaDainian Tomlinson and Antonio Gates. … [...]