Pick ’em – Super Bowl 46

After a mediocre season of NFL picks and a 5-5 playoff run, it’s time for our Super Bowl 46 pick. Let’s break down the game as we do.

Tom Brady will be the key to a Patriots win in Super Bowl 46, via cbsboston.com

The question that has stayed at the forefront of our minds over the past two weeks is which team is best at something. While many of the matchups seem to favor the Giants, we believe the Patriots will throw the ball better than the Giants do anything. So the question is whether the Pats’ success in the passing game – which we believe will happen, at least to some degree – will overcome its shortcomings elsewhere.

So while Jason Pierre-Paul, Justin Tuck and company may harass Brady, and while Eli Manning to Victor Cruz may find room in the Patriots secondary, the key to the game will be Brady finding Wes Welker and his two tight ends. The big plays in the Patriots passing game will mean more than the sacks from Big Blue or the Giants’ offense.

That will lead to a Patriots win. That’s not the popular pick – the bets in Vegas are leaning toward the Giants, and the majority of analysts we hear lean toward the Giants as well. But we’re going to go with the Patriots to win and cover the three-point spread.

New England 28, New York Giants 20

Ravens QB Joe Flacco makes the leap in AFC championship game

For National Football Authority, we find the silver lining of the Baltimore Ravens’ loss to the New England Patriots in the AFC championship game. We analyze how Joe Flacco proved that he is a big-game quarterback and how he is good enough to lead the Ravens to a championship in the future. Click here to read all about it.

Ravens QB Joe Flacco, via sacbee.com

Cruz a key to the Giants Super Bowl run

For National Football Authority, we break down the key role that wide receiver Victor Cruz played in the Giants’ run to Super Bowl 46. How did Cruz rise to such an important role against the 49ers? What role will he play against the Patriots? Click here to find out.

Giants WR Victor Cruz starred against the 49ers, via Fox News Latino

Pick ’em – Conference Championships

We are 4-4 against the spread and 5-3 straight up so far in the playoffs, so this week is key to going over .500 in our postseason picks. Here’s what we expect to happen in the AFC and NFC championship games.

49ers LB Patrick Willis (52) will try to batter Eli Manning and the Giants, via salon.com

Baltimore +7 at New England

There’s a trend happening in this year’s playoffs, and nobody’s talking about it. Twice, we have seen high-flying teams upset by opponents who were far more physical. The 49ers did it to the Saints, and the Giants did it to the Packers. Now we expect the Ravens to do the same to the Patriots. The Ravens aren’t a perfect team, but they’re very well-balanced, which means they have enough offense to overcome a few big Patriots plays. But the Ravens’ defense will push around New England’s offensive line and give Tom Brady some heartburn. Meanwhile, on offense, Ray Rice and company should be able to find lanes, and despite the hullaballoo this week Joe Flacco will make some big-time throws against a Patriots secondary that still isn’t good. Brawn beats beauty, and the Ravens go to the Super Bowl for the first time in 11 years. Baltimore 27, New England 24

San Francisco -3 vs. N.Y. Giants

No matter whether this line is two or three points, we believe the 49ers will surpass it. While the AFC championship is a game of contrasting styles, this one will be a slugfest, a la Ravens/Texans last week. And we believe the 49ers are the more physical team on both sides of the ball. While Eli Manning has gotten a lot of pub for making big throws thus far in the playoffs, he can’t block for himself. The 49ers should also be able to shut down the Giants running game. It’s not going to be pretty, but it should be effective for San Francisco to make its first Super Bowl appearance since the mid-1990s. San Francisco 20, N.Y. Giants 16

Crazy Kicker of Divisional Week

Normally, in the playoffs the kicker craziness abates, but we had two good crazy kicker candidates this week. So while Packers PK Mason Crosby’s surprise onside kick would normally suffice, this week the craziest kicker is Patriots QB Tom Brady. Brady quick-kicked on third down, punting for 48 yards and pinning the Broncos at the 10-yard. The fact that a fight broke out after the kick only made things crazier.

QB/Punter Tom Brady, via cbsboston.com

Our National Football Authority friends show you why Tom Brady is this week’s crazy kicker of the week.

Crazy Kickers of the Week 2011
Divisional round: QB/P Tom Brady, Patriots
Week 17: PK David Akers, 49ers
Week 14: P Andy Lee, 49ers
Week 12: PK Dave Rayner, Bills
Week 11: P Michael Koenen, Buccaneers
Week 10: PK David Akers, 49ers
Week 9: P Chas Henry, Eagles
Week 6: P Shane Lechler, Raiders
Week 5: P Daniel Sepulveda, Steelers
Week 4: PK Mason Crosby, Packers
Week 2: P Michael Koenen, Buccaneers
Week 1: P Sam Koch, Ravens
Preseason Week 4: P Dustin Colquitt, Chiefs
Preseason Week 2: P Andy Lee, 49ers
Preseason Week 1: PK Josh Brown, Rams

Football Relativity: Conference Championships

Each week, we compare all 32 NFL teams using our Football Relativity comparison. On the comparison, the 10 level is reserved for the best teams, and the 1 level for the worst. Normally, we note throughout where teams have moved up or down from last week. We will do so this week, but we will discuss only the 4 remaining playoff teams. As a result, we’re removing the 10-point scale and just discussing these teams in order of which we think is best.

Giants WR Hakeem Nicks breaks free against the Packers, via nj.com

Baltimore Ravens – Not many people will have the Ravens as the top remaining team in the playoffs, but we do. That’s because the Ravens have the most pieces of any team left. The defense, while not at the elite level it reached over the past decade, is still quite good. The offense has an elite runner in Ray Rice, as well as some terrific young pieces in the passing game. The weakest spot is quarterback Joe Flacco, who is inconsistent but can still rise to the occasion. The Ravens didn’t look great in their 20-13 win over the Texans, but that was a tricky matchup between two teams with similar styles, and the Ravens won out. Now they get to play the Patriots in a game of contrasting styles, and we saw in the Giants/Packers matchup and the Saints/49ers matchup this weekend that the physical style has a great shot of overcoming the flashier, high-flying approach. Plus, the Ravens have risen to the occasion at every big moment this year, with wins over the Steelers, 49ers, Texans, and more, so they won’t be intimidated going into New England.

San Francisco 49ers – We move the 49ers up after their enthralling 36-32 victory over the Saints Saturday afternoon. We discussed in this post the impact that Justin and Aldon Smith had for the 49ers, and they were part of a defense that completely outmuscled the Saints. That physical style will be tested this weekend against the Giants; like this week’s Ravens/Texans game, Giants/49ers will be a battle of two teams with similar approaches and styles. We believe the 49ers can play the style better than the Giants, as long as QB Alex Smith avoids key mistakes. Smith showed that he was clutch this past week, but he has a high bar to clear against Eli Manning this week.

New England Patriots – The Patriots lambasted the Broncos 45-10 this weekend, repeating their domination in Denver from earlier this year. QB Tom Brady and crew have one of the league’s most unstoppable offenses, thanks in large part to TEs Rob Gronkowski and Aaron Hernandez. And Tim Tebow and the Broncos were not refined enough offensively to test the Patriots’ sometimes spotty pass defense. But the Ravens are good enough to do so, and they will also be more physical up front than the Patriots are. Don’t let one playoff blowout against an inferior team trick you into thinking that the Patriots are far and away better than anyone else left in the playoffs.

New York Giants – All credit to the Giants for going to Green Bay and pulling off a convincing 37-20 win over the Packers. New York dominated the game physically, and WR Hakeem Nicks continued his emergence as a star wideout. With Nicks and Victor Cruz, along with other good supplemental pieces, Manning has a terrific crew of wideouts. The question is whether the Giants can win a battle of wills against the 49ers. San Francisco’s front seven is better than the Giants, even though we know more about the Giants’ front four. Ultimately, we think that will win out and that the 49ers will outslug the Giants.

How a pair of Smiths created havoc for 49ers defense

For National Football Authority, we break down the 49ers defensive performance to see how a pair of Smiths – all-pro defensive end Justin and rookie outside linebacker Aldon – influenced San Francisco’s 36-32 win over the New Orleans Saints. Click here to read all about it.

49ers DE Justin Smith sacks Saints QB Drew Brees, via cbssports.com

Preja Vu: Running games vital when Saints face 49ers

For National Football Authority, we break down the NFC Divisional Round game between the New Orleans Saints and San Francisco 49ers. As we do, we focus in on how the running games on both sides are vital. Click here to read which team has the edge and how that might determine the outcome of Saturday’s game.

The 49ers hope RB Frank Gore can break free vs. the Saints, via usatoday.com

Pick ’em – Divisional Round

We got off to a 3-1 start to the playoffs last week, missing only the Broncos’ upset win over the Steelers. Let’s see if we can hit that number or even improve on it this week.

QB Tom Brady and the Patriots try to repeat their regular season performance against the Broncos, via milehighreport.com

New Orleans -4 at San Francisco

The 49ers are good, but being a defensive-first team trying to stop an offensive juggernaut is tough. That’s because offensive explosiveness gives you more of a margin for error. The 49ers, meanwhile, have little margin for error given the fact that they don’t score a ton of points because they don’t score touchdowns in the red zone. So even if DE Justin Smith and company and hold down the Drew Brees-led Saints offense, I don’t expect them to operate efficiently enough offensively to get over the hump and win. New Orleans 21, San Francisco 16

New England -14 vs. Denver

This is a huge line, which is not surprising given the fact that the Patriots have scored a ton of points this season while the Broncos have struggled at times to reach the end zone. The Patriots’ defensive isn’t that great, but we figure that they will do a better job of taking away Tim Tebow’s No. 1 passing option (even if it’s down the field) than the Steelers did. If they do that, Tebow could struggle, because he hasn’t done a great job of moving through his route progressions this year. New England may give up a few plays, as they did in the first meeting between these teams, but they should do a good enough job to let Tom Brady and the offense shine. In the end, that would make the game kind of similar to the 41-23 regular-season meeting. New England 38, Denver 21

Baltimore -9 vs. Houston

The wild-card round of the playoffs couldn’t have played out better for the Ravens. They avoid a third game against their AFC North rival Steelers and instead draw a Texans team that is solid but playing with a rookie quarterback in T.J. Yates. The Texans defense is good, but we saw the Ravens smash a similar team when they thumped the 49ers at home earlier this season – and when they beat the Texans (with Matt Schaub) 29-14. Baltimore has enough offensive firepower to make some plays thanks to Ray Rice and some young receivers, and the defense should be able to force Yates into mistakes. While Yates did a good job getting the ball downfield last week against the Bengals, we’re still not confident that he can do so against a top-level defense like the Ravens – especially on the road. Baltimore 24, Houston 10

Green Bay -9 vs. N.Y. Giants

It’s possible that the Giants could go to Green Bay and win. They could outmuscle the Pack on both sides of the ball and use a ball-control approach to steal a win. But while that pattern is possible, we don’t think it’s likely. Instead, we think that the Packers team that was terrific all year long will play up to that level and be so explosive that the Giants just can’t keep up. So while this matchup reminds everyone of 2007, when the Giants won in Green Bay and then avenged a late-season 38-35 loss in the Super Bowl, our preja vu tells us there won’t be any deja vu. Green Bay 35, N.Y. Giants 17

Playoffs: 3-1
Season: 46-51-5 pro, 94-86-7 overall

Giants physically dominate Falcons; will recipe work vs. Packers?

For National Football Authority, we break down how the New York Giants beat the Atlanta Falcons by getting physical. Then we analyze whether the Giants can repeat the formula when they travel to Green Bay this weekend. Click here to read all about it.

The Giants defense beat down Matt Ryan and the Falcons, via nydailynews.com