NFL Picks-Championship Sunday

Well, did a little better during the divisional round than I did during the wildcard round of the NFL playoffs in picking winners.   Went 2-2 this weekend to get the overall record up to 3-5.

While I picked Chicago and Pittsburgh correctly, didn't count on both number one seeeds in the NFC and the AFC going down to defeat.

It's Championship Sunday, and it's time for Moni to pick the winners of the AFC and NFC title games and see if I get it right as to which teams end up in the Jerrydome on February 6 to play in Super Bowl XLV.

AFC Championship
New York Jets at Pittsburgh

The Steelers knocked off their bitter rivals the Baltimore Ravens 31-24 in the Divisional round to earn their 15th trip to the AFC title game and their first since 2008..   

The Jets made it to their second consecutive AFC Championship game and 4th overall by beating the Indianapolis Colts and the Number one seeded New England Patriots on the road in consecutive weekends in the playoffs.  It's a feat only the 2002 Tennessee Traitors have managed to pull off in NFL history.  They also beat the Steelers 22-17 at Heinz Field on December 19.

But don't get happy Jets fans, Troy Polamalu didn't play in that game.  With 2:08 remaining, Ben Roethlisberger drove the Steelers 82 yards to the Jets' 10 yard line only to throw two incomplete end zone passes as time expired.   

The Jets are also winless in AFC Championship game appearances with an 0-3 record while the Steelers are 7-7.   Their last win was in 2008 enroute to their seventh NFL championship.

In this rematch,  while the Jets come in on a roll, so are the Steelers.  I see Pittsburgh hoisting the Lamar Hunt trophy at the end of the game.


NFC Championship
Green Bay Packers at Chicago Bears.

It's only the second time in NFL history these longtime NFL rivals have met in the playoffs, with the last meeting being a 33-14 Chicago victory at Wrigley Field in 1941. 

Da Bears stunned Seattle with some early offensive fireworks to take a 21-0 halftime lead in their Divisional round playoff game and held on to beat the Seahawks 35-24 and earn their 5th NFC title game appearance.  

It's the Green Bay Packers 5th NFC championship game appearance as well.   They knocked off the Philadelphia Eagles in the wildcard round 21-16 and beat down the number one seeded Atlanta Falcons 48-21 

They split the season series with the Bears.    Chicago beat them 20-17 at Soldier Field back on September 27.   Green Bay returned the favor with a 10-3 win over the Bears at Lambeau Field on January 7 that clinched the Packers playoff spot. 

While Green Bay is the hottest team in the NFC and probably the playoffs right now, Chicago's defense is also playing well.   They will also have the incentive of playing for an NFC championship trophy named for their legendary NFL Hall of Fame owner as well.  

Both teams have identical 2-2 records in their previous NFC title game tilts.  Green Bay's last win was in 1997 and the Bears win was in 2006. 

Chicago will be picking up the George Halas Trophy at the end of the evening.

NFL Picks-Divisional Round Weekend

Ouch did I have a rough weekend picking the NFL wild card weekend games.   A 1-3 record and the only one I got right was Baltimore's 30-7 beatdown of Kansas City.  

Let's get real for a minute.   If you'd been in my pumps, you would have picked the defending Super Bowl champion New Orleans Saints over the Seattle Seahawks too and Indianapolis at home over the New York Jets as well.   I went back and forth between Green Bay and Philly too.

Now that my whining is done, lets get to Moni's picks of this weekend's NFL Divisional Round playoff games.

All of them are rematches of regular season clashes, and in the AFC games they are matchups between division rivals who split their season series.

Saturday January 15

Pittsburgh over Baltimore    
Only because it's at Heinz Field and the Steelers have the better QB. . It also depends on how healthy Troy Palomalu is and how long he plays in this game.  The teams are so close that one big play will decides who goes to the AFC title game

Atlanta over Green Bay.
The Falcons beat Green Bay 20-17 in November, are at home and have been the best team in the NFC all season.   Green Bay is the hottest team right now.  Somethings gotta give in the Georgia Dome today.

Sunday January 16

Chicago over Seattle 
Da Bears are at home and haven't forgotten Seattle beat them 23-20 in Chicago back in October.   It also depends on which Jay Cutler shows up and which team runs the ball better.

New England over New York Jets 

The Patriots are rested and had an extra week to game plan against the Jets.   However it won't matter if the Jets can run the ball and keep Brady on the bench like they did Peyton Manning last week


If you feel you can do better, the comment thread below is open.

 

NFL Picks-Wild Card Weekend

One of the new things I'm going to do on the blog for this year will come starting in September, but I'm going to get ready for it this weekend.    I used to like to pick the winners of NFL games, and when the 2011 NFL season kicks off I will do so again.

So as a warmup, I'll pick the winners of this weekend's NFL Wild Card games

AFC Wild Card Games

Indianapolis over NY Jets
Baltimore over Kansas City

NFC Wild Card Games

New Orleans over Seattle
Philadelphia over Green Bay

We'll see how well I did after the last game is played on Sunday

Who Dat Going To The NFC Title Game?

The Superdome has hosted many historic events since it opened in 1975. It has hosted six Super Bowls, three NCAA Mens Final Fours, the 1988 Republican Convention, a mass by Pope John Paul II, is the host stadium for the Sugar Bowl, several BCS Title games, and the annual Bayou Classic tilt between Grambling and Southern.

But next week it will host its first ever NFC Championship game as the New Orleans Saints blasted the Arizona Cardinals 45-14 to earn their second trip ever as a franchise to the NFC title game. The Saints will play the winner of the Dallas Cowchips-Minnesota Vikings game later today.

The Saints are the number one seed in the NFC playoff bracket, which means the NFC road to the Super Bowl goes through them if they keep winning. But Who Dat Nation was a little nervous about the fact that the Saints came into this playoff game after the bye week with three straight losses in their final NFL regular season games.

Twenty seconds into it they found themselves trailing 7-0 after a 70 yard touchdown run by Tim Hightower stunned the raucous Who Dat Nation Superdome crowd into nervous silence.

The Saints struck back with three consecutive touchdowns in 6:36 to forge a 21-7 lead. Arizona scored another touchdown early in the second quarter to narrow the Saints lead to 21-14, but a 44 yard bomb to Devery Henderson followed up by a two yard pass to Marques Colston broke the game open.

Reggie Bush added to an already stellar day with a third quarter 83 yard punt return for a touchdown to close out the scoring. Bush had 84 yards and a touchdown rushing, 24 yards receiving and 109 yards on three punt returns.

Ever since coach Sean Payton arrived in New Orleans, the Saints have cast aside their lovable losers image and have been building toward elite NFL team level status. The Saints are one of five NFL teams who have never played in the Super Bowl, and this win put them one step closer to earning a trip to Miami and scratching their names off that list.

Geaux Saints!

Beat LA! Beat LA!

Told you my Rockets weren't going to be a pushover for the LA Fakers.

I got my birthday win in Game 1 from my Houston homeboys. When every NBA pundit was predicting the Rockets were done after Yao Ming went down with a foot injury in the Game 3 108-94 loss and took a 40 point La La land beatdown in Game 5, Clutch City 2K9 version came up big in Game 6.

Aaron Brooks and Luis Scola combined for 50 points as my Rockets beat the Lakers 95-80 in Toyota Center to force a decisive Game 7 on Sunday in Los Angeles.

The Rockets have lost Tracy McGrady during the season, Dikembe Mutombo in the Portland series and Yao Ming in this one and still they rise. Winner gets the Denver Nuggets in the NBA Western Conference Finals.

Beat LA! Beat LA! Beat LA!

Alright Rockets! Beat LA!

My hometown NBA ballers did something in the playoffs they haven't done since 1997.

Won a first round NBA playoff series.

Yep, the TransGriot was living in her southwest Houston digs the last time my boys won a playoff series. Wednesday night they eliminated the Portland Trail Blazers by pasting a 92-76 beatdown on them in Game 6 to take the series 4 games to 2.

Ron Artest dropped 27 points in this game, with Yao Ming chipping in 17 points and snatching 10 rebounds while guard Aaron Brooks tossed in 13 to send the Rockets out of the first round winners for the first time in 12 years.

Their reward is to play the top seeded Los Angeles Lakers in the second round. But before y'all write off my Houston homeboys, better check your NBA playoff history. We have a nasty habit of knocking off Number One seeded Laker teams, especially if they're wearing NBA crowns.

Exhibit A- 1981 NBA Playoffs. The 40-42 Rockets knock off the defending champion LA Lakers in the first round.



Exhibit B-The 1986 NBA Playoffs-The Rockets, armed with the Twin Towers, stunned the defending champion LA Lakers in the Western Conference finals by taking three straight games to win the series 4-1.



It would be fun for me to see an I-45 NBA Western Conference Final series between my Rockets and the Mavericks for the NBA State Championship.

The 1981 and 1995 I-10 Western Conference Finals series with the San Antonio Spurs were fun to watch, especially since my boys won the State Championship and continued to the NBA Finals. One of those first round series losses was courtesy of the Mavericks so revenge would be sweet in this case. But we have to get past the Lakers first and Dallas has to knock off a Number Two seeded Denver Nuggets team in order for that series to happen.

Hey, a girl can dream, can't she? It would be a nice birthday present if the Rockets beat the Lakers in Game 1. Go Rockets!

Beat LA! Beat LA! Beat LA!