Championship Sunday Review

2 great games yesterday. The standings certainly tightened up quite a bit as I lost my first NFL Playoff game of the year. With 20 points on the line for Super Bowl week, I think anyone within 10-15 has a shot.

The line is looking like 3 right now, but I will wait to see if it changes by tomorrow when we finalize the line for our pool. I will also be putting together the 10 prop bets this week and get those out to you next week for your picks. With such a tight race, these could be really important.

CURRENT STANDINGS
POST-SEASON W
JR 55
TN 53
GT 53
SS 49
CP 49
GR 47
AW 46
MH 45
MT 45
RO 42
MR 41
MC 40
JG 34
LW 33
MO 32
JH 31
MS 0


My thoughts on the games (because I have time since nothing besides internet works on my computer right now!):

BAL-NE
I thought this was maybe the worst game I'd seen Brady play and Belichick coach in quite a long time. Brady didn't throw it very well at all and made some horrible choices (the pick after the turnover in the 4th quarter). Belichick seemed off his game as well with his questionable play calls at some points and taking a knee into half time, and not challenging some very challengable plays. With all of that, the Pats were ripe for an upset, but the idiot kicker blew the chance for the Ravens. It's amazing how critical every part of special teams becomes at this point in the season. It made the difference in both games yesterday. Flacco impressed me. He played a lot sharper than I expected. I said if you take the Ravens you are banking on an adequate performance from Flacco, they won't turn it over...which they won the TO battle, and the D will limit Brady enough for them to keep up. All of which happened, to my surprise. I think NE could have gotten it done if Brady had hit on a couple of big plays earlier that were there but he just missed. It was disappointing, I hate the win and no cover, but every streak must end. Overall, NE probably wasn't the smartest pick...I should have stuck to the priniciple of taking the better D when they are getting points.

NYG-SF
Exactly the kind of game I expected out of these 2. It really could have gone either way. The 2 TO's on punt returns...ouch, what a way to lose. Eli was outstanding again. Alex Smith looked like Alex Smith again. Seriously, if the NYG just take away Davis all day I don't think SF musters more than 6 points. 2 really strong defenses both showed up and dominated at times. I really found myself cheering against Harbaugh at the end, he just seems like such a jack-ass at times. And this suspicion was confirmed on the post game hand shake when he basically blew off Coughlin. Classy move Jim. I know he's an emotional guy and angry that he lost, but you still need to lose with a little class in a game like that. He must be from the Bert Bielema school of coaching.

Only 1 game left for Football Challenge 2011, and plenty of cash still on the line.

I'll send out the final Super Bowl line tomorrow and the 10 props next week. Nothing will be due for 2 weeks, so plan accordingly. Lots of strategery going into these picks with so many guys alive for the big prize - should be a ton of fun and a ton of drama. Good Luck!