AFC Championship

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Our picks for the 2014 AFC & NFC Championship games

Posted by fantasyfurnace on January 17, 2014
Posted in: NFL. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , . 10 Comments

Well, we’re just 2 1/2 weeks away from the 2014 Super Bowl and we are ready with our picks for the championship games this weekend. It’s clear that the remaining four teams truly deserve to be playing for the right to go to E. Rutherford next month.

*Home team in CAPS

AFC CHAMPIONSHIP

Patriots over the BRONCOS- Up until the last week or so, we would have said overwhelmingly that Denver would take this game should these two play each other for the AFC championship, but two things have changed our thinking; First, the Pats have switched their M/O somewhat and have been rushing more than we’re used to seeing…and they have done so very effectively. The success they’ve had (Blount 166 rushing yards- 4 TDs and Ridley 52 yards and 2 TDs last week vs the Colts), just opens things up for an already strong aerial attack.

Tom Brady consoles Peyton Manning after the Broncos loss in Foxborough on Oct. t, 2012. A loss this Sunday could decide Manning's NFL future. Photo: Getty Images

Tom Brady consoles Peyton Manning after the Broncos loss in Foxborough on Oct. 7th, 2012. A loss this Sunday could decide Manning’s NFL future. Photo: Getty Images

 Second, with the best CB on the Bronocos, Chris Harris, tearing his ACL and Von Miller out, Brady should have an easier time in the Patriots passing game. In fact we expect more passing than rushing in this game unlike what we saw last week now that the Broncos defense is hurting. The intangible in this game, as always, is Bill Belichick who is a cool 19-8 in the post-season to go along with three Super Bowl Championships! That’s one heck of a resume.

NFC Championship

SEAHAWKS vs 49ers- Although a lot of pundits are pining for S.F., we are giving the edge to Seattle. Keys to this game will include running back Marshawn Lynch, both field goal kickers , the refs, turnovers, and the crowd. Lynch has 170 yards rushing in the teams’ two regular season meetings this year and will need to do even better than that in order to keep Kaepernick & the Niners off the field. In Lynch’s last five games against S.F., the running back has averaged 98.2 yards so that task is certainly attainable.

#24 Marshawn Lynch will be an intregal part of Seattle's game plan this Sunday. Photo: Seahawks.com

#24 Marshawn Lynch, as always, will be an intregal part of Seattle’s game plan this Sunday. Photo: Seahawks.com

We mentioned field goal kickers because the last two times these teams faced one another, the final scores, low by NFL standards, only tallied 36 combined points (in their December game) and 32 (in September). Seattle’s defense has allowed just 16 touchdown passes all season; second best in the league, while posting an NFL-high 28 interceptions. Kaepernick needs to bring his ‘A’ game if he and his teammates expect to pull off the upset. How has opposing quarterbacks fared against Seattle’s ‘D’? They have a combined league-low rating of 63.4%.

The Seahawks are one of the leagues most penalized teams which could come back to haunt them on Sunday, unless of course, the 12th man on the field, the crowd, forces more than a few false starts for Kaepernick & crew. These two teams do not like each other and you can expect more than a few fights to break out during the game which will put more pressure on the refs whose decisions could swing the momentum and possibly the game one way or the other. However, when the dust settles, it will be the ‘Hawks who will move on to E. Rutherford.

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AFC Championship Game

Posted by fantasyfurnace on January 18, 2013
Posted in: NFL. Tagged: , , , , , , , , . 4 Comments

Our pick is the PATRIOTS over the Ravens. It just might, however, be a lot closer than most, including the pundits think, given these two teams recent history against each other.images ravens

The Ravens beat the Patriots 33-14 in the 2009 wild-card round. The Patriots then won two games (2010 regular season and last year’s AFC title game) by the identical score of 23-20, and in September the Ravens won 31-30 in Baltimore. Don’t see any evidence in those recent matchups the Patriots will put a double-digit hurting on the Ravens.

Tom Brady hasn’t had his best performances against the Ravens in his career. His QB rating is some 20 points LOWER vs Baltimore than his career average. The Ravens are still riding the “Ray Lewis is retiring train” and that won’t hurt them here. We just think that if Bill Belichick has the time, he’ll find a way to beat you in the end and that is especially true in Foxborough where the Pats have one of the leagues best home records.

#52 MLB Ray Lewis should be playing the last game of his career if the Furnace is right. Photo: sportsgrid.com

#52 MLB Ray Lewis should be playing the last game of his career if the Furnace is right. Photo: sportsgrid.com

AFC Championship Prediction

Posted by fantasyfurnace on January 20, 2012
Posted in: MLB. Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , . 5 Comments

We were ‘money’ once again last week as we went 3-1 for the second week of playoffs. Here are our picks for this Sunday’s AFC  conference championship game…  PATRIOTS over Ravens- Let’s cut right to the chase… Joe Flacco is not going to beat Tom Brady! Granted, the Ravens have an excellent defense as we all know, however Ed Reed and Ray Lewis are not going to score any points on Sunday and that’s what the Ravens will need in order to have a chance at overcoming the offensive powerhouse that is the Patriots.

Future Hall of Famer #52 Ray Lewis contemplates his opponents on Sunday. Photo: massholesports.com

In addition to Deion Branch and Wes Welker, who combined for 140 yards receiving and two touchdowns in the win over the Broncos last week, there is the two-headed monster in TE’s Aaron Hernandez and Rob Gronkowski who have between them, 169 catches, 2237 yards, and 24 touchdowns this year.

#87 TE Rob Gronkowski high-fives #85 Aaron Hernandez after TD reception. Photo: sportsofboston.com

Tom Brady and these two prolific weapons have been on the same page all season. And what makes them even more versatile is how cleverly Hernandez was used to compliment an ineffctive BenJarvus Green-Ellis (13 rushes for 28 yards) in that game. The 6′ 1″ tight end finished the game as New England’s leading rusher (5-61).

The lone intangible for the Ravens in this Sunday’s game is the in-house negative comments made by Ed Reed towards QB Joe Flacco where it has been reported that he said …”Flacco got rattled against Houston last week and didn’t have a strong grasp of the offense.” Not exactly the most ‘encouraging’ words one could choose when referring to the ‘offensive leader’ of the team. We don’t think that these kinds of remarks will endear Flacco to the rest of his team this late in the season. If he hasn’t earned the respect of his players by now, after 17 games, then when? These types of distractions might just add to Flacco’s nerves and stress level already at its peak given the magnitude of the game. In the end, Joe Flacco is what he is-just an average quarterback- (think Mark Sanchez).

Comparing the two starting quarterbacks. Photo: masholesports.com

Baltimore’s stud RB Ray Rice has been the focal point of the Ravens offense to be sure. However, Lee Evans and Anquan Boldin are no Wes Welker and Rob Gronkowski. And once the Ravens fall behind, the running game will be less of a factor, forcing an average quarterback to pass to average receivers against a potent, well oiled and well coached Patriots team who, as it just so happens, has started playing their best defense of the season. Our pick, and Michael Corleone’s pick is New England by double-digits…