NFL Playoffs Week 3

   In last weeks action the red-hot Giants, who entered the playoffs as the NFC's #4 seed, soundly dispatched the team with the leagues best record - the Packers - in Lambeau, 37-20.  And the Broncos got Tebowed by the Patriots 45-10, as Tom Brady put up ridiculous video game like numbers, completing 26 passes for 363 yards, and an NFL record tying 6 touchdown passes.

   That brings us to this weeks games, starting with my game of the week:  the New York Giants at the San Fransisco 49ers.

   The 49ers have come a long way since their former head coach was chasing players off the field and mooning them in the locker room.  A year later, same team - new head coach -  and the niners are a game away from playing for their sixth super bowl ring.  But their time isn't now.  The Giants are a veteran group, led by a red-hot quarterback in Eli Manning, who've been here before.  

   The Giants were the fifth seed coming out of the NFC in 2007, and were written off before going on an impressive post season run culminating in a super bowl win over the New England Patriots.  This year, they were written off again following a mid season slide, that left them with a 7-7 record.  They finished the season on a roll though, which continued into the playoffs.  


   If the players sound a little confident, it's for good reason.  Dominating wins have shown what this team is capable of:

   “We wouldn’t say we’re unstoppable, but our mindset is extreme at this point. We’re not going to be denied. … I might be a little biased, but in our minds, we can’t be beat,” Antrel Rolle said on Monday according to the New York Daily News. “We’re extremely confident and we’ve given ourselves the reasons to feel that way. We have to continue to give ourselves those reasons, and we will. We have no doubts. It’s right there at the tip of our tongues.

   I expect the red-hot Giants, led by Manning, to continue playing at this level and move on past the 49ers.  I think the pressure from the Giants front will get to the niners Alex Smith in ways the Saints weren't able to.  And if the weather does become a factor, like some people are saying, that will only play into the hands of the Giants physical ground game.  

   In the AFC championship game, the Patriots host the Ravens, in a rematch of their 2009 playoff meeting in which the Ravens won going away, 33-14.  The difference being, the Patriots were without their stud TE's and go to slot receiver Wes Welker.  This is a big game though for the Ravens.

   Much has been made this week in the media about the controversial comments made by Ed Reed on his quarterback, Joe Flacco.  Reed said on his own radio show, among other things, that Flacco looked "rattled" at times against Houston.  

   You can debate whether or not he was right, or whether or not he should - or shouldn't have - come out with those comments in the week leading up to this game, but he has a point.  Flacco has been up and down during his career in Baltimore.  He's not a bad quarterback, but he's not great either...kind of stuck in the middle.  Has he reached his ceiling?  Will he get better?  Here's his chance to prove his doubters wrong.

   Joe Theisman seems to agree, as he told Jim Rome: http://www.jimrome.com/junglehighlights?uri=channels%2F465575%2F1585286  in the interview he said the game "is set up perfectlfy for [Joe Flacco] to put a lot of the criticism behind him."

   Will he?  The answer is no.

   The Patriots will play a no huddle offense, attacking the Ravens linebackers with their tight ends, forcing Ray Lewis and Terrell Suggs to cover.  Advantage Patriots.  This game could be close, but I also could see the Patriots piling it on late, and making the score looking something like 34-17.

  The result:  a rematch of Super Bowl XLI between the Patriots and Giants.