Welcome back to Touchdowns and Kicks with Jimmy G on the team990.com
Last week I got the Saturday games right and the Sunday games wrong.
The week before that I got the AFC games right and the NFC games wrong.
At this pace I’ll get one of these games right and one of them wrong. I hope that is not the case.
Here we go.
Chargers at Patriots
There are certain facts that have to be looked at:
(1)the Chargers went through hell to beat the Titans and Colts: how much do they have left?
(2)the Chargers are a warm weather team: the temperature in Foxboro will be in the negative single digits
(3)Bill Belichick is 7-0 at home in the playoffs, 14-3 overall: Tom Brady is 13-2 as a starter
(4)Norv Turner is coaching against Bill Belichick
(5)Tight end Antonio Gates is injured, how effective will Gates be if he plays?
(6)Same thing for Ladainian Tomlinson: how effective will LT be?
(7)Philip Rivers has a partially torn MCL: if he plays how effective will Rivers be?
(8)
I’d love nothing more than watching the Chargers win this game, overcoming all the odds in a wonderful Cinderella story. It would be on the greatest upsets ever, on a par with the Jets Super Bowl III win over the Baltimore Colts.
A win by the Chargers would completely change the historical perception many people have of Norv Turner. At this moment his regular season record is 69-87-1, a .443 winning percentage.
In 10 seasons as a head coach, Turner has only two playoff appearances. Worse yet, aside from those playoff appearances, Turner has never gone into the final week of the season with a chance at the postseason. A terrible success ratio all around.
However, all that will be forgiven with a third consecutive win. Critics will stop looking at the raw totals and focus instead on the Super Bowl appearance, which is the ultimate goal in professional football.
However, having said all that, I cannot imagine a scenario which concludes with a Charger upset victory.
For the Chargers to win, they will need all of the following:
(a)a plus two turnover differential
(b)a special teams touchdown
©the Patriots must convert LESS than 50% of their 3rd down opportunities
(d)Chargers QB’s must have a yards per pass attempt of 8.00 or better: this will indicate that the Chargers can move the ball down the field effectively.
(e)Tom Brady must be sacked at least five times: this will indicate that the Chargers D is being effective
There you have it: 5 stats that have to go the Chargers way in order for them to win.
Do I want it to happen? Yes Will it happen? No
Injuries, fatigue, and unfortunately for Norv Turner, coaching, will enter the equation.
Final Score: Patriots 38 Chargers 13
Giants at Packers
Brett Favre in the Super Bowl for a third time, preferably against Tom Brady and the Patriots.
This would be a media dream. On one side you have the good ‘ole Southern boy, a man who has recently buried his father and brother in law, along with his wife being diagnosed with cancer. This good 'ole boy will be gunning for a second Super Bowl win, hoping for a John Elway like ride in the sunset.
On the other side, you have the pretty boy who impregnates a Hollywood starlet and dumps her for a world famous lingerie model. This pretty boy will be aiming for a 4th ring, tying him with Terry Bradshaw and Joe Montana in the annals of history.
You couldn’t get more disparate personalities than that.
The ratings for a Patriots-Packers game would in all likelihood break every Nielsen ratings record for Super Bowls.
Okay, everything I’ve written is basic stuff. The question is: will it happen?
No.
The Packers season will end. The Giants will win.
Call it intuition in place of pragmatism.
A pragmatic person would notice factors such as the weather, injuries and the bye week and pick the Packers.
I think the Giants come out and run the ball very effectively, and as a result Eli Manning will be able to throw the ball in safe situations.
I also think that Brett Favre, for the first time this season, will make mistakes early that the Pack will not be able to overcome.
The Seahawks were unable to put away an early 14-0 lead: The Giants won’t make the same mistake.
Final Score: Giants 20 Packers 17
The result: we don’t get Favre-Brady, but we do get the next best thing: Brady-Manning. Eli, that is.
Last week I got the Saturday games right and the Sunday games wrong.
The week before that I got the AFC games right and the NFC games wrong.
At this pace I’ll get one of these games right and one of them wrong. I hope that is not the case.
Here we go.
Chargers at Patriots
There are certain facts that have to be looked at:
(1)the Chargers went through hell to beat the Titans and Colts: how much do they have left?
(2)the Chargers are a warm weather team: the temperature in Foxboro will be in the negative single digits
(3)Bill Belichick is 7-0 at home in the playoffs, 14-3 overall: Tom Brady is 13-2 as a starter
(4)Norv Turner is coaching against Bill Belichick
(5)Tight end Antonio Gates is injured, how effective will Gates be if he plays?
(6)Same thing for Ladainian Tomlinson: how effective will LT be?
(7)Philip Rivers has a partially torn MCL: if he plays how effective will Rivers be?
(8)
I’d love nothing more than watching the Chargers win this game, overcoming all the odds in a wonderful Cinderella story. It would be on the greatest upsets ever, on a par with the Jets Super Bowl III win over the Baltimore Colts.
A win by the Chargers would completely change the historical perception many people have of Norv Turner. At this moment his regular season record is 69-87-1, a .443 winning percentage.
In 10 seasons as a head coach, Turner has only two playoff appearances. Worse yet, aside from those playoff appearances, Turner has never gone into the final week of the season with a chance at the postseason. A terrible success ratio all around.
However, all that will be forgiven with a third consecutive win. Critics will stop looking at the raw totals and focus instead on the Super Bowl appearance, which is the ultimate goal in professional football.
However, having said all that, I cannot imagine a scenario which concludes with a Charger upset victory.
For the Chargers to win, they will need all of the following:
(a)a plus two turnover differential
(b)a special teams touchdown
©the Patriots must convert LESS than 50% of their 3rd down opportunities
(d)Chargers QB’s must have a yards per pass attempt of 8.00 or better: this will indicate that the Chargers can move the ball down the field effectively.
(e)Tom Brady must be sacked at least five times: this will indicate that the Chargers D is being effective
There you have it: 5 stats that have to go the Chargers way in order for them to win.
Do I want it to happen? Yes Will it happen? No
Injuries, fatigue, and unfortunately for Norv Turner, coaching, will enter the equation.
Final Score: Patriots 38 Chargers 13
Giants at Packers
Brett Favre in the Super Bowl for a third time, preferably against Tom Brady and the Patriots.
This would be a media dream. On one side you have the good ‘ole Southern boy, a man who has recently buried his father and brother in law, along with his wife being diagnosed with cancer. This good 'ole boy will be gunning for a second Super Bowl win, hoping for a John Elway like ride in the sunset.
On the other side, you have the pretty boy who impregnates a Hollywood starlet and dumps her for a world famous lingerie model. This pretty boy will be aiming for a 4th ring, tying him with Terry Bradshaw and Joe Montana in the annals of history.
You couldn’t get more disparate personalities than that.
The ratings for a Patriots-Packers game would in all likelihood break every Nielsen ratings record for Super Bowls.
Okay, everything I’ve written is basic stuff. The question is: will it happen?
No.
The Packers season will end. The Giants will win.
Call it intuition in place of pragmatism.
A pragmatic person would notice factors such as the weather, injuries and the bye week and pick the Packers.
I think the Giants come out and run the ball very effectively, and as a result Eli Manning will be able to throw the ball in safe situations.
I also think that Brett Favre, for the first time this season, will make mistakes early that the Pack will not be able to overcome.
The Seahawks were unable to put away an early 14-0 lead: The Giants won’t make the same mistake.
Final Score: Giants 20 Packers 17
The result: we don’t get Favre-Brady, but we do get the next best thing: Brady-Manning. Eli, that is.
I'll be back with my review of the Championship Games on Monday.
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