AFC & NFC Championship games

[Vegaseahawk]

I took the Pats -3, (along with everyone else in the country). I like the over in both games, (47 for Panthers Cards, & 44 for Pats Donks). I also like the Cards +3 on the road. They've shown themselves to be gritty, & determined. Especially Fitzgerald.
http://www.vegasinsider.com/nfl/odds/las-vegas/

[RiverDog]

Don't know, Denver has the better defense.

[savvyman]

I took the Pats -3, (along with everyone else in the country). I like the over in both games, (47 for Panthers Cards, & 44 for Pats Donks). I also like the Cards +3 on the road. They've shown themselves to be gritty, & determined. Especially Fitzgerald.
http://www.vegasinsider.com/nfl/odds/las-vegas/

That's the bet I would have made this weekend. I say this at halftime with Denver ahead 17-9.\

I think Carolina will beat Arizona later today but I thought this game is tougher to call then the Patriots - Bronco's game.

[savvyman]

Denver's Defense is getting it done as New England has to be regretting the caliber of its offensive line now.

[Hawk Sista]

MAJOR OFFENSIVE HOLDING ON THAT 4TH DOWN CONVERSION TO GRONK

[savvyman]

Congrats to Peyton Manning - Class Guy - Gets a chance at redemption.

Credit for the Bronco victory goes to their Defensive Line.

[jshawaii22]

75% of the $$$ on New England + 3. I know a group of back-of-the- houses at my Casino's that are very happy right now...

[RiverDog]

75% of the $$$ on New England + 3. I know a group of back-of-the- houses at my Casino's that are very happy right now...

Yea, I would have taken Denver had I been in Vegas. I'm not a big gambler so all my winnings would have done for me would have been to pay for a meal. The betting in that game obviously was influenced by the larger population base in the Northeast. The two teams were pretty evenly matched and with Denver playing at home, it should have been closer to even odds or even Denver favored slightly.

[savvyman]

Home Field Advantage baby!

[Agent 86]

The one thing about New England losing today is that they won't be showing the Malcolm Butler play for the next 2 weeks all over the news now. I am thankful for that.

Utter dominance by the Panthers, they are definitely the class of the NFC this year, there is no denying it. Solid in all phases of the game, I will be rooting for them to win mainly because I like a lot of their players and how they play the game, plus Rivera seems like a decent guy to me (hear his weekly spot on MTC on Sirius).

Denver does have a better D than 2 years ago, but nearly as good of offense. Their D today was incredible, but the NE offensive line looked like ours for the first 6 weeks, it was brutal.

I see the Cats winning this one if things play out as they should, but turnovers, emotions, and boneheaded plays are something you can't predict. See Carson Palmer today. I am not a fan of Bruce Arians, so was kinda glad to see them get their arse handed to them.

[Zorn76]

"The one thing about New England losing today is that they won't be showing the Malcolm Butler play for the next 2 weeks all over the news now. I am thankful for that."

It's just so much nicer not to have the Pats in the SB for a multitude of reasons, including this one. You could also hear Goodell laughing all the way from New York by game's end:)

Beyond that...we couldn't have had two games more different from one another.

Geez.

Broncos pull it off (despite trying desperately to blow the game late with Bevell-esque play calling down the stretch), while Arizona missed their flight entirely from Phoenix.

[obiken]

Its the Cards that I am shocked at, this was an old fashioned, behind the barnyard, back ally, butt whooping of epic proportions.
Carson just tanked. It was awful.

[Hawktawk]

Its the Cards that I am shocked at, this was an old fashioned, behind the barnyard, back ally, butt whooping of epic proportions.
Carson just tanked. It was awful.

Got to tip my hat to Manning. He was good enough. The arm is high school velocity if that but the brain is still there. But that Denver defense really takes the show.

I wrote a post on the PI after the shocking loss to the Giants in 07 by the 18-0 Pats entitled "Brady exposed". The point I emphasized was if you get heavy pressure in the middle of the pocket on Brady he becomes very ordinary if not worse. He has been a success over the years not only due to his considerable talent but his coaches philosophies of max protect or extremely quick releases. But when that strategy fails Brady is doomed. I believe that had Seattle had their D healthy last Feb. it would have looked similar to yesterday. Oh well they didn't and it wasn't but a last second goal line pick was pretty sweet to watch yesterday.

Carolina....What can you say? Kudos.The NFC title game was a week ago. Palmer is who we thought he was. He's Mr. October, a virtual Andy Dalton in the postseason although I've never seen Dalton turn in a performance that bad. I feel sorry for Fitz. he will play his entire career without a ring because Seattle is going to reclaim the division from these frauds in emphatic fashion next season.

Carolina opens as a 4 point fave. The real test is going to be Denver's D vs. Newton's O. Denver will not put up over 17 on offense. They are going to need to produce some points on D although I could see this D putting a hurting on Cam. They are a virtual carbon copy of the Seattle D that owned the man for 3 seasons. Its really a fascinating matchup.

Go Peyton! Go Denver!!!!!

[RiverDog]

The one thing about New England losing today is that they won't be showing the Malcolm Butler play for the next 2 weeks all over the news now. I am thankful for that.

No kidding. I'm sure that Bills fans got tired of all the replays of Scott Norwood missing that FG, too, or Red Sox fans being treated to Bill Buckner's error over and over again. I'm so sick of that Malcolm Butler play that I could puke. It was the worst ending of any sporting event that I've ever played in or witnessed, at least for me personally.

As far as Arians goes, I don't dislike him near as much as I did Harbaugh. I don't think he handles the press well and has a habit of making statements he later regrets, but he has done a fantastic job with that team and is the best HC that club has had in modern times. They will continue to be a formidable opponent.

I do think that they need to move on from Carson Palmer, though. IMO he's been injured so much that he becomes apprehensive when the defense forces him off of his spot. The problem for them is that there's not a lot of better options out there, at least for the short term.

[NorthHawk]

Palmer is getting on in years, so I could see them draft a QB if they think a good one is there in the 1st round - or any round for that matter.
I have read a number of comments that they need a good LB who can go sideline to sideline so as to put Bucannon back to Safety.
Keim said that pass rush is the number one priority this year, so let's see how it goes for them.